Meet Michelle Harper: Texas Strong Woman of the Month

This month’s Texas Strong Woman of the Month is my dear friend (and mentor, of sorts)–United Way of Hays County CEO Michelle Harper. Michelle and I met shortly after the flood relief shirts fundraiser took off and became fast friends.

Meet Michelle Harper

I adore her bubbly, encouraging spirit and her deep, authentic passion for improving the lives of her family, her friends and her community. Michelle Harper lives near San Marcos with her husband Greg, their 7-year-old son, and their enormous Golden retriever.

Texas Strong woman of the month

Favorite title(s) for yourself

The title I like best speaks to both my purpose and passion. I am first and foremost a mom and, almost just as importantly, I am the CEO of an organization that works every day to lift people out of poverty. For that reason, the title I like best is “Executive Mommy!”

I try to find a balance between work and home.

Some days are harder than others, but most days that balance is found in being with my child and teaching him why I do what I do.

Toughest lesson or challenge

This was the hardest question to answer. I have had too many tough lessons in my career and in life but there is one that always stands out. It is the challenge that led me to United Way.

I was working at a previous position, one that I loved. My mentor had left, and I truly thought that I had a shot at his position, one I now know that I was not qualified for but at the time I thought I knew it all. My new boss joined the organization and I had a bit of a chip on my shoulder. I didn’t get the position, and I didn’t understand why everyone’s world did not revolve around my/their jobs. After a couple of months, the tension in the office between my new boss and me got to a point where I had to leave a job that I loved. I was very hurt and didn’t understand why this had happened.

I ended up reading Joel Osteen’s Your Best Life Now, and it changed my way of thinking and life. I can look back now and know that the challenge that I went through led me down the path that I was supposed to take. I learned how to be more humble, how to be more graceful and that not everything is about me or my job. This challenge made me grow into the person I am today and led me to my passion–United Way.

Proudest accomplishment

This is a hard one, because I want to say that my proudest accomplishment has not happened yet. There have been many proud moments in my career and in my home life.

I am extremely proud of the work that I did to lead my organization through a new endeavor for us–disaster response and recovery.

In the past, when natural disasters have occurred in our service area, United Way of Hays County (UWHC) has taken a backseat to disaster recovery organizations.

Following the Memorial Day Weekend floods and then the All Saints flood in Hays and Caldwell Counties, UWHC–with my leadership–stepped up to lead volunteer and fundraising efforts. We were able to raise over half a million dollars for flood recovery in 6 months, which is more than we raise in a whole year for our annual campaign.

Prior to the flood recovery efforts, I am proud of the fact that I helped to lead our United Way down the path of changing from just a fundraising organization to one that is creating lasting change in our communities in the areas of education, income and health. I am so very proud to wake up each day to fight for those in our community who need a helping hand and those who can’t fight for themselves.

At home, I am so very proud to be raising a 7-year-old little boy who has a giving heart and a fighting spirit.

When he came home at the end of the school year this year and told me that he and one other boy in his class donated all of their leftover school supplies for a mission trip to Mexico so that other children could have crayons, markers, etc., my heart swelled. It was then that I realized that the work I do every day and the work that he sees me do and hears me talk about is wearing off on him.

I hope that THAT will be my proudest accomplishment in life–that my son grows up to walk in my footsteps and continues to make a difference in people’s lives.

I wake up energized every day to do the work I do, and it is my hope that one day my son will do the same!

Role models or mentors

I have many people that I would consider role models and mentors, and this list has changed over the years. My very first mentor would be David Santos, who was my boss at Central Texas Medical Center during my very first public relations/fundraising job. He was a man of great faith that taught me what it meant to be a servant leader, and while we are not in touch as much as I would like us to be, I still consider him to be a role model.

Within the United Way world, I have a few people that I look up to and admire. Stacey Stewart, the United Way Worldwide U.S. president, is a woman that I greatly admire for her commitment to our organization, for her grace, and for being an example of how to be a great executive mommy.

Rosie Allen-Herring is a woman that I call “My Rosie Full of Grace.” While I have only known her for a short time, I admire her grace, her passion and leadership. She is someone that I can turn to when I am facing a difficult situation and need guidance on how to handle it compassionately yet firmly.

Anna Murphy is another great role model for me. She knows the work so well and is so passionate for it that I can’t help but be inspired by her. She is also a close friend and confidant that I am so glad to have in my life.

Afira Devries and Lauren Ellis are two women who have seen the good and bad sides of me and inspire me to be better each day. The strength that they show both personally and professionally are why they are both my role models and my friends.

Locally, my role models or mentors are my former and current board chairs, Kim Porterfield and Michelle Hamilton. Kim has taught me how to be more politically correct, how to put on my “big girl” panties and get the job done and how to handle delicate situations with more grace and tenacity. She has been a guiding light as I learn our community and what it takes to facilitate change. Michelle Hamilton teaches me every day how to fight for what we believe in. I admire her for fighting for her son, for fighting for quality education for every child and for fighting for what she wants professionally.

I think the reason I admire all of these women so much is because they have been able to balance being a mom or caregiver with also being so successful in their careers. I aspire to have the grace, courage, tenacity, grit, determination, passion and leadership that they show, not only in their professional life but at home.

Best advice for newbies

Wow, this one is hard. I tell my female interns that they will need to work twice as hard as their male counterparts. They will need to be able to show grace under fire. But, if they do, they will make it out of any situation on the other side better than they were before.

Nonprofit work is hard but so rewarding. It isn’t for everyone!

I tell young people that I work with through my job:

Find your passion, and when you do your job, it won’t be a job!

How you’re building community

I think the very nature of my job builds community.

I work with people every day to create solutions to our communities’ most pressing needs. Whether it is physically helping a family rebuild their flooded home or meeting with lawmakers to advocate for dollars to be spent on education, my job is to build our community up.

I fight every day for every person in every community that we serve.

I connect people to resources and connect resources to organizations. By doing this, I help create networks across generations, income levels, races and ethnicities throughout our communities.

Quote or verse you live by

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.

Proverbs 3:5-6

I love this verse because there have been so many times in my life that I have not understood why things happen but I know in the end they all happen for a reason, HIS reasons. I have to remind myself of this verse though quite often!

And a saying that I live by is:

Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, except backwards and in high heels.

I really love this. I started my career in fundraising at an early age and by 29 was the CEO of United Way of Hays County. Especially in a relatively small town in Texas, I have had to prove myself as a woman and as a YOUNG woman. It’s funny, the older I get the more comfortable I am.

Some women hate to get older but I LOVE it. I feel with each year that passes, I become more of myself, more of the person I want to be.

Favorite nonprofit(s) I support

United Way of Hays County will always be my favorite nonprofit.

It is not just a job; it is a passion and a calling.