Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Amelia Quinn. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Amelia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think it takes to be successful?
I spend a lot of time reflecting about success both personally for myself and for the non-profit I lead, BELOVED. BELOVED was launched, when I was 23 years old, from a vision for community where women were able to come together and heal, know their own value and create space in the world for the next woman. Within that initial vision, I spent very little time thinking about what my role would be. It felt like the role of leadership crept up on me and yet, once I realized that was my role, I felt the importance of leading well.
What does leading well look like? The answer to this question varies from person to person. I found myself tip-toeing forward unsure of what success looked like. This is still a question I wrestle with but the longer I lead, the more grounded I feel in what successful leadership looks like for me.
At BELOVED, we prioritize mental health, requiring each staff member to attend two therapy sessions per month. In addition, I personally choose to participate in Spiritual Direction and other practices that help me get in touch with myself. Leadership can hit up against our ego and past traumas in a very specific way. My ongoing work continues to discern: what is mine to hold, what ways can I show up in the most healthy way for the team, and how do I not let my own personal narrative affect the work environment. I’ve learned the number one indicator of my success as a leader at BELOVED is my own health and well-being. The more grounded I am and the more I understand myself, the better I am able to lead.
Success ended up looking the same for me as it does for everyone in the BELOVED community, continually moving towards our healthiest, most authentic versions while inviting others to do the same.
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.
BELOVED is an anti-sex trafficking organization lovingly equipping brave women on their path to freedom. In 2012, I transformed my own journey of pain into profound purpose by launching a home where survivors could live and thrive in community. The saying goes “Home is where the heart is.” BELOVED knows that “Home is where love lives.”
Launching an organization that held my heart was frightening. I questioned myself over and over. However, by connecting with friends in my community, I quickly learned that if BELOVED was going to successfully serve women, I had to learn to trust myself and lead.
We invite survivors into community and forge compassionate relationships that help clients recover the trust that was broken by someone they loved. Our team is made up of experts in clinical care and our programmatic approach is unique. We provide individualized care and trauma informed clinical services that foster restoration. BELOVED’s Restorative Programming has deep lasting impact on how survivors learn to live and love again. Survivors are at the center of everything we do and we believe every woman escaping sexual exploitation deserves a place of restoration within community.
Every woman who walks through the doors is looking for refuge and restoration. Because of my own story of broken trust, I can imagine how difficult it is to choose to trust again and to trust BELOVED.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
It felt like all the stars aligned for Kelley Stagnaro and I to meet. We were both dating guys in the same physical therapy class at Georgia State (my future ex, her future husband). We immediately connected as friends and then all of a sudden, her and her new husband were renting a house around the corner from me. We started walking around Grant Park together and growing our friendship. I mentioned my dreams for BELOVED (at the time it had no name) and I watched her whole body react with excitement around the idea. Kelley had done her senior project in college on starting a home for women who had experienced sex trafficking. We quickly teamed up together to make the dream a reality. Kelley had so many of the skills that I was missing. She designed the first logo, built the website, and created all our marketing materials. BELOVED would not be where it is today without Kelley’s many skills and the beginning of the journey was so much sweeter with her by my side.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
I love thinking back to the beginning of BELOVED and how we got started. I had a family member who invested $40,000 over the first year for us to launch. I will always be so grateful this person believed in us before we really had anything to believe in. We started fundraising through House Parties. Someone we knew would invite their friends over and provide snacks while we went through a presentation that we were overly proud of and constantly asked for people to become monthly donors.
BELOVED is built on the idea that we heal within community and BELOVED was born out of small communities gathering and choosing to invest in this work.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.belovedatlanta.org
- Instagram: belovedatlanta
Image Credits
Photo credit to Mary Caroline Russell