Leaders Navigating Inclusion in Tech Need to Hear This | Jean Westrick's Framework

In this episode of Building Leadership Community, Coach Dora Mendez speaks with Jean Westrick, CEO of the Technology Association of Grantmakers (TAG), about leading at the intersection of technology and equity.

Jean shares her journey in philanthropy, her approach to mission-driven leadership, and why community is essential for navigating uncertainty. Together, they explore how leaders can build authentic executive presence while leveraging technology for social impact.

Timestamps:
00:00 – Introduction
03:54 – Guest Introduction
07:51 – Career Journey
12:14 – Community & Leadership
15:04 – Community as Antidote
17:30 – Leadership Advice
18:25 – “Be Cool. Be Sweet. Be Yourself.”
21:07 – Authenticity in Leadership
24:30 – Where to Connect

Key Themes:

• Authentic leadership
• Community-driven leadership
• Technology and equity
• Career growth and purpose
• Executive presence through authenticity

Connect with our guest:
Jean Westrick
President & CEO, Technology Association of Grantmakers (TAG)
Leader in philanthropy, technology, and equity-driven innovation

🔗 Guest Links: 
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/JeahWestrick
https://tagtech.org
TAG Tech on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/technologyassociationofgrantmakers

Subscribe, share, and join the conversation.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome back, amazing leaders, to another powerful episode of Building Leadership Community Podcast. I'm your host, Coach Dora Mendez. Today we're diving into a conversation at the intersection of technology, equity, and transformation, three forces that are reshaping the future of leadership and social impact. Our guest is a visionary who understands that technology isn't just about innovation, it's about access, equity, and community. She spent two decades building bridges between people and possibility, leading digital transformations that don't just change systems, they change lives. I'm thrilled to welcome Jean Restrich, the Chief Executive Officer of Technology Association of Grantmakers, also known as TEG. She's a change management leader and a champion for equity in STEM education. By the end of this conversation, you will walk away with fresh insights on how to leverage technology as a tool for equity, strategies for leading transformational change in your organization, and a renewed understanding that innovation and inclusion are not just compatible, they're inseparable. This episode is your invitation to think bigger about how technology can amplify your impact strategically, equitably, and boldly. So let's settle in, take a breath, and get ready. Roll credits. Hello, and welcome to Building Leadership Community Podcast. I'm your host, Dora Mendez. I'm the founder and CEO of Coach Door LLC. Our guests will be entrepreneurs, small businessman, and community leaders that drive Coach Door. It can be lonely at the top, but it doesn't have to be. It means so much that you join us week after week for these conversations, that you continue with us through season three. It can be lonely at the top, but it doesn't have to be. That's why we started this podcast. If you are new to the building leadership community, we are so glad you're here. Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe so you never miss an episode. Say hi in the comments, reread every single one of them, and reply to every single one. If you're watching us on YouTube, please hit that subscribe button so we can continue to bring you great content. We have a great resource to share with you today. If you're facing a setback in your career or navigating a transition that feels uncertain, you don't have to rebuild alone. Sometimes you need a structured, clear action plan to help you take the next step with confidence. That's why I created the Career Relaunch Checklist. It's a complete, self-paced action plan designed to help you relaunch your career with clarity, resilience, and purpose. This powerful checklist walks you through every stage of your relaunch, and it's only $19. You'll get AI upskilling tools to help you stay competitive in a changing job market and future-ready strategies to rebuild with confidence and direction. Whether you're recovering from a layoff, shifting industries, or stepping into leadership, this plan gives you the structure you need to move forward with intention. Your comeback story deserves support strategy and a clear path forward. The link is in the description. Let me tell you about our guest, Jean Restrick. She's someone that I that is a client. She's a coach door client. And I hope, I hope that she would say that we've become friends in this process. And I and she's become someone that I really admire. She's the CEO of Technology Association of Grantmakers, as we fondly call Tag Tech. Tag is a nonprofit organization that cultivates the strategic, equitable, and innovative use of technology in philanthropy. But her impact extends far beyond any single title. Jean brings two decades of experience building communities, leveraging technology, and leading innovation and programmatic strategies prior to her role at TAG. She was a director of IT strategy and communications at the Chicago Community Trust, where she led change management efforts for the foundation's 6 million digital transformation initiative. While at the trust, Jean also directed On the Table, an award-winning engagement model designed to inspire resident action that was replicated in 30 cities nationwide. A longtime advocate for equity in STEM education, expanding technology access, and increasing science literacy, Jean holds a bachelor's from Michigan State University and a Master's of Science from DePaul University. And today, Jean is here to pour into you. I am so honored to welcome the innovative and inspiring Jean Restrick. So with no further ado, let's bring her on to the stage. Hello. Hi Gene, I really do mean it. I mean, you're not just like technically you're my boss, right? You're my client, but you also have become just really someone I've whose leadership I truly admire. And I'm so happy to welcome you on the show. And congratulations on elevating um to chief executive officer. I'm so um overjoyed for you.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

Thank you, Dora. Um, can I call you Dora or do you do you prefer me to call you Coach Dora?

SPEAKER_01 6:25

Uh Dora works great.

SPEAKER_00 6:28

Um well you have you have certainly been a coach to me, so I I I appreciate that title that you have that you've taken on yourself. Um yes, I um I'm so grateful uh to be sitting with you here two years after starting with the Technology Association of Grant Makers, initially as its executive director and and and its third executive director, um, and then recently being um recognized as the um its first chief uh executive officer and president, um, which I'm I'm so grateful for. Um this is an incredible time to be leading this small but mighty organization who um really works at that um that important part of of leveraging technology to advance change in service of mission. And so I'm I'm grateful to be here to talk to you about that.

SPEAKER_01 7:22

Thank you so much. So I'm so thrilled because you know this is our third season at Building Leadership Community, and you technically, you are our first, technically, technically, you are our first uh guest who really sits at the center of philanthropy and technology. And I would love for you, I know we shared your bio, but I would love for you to tell us in your own words, um, share with our listeners and our viewers your unique leadership story.

SPEAKER_00 7:51

Yeah, no, I think I think that's I I you know, people often ask this, and like, how did you get here? And um, I am, you know, I'm uh not to give away my age, but a a lover of those 80s movies. So if you remember uh Say Anything when Lou Dobler said, you know, what do you want to be when you grow up? The the this big question. And he's he says, I don't want to sell anything or buy anything or process anything as a career. And he had this whole sort of monologue about that. And um, I have to say that that really resonated with me. Um, and I'm I'm grateful that I have been able to spend my entire professional career working on mission. Um uh, you know, on the big ideas that that really can bring about positive change. Uh because at the heart of of what I, you know, what I how I show up every day is as an optimist that we can do better. Um, and so um, you know, taking, you know, tactically speaking, I started my career in philanthropy almost 25 years ago. Um, I was a young, ambitious, you know, um uh young woman who wanted to change the world. And I saw this opportunity at the Joyce Foundation here in Chicago, um, and I became a program assistant where I supported the grant-making efforts of of that organization, which is a which uh is a huge funder here in the Midwest um and supports a number of causes. But um, you know, I was really just um just struck by this, you know, coming from a blue-collar background, this idea about philanthropy and the role that philanthropy pays plays in um in uh really I think in three in three central tenets. Like there's this idea around um, you know, creating positive change and and and doing that with a spirit of generosity. Um and then, you know, and then also ultimately this uh this focus on the North Star of Justice. And so those three uh themes that we find in philanthropy really spoke to me and inspired me that I can uh contribute to supporting change makers who are striving to make the world a better place. Um and so that really uh planted a seed in me 25 years ago, and that has really helped dictate uh you know my own career choices. I I've actually turned down jobs um that paid more because the mission on another opportunity resonated more, more, more with my own heart. And so um, so I've used that to guide my own choices. Um, am I taking on ambitious projects that are going to help me learn and become better? And then am I also gonna contribute to making the world a better place? Um, you know, we're here for such a short time. Um, and and time is is that is that uh non-renewable resource that we have to hold precious and how we spend our time really has to be important.

SPEAKER_01 10:54

I love that, Gene. I appreciate you sharing that so much. And uh we have that in common. We have two things. There were two things in UC have in common. One, we love 80s movies. Say anything is one of my favorite movies ever. Um so uh thank you for sharing that. Um and then the other thing is we spent I've spent my whole career in the public sector and government and nonprofit and now philanthropy. And so, and part of that was because I always felt that you're gonna you spend so much time at work, um, away from your families, so much time at work that I truly believe it should be for something that uh is it's in service and is so we share this purpose-driven, nothing against people who want to make money and work in corporations and all that, but I we share this like purpose, mission-driven in common. And so I would I would love to, besides 80s pop culture, um, I would love for you to share what community means to you. You know, leadership can be lonely and isolating. Um, so here's kind of your opportunity to share some wellness tips and why community is so important to you.

SPEAKER_00 12:13

Oh, that's that's such a good question. And um, you know, pro prior to uh, you know, becoming an accidental techie, um, uh, because before I joined Tag, I was at the Chicago Community Trust, which um, you know, having worked for a big private foundation, the Joyce Foundation, and then going to a community foundation, um, they they serve, they they serve in different ways. Um and and community foundations are really about responding to community need. Um and I had the the great fortune of joining the Chicago Community Trust um as part of its centennial. It's one of the oldest community foundations in the country. And so uh being able to tell that story of community and how community shows up in purpose and through generosity can make big things happen really um has inspired me. Um I got to be this the director of civic engagement um for the foundation, its first director of civic engagement, um, where I led a project called On the Table, which was a day of civic reflection and dialogue. Um we had that, it was a huge uh initiative. It was our largest public-facing initiative that we did at the Chicago Community Trust. Um, and it was an opportunity for everyday residents to come together, break bread, and talk about what matters to them and what, you know, what what they value and need in community. Um and we had a whole host of other activities around that. Um, that model of civic engagement, community engagement, in in ways that are different than, you know, say political engagement, but the things that connect you to your neighbors and what you share in common, you know, really did inspire me. Um and that uh also inspired about 30, I think 35 communities across the country use that model to have their own sort of listening opportunities with residents.

SPEAKER_01 14:01

And so, you know, I like I like that. So when so community, what community means to you is bringing together your neighbors. Um and uh and you found inspiration in that. So I I I love that notion of bringing together neighbors and then being able to rec replicate the model of how to bring um neighbors together um is just really is is fascinating to me.

SPEAKER_00 14:36

Um yeah, I I think um, you know, we're we're we're living in in pretty divisive times, and and and that's unfortunate because you know, with division, we're not solving problems. We're not solving the things that really matter at the heart of each and every one of us. And we share a lot more than we than than we differ. Um and so we're we're in a time where there's a lot of anxiety, there's a lot of uncertainty, there's a lot of change that is happening. And so I really do believe that the antidote to to that anxiety is community. Um, and so that you know, that's something that you do you do not need to be a CEO of a small nonprofit like like I am, in order to tap into your community. Um your community can be geographically located by the people who live in your building or on your block. Um, but also too, it can be it can be um your your chosen community too. And so um, you know, this where I sit now at this space, you know, in the leading an organization that that um is the global voice of philanthropy tech, um, I've got members across the country who um are trying to do really powerful big things, whether it be, you know, address homelessness or housing crisis or you know, um poverty issues or improve educational outcomes, whatever their sort of challenge is, we're all doing it in service of our community, however we define that. But being able to come together and to and to be able to just have genuine conversation um means that we're not doing this alone because we're because no man is an island or woman um is an island, but we're we're we have to do it um in collaboration and we have to do that within our community um to make change happen.

SPEAKER_01 16:28

I love that nugget that community is an antidote to anxiety. Uh I just love that. I love that nugget, and I think um our listeners and viewers will will, you know, that's a really great um highlight considering the context of the times that we live. And so um just building on that, I'd love to pivot a bit and ask you specifically, you know, what advice do you have for the next generation of leaders? And and what and would that be something you would tell your younger self when you first started early in your career? You know, what what advice do you have to share? Because you you certainly have amassed like a huge you know, dossier and a wealth of knowledge and putting ideas into real impact. So I think, you know, I would love to hear your advice to next generation of leaders.

SPEAKER_00 17:29

Um yeah, I think I think a lot of this comes back to community in and of itself. And I'm, you know, I um I'm so grateful, you know, going back to this 80s movie moment, it's just like I'm I'm so grateful I grew up in an analog era and and now, you know, I'm um, you know, I've got a foot now in both camps of of what it was like and uh in a in a simpler time. Um uh, you know, because we are so we're so um much behind the screen. Um and and sometimes the way in which we communicate can be very, very transactional. Um and so and I I try to I try to try to be the um the leader that I had hoped that I had had, the the somebody who would coach, who would give me uh you know good advice, um, be a cheerleader, but also be able to give direct um feedback. Um, because I think that that helps us grow, um, is when we can give constructive feedback. Um, but I also come back to a motto that I have for for myself and how I how I try to be is first, you know, be cool, be sweet, be yourself. So number one, be cool, stay calm, you know, like not everything is an emergency. Don't trace drama. I'm I'm uh absolutely hyper-allergic to drama. Um you know, how do we stay super focused on our purpose and maintain that cool head because cool heads will prevail? You'll do your best thinking and your best actions when you're calm. And so trying to just don't be so reactive, be cool. Um be sweet. You know, there uh we are again acting in our best self, our best interest when we act with a spirit of kindness and generosity. And you don't have to know everybody's story because there's a lot of things that people are holding on to that they're dealing with, that they're juggling with in their daily daily life. And try to give people grace, try to show up with kindness and generosity. This doesn't mean that you need to be a pushover. Um, you know, I think that there's there's there's gotta be a balance there, but try to lead with sweetness because you can't put the kitty back in the cage, you know. So don't don't go out there. You have to really sort of stay cool, try to try to show that you are are leading with best intention and and and understand that people are trying to do their best as well. Um so be be kind. Um and then I I I think the last piece is be yourself. Um you know, I I think we can get way too much in our head about what kind of leader we should be, how we should show up, how we should talk, act, walk, look, whatever the thing is. And you know, we're you know, we're in in a time where authenticity is your is your golden ticket. And so when you can lean in and really be yourself, um your experience, your perspectives, your voice, which are true, truly uniquely yours, those are your invaluable gifts. Um, and so leverage your gifts um in a way that that that that honors your your true self. Um I I never invited more anxiety to my own life when I tried to act like somebody else or tried to, you know, model myself off of somebody else. Um I think that when you're authentically you, you're gonna shine and people are gonna connect to that because people are are hungry for authenticity in this in this day and age where we're seeing a lot of AI slop and a lot of uh a lot of transactional conversations and things, just you know, how do you um maintain honor to your own true uh experience? Because that diversity is really, it's your superpower.

SPEAKER_01 21:38

I love that. That is our uh that is one of our uh in our description of the Building Leadership uh Community Podcasts, we have authenticity is is a superpower that is in the description of this podcast. And so I love that. Be cool, be Be sweet, be yourself.

SPEAKER_00 22:02

Be yourself.

SPEAKER_01 22:03

I love it. Be cool, be sweet, be yourself. Um, and so that's great advice. Uh, and uh, I just were you aware, Gene, that uh slop is the 2025 word of the year.

SPEAKER_00 22:21

No, I did not know that, but um like there's a lot of slop out there.

SPEAKER_01 22:27

The word Miriam Webster, this this was just announced like a night ago, uh, you know, at the this this recording's gonna be in 20, this recording's gonna air in 2026. But um this is December. We're recording now. You're in Chicago, I'm in New York, just for our listeners and and viewers to to know sort of where we are geographically. Um, and it's December 2025. And the word of the year, Miriam Webster's word of the year is slop, and you mentioned AI slop.

SPEAKER_00 22:58

So well, you know, I am I I I am a thought leader, Dara. And I do have my own tech trends that I'm that I'm proposing for the philanthropic space. And um Yeah, I hope that I hope we produce a lot less slop um and a lot more intention that helps move community forward because um the need never could never be greater. And um the the the work the work remains, regardless of the tools that are out there. Just because we can do more doesn't always mean we're gonna do more better. Um, and so I I I just I think that this intentionality has to be our our guide as well as our purpose has to be that that North Star that we we stay focused on. It's easy to get distracted.

SPEAKER_01 23:47

Gene, I have to just thank you so much for coming on our little show um and for taking the time. I know how busy you are because I work with you. Um, and uh I I'm I'm just I'm so proud and happy to showcase your thought leadership, to showcase um what a North Star you are as a person uh to the world and with our audience with our viewers. And can you share with our audience viewers how if they wanted to learn more from you, um, how they can keep in touch with you, how can they learn more from you? What would you like to leave our audience and viewers with?

SPEAKER_00 24:30

Um, well, you know, you can find me on LinkedIn. I'm Gene Westrick, and and I and I think I'm the only one. Um, but uh but I'm easy to find there. Um you can also follow uh the Technology Association of Grant Makers on LinkedIn as well to learn more about our programming and our mission. Um and if you are a foundation um who is struggling with things like um developing a data culture to really leverage data for good insight and decision making um and just managing your data in a way that really powers your mission and positively jointag. If you are trying to manage complex risk and dealing with where to start with your cybersecurity program, join tag. Um, and and finally, if you're thinking about leveraging technology to really transform your organization and leveraging AI, which is everywhere these days, in a way that is going to really honor your mission and your vision, join tag. So um, so I I think that's a that's a call out. If you are a grant-making organization, um, you know, check us out, tagtech.org. Um, and and certainly feel free to reach out to me on on LinkedIn. Um, I'm always happy to hear from folks uh out there.

SPEAKER_01 25:44

So, Gene, thank you so much again. And I I want to share from you you this is a great audience for that pitch, because uh before us meeting with you, we actually had a head of development for uh community foundation. So uh this is a great audience uh for tag and for and for you. And uh you heard it here. Be cool, be sweet, be yourself, and join tag if you care about supporting um community at the intersection of equity and technology. Thank you so much, Gene. Um, I'm gonna ask you to hold on as we roll our closing credits. Thanks, everybody. You've been listening to Building Leadership Community. Watch on YouTube at CoachDora and listen wherever you get your podcast. Follow me on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube at Coach DoraM. Visit me on the web at coachdora mendez.com. Hosted by me, Dora Mendez. Produced by Dora Mendez and Dylan Rogers. Graphics, editing, and sound mixing by Dylan Rogers.