Supporter Spotlight: Roopa Seshadri

WOMEN’S WAY wouldn’t be where it is today without the support of our staff, Board, committee members, donors, partnering organizations, Young Women’s Initiative (YWI) members, grantees, and community. In our Supporter Spotlight Series, we are highlighting the individuals who have helped shape WOMEN’S WAY into the Greater Philadelphia region’s leading non-profit organization dedicated to advancing gender and racial equity.

We recently had the opportunity to sit down with one of our amazing board members, Roopa Seshadri. Outside of her role as a board member, Roopa is a quantitative social scientist whose work focuses on the impact of human services programs on health and wellbeing outcomes in vulnerable and underserved populations. In this interview, Roopa shares insights into her involvement with WOMEN’S WAY, highlighting key initiatives such as the Grants Committee, Gender Wealth Index Research Advisory Committee, and strategic planning process. Roopa also expresses hopes for WOMEN’S WAY’s future impact and encourages others to support and get involved with WOMEN’S WAY.

How did you first get involved with WOMEN’S WAY?

I was on the board of PA CASA, and cycled off the board to actually become a CASA. At that point, I was looking for a new board to join because I enjoyed my previous experience as a board member and found it mutually beneficial. I reached out to one of my colleagues at CHOP to see if she had any suggestions about local boards to join. As it turns out, she had just stepped down from the WOMEN’S WAY Board. WOMEN’S WAY matched my interests, so my friend connected me with Diane. That’s how it all began!

Tell us a bit more about your roles on the WOMEN’S WAY Board. Let’s start with Chair of the Grants Committee.

The Grants Committee includes some board members, some non-board members, and Jess, who is the Chief Impact Officer at WOMEN’S WAY. We help review applications for the Immediate Response Action Fund (IRAF) grant. The primary role of this committee includes reviewing applications and making funding decisions. A lot of factors go into these decisions, and, as Chair, I serve as an additional brainstorming or sounding board before final decisions are made. I joined the Grants Committee and became Chair because I could use my personal skills to help assess goals and outcomes of the organization’s grant programs.

As a board member, you also serve on the Gender Wealth Index Research Advisory Committee. Can you tell us more about that?

As a board member, I want to ensure that I’m contributing my skills as best as possible. The committees I participate in are places where I can truly contribute. The Research Advisory Committee is an example of that.

Phase one of the Gender Wealth Index Research Project was recently completed. I’m really excited about phase two. My hope is that, as this research initiative continues, we use the first phase as a learning template. The first phase was very important and taught us a lot about refining the project for subsequent iterations. I’m very excited about the work happening on this committee and looking forward to seeing the products from phase two’s research lead, Alicia Atkinson.

Last September, we shared the results of the first phase of the research project at the Gender Wealth Summit. It was such a wildly successful event. I love it. People want to be there and participate. I was a moderator for one of the tables, and it was a fantastic experience. I’m really looking forward to this year’s Gender Wealth Summit.

You were also a part of our steering committee that is in the process of crafting WOMEN’S WAY’s next 3-year strategic plan. Tell us more about that experience so far.

Yes! I am really enjoying the strategic planning process. I think it’s very important for organizations to invest time and money into doing this right. While it is not something set in stone that you can never change, you need a plan — one that’s been thoughtfully created so that you’re not reinventing things along the way.

Where do you think WOMEN’S WAY is making the largest impact in the Greater Philadelphia region?

WOMEN’S WAY is addressing gender equity at every level: individual, community, and systemic. On an individual level, programs like the Change the Narrative Fellowship are making a significant impact on the lives of individuals. At the community level, the Gender Wealth Institute and Closing the Gender Wealth Gap Forums are creating change by broadening awareness. These are just a couple examples.

Most importantly, WOMEN’S WAY is prioritizing and elevating the importance of talking about equity at a systemic level. WOMEN’S WAY is keeping the topic of gender equity fresh in people’s minds, getting people to talk about it, and seeking to involve a variety of audiences. From my perspective, this is where the largest impact is happening.

What are your hopes for WOMEN’S WAY long term?

I want the organization to be better known and more visible. WOMEN’S WAY is doing such important work, and it needs to be recognized. One of my hopes for WOMEN’S WAY is that it becomes a more recognized institution within our region. With that recognition, I think will come the ability to expand our impact.

In more tangible ways, I also can’t wait for the Gender Wealth Index to be ready to use so that we can explore ways to embed the research in what others working in that field are using and also use it as a metric to assess ourselves and other institutions.

How would you encourage others to get involved with WOMEN’S WAY?

Donate! Donating is so important. Another important way to get involved is to start talking about the work that is going on at WOMEN’S WAY. Our Change the Narrative Fellowship program, for example, is an amazing program that offers a lot of support and equips participants to handle various aspects of their lives. One of the ways I contribute to the program is by talking about it with everybody I know to spread awareness.

I also want to encourage everyone to dedicate themselves to a cause. How can you deepen your commitment to the issues you care about? If it’s through WOMEN’S WAY, once you’ve attended an event like one of the Closing the Gender Wealth Gap Forums, think to yourself, “What now?”

How can you get inspired by that to follow through? If you are of the right age, that could look like joining the Young Women’s Initiative. Whatever it is, if there is something you are interested in, take the responsibility to inform yourself and start by being curious and becoming more informed, and find out where you fit in.

Oh, and also, we need more men to get involved.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I want to say that Diane, Chief Disruptor at WOMEN’S WAY, is amazing. She’s one of the reasons I will continue to stay on the WOMEN’S WAY Board for as long as I’m allowed. I am in such awe of her, and she is an amazing leader. In fact, the entire WOMEN’S WAY team is amazing!

Learn more about Roopa and the other WOMEN’S WAY Board Members here.