Wisdom of WOC: Interview with Alisha Fernandez Miranda

Wisdom of WOC: Interview with Alisha Fernandez Miranda
 

The Wisdom of WOC is a weekly advice column where the WOC Community can submit its questions about fundraising and philanthropy, and have them answered by our founder, Yolanda F. Johnson, and special guest editors from the WOC community.

 

From Our Mailbag


Q: Someone’s Gotta Give explores the tension between career ambition and personal identity. From your own experience in philanthropy and leadership, what advice would you give to women of color who are juggling visibility, values, and vulnerability at once?

A: I appreciate this question so much because this is a real challenge faced by so many women of color in every field. It is tough out there, and with 20+ years in my career, I have still not nailed this balance.

What has always helped me is finding a community of like-minded women; if you can’t find them within your company or organization, find them outside of it. I have been so fortunate to rely on my circle of brilliant women- friends, mentors and colleagues - who have been there when I needed a sounding board, a shoulder to cry on (or get angry with) and even a bit of tough love. The struggle feels like more of a struggle when you do it alone, that’s certain.

I loved writing the Sooz character for this exact reason. Sooz works in a totally different industry to Lucia, my protagonist, but she enters every room wearing her values with pride and without apology. Lucia finds friendship, inspiration and unconditional support in her relationship with Sooz; but Sooz also calls her out when she feels Lucia has lost her way – this, to me, was a real relationship. I’ve had people do that for me at different points in my career; I’ve done it for others. I wouldn’t be where I am without my community of supportive women.

 

 

Q: Your novel blends sharp humor with emotional honesty. Why was it important for you to use storytelling and laughter as a way to unpack the real costs of burnout, womanhood, and power in the impact space.

A: In my life as a philanthropy advisor, my words are thoughtful, carefully chosen and my criticism is measured. I work hard to create a big tent that includes lots of different voices; I like to call people instead of calling them out. For me that sometimes means thinking through when and how to best engage with people to get the outcome I want.

But in fiction there is no need to do that. I could think about what I might love to say or do in situations like the one above and write it for Lucia: no consequences and no risk. These things - being the only Latina in a room, trying to be a good mom and great at your job, even the fundamental paradoxes behind the philanthropy world - are hard to talk about. So it was entirely freeing to write about these issues that I know so intimately in my real life as fiction.

As I got to know my characters, especially Lucia, I was able to lean into the fun, the joy and the humor of the universe they occupy, and reflect critically in a way I’d never have been able to do before. Storytelling allowed me to play with these experiences in a creative way, untethered from the constraints of reality.

 

 

Q: What emerging trends or priorities are shaping IG Advisors’ work right now, and how are you helping clients center equity in a time when public trust in philanthropy is shifting?

A: Like everyone, we are doing our best to adapt to this new and complex landscape and to support our clients as much as possible. Particularly, we are hearing almost without exception about both direct and knock-on effects of the sweeping reductions in government and development funding. Need is growing while investment is decreasing; it’s a perfect storm and unfortunately the people best poised to help–the organizations who have been working tirelessly for years, decades and more– are in survival mode.

Centering equity is core to who we are and how we work. We are focusing as a firm keeping our foundational principles front and center. And we cultivate and sustain long-lasting, meaningful relationships with our clients and partners. Having strong foundations means that when times are tough, we can be trusted partners; and if we offer advice or guidance that feels hard, or challenging, we are listened to and respected. We’re so grateful to have so many people in our network who are leaning in, rather than out, to help at this difficult time for our sector.

I also, in a small way, hope that the people who read Someone’s Gotta Give who don’t work in philanthropy close the book having learned more about the power of nonprofits and how much we need and rely on them to do good.

 

 

Q: You’ve navigated bold transitions from strategic advisor to author. What encouragement do you have for women considering a pivot or reinvention, especially those who feel bound by expectations of “traditional success”?

A: My first book. My What If Year, is a memoir detailing the year I spent exploring unpaid internships in the dream jobs of my childhood while I took a sabbatical from my job as CEO of I.G. Advisors. It was an incredible experience - I got coffee for Broadway actors, posted on social media for a retro dance fitness company, researched contemporary art to buy and sell for a dealer and served customers (poorly) at a rural hotel in Scotland.

The year changed my life, not just my career, in large part because it showed me that I had always focused my time and attention on areas where I knew where I could succeed, disregarding options with high chances of failure or rejection. But in doing these internships - many of which I was very bad at - I realized that I could define success any way I wanted to. For me, that became about learning, trying new things and chasing moments of joy wherever I could find them.

My advice for women considering a pivot or reinvention is to DO IT. While there are many real barriers to trying something new, many of the biggest risks are perceived, not actual; they exist in your head and are guided by fear. And if you are afraid - a normal feeling, by the way - know that very few choices in our professional lives are permanent. If it doesn’t work out, what’s the worst that could happen? At least you’d have a great story to tell.

 

 

Q: If you could have dinner with any three people, living or historical, who would they be and Why?

A: Right now the thing I crave most is time with my family and friends in real life, not just on a WhatsApp message group. So I think I’d want to take three of my best girls - Laura, Vanessa and America - out to dinner.

 

 

Q: If philanthropy had an official cocktail (or mocktail), what would be in it and what would you name it?

A: Well, in the novel, Lucia is quite partial to a “Cocotail” served to her as a welcome drink when she arrives at a (fictional!) high-end philanthropy conference on a (fictional!) private island:

Our cocotail is made of coconuts foraged from our own trees, a splash of fair-trade lime juice, and rum, produced by a phenomenal social enterprise funded by the Sunbliss Foundation based in Guatemala.

Delicious and just a tiny bit snarky - what could be better?

 

This Week’s Expert

Alisha Fernandez Miranda

Chair
I.G. Advisors

ALISHA FERNANDEZ MIRANDA is the award-winning Cuban-American author of Someone’s Gotta Give. Her first book, the memoir My What If Year, featured on Good Morning America, and was a best new book in People Magazine and the Boston Globe. Her writing has been published in Vogue, Marie Claire, Shondaland, and numerous other publications. 

Alisha is the current chair at I.G. Advisors, a leading social impact agency that consults the world’s biggest non-profits, including the Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation and UN Women. Alisha is a graduate of the London School of Economics and Harvard University, and speaks on women’s empowerment, social impact and sustainability. 

She currently lives in Scotland with her husband and children.


Got a Question?


Got a question about fundraising or philanthropy? Are you a woman of color non-profit professional with a question on career growth? Don’t be shy! We’ve got the answers. Send them our way.

 
 
 

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