RISING ICON #69: Angel Even

Written By Shelisa Demuth

What name do you prefer to be called?
Angel

What are your pronouns?
She/Her

Where did you grow up?
I grew up mainly in Little Falls, MN, but spent my very early childhood living in South Haven, MN (between Annandale & Clearwater)

What city are you currently based in?
Minneapolis

How do you typically introduce yourself to new people?
Hmm… that’s a hard one. I tend to lead with things that bring me joy, such as; “Hi I’m Angel!  I have the privilege of coaching some amazing humans who are launching & growing their businesses, but I am also more than just the work that I do. I try to fill my free times with things that bring me joy from sewing & making purses, traveling, spending time with loved ones, and trying to remember to embed more life balance.

Who do you help?
I get to wake up and connect with people everyday who are pursuing their dreams.  I provide business coaching support to emerging Black, Indigenous, and People of Color business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs

What are you building now?
I’m not going to lie, I’m so tired of building! But I am excited to share some of the program enhancements we’ve focused on this year.  I’ve spent the last 90 days building out a digital experience for the business owners we support.  We’ve created digital LearnWorlds LMS courses that provide business planning tools, reflection questions, and assessments to assist business owners in creating comprehensive plans. Our SPROUTING Series helps develop business plans, financial projections, and more, while our FLOURISH Together series provides advanced tools for growth and scaling. These resources empower business owners of color to reclaim their voice, genius, and economic freedom. To enroll in one of our self-guided courses, click here.

We’ve also created a physical workbook, 'Fearless Forward,' to support emerging entrepreneurs on their leadership journey. With only 14% of CEOs feeling they have the leadership talent needed (Source: Forbes) and 60% of leaders reporting burnout  (Source: Forbes), we must prioritize strengthening how we lead. 'Fearless Forward' provides in-depth content, 30-day challenges, interactive exercises, and exclusive online resources to develop a strategic mindset and combat burnout. Pre-order your copy here!

What were you building ten years ago today?
10 years ago I was 1-year into my journey providing consulting support for leaders & teams within healthcare.  At the time I was working at Mayo Clinic and had transitioned into the Mayo Health Systems, as a Business Analyst & Bariatric Surgical Reviewer. I’m not going to lie, the initial scope of my role was very different at the time of interviews vs. a few months into my role. I had one of the best leaders and I would say with confidence one of the only leaders I reported to in healthcare who saw something in me and allowed me to run.  I started working on site specific process improvement work within the surgery department from improving on-time start times with morning reports, to revamping how the OR’s billing process from manual process 60-100 days post surgery to in-the room billing which allowed for almost 90% of the cases to be closed & billed for within 30 days.  My role slowly transitioned from site to regional and I led the transition of our inventory management system to Lawson for the region, where my advocacy of the need to include all consignment items within the inventory directory led to a required consideration for all Mayo Clinic Health Systems.  I remember having to write up a SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) to the Mayo Clinic Rochester system team & leadership overseeing the system wide lawson integration implementation. I had the support & backing of our site Administrators, department manager, and our RN department leads. This was a moment that reminded me that I am capable of leading change, no matter what my title is or how others with influence, authority, and privilege try to shrink me.

What do you predict of yourself 10 years from now?
I love envisioning this!  Even though the work I am doing with Led by TRUTH is exciting, fulfilling and important, I also want to make sure I am “thriving” too! Working in this space as a Black women founder of a nonprofit, is not only tiring, but constantly draining. I do not want my work to consume me and I am committed to ensuring that I have the “life balance” that I need and my work is a complement to the life I want to live. I envision myself in 10-years to continue to explore my creative side, shift my hobby of designing purses to another venture that can still fill my need for creative expression without it feeling like a burden. I want to travel with My Love and immerse myself in new cultures. 10-years from now, I no longer want to feel like life is ”lifing”.  I want & will be a place of feeling like I am truly living!

What’s a fact or statistic you wish everyone knew about your industry?
Between 2018 and 2021, less than 4% of funding for Minnesota nonprofits was focused on racial equity, and only about 0.5 percent was focused on racial justice (Source: Black Collective Foundation MN). Only 3% of black women-owned & founded companies mature and survive longer than five years (Source: Forbes). 

Why do you believe the work you do matters?
My work matters because every person deserves to feel psychologically safe to dream, to learn, to fail, and to be lifted from the support around them, especially underinvested communities.  Startups with mentors grow 3.5 faster and raise 7x more money (Source: Forbes). Besides the tangible benefits of mentorship on businesses, the true impact is the benefit of being mentored and supported by other individuals who understand lived experiences of founders of color changes how we view our business models & ourselves. We become more grounded in reality, in the truth that we need to become stewards of our own success. We are able to say the quiet parts “OUT LOUD” without fear of being blacklisted or labeled as, “difficult”.  This work matters because this work speaks to the hearts of those we support. 

Who is your mentor and what is the best advice they’ve given you? 
It took me until 2022 to experience having a coach who looks like me and someone who I can without a doubt have shifted how I prioritize my self-care. Char Dobbs was the spark for me as I wrapped up a year where I was beyond burnt out and started to evaluate if this risk I took was worth reliving my trauma on a daily/weekly basis. Char was this “right in time” reminder for me: 

  1. Stop, recognize,  & receive my accomplishments

  2. Prioritize pouring back into myself, as I do for others. 

What piece of content about you or your company are you most proud of?
I’m proud of our 2023 Impact Report, as it was a breakthrough moment for Led by TRUTH. We’ve supported over 80 Founders of Color since we launched in 2021, to-date disbursed $21,500 of grant funding to our BLOOM Mentorship Program Cohort Founders, and increased our impact significantly by removing barriers for Founders of Color to access our services by cultivating relationships & collaborations with local government & organizations so we could offer some programming at no-cost, which has provided no-cost support for about 90% of the Founders we support. All of these are amazing accomplishments, however; the work to get to this point was not & is not easy. We only secured about 7% of the almost $1.6 million in funding opportunities we pursued (ex. Grants, contracts, sponsorships). We highlighted within the report the fact that white-led organizations frequently capitalize on the expertise of Black & Brown professionals. I have devoted over 3,148 hours  to support other entities while leading Led by TRUTH, which would be valued at $787,000.  This report for me brought a more honest perspective on naming what is actually occurring vs. trying to sugar coat the nonprofit & philanthropic sectors. 

What publication do you hope to appear in next?
Besides ‘Rising Icons’, I would love to be featured in Essence Magazine one day. The Chronicle of Philanthropy is another publication that I follow and has been a publication that highlights the opportunities to transform the philanthropic sector to truly put equity into action. I absolutely love Nonprofit AF and pass along their publication to anyone considering launching a nonprofit, especially individuals of color.

Who would you love to be interviewed by?
Here’s my list without any explanation needed: Issa Rae, Kerry Washington, & Ali Wong.

If you had to give a TEDTalk tomorrow, what would the title be?
“WTF was I thinking?”

What award would mean the most to win?
Well, I’m not much for awards or overdone recognitions (counter productive if you’re the CEO of an organization, I know).  Honestly, what means the most to me is when I get to celebrate past and current Founders we’ve supported who receive their much deserved flowers.  

What makes zero sense to you?
Our electricity bill each winter even with solar. Seriously….Xcel please help this make sense…cough cough…
What’s a word in your industry you hope gets re-evaluated? Just one, huh?  The word empower.  I used to be neutral to the word, until a friend & peer of mine, Beatrice Adenodi challenged me to really evaluate the meaning. Empower means to give someone the authority, power, or confidence to do something. When I look at this, my initial feeling is that I have ZERO power over others and each of us are our own authority over our lives. We do not need permission, we do not need the power transfer over. We have it within ourselves this entire time. My role is to inspire and guide individuals to their own reflection of who they are as leaders. To me, the word ‘empower’ claims too much ownership over the capabilities of others. 

What game are you changing?
I don’t know if I’m changing any games, or if I want to be considered in the ‘game’. Navigating this ecosystem isn’t easy, and living my trauma daily is a reality. But there's a silver lining—I’m moving within my freedom, leading a path driven by purpose, not urgency, fear, or chaos.

What’s the next thing you’re a part of that you want to invite more people to participate in?
I’m excited for some upcoming speaking engagements in partnership with some of my favorite fellow disruptors.  Grid Catalyst is hosting an upcoming workshop series and I’m honored to facilitate a workshop Intro to Entrepreneurship - June 12 Virtual - 1:00-2:30 PM. Signup now by clicking here!  I also will be facilitating some workshop sessions at an upcoming event that ACER will be hosting later this summer for entrepreneurs. Follow us to be informed about the upcoming dates!

Where can we follow you online?

What’s one thing that makes every leader better?
Have grace for yourself, as you do for others!

Other ways to connect with Angel:  

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We’re grateful to each Rising ICON for their transformative work. Thank you, Angel, for sharing your story!

LAUREL is a media relations partner for bold leadership. For nearly a decade, we’ve helped leaders build effective strategies for scale and growth specializing in key opinion leadership and go-to-market strategy for emerging brands. To follow along with the RISING ICONS series, nominate a leader or subscribe to our weekly email newsletter. To accelerate your own rise, get our free guide to elevating your leadership profile, FIT(lite). RISING ICONS is made possible by grant funding from Knight Foundation.

“...every person deserves to feel psychologically safe to dream, to learn, to fail, and to be lifted from the support around them, especially underinvested communities.”
— Angel Even

Notice: It’s important for our readers to understand the origin of the interview content. The featured ICON contributed responses that were not edited from the original submission. All claims are made solely by the contributor and do not reflect the views of LAUREL or its partners. Thank you for supporting innovation leaders. We’re convinced, the future is bold.

Shelisa Demuth https://www.laureldevelops.com
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