We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Katie Callahan Neginskiy. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Katie below.

Katie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

I had been day dreaming of this organization for about eight years before I took any action. It always seemed just a little out of reach, because I was not sure how I could balance a new enterprise with time for my family. Additionally, I could not wrap my mind around sinking money into a physical office space for a venture I could not guarantee would succeed; A physical office seemed additionally daunting considering I aimed to work with international clients.

Two big shifts changed my thinking about founding the organization I had been dreaming of. First, the pandemic hit and broken open how we all think of our workspaces. Suddenly it seemed feasible to at least begin the organization from my home and then consider a physical space down the road, once the operation seemed viable. This made both the time and monetary commitments seem more realistic.

Secondly, in 2021 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. At the time, I was working a full time job. I continued to work throughout chemotherapy, radiation, and multiple surgeries, by taking intermittent FMLA time as allowed. While my employers were gracious about the time I needed, FMLA barely covered the time I needed for treatment, certainly not the time I needed for the physical and emotional recovery work required once I finally reached the stage of “no evidence of disease.” I decided to quit my job shortly after completing treatment, and take time to physically and mentally regroup. After months of rebuilding, my priorities became clearer and the organization I had dreamed of did not only seem possible but it seemed like something I must do in that moment.

Now that the International Women’s Resource Center will soon be turning one year old, it seems the timing was just right for embarking on this venture. While the days are often long and my to-do list is never ending, I am energized by the passion I have for the work and I feel empowered by managing this project in my own way.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is Katie Callahan Neginskiy and I’m the founder of the International Women’s Resource Center. I am currently based in West Los Angeles. I have a Bachelor’s in International Relations, a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in ESL, and a second Master’s in Refugee Protection and Forced Migration Studies.

For the past 15 years, I’ve worked in adult education and refugee
resettlement in multiple countries. After surviving breast cancer, I decided to create IWRC to
address gaps in existing systems and help refugee and immigrant women grow and thrive.

I grew up in rural North Carolina. My parents worked in Oncology–my dad was a doctor and my
mom was a nurse–and they both spent long hours outside the hospital ensuring that their
patients had secure housing, healthy food, access to emotional support, and opportunities for
joy. They understood that their work in healthcare did not exist in a vacuum–they needed to
support the whole person, not just “the patient.” This ethos stuck with me as I began my career in adult and refugee education. My students wanted to learn English but they were burdened by housing issues, healthcare, justice, and
safety. Over time, I learned how to navigate these issues and help my students not only with
their English language skills, but as people finding their place in America.

IWRC is a space of support and community for refugee and immigrant women. We focus on
adult education, health literacy, workforce preparation, family literacy and community building,
including personalized support services. Each focus area overlaps, and if these areas are addressed, the benefits extend not only to women but to their families and communities. One third of Los Angeles residents are foreign born according to the latest census, and this number is probably underreported. While English language learning is a cornerstone of our program, the other content areas are just as crucial. Health Literacy is pivotal, as women face issues regarding cancer, sexual/ reproductive/ maternal health, domestic violence and gender based violence, and mental health. Workforce preparation is important because statistically women still are underemployed and underpaid, and they take on considerably more unpaid work. Family Literacy is also crucial, in order to support children’s education, introduce social emotional learning and growth mindset, and to provide free activities for parents and children to enjoy together both virtually and throughout the city in order to build joy. While we understand that the foreign born women we serve are already powerful and resilient, our aim is to provide education to help them reach their goals and create safe spaces for women to exist fully, foster community, and share their own tools for success. This safe space is important for women to receive and share tools for momentum, success, and joy. We are based in Los Angeles, but we also have international programming as well.

IWRC also has a social entrepreneurship business under its umbrella, called Curiosity Literacy. Curiosity Literacy designs custom English Language acquisition classroom materials for adults. It can be a challenge to find quality materials for adult ESL classes. Adult education teachers often spend a lot of time creating, editing, and supplementing their classroom materials, because most ESL materials: are designed for children, are not trauma-informed, do not include appropriate real-life content and contextualization for adults and their specific goals, and are not designed for online teaching. Curiosity Literacy provides materials that are fun, engaging, and motivating for adult learners that also provide contextualized instruction in the areas of workforce preparation, citizenship, family literacy, health literacy, and community-building. All proceeds benefit the International Women’s Resource Center.

IWRC often addresses tough problems, but we have so much fun with our participants as well. We have a great team of volunteers who help us facilitate programming. We are always recruiting new volunteers as ESL tutors, Workshop leaders, Mentors and more!

If you have multiple revenue streams in your business, would you mind opening up about what those streams are and how they fit together?

The International Women’s Resource Center has a braided funding structure, which includes donations, government grants and funding from foundations.

IWRC also has a social entrepreneurship business under its umbrella, called Curiosity Literacy. Curiosity Literacy designs custom English Language acquisition classroom materials for adults. It can be a challenge to find quality materials for adult ESL classes. Adult education teachers often spend a lot of time creating, editing, and supplementing their classroom materials, because most ESL materials: are designed for children, are not trauma-informed, do not include appropriate real-life content and contextualization for adults and their specific goals, and are not designed for online teaching. Curiosity Literacy provides materials that are fun, engaging, and motivating for adult learners that also provide contextualized instruction in the areas of workforce preparation, citizenship, family literacy, health literacy, and community-building. Curiosity Literacy also provides teacher trainings. All proceeds benefit the International Women’s Resource Center. This consulting firm helps fund portions of IWRC programming that are difficult to cover with traditional grants.

We are also planning on opening a cafe in the future, which will also fund IWRC programming and will offer employment opportunities for our clients.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

When managing my team and maintaining high morale, I keep two things in mind. First, I always strive to keep passion and enthusiasm for the mission at the forefront. Everything else seems to fall into place as long as we all keep focus on the why. Secondly, I strive to maintain a highly flexible work environment that accounts and allows for my team members’ complex lives outside of work related tasks. I believe both of these components are key for avoiding burn out. Additionally, I keep some elements of transformational change in mind when thinking about any projects, whether they include big changes or they are routine tasks. Below is a link to a matrix about change that I refer to ofter, whether working independently or as a part of my team. I know that for any task, project, or change to be successful, I need to ensure my team has: a clear mission and vision, the necessary skills, obvious incentives, the proper resources, and a thorough action plan with a timeline. If any of these components are missing, this can lead to confusion, anxiety, slow change, frustration, and/ or false starts. Therefore, for my team I always keep these puzzle pieces in mind and ensure that we are both keeping passion for the mission alive while still allowing for time to take care of personal lives outside of work.

https://cliweb.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/TransformationalChange2-1.pdf

Contact Info:

• Website: www.iwrcenter.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/internationalwomenscenter/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/internationalwomenscenter
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/international-women-s-resource-center/?viewAsMember=true

Image Credits
NA