50/50 Women of Influence with Michele Stowe: The View Changes Above the Tree Line

So tell me just a little bit about yourself and your path into affordable housing.

And then we'll talk about your shift into where

you are now.

My journey into affordable housing was in many ways accidental.

My career began with a focus in human resources.

So I went right through grad school with a degree in organizational psychology.

I wanted to be in HR because I was going to save the world.

And One employee at a time from the injustice of corporate America, right? I had this inner justice and truth.

And that was my first motivation coming out of school was to make a workplace a more just and compassionate place.

That was what my driving motivator was.

As corporate America does, it put me in my place, right? Just a little bit.

But I learned so much and I had the benefit of working with some very purpose-driven organizations like Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals was an incredible place because you have... very smart people dedicated to finding a cure for cancer and bringing it to market and getting it to patients, right? So you have this deep well of purpose.

That's in the pharmaceutical industry.

And so that being my real first taste of HR, I thought, okay, I like this.

Like there's an organization that is trying to do good in the universe and now I'm a part of it.

So it was my first experience with what I do every day feels right because I can help make the workplace more just.

And yeah, the environment I'm working in is an organization that has a deep purpose of health and humanity.

And then I experienced organizations that didn't have such a purpose motive, right? And I had this lovely career, terrific mentors that helped me continue to grow and learn.

And then I ended up in a C-suite and it was my brass ring job.

Jennifer, I had arrived.

I was so excited to finally be in the job.

And I looked around at the board and the leadership team, and the ethics of the organization were completely unmoored from the day-to-day decisions that were being made.

And so it was, for me, an opportunity to see if I'm going to be a leader in this space, I must be connected to an organization that also has deep purpose.

So gratefully, I happened to be living in Denver, Colorado at the time, and I got a call for the head of HR for Mercy Housing, which is headquartered in Denver.

And they were looking specifically for an HR leader who had experience with succession planning.

So tell me just a little bit about yourself and your path into affordable housing.

And then we'll talk about your shift into where

you are now.

My journey into affordable housing was in many ways accidental.

My career began with a focus in human resources.

So I went right through grad school with a degree in organizational psychology.

I wanted to be in HR because I was going to save the world.

And One employee at a time from the injustice of corporate America, right? I had this inner justice and truth.

And that was my first motivation coming out of school was to make a workplace a more just and compassionate place.

That was what my driving motivator was.

As corporate America does, it put me in my place, right? Just a little bit.

But I learned so much and I had the benefit of working with some very purpose-driven organizations like Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals was an incredible place because you have... very smart people dedicated to finding a cure for cancer and bringing it to market and getting it to patients, right? So you have this deep well of purpose.

That's in the pharmaceutical industry.

And so that being my real first taste of HR, I thought, okay, I like this.

Like there's an organization that is trying to do good in the universe and now I'm a part of it.

So it was my first experience with what I do every day feels right because I can help make the workplace more just.

And yeah, the environment I'm working in is an organization that has a deep purpose of health and humanity.

And then I experienced organizations that didn't have such a purpose motive, right? And I had this lovely career, terrific mentors that helped me continue to grow and learn.

And then I ended up in a C-suite and it was my brass ring job.

Jennifer, I had arrived.

I was so excited to finally be in the job.

And I looked around at the board and the leadership team, and the ethics of the organization were completely unmoored from the day-to-day decisions that were being made.

And so it was, for me, an opportunity to see if I'm going to be a leader in this space, I must be connected to an organization that also has deep purpose.

So gratefully, I happened to be living in Denver, Colorado at the time, and I got a call for the head of HR for Mercy Housing, which is headquartered in Denver.

And they were looking specifically for an HR leader who had experience with succession planning.