Lisa Rosenfelt is the co-owner of Ivy Street, a co-working space as well as a client services manager at Diamond + Branch Marketing Group. In her free-time, she volunteers as the managing director of Girls in Tech in San Diego. She is motivated by her passion for women to join the local tech industry and thrive.
Find out how Lisa follows her passion in the Find Your Passion Career Podcast!
“One of the biggest passions that I have is to create these opportunities for women and underrepresented groups to join these industries, tech and entrepreneurship, and get the support and leg up they need to be successful,” said Lisa.
In creating Ivy Street, Lisa brings forth her passion and strength in creating community experiences. She and her husband saw a need for people to have a space to work from home but in a creative and collaborative environment.
“It’s taking people who might normally work from their houses or homes alone and bringing them together both so that they can learn from each other and have colleagues but also a place where you can have events and bring experts in and everyone can learn and grow together in a co-working space.”
Lisa began her career journey studying neuroscience at the University of California San Diego, and went on to get a PhD in neurolinguistics. During her doctoral program she realized her true passion didn’t exactly align with a career in research. Instead, she was happiest in creating the community events for her peers.
“If I was being honest to myself, probably the biggest value I brought to my doctoral program was in planning the open house weekends and the community involvement pieces and the parts where all the grad students gathered for brunch and studied together so that we didn’t feel so lost and alone…”
However, after graduation Lisa followed a linear path with a postdoctoral position in research. After her two years in this position, her passion pulled her back to the idea of community.
“It really started with volunteerism…going to different organizations and meet-ups and meeting people and volunteering my time and seeing what was available in the community.” This passion for community and volunteerism led her to opportunities such as Girls in Tech where she has become managing director after starting off as a regular volunteer.
Now in her day-to-day Lisa chases these passions as she meets with contractors to discuss building Ivy Street and leads networking and learning events at Girls in Tech. She also brings her strengths to Diamond + Branch, a women owned digital marketing agency with a clientele focus on women-owned, underrepresented-owned and other passion-driven companies. As a client service manager, Lisa connects the marketing team and the client to help each company get their message out and further their cause.
Showing up and following through
On the podcast, Lisa’s advice for those looking to move into a leadership role is to show up and follow through.
“Showing up and doing the things you say you are going to do, making the commitment and following through is one of the most significant things you can do to show not just your passion but your ability to be trusted and moved up the ladder into leadership.”
She recommends looking for opportunities to network with people who have similar interests—and you shouldn’t have to look too far.
“Whatever your passion is, there is probably a group of people that is meeting to talk about it and learn about it and network about it and you often get others who are looking to hire that come to these groups specifically looking for the right person for their job.”
How can you get more involved in your community? Learn from Lisa and seek opportunities where your strengths can shine.
Download our podcast interview with Lisa here on iTunes!
Once you’re inspired by Lisa’s story we would love to read your review. Thanks so much!
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