Saying Yes to Your Voice

What if I get it wrong? What if someone questions my credibility? What if I fumble?

I've watched incredibly talented women wrestle with those questions.

And speaking at the Women's of NAHRO breakfast, I asked myself the same thing.
I've also watched affordable housing leaders stay behind the scenes because they believe their work should speak for itself.

I understand that.
But when you stay invisible, you don't get to control the story people tell. Or the industry you represent.

I know what happens when people make assumptions about affordable housing. I know what happens when they reduce a family to a file, or a housing subsidy to a handout. And I know what happens when someone says YES. Someone said yes to housing my siblings and me. That decision changed the trajectory of our lives.

I can't afford to keep that story to myself.

It’s why I share the work, the lessons, and the people behind the progress.

Why I grab the microphone, fumbles and all.

And why I wrote AUDACITY.

You don't have to feel ready. You just have to decide your voice matters.

And as a leader?

Make sure the people around you know theirs does, too.

That's Audacity in action.