If you had to pick just one thing that Dr. Nancy and Mission Matters’ CEO and founder, Adam Torres, have in common, it’s their belief in the power of stories. Dr. Nancy knows that when we share our stories, we always find a connection and a way to support each other, and Adam has made amplifying stories his life’s work.
Both Adam and Dr. Nancy agree that everyone has a story worth sharing. With this belief, Mission Matters and Women Connect4Good are partnering on a new anthology with a select group of women built around the “women helping women” theme. This book is only the second all-female anthology Mission Matters has produced to date. Their first book was Mission Matters Women in Business, which featured the stories of 18 women and covered everything from turning your passion into your life’s purpose to the importance of empathy in leadership.
To discuss the soon-to-be-released book and much more, Adam recently traveled to the Southern California Equestrian Center to meet with Dr. Nancy and record an episode of his podcast. During the interview, Dr. Nancy gave Adam a tour of the center, introducing the horses and discussing the book project—which will be released later this summer—along the way.
Adam is currently featuring each of the participating women leaders on his podcast and amplifying their individual stories, presenting their collective vision and building to the release of the book. Dr. Nancy explained that the co-authors were chosen based on the amazing ways they are making a difference and working for the betterment of the world.
“Every contributor to the book is one of those people,” Dr. Nancy said. “I’m proud to be with them, and I’m proud to know them. I know each and every one of them is making a difference every day in their lives.”
He and Dr. Nancy also shared their love of podcasting. Adam likes to be surprised and enjoys the unexpected connections that come from a podcast. For example, he reviewed the trajectory of Dr. Nancy appearing first on his podcast, then he appeared on hers. Now they are doing a book together, and he traveled to SCEC so she could be on his podcast again.
“For me, it’s really about the relationships. I probably develop a relationship with 99% of the people who appear on my podcast. This community continues to grow, and that’s even more exciting. We need each other more now than ever,” Dr. Nancy said.
Continuing that topic, Adam asked Dr. Nancy about her collaboration with the ERA Coalition, which represents over 300 organizations supporting the Equal Rights Amendment. She said she’s still surprised that so many people don’t realize that the ERA has not been amended to the Constitution and made law. “It’s been 100 years since it was first introduced, but is sitting in Congress waiting to be passed. Equal pay, education, medical, safety, and security—equality is something that we all deserve. Once the ERA becomes the 28th Amendment and is published in the U.S. Constitution, then we’re going to have to put it in a lot of work, because a lot of people will have to be educated about what true equality means.”
Towards the end of their conversation, Adam asked Dr. Nancy what women could do to help. “Get involved. It doesn’t take a lot. Look around your community and see what you can do to help. Get involved,” she said.
To do that, Dr. Nancy encouraged everyone to go to the Women Connect4Good and Mission Matters websites and check out the books and resources available. She also urged women and men to get involved in the Lift Women Up campaign. “When you lift someone else, you lift yourself. Lift as you rise.”