A few people shared their surprise when new officers were announced for C3MD. Maybe because Wendy Moomaw, immediate past president, is synonymous for some with Conscious Capitalism of Central Maryland! In fact, Wendy stepping down as president in 2020 was the plan all along! She committed to leading the organization through this re-growth phase for four years. She’s delighted that Eboni Adams Monk will be at the helm of the organization as C3MD’s new president and that the Board is active and strong. And don’t worry, Wendy will still be quite active with the Chapter as a member of the Board and co-chair of the newly-formed Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee. We asked Wendy to share with us some of her favorite initiatives and memories as president of C3MD.
What was your favorite event of C3MD’s while you were president?
It’s so hard to choose. I love how Ignite Howard County brings our community together to share powerful stories that elevate humanity in our community, beyond business — and that’s all on hold with COVID-19. I am most proud of the virtual Conscious Business Workshop series that we created despite the upheaval of COVID-19. Within our organization, we had four members create content about each of the four Conscious Capitalism pillars and paired their content with business leaders who shared how they leveraged that pillar in their organizations. Business leaders included Dan Simons of the Farmers Restaurant Group, Nneka Chiazor of Cox Communications, Christopher Fischer of Land O’Lakes, Wendy Slaughter of Elevate Real Estate Brokerage, Liz Richardson of Indigo Ink Digital Printing, and Josh Massey of Ortus Academy.
What are you most proud of during your tenure?
I am most proud of the commitment to walk the walk and talk the talk with regards to Conscious Capitalism. I’ve observed many organizations espouse one set of values and operate with another and I worked hard during my tenure to ensure we were building our capacity in leadership, growing within our individual selves so we could better sustain all that we wanted to create. For example, we’ve been fortunate to attract wide representation and this is still not enough. Before I left, I was able to elevate the co-lead of the diversity, equity, and inclusion committee to the Board level. Being an anti-racist organization should be foundational to every Conscious Capitalism business and organization and we have to hold ourselves to the same expectations. Creating and elevating this committee ensures we will stay committed to this work beyond my tenure.
What are you most excited about in your “new role” with C3MD (and what will you be focused on)?
I’m excited to move into a membership role on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. Building an anti-racist organization is both morally responsible and is a competitive advantage as demographics shifts in our country over the next 10 years. It takes both commitment and practice to institutionalize racial equity and building it within C3MD ensures that our institution will be anti-racist. I’m excited to be a part of a team ensuring we create this and look forward to connecting with other Conscious Capitalism chapters across the country who would like to do the same within their chapters.
Anything else you would like to add?
As an Executive Coach and systems thinker, Conscious Capitalism of Central Maryland was a nearly four-year immersive leadership experience in a startup organization. I learned to both be expansive in vision and narrow in scope. I learned to lead a team and both honor the history of the organization and to navigate towards a future vision for it. I also learned to be agile and courageous to serve our community despite COVID-19. Thank you to the incredible team we’ve created and to the new leadership in place that will, no doubt, take the organization to another level. It reminds me of the Margaret Mead quote, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.
Where can people find you?
I’ll still be taking part in C3MD activities, for sure. You can still find me at www.wendymoomaw.com, and As some of you may have seen, I’ve been growing the services offered by the Conscious Collaboratory℠ where we offer coaching, facilitation, education, and training to support shifts and changes in leaders and their organizations. For example, we’re transforming how businesses create positive impact by offering our Building Racial Equity into Your Business workshop and created a learning space where we cultivate the potential of Conscious Business Executives to elevate their impact in their organizations. We’re actively seeking partners looking to gather and elevate potential solutions to a broad spectrum of problems in teams, organizations, communities, countries, and the world. We embrace curiosity, agility, and diversity of thought. The deepening divides in the United States and the increased polarization have created a vast crevasse in our country. How might we leverage our differences and create more expansive solutions that serve our collective humanity and the planet? To find out more, look for the Conscious Collaboratory on LinkedIn or Facebook.