In celebration of WGA’s 25th anniversary, we’re launching a special series featuring conversations with our past presidents, reflecting on their leadership and the legacy they helped build.
Mary Pietan was the ninth Member of WGA to serve as President, from 2019-2020. Near the beginning of her term, the Covid pandemic hit and transformed everyone’s lives. Mary discusses the adjustments WGA and the organizations we serve made and speaks to the importance of education in our organization’s mission.
Describe your WGA journey. What brought you to the organization, and why did you decide to serve as WGA President?
I was one of the 63 women Courtenay Wilson asked to join when WGA was founded in 2001. For me, WGA was all about education. I was eager to learn more about the needs of our community while working with other women. That is what WGA is all about. Our mission is about women and girls, yes, but it is also about teaching women about philanthropy and making philanthropy accessible to more women. A woman can join WGA and her giving will have an exponentially larger impact when it is part of our organization and our commitment to strategic philanthropy.
In terms of how I became WGA President, I was originally slated to follow Julia Taylor, but a family member became very ill, so I stepped back and Paula Liang stepped up. When things settled down for me, I was able to become President in 2020, after Ellen Wiss. In the meantime, I took on other roles. In the very early years, I served as chair of the relatively new Communications Committee where I worked on the newsletter, and I also served on the Grants Committee.
You were WGA President during the Covid pandemic. What was that like? Do you have any memorable stories from that era and how WGS responded to the rapid and major changes Covid demanded?
This may sound strange, but for us, Covid was a blessing in disguise because it really helped us to see the needs of our community and strategize ways to meet those needs. It also forced us into the 21st century! Many of our Members had never used Zoom, but by making our meetings virtual we were able to involve more Members who were working women and couldn’t take two or more hours off work to drive downtown for a meeting.
Covid also helped some of the organizations we work with reach their communities better. Some agencies found that the people they served actually felt more comfortable talking to people on a screen than they did in a room full of people. Covid also helped us to realize the technological needs of our community. If a family had multiple children being homeschooled, each child needed their own laptop, and we were able to help fill that need. I loved being President during Covid because I learned so much.
Do you have a favorite memory or special story to share from your time as WGA President?
My favorite memories are related to getting to know people. We had these breakfasts during the summer for WGA leadership and the Directors of the various agencies we serve, many of whom are women. The Directors told us that they learned so much about other organizations in the community at these gatherings, including how they sometimes overlapped and were doing similar things. When Covid hit, and many of those agencies started to lose funding, they were able to work together to coordinate referring clients to each other. They had those connections and that knowledge of other organizations in our area because of meeting at WGA breakfasts. That was a favorite memory of mine.
What is one of your favorite things about WGA?
One of my favorite things about WGA is the opportunity it gave me to spend time with younger women. Socially, we tend to hang out with people like us, people our own age. I loved getting to know the young women and seeing how very capable they are. I love mentoring others. I was willing to serve as a co-Chair, as long as someone else was learning to step into that role. I would work with a younger Member, but then I would step back and see her take on a leadership position with confidence. It was a great honor to see young women take on these roles. I never felt like I was being pushed out of the way. It was rewarding to watch them see the importance of this organization and take on leadership roles.
What do you see or wish for the future of WGA? What would you say to a woman who is on the fence about joining or getting more involved?
In terms of the future, I am inspired by the fact that we see so many more women philanthropists internationally, nationally, and locally. For me, WGA is all about education. If a woman is on the fence about joining WGA, all she has to do is come to one of our meetings. Once you learn how much need there is in our community, what local organizations are doing to meet that need, and how our strategic philanthropy can fill that gap, it is hard not to do something. If it had not been for WGA, I would not have known about the vast majority of agencies in our community. There are a few big agencies that everyone has heard of, but there are also so many smaller organizations that are doing such great work. For a woman on the fence about joining, I know that not everyone can afford $1,500 a year. Maybe a woman has expenses related to kids or other things in her life right now. But once she knows about what we do, I think she will want to join as soon as she is able. With collective giving, you are able to accomplish what you never could by yourself. Think about it: WGA has given over $10 million to our community. None of us could have done that by ourselves, but together we have such a significant impact.