Vanecia Kerr - Mile High United Way
Thirlby Co. Leader to Learn From: December 2023
December 6, 2023
In November of 2020, Vanecia Kerr became the chief impact officer of Mile High United Way (Denver), the first United Way organization that was founded in 1887. Outside of work, Vanecia serves on five local nonprofit boards and is an active member of the International Women’s Forum of Colorado and The Denver Chapter of The Links, Incorporated.
Vanecia’s journey into nonprofit leadership began in July 2011, after working in the corporate sector for over 20 years. At TIAA, Vanecia was responsible for implementing their corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy across more than 20 offices. While she was doing meaningful work, she found herself desiring a change. “I discovered that writing the foam check and standing there to take a photo wasn’t enough for me,” Vanecia explained.
After helping bring City Year to the Denver market, Vanecia went on to serve as their managing director of marketing, communications, and development, and later took on the role as regional executive director at College Track, before joining Mile High United Way.
In March of 2023, Vanecia was named the 9NEWS Leader of the Year, for her outstanding community leadership. “I was shocked,” Vanecia reflected on the event where they announced the winner. “I didn’t prepare anything! The other [nominees] were incredible. I reached back into my toastmasters pocket and came up with three points of what I wanted to say.”
Read onto learn more about Vanecia’s pivot from the corporate to nonprofit sector, how she approaches balancing her personal and professional commitments, and how imposter syndrome impacted her at the beginning of her career.
OUR INTERVIEW WITH VANECIA
You have a unique professional journey of having worked in the corporate sector for over 20 years, and then making a career pivot to the nonprofit world. What prompted that pivot?
Before I worked at TIAA, I was in the sales industry doing B2B sales. My last role at TIAA was in the CSR (corporate social responsibility) space. They were looking to build a CSR department and I had an opportunity to build and execute a CSR platform. I was responsible for 20 offices, helping them demonstrate their commitment to the community. It was an exciting role, but it also demonstrated the real need in the community to me from a different lens. The need was so great.
The more I learned about different nonprofit organizations, I discovered that I wanted to do more at the grassroots level and make a bigger impact on my community. I had to have a conversation with my husband and it took me 18 months to figure it out. I was very fortunate to be put in touch with City Year, and was responsible for the process of bringing City Year to the Denver market. Eventually, they asked me if I wanted to work there.
We consider you some kind of superhero, between being a mom, a business executive, and a community volunteer. How do you manage to balance all of your commitments so well?
It’s just not possible to do everything all at the same time. People like to say: “You can do it all.” I don’t know if that’s true - not at the same time, but maybe throughout your career you can. When my son was very little I wasn’t involved with all these boards, and my job was less demanding. As he grew up, my career was growing at the same time. I had to clearly define mom versus work time. I have an incredible husband who was definitely a partner. We figured out who is doing what.
I was able to pivot as my son got older, and take on additional roles. Today, I am on five boards and am also the chief impact officer at Mile High United Way. My son is also in college. Family first is always the thing for me - my family is the priority and everything else is in addition to that. It is very rare that I am going to do anything work related on a Saturday - it’s quality time for me and my family, and it’s my time to recharge. I also believe in taking care of me. Sometimes that includes a private day to myself with a massage and lunch then other times I may be in my PJs all day.
My favorite thing about you, Vanecia, is your presence. You have a really kind presence and warm energy to you that makes others feel comfortable, and fosters trust and psychological safety. What do you think makes you this way?
It comes from how I grew up. My mom was very much like that. She passed away 15 years ago, due to breast cancer. She is the person who instilled within me this innate desire to support the community and treat people with respect and ensure that everyone has a sense of inclusion and belonging. We treat people how we want to be treated. Also from my dad too - he was always trying to help people.
I very much believe that it’s important to treat people like you want to be treated. Throughout my career, I started doing reflection, and capturing what I learned from each manager I’ve had - it’s the culmination of a lot, good and bad. What inspired me and deflated me. Leaders sometimes forget that they were at a place where someone else was leading them, they were the junior staff member or “in the cubicle.” I never want to forget that. It’s really important to remember where you came from. I’ve been at places where people took credit for the work I did, so I am very sensitive about giving my team members credit and recognizing their efforts and accomplishments.
This year you received the incredible honor of being the 9News Leader of the Year - a very competitive award in Denver. How did it make you feel?
I was shocked - literally. They had given us instructions ahead of time that we would find out who won at the event that day, and we were to write an acceptance speech ahead of time. I didn’t prepare anything! The other people were incredible. I reached back into my toastmasters pocket and came up with three points of what I wanted to say.
Switching gears to our seven leadership questions - how would you define confidence?
Confidence is a belief in yourself and in others, that you or they would accomplish what they set out to accomplish. I look primarily at the people around me. As a leader, I have to have confidence knowing that the people placed around you can get the work done.
What is your mission or purpose in life?
My mission is to support the community in an authentic way and it’s about supporting the people around me to reach their full potential.
What is your greatest superpower as a leader?
I have a tendency to see things that others may be missing. It’s a value that I add to boards or being in rooms where decisions need to be made. Have we thought about this? For instance, we are building an Early Childhood Education Center in our building at Mile High United Way, and we were having a conversation about the design of the building. I asked people a question during a key conversation, and it made a difference.
Tell us about a time that you failed as a leader. What did you learn from your experience?
First off, I’ve failed many times as a leader. I definitely fail a lot and I’ve also had a tremendous amount of success. With each failure, I’m really focused on what I learned from it, and don’t make it again. I don’t think there’s an issue with failing - it’s an issue if you don’t learn from it and make the same mistake again and again.
Also, as a manager, there have been times where I’ve given people the benefit of the doubt and realize that may not have been the right thing to do - I should have asked more questions, and because I didn’t, it led to a larger consequence, such as losing revenue. You can trust your people and also get more information to confirm that things are getting done.
What is something that might surprise people about you?
People see me as a confident person whose career just fell into place. I’m a first generation college graduate. My parents were working class, blue collar. When I started my career, I was entering into environments that my parents had not been into. I had a lot of uncertainty about how to show up in spaces, and had no background about how to present myself. I wasn’t always so sure that what I was doing was the right thing. I had imposter syndrome.
It did take me a long time to get to certain places. I am way more confident now than I was coming out of college and entering the workforce. My parents were always so encouraging. A pivotal moment for me was knowing it’s okay to not have all the answers all the time, and it’s okay to ask for help. I learned to pursue mentorship. Everyone needs mentors.
What advice would you have for someone who is struggling or feeling stuck right now in their life or career?
Get a good mentor. To never give up. Tell yourself that you can get through it. Trust your instincts. I love the Maya Angelou quote about when people show you who they are, believe them the first time. I’ve learned to keep people around you who are bringing you light. The others, you can let them go.
What is one piece of advice you would give to your younger self?
To really be patient and realize that everything happens for a reason. At times I felt like things were moving slow, and what I realized later was that it was moving at just the right speed. It was because of that timing that I am where I am today.
Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Trust that everything happens for a reason, and believe in yourself and your abilities. Know that you can accomplish whatever it is that you want to accomplish. Your dreams can become a reality. Part of that is working hard, surrounding yourself with the right people, and believing that you can do this.
About Vanecia (She/Her)
Vanecia Kerr is the Chief Impact Officer at Mile High United Way. In her role, she is responsible for developing, leading, and implementing Mile High United Way’s program strategy that advances the mission and creates sustainable community impact. This includes overseeing a portfolio of six programs serving over 12,000 people and the distribution of funds to nonprofits and small businesses totaling over $5M while simultaneously engaging community, government, and business leaders to ensure continuous evaluation, learning and effectiveness.
Prior to joining Mile High United Way, Vanecia served as the Regional Executive Director of College Track Colorado as well as the Managing Director of Marketing, Communications and Development for City Year Denver. Ms. Kerr started her career in the corporate sector and spent over 20 years in a variety of leadership roles. However, it was through her experience in developing and implementing the community relations strategy as the Regional Director of Community Affairs for TIAA-CREF that she was truly inspired to spend the next half of her career dedicated to addressing the needs in our local communities.
Ms. Kerr has been recognized as the 9NEWS Leader of the Year by the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation (2023), Woman of Impact by the American Heart Association (2022), one of the Top 25 Most Powerful Women by the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce (2018) and one of the Outstanding Women in Business by the Denver Business Journal (2018). Currently she serves on the Board of Directors for the Newman Center for Performing Arts, Hope Communities, Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation, Denver Public Schools Foundation, and Denver Academy.
Ms. Kerr is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (a public service sorority), The Links Incorporated (Denver Chapter), International Women’s Forum of Colorado, and several other organizations. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Hampton University in Virginia and a master’s in public administration from Baruch College at the City University of New York (CUNY). In her spare time, she likes to volunteer, serve in her local church, watch movies, and enjoy the many activities that Colorado has to offer with her husband and 21-year-old son.
About This Feature
Leaders to Learn From is a standing feature in The Thirlby Company’s monthly newsletter that recognizes outstanding leaders in our community who embody our company’s core values. You can learn about our other honorees here, or subscribe to our newsletter to receive this feature and more inspiring content in the future.
