Above Conniel Malek, Executive Director, True Costs Initiative (TCI) is photographed with two TCI partners who are experts and advocates from Honduras: Gerene Grant, Bay Islands Development Organization (BIDO) and Inclusion and Preservation of the Afro English Speaking People (IPABESP); and Laura Palmese Hernandez, environmental lawyer & partner, Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide. You can also learn more about their work in this video produced by TCI. (Photo credit: Firefly Imageworks)
Here is our interview with Conniel, who shares about her journey into social impact, her work at TCI, and career advice for others.
Q: How did you get connected to the True Costs Initiative?
I worked for Alcoa Inc. as a corporate attorney for ten years. I led several M&A transactions and negotiations globally, and also managed foundation matters for Alcoa Foundation and legal matters related to capital projects, procurement and technology & research teams. While I found the work compelling from a practitioner perspective, I found myself feeling as though I wanted to work for a bigger purpose. I knew that corporate law was not where I wanted to land long term. So it required quite a bit of visioning to determine where I wanted to go next. I knew the color and texture, but not the shape of where I wanted to land. I had to be honest with myself about what brings me joy and excitement. For example, I realized that when I negotiated contracts in Global South countries, I deeply valued the time I spent outside and around the negotiating room. I learned so much from meeting with the folks on the other side of the negotiation table about their culture, country and their priorities.
As part of my process, which was approximately a year and a half, I conducted 10-12 informational interviews, while I was working full-time. I would take short trips from Pittsburgh to Washington, DC and New York, to talk to individuals who worked with unions, international development banks, government agencies, etc. It’s not that I thought any of those organizations would be a good fit for me, per se, but I wanted to hear about what brought these individuals joy in their work.
It occurred to me that philanthropy could be a career option for me, but I had no connections. As luck would have it, someone from the philanthropic community reached out to me regarding the True Costs Initiative because they felt the Executive Director role would be a good fit for me.
What I learned from this experience: Be patient with yourself. Develop a plan and be intentional, while making the space for feeling things out and putting what you want out to the universe. Sometimes things come to you because you’re prepared for the luck that comes to you.
Q: Please share about True Costs Initiative.
Our starting point is that the true cost of corporate profit is borne on the backs of people and the environment in Global South. To address this and bolstered by grant recommendations, True Costs Initiative builds strategic partnerships and collaborations to advance two main focus areas:
- Strong legal systems in the Global South
- Corporate accountability, which is absolutely not the same thing as corporate social responsibility (CSR)
Quite a few organizations focus on corporate accountability in some way, but if you focus on corporate accountability without the strong building block of a legal system where people believe that their laws are fair, just and created to advance their interests is like building a cement house on sand. Through our work we draw the link between corporate accountability to just and equitable legal systems. Very few organizations in this space focus on both of these areas and so we have a bit of a niche.
In hiring me, my employers saw the opportunity to bring on an Executive Director who could really consolidate and clarify vision and mission centered on corporate accountability and have someone with legal expertise and a mix of skills and background that would be uniquely additive to the business and human rights space. They did not just look to predictably hire someone with a philanthropic background or prior years of grantmaking experience. Their bet has paid off.
Q: What do you find fulfilling about your work?
I’m energized and I’m deeply inspired because of the work that our partners are doing on the ground. At some points, the stories related to the challenging issues they are working on can be disheartening, but I am constantly inspired and hopeful because of the incredible work TCI partners do every single day to protect people and the environment. My work fulfills me because it’s about learning about the world and finding ways to make it better. I find effective and impactful organizations and connect them to mechanisms and resources to do even more.
Other aspects of my work that I enjoy are communicating and engaging in thought leadership, including talking to funders, potential partners, and other stakeholders and also writing articles and for the TCI blog. This role is a great fit for me because it fits well with both my personal ethos, my personality and my broad skill set. That’s the dream.
Q: Do you miss anything about working in the private sector?
I do not miss the private sector, but I am extremely grateful for how my private sector experience, especially challenging moments, prepared me to do this job. I have no regrets about working in the private sector, and I appreciate what I learned about power dynamics in the world and about corporate/ legal culture.
Q: What are some challenges of your work?
What’s hard is that because there’s finite funding available, inevitably I have to say “no” to a lot of people. That’s hard. I strive to deliver that message with care and compassion. I also think creatively about whether there are introductions, interactions or other ways (other than recommending a grant) where TCI can support or expand an organization’s work. In many ways, these can be more important than grant recommendations because those interactions build lasting relationships of trust, help these organizations feel valued, and expose them to new networks and collaborators.
Q: What do you wish you knew before you started working at True Costs Initiative?
Two things:
I was very nervous about my profile as a previous corporate lawyer and how that would come off in the human / environmental rights space. Many women, including women of color, second guess what they have to offer and worry about perception. They want to fit in perfectly – they ask themselves, how can I make myself more appealing? I wasted some time worrying about what people would think of me. If I could, I would have advised myself four years ago to not worry about that. I’d tell myself, “You know your own intentions and people can only judge you for what you do and how you show up in spaces. Just bring your true self.” I brought my true self into spaces, I believed in the depth and breadth of what I had to offer to the space and people saw that and embraced my expertise.
Don’t worry too much about not knowing everything about philanthropy (or any field) going into the job. Learn on the job, you will learn what you need to but most importantly feel free to do it your way as well.
Q: Life lessons learned: Any other general advice you’d like to share about careers?
Trust yourself and that you have something unique to offer. It really is true. Trust that feeling of yours that what you have to offer to the world is valid. What would prevent you from making your dream job a reality? Trust that you have the capacity to change the world and take the steps, however small, to make it happen.
If you enjoyed this blog post, please join the Social Impact Yodas LinkedIn Group to receive notifications about new posts as well as job opportunities related to social impact.