Bio for Judy Lynn
For 13 years, Judy Lynn was CEO and founding president of Women Building Futures, an organization dedicated to helping women find employment in careers where women are under-represented. During her career journey, she has collected many accolades and brought together women who were looking for better jobs with employers who were searching for skilled workers.
Episode highlights:
On women in the trades: “Money doesn’t buy everything, but it certainly brings peace and security to a person’s heart. It’s my responsibility to get women to that point of saying – I can do it and I can make a hell of a living doing it.”
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Childhood incidents:
Judy Lynn’s childhood was one of unending worry and poverty. She was fearful, and desperate to get out of poverty and make sure her adult life would not be like her childhood.
Groups you were born into:
By facing reality and deciding that it was up to her to make it work, Judy Lynn was able to move out of her survival mentality. She learned to get a job, work and save money to ensure her financial independence and freedom.
Groups you chose to belong to:
The first time Judy Lynn heard the vision of the Women Building Futures founding members team, she realized that all her career had led to this moment. She found herself being able to offer something that no one else could do.
Temperament and personality influences
Judy Lynn combines her tenacity with tolerance, empathy and a non-judgemental attitude towards others. She says, “Judgment seems to be part of the human condition and we need to be aware of it and work against it.” She had to learn to be helpful to others and to ask for help. When she started working with WBF, she had to adjust to being more empathetic.
A time I became aware that my way of doing things was cultural and specific to my cultural experience
Judy Lynn says she was very hard headed and business oriented, made decisions by herself and kept moving towards the goal. When working with social workers she found it challenging to work collectively, listen, and reflect.
Advice to an employer to work with me
“Don’t dismiss what senior employees can offer. Even though I’m officially a geezer, I hope that employer will believe that my long life of experience has value and recognize that I have something of value to bring.”
More great insights from our guest!
There is a big difference between people who are surrounded by family that encourages and engages with them and people who don’t have that.