“I want to help women tap into the life-giving, life-changing, life-empowering power for them, their families, their organizations, and their communities.”
At EmBe, our mission is to empower women and help them discover their strengths, activate their vision, and help meet their personal and professional goals. Putting the pivotal mentors, leadership, and programs in place is what we are excited to bring more emphasis to within the community.
We are ecstatic to announce the addition of Melissa Hiatt, Director of Women’s Programming, to the EmBe team! We are certain that Melissa’s experience and new ideas will grow Women’s Programming to new heights.
She has tenured experience within the leadership realm and is a Certified Dare to Lead™ Facilitator, trained under Dr. Brené Brown, and has her own Leadership Consulting Firm, Levav.
Melissa says the timing for this position couldn’t have been more perfect. She was ready for something new and this position seems like it was made for her.
“I love people and being a part of the energy within the office. Even though I have my own business and will continue that, it gets lonely being a one-person company. EmBe brings together my best skill sets, and I love being a part of something bigger than myself.”
She is already reimagining how EmBe can better serve women with our upcoming Women’s Leadership Program summer cohort, beginning June 2023. When asked what she is looking to improve upon with the Program, she said,
“I want to make the mentoring program more robust. I want the mentors to feel skilled and supported and for the mentees to have clear expectations and understand their part in the mentor/mentee relationship. I am also excited about giving more clarity and direction around the personal development plan, which will now be called a Leadership Creativity Project.”
The book Cassandra Speaks: When Women are the Storytellers the Human Story Changes by Elizabeth Lesser has been guiding Melissa’s vision for the Women’s Leadership Program.
“In the book, she explores the cross-section of women and power. Women often have a hard time claiming power in their lives and their leadership because power has a negative connotation. We have seen power used to control others and control us. Lesser quotes Pat Mitchell, the PBS journalist, as she explores power in an interview with Jody Williams, the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize recipient,
“All of us are seeking somewhere, somehow, to tap into that kind of power. Not the old kind of power, not power over someone else, but the power to change the reality of either our own lives or the lives of people around us. So, can we agree that there’s a good power? There’s nothing that feels better than tapping into that power. If you ever feel it and see a life or your community made better, that’s a power you want to feel again.”
Melissa says her favorite part of our team has been the community and the passion for what we do at EmBe. “I love being a part of that,” she says.
We love having you on the team, Melissa, and we can’t wait to see the captivating changes you bring to our Programs, women’s lives, and our team!