Creating Wins-Wins for My Community: Melanie Curtis

What made Ellevate stand out to you compared to other professional networks?

I met Kristy Wallace (Ellevate CEO) at a women's luncheon in 2016 in New York where she spoke on a panel sharing about Ellevate's mission of gender equality in the workplace and championing women in business. As a professional skydiver working many years in a male-dominated area, and as a life coach entrepreneur who had only been in co-ed mastermind groups, the Ellevate mission struck a chord in me. It felt like something I could really be a part of in a way different than I'd been in any other community up to that point in my career.

Ellevate’s culture of inclusion, positivity, education, championing others, and building win-wins stood out to me far and above other communities. The women I had already met through Ellevate magnified the benefits, so I dove in head first and joined as an Executive Council member. Simply knowing I have this massive freaking group of fierce like-spirited women in my corner has been huge for me.

How have you grown as a professional since joining Ellevate?

I have grown as a professional since joining Ellevate by making so many new connections, deepening those relationships, getting new ideas for my own content creation and for my own brand, learning new things and reinforcing core lessons I heard from new voices. I was chosen to be a featured speaker in my local Chapter and was able to give back to a young woman in my network by gifting her an Ellevate membership. Gifting this membership gave this young woman an opportunity, while adding value to the existing Ellevate community.

Earlier this year you were a guest on the Ellevate Podcast. What was the reaction from listeners and from your network? 

Sharing my story on the Ellevate Podcast was an opportunity for me to give back to a community that had already given so much to me. I have spoken on many podcasts over the years and it's always a win-win – I get to learn from the experience and listeners can connect to useful stories and skills. My audience thought it was awesome for sure, hearing my story and seeing me connecting with an all-women's initiative.

My experience on the Ellevate Podcast helped me launch my own podcast, Trust the Journey. It was super enlightening to see the Ellevate process for producing such a high-quality show.

I'm also going to speak on the Ellevate podcast for the second time this Fall to share how much I have learned since becoming a member. I’ll share the power and impact I've felt by immersing myself in a community of powerful, positive women as well as how I've used that energy to inform my business choices in new ways.

What advice would you give to new Ellevate members to help them be successful in the community?

You'll always feel the fear doing anything new, especially when you’re pushing yourself to get out there and meet people. 

Breathe through that, get out the door, and get to the events in your area. Not just one time, but as much as you can to build real connections and relationships over time. Add value to others wherever you can. 

Breathe and enjoy it all! And please reach out and say hello anytime! I'd love to meet you too and I'm happy to help in any way I can.