Impact Interview: Lacey Gaitan

Name: Lacey Gaitan

Role/Function: Senior Vice President, Corporate Programs at Points of Light

What are you working on these days?

I recently started a new role leading Corporate Programs at Points of Light which is a global nonprofit that inspires, equips and mobilizes individuals to take action that changes the world. It has been such an exciting time to join the organization as we freshly wrapped April’s Global Volunteer Month celebration — a time to honor, recognize, and encourage volunteerism around the world. We just announced the 2024 honorees of The Civic 50 which annually recognizes the 50 most community-minded companies in the US. The annual Points of Light Conference is coming up in June which brings together social impact leaders across the globe representing nonprofits, NGOs, government, businesses and civic leaders. Last year, I got to participate as an attendee and speaker and this year, I’m thrilled to attend and support the conference as an official member of the Points of Light team. Finally, we’re heading into a summer filled with opportunities to support companies with their community impact and employee volunteer programs!

What was the “aha” moment that sparked your interest in social and environmental impact? 

I don’t know if it was any one particular moment. Looking back, there were elements of social impact work woven throughout my life — fundraising for camps and youth groups, Arbor Day and campus clean-up events, helping in classrooms, serving as a NICU cuddler and more. I had a supportive family that encouraged me to participate in all these activities and interests, but I didn’t have the language to identify what I was doing or why that work appealed to me until I started working in the social impact space.

Growing up I wanted to be a doctor, then I got into Biology class where they wanted you to dissect a frog and that goal VERY QUICKLY changed. And while I knew that becoming a doctor was no longer my plan or path, I wasn’t sure what was next or what I wanted “to be when I grew up!”. I did know that I wanted to help people but really didn’t know what that could look like or mean as a career.

That first “Community Relations Assistant” role opened a path that I didn’t even know existed. I fell in love with the work I was doing and quickly realized the impact a company can have on its community! I knew I wanted to be a part of ensuring that impact was positive and beneficial and truly driving change.

How did you break into the impact space? What career advice would you give to professionals who are just starting out or looking to transition?

By complete accident! It was a combination of a friend of the family telling me about an open role, being in the right place at the right time and the draw of the brand name more than anything I knew about the role itself! I grew up in Southern California with Disneyland Resort in my “backyard” and was fortunate to get my start in social impact working for Disney.

I recently came across a quote from Steve Jobs that feels very apt for my career: “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” If you look at my resume or LinkedIn or hear me talk about my career path it may seem as if there was a clear trajectory and that I had a solid plan in place. To be clear…I did not!

While I may not have had a specific life plan in place when I got that first job, it wasn’t long before I realized this was the work I wanted to build a career out of. I took every opportunity I could to learn — from temporary assignments for on the job learning to taking advantage of the educational reimbursement program to pursue a Masters in Public Administration. With each new company, role, or project I took on it was equally as important to determine what I liked and wanted to continue doing as it was to know what I didn’t like or elements of the work that didn’t suit my skills and values.

In my experience, breaking into the corporate social impact space can be hard and part of that is because there’s not one way to do it. Some, like me, were fortunate to get an entry-level role and build their career up. Others transition in from the nonprofit space and others transition internally because they were active with volunteer projects, employee resource groups (ERGs) or sustainability committees. Those are just a few of the many paths in and I know that can be frustrating but for those interested, don’t give up and don’t get stuck thinking there’s only one way to make an impact!

Working in impact is often about driving change. What is the skill or trait that has been most important for your work as a change agent? How did you learn or hone it?

For me, two of the most vital skills to have as a change agent are the ability to listen and a willingness to learn.

This field is constantly changing, and it can feel like there’s something new around every corner — addressing the needs of a new generation in the workforce, working to understand new and changing regulations, managing through leadership changes or mergers and acquisitions or layoffs, responding to a crisis, learning about trust-based philanthropy and participatory grantmaking, and more. How we did this work 15 years ago is not the way we’re doing it today and if we truly want to affect change and address so many of the social and environmental issues impacting our communities, we have to be willing to learn new things and adapt our methods.

That willingness to learn is also tied into your ability to truly listen to your community partners. Are you creating community-led solutions? Are you asking your partners what they need? Are you listening to those responses with a desire to learn? Internally as well, do you understand what the driving goals or needs are of your internal business partners or vendors and how your work can support them?

These aren’t skills you can read one book or take one class to show that you’ve achieved them. These skills are a constant work in progress and for me, I’m admittedly better at some days than others. However, these are the skills that I believe are part of the foundation of being an impactful change agent.

What most excites you about the impact space right now?

I am so excited and energized by the community within the social impact space right now! Knowing that there are others out there who are passionate about this work, who understand what it is we’re driving towards, who are cheering you on for every success and supporting you through every roadblock or misstep. This is what gives me hope and energy on the days I may be wondering if what we’re doing matters. There are awesome virtual and in-person communities that I go to for learnings, to share resources and to ask questions. Two of my go-to communities are the Reconsidered Change Hub (thrilled to be a member! 😊) and Women in CSR (having fun serving on the Organizing Committee!). There are also amazing cohort experiences which combine powerful learning in a community environment like the Impact Leaders Incubator and the Sustainability Change Agent Accelerator. The ability to be in community with social impact leaders across the globe and share wisdom from different perspectives plus the power of exposure to different subject matter expertise in the space whether it be corporate, civic, nonprofit/NGO, CSR, DEI, ESG or sustainability is so inspiring and valuable.

This season, our Impact Interviews series features members of the Change Hub, our membership community for busy sustainable business professionals. Tap into trainings, tools and a trusted network of fellow impact practitioners (including Lacey!) by JOINING US HERE.