Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristy Norbert

Hi Kristy, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?

In third grade, I watched an after school special on homelessness where a social worker jumped in and connected needs with resources. I was hooked!
From then on, I knew that I was meant to be a social worker. It’s the best of humanity. Fast forward 40 years, and I’m living my dream.

It’s a different dream then most, where success is tied to human impact. I went to Northwestern on a field hockey scholarship, being the first generation in my family to attend college. My first job was as a one-on-one social worker on the south side of Chicago making $23,000 a year… and I LOVED it. After getting letters behind my name and spending 25 years in the social sector, I was exposed to the worst human rights atrocity I’d ever encountered: human trafficking. This awful crime involves compelling or coercing a person to provide labor or services, or to engage in commercial sex acts. It’s the darkest of humanity and I knew I wanted to be part of a solution. Enter Empowered Network, which I co-founded with Abby Fabiaschi in 2017. We’re so proud of the positive disruption we’ve caused since!

Empowered Network exists to break cycles of exploitation, by providing pathways for survivors to reach economic freedom. We do this by working in partnership with other organizations, and collaborating directly with survivors who are stable and are ready to be the change agents in their own life. EN believes that survivors are their own solution, but societal barriers stand in the way. Once addressed, survivors achieve self-sufficiency with a path of their choosing. The outcomes are motivating: 95% of graduates have stable housing and the average annual wage increase is $9,863 ($19,179 to $29,042). That’s 51% in less than 18 months! They report increased confidence, more comfort surrounding financial wellness, and a heightened sense of their ability to tackle adversity moving forward.

My career story has been super awesome. I am grateful every day that I was afforded the luxury to choose who I wanted to be in third grade, and had the
resources, support, privilege, ambition, and choice to pursue my own dreams, my way. That should be true for everyone.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

As a white female, I fit all the stereotypes of well-meaning white people. I don’t always look like the folks I work alongside and haven’t had the same experiences. I have learned that, all long as I’m open to constantly learning from people with lived experience, being present and authentic is enough.

Starting a nonprofit, money was an issue… and I don’t mean fundraising to create an income stream for the brand new organization (although that was also a huge challenge). My husband and I both need to work fulltime jobs to take care of our family. When I started Empowered Network, I also worked as a school therapist to pay the bills for the first year. The first time I was able to “pay myself” at EN was 8 months after we launched, which means I worked more than 40 hours a week for free, while working as a school therapist for income, while meeting the needs of my family. It was challenging to juggle all of it, and the demands of every layer… but we made it work. Looking back, it taught me such much about what we are all capable of, how much we can actually do in a day.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?

I love my work. I love going to work. I love being at work. (Except when I have to deal with the accounting.) Empowered Network’s work culture is what I’m most proud of. We embrace our differences, celebrate our strengths, and look to be a part of positive change. We hold each accountable with high expectations and make space for laughter and fun. It is tremendously rewarding working with survivors of trafficking, but they have taught me more about resiliency and the meaning of life than any other previous community I have had the honor of working with. And they were all incredible.

I am truly grateful that I get to be a part of something so beautiful and powerful in our world.

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?

I seek out intense experiences. For example, I decided I liked the outdoors, but it wasn’t enough to just hike or go camping. I spent 45 days on a NOLS trip white water canoeing and hiking in the Yukon Territory in Canada where we did not see another human the entire time.

Instead of traveling through Europe, like many of my friends after college, I immersed myself in an African village working with the Peace Corps, living in a mud hut in Madagascar. I saw Kilimanjaro from the plane on the way over and decided it looked so high – I had to climb it. So I did. I decided I believed in wilderness therapy, and, instead of taking kids on hikes, I became certified as an Outward Bound instructor and took kids on expeditions in the wilderness for 14-30 days! I walked across Spain on the El Camino. I’ve completed a half ironman, marathons, triathlons, cross-fit, really anything that seems hard and
badass. Why? Because I love feeling alive. At work, personally, with my family – I love living to the fullest and sometimes the extreme.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.empowerhernetwork.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/empowerherus/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmpowerHerUs/