Surprising Career Paths and Real Lessons on Kindness with Ginny Finn

Celeste Cuffie sits down with Ginny Finn, attorney, philanthropy executive, and Chief Development Officer for the MATC Foundation. With an unconventional career spanning law, leadership, and community work, Ginny shares her journey of embracing authenticity, seizing unexpected opportunities, and finding purpose through connection.

She opens up about learning from early mistakes, saying “yes” and “no” with intention, and how growing up in Milwaukee shaped her perspective on kindness and humanity. Tune in for an honest conversation on authentic leadership, personal growth, and finding joy in the path that’s uniquely yours.

Episode Highlights: 

05:55 – And the question is, how do you handle that opportunity? And that's kind of like all of life, right? I mean, you don't really know. That's the thing, I guess, is about "growing up," right? When you're 22, you think you can script absolutely everything. And I don't think that's a bad thing because it gives you drive and it gives you a sense of curiosity, et cetera. 

12:50 – 37th and Lloyd was a great place to grow up, despite the fact that it wasn't a perfect place to grow up. And you are gonna be more prepared for life than most adults that you meet... We had a parish priest who apparently sat down, the families, including my parents, and said, please don't leave. And I didn't understand any of this till later on when it was explained to me.

41:38 – I think it's embracing is simply being open to the human being you cross paths with today... And I really think sometimes empowering is recognizing when it's the right time to step to the side. That doesn't mean you don't take pride in your own work. It doesn't mean that you are always on the side or that if it's inappropriately and you've been pushed, that's not the same thing.

Guest Bio
Ginny Finn brings over 20 years of experience in business and nonprofit leadership, with expertise in healthcare, higher education, and the arts. A corporate attorney by training, she has advised healthcare systems, physician practices, and numerous nonprofits.

Ginny has served in key leadership roles including Executive Director of ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis, CEO of YWCA Southeast Wisconsin, and Interim Executive Director of Present Music. Her consulting work spans organizations like the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Arts@Large, and Legal Action of Wisconsin.

Currently, she serves as President of the Board for Professional Dimensions and Renaissance Theaterworks, and as a board member of the Wisconsin Policy Forum. Ginny holds degrees from Coe College, Purdue University, and the University of Wisconsin Law School, with additional studies at Harvard Business School and George Washington University.

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