We recently connected with Becky Migas and have shared our conversation below.

Becky, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I started my career in the entertainment and concert industry at the age of 20 while interning at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH, so that I could own a car in college. I worked at the front desk and answered phones during events. I eventually worked my way into becoming an intern and taking on more and more responsibility within the marketing department. While working at the arena and going to college, I also took on a second internship and part-time job at a concert venue. It was during these years that I found my path to loving event production. In 2008, I decided to leave my home state and headed to Missouri to get my MBA and where I found my second love in life, sustainability. I was having lunch one day with a professor and telling him all about my love for recycling and he said, “you should do your thesis on sustainable event management.” At that time, this was a really new concept, but it made me so excited for the prospects. After I graduated, I continued combining my love for events and sustainability when I worked at a small historical theater in Des Moines, IA. I helped to incorporate a recycling program into the theater through grants and I also coordinated green aspects into a local concert festival.

When I moved to Denver, CO, I continued my work in concert and event production, but I also felt like something had been missing from my life. During the four years in my talent buying position, I produced amazing events and traveled the United States. So many young people dreamed of a job like that, but I wasn’t happy. During this time, my availability for sustainability work was limited, but while I was producing events all over the U.S. I could see how detrimental events were to the environment – the waste and energy consumption of touring and so much more.

In 2018, I decided it was time for a change. I had no idea what to expect, but one morning I walked into my boss’s office and quit my job. It was the scariest day of my life. It was also the best day of my life.

I knew whatever I planned to do in my next phase would incorporate my love for events AND sustainability and they would not be mutually exclusive. However, I didn’t know that journey would lead me to create a nonprofit organization called Women in Sustainability. While I was figuring out who I was and what I wanted to do, I was creating an incredible community of people, mostly women, around me who were working in unique aspects of sustainability. These women energized me and made me super excited about working with sustainable practices.

In 2019, I woke up one morning and decided that I should just invite all my friends to the bar for a happy hour event so we can all meet each other (my third love: making amazing connections), learn how we can collaborate and empower one another. I mean, I AM an event planner, you know!

What I learned that night was that this was a needed community for many others too. After the event, individuals asked to stay connected, so I created a Facebook group (now at 1,725 members). I continued to organize social events but then quickly realized that I was learning about all these amazing women and others needed to know about their work, too. In late 2019, we created our educational series and utilized the voices of community members to give them a platform to share their ideas, work, and voices.

The excitement was high and we were so thrilled about our 2020 plans, but of course, we all know what came next. But for Women in Sustainability (WIS), COVID-19 is just the true beginning of our story. We are now a nonprofit organization and excited for our next steps in this journey!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My passion has always been around sustainability, from the very early ages of my life. My parents have always been about recycling so it was always ingrained in me to think about the environment as a young kid. When I was getting my MBA, my professor/mentor and I were having lunch one afternoon and I started talking passionately about sustainability. He quickly said, “you should figure out how to incorporate your green practices into the events industry”. From there, I started doing small projects to help businesses and events become more focused on sustainable practices. This love and passion for sustainability have helped shape Women in Sustainability’s mission and vision to CARE.

With Women in Sustainability we truly CARE about our members through our four pillars of Community, Advocacy, Resources and Education (CARE), and we are on a mission to change the status quo of the environmental movement to focus on a shift to inclusive and feminist leadership. As we launch into a nonprofit organization, these four areas are our main focus to help provide individuals with what they need to continue to do the very important work they do each and every day. Some days are hard, but when you have a community behind you to support you, empower you and lift you up, it makes it just a tiny bit easier to keep moving forward to create a cleaner, greener and more equitable future for all. Plus, we like to have a little fun too and recognize the hard work our community members do every day.

This organization is created by the community and for the community and everything we do is with them in mind at all times. We are about creating opportunities for all people that join our space, no matter who they are or the sustainable journey they are on in life. This is the true essence of sustainability – the people. We believe that not only should all voices be represented at the table but that all voices must be heard at the table. While we do say “women” we include anyone who considers themselves to be an ally (male or non-binary identity) and we lift the voices of the marginalized communities that are most affected and the least heard when it comes to environmental issues.

Our biggest challenge is financing, especially as a startup 501c3 nonprofit. While we have launched our Membership program, our goal is to keep the cost of entry accessible and inclusive to all. We also find that community grants and companies are looking to partner with organizations that have data and stats behind them. This is challenging for a young organization. In addition, we ensure that every partner aligns with our values of caring for people and the planet over profits. We are transparent about where our money is coming from which is a commitment to our community. We know that not taking the easy route (accepting money from oil and gas, large corporations just “looking to do good,” etc.) can be a barrier, but we want to stay true to who and what we are at the end of the day.

We are thrilled with the opportunities that are ahead for this organization and for our community members. We launched our Founding Member program in November of 2021 (currently 150 paid members) and we are building our programs to provide training in advocacy, create meaningful and valuable connections, engage in collaborative community outreach, volunteer for river and park cleanups, fight food injustice through food recovery programs, and continue to lift our community’s voices through our webinar series along with much more! In the next three to five years, we envision this as a nationwide organization. We believe there are endless possibilities for growing this community. We hope others will CARE and join in the conversation too – either as members or event attendees!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I grew up in a white and very conservative home in northern Ohio. When I went to a liberal college and grew into my adulthood, I began to learn that a lot of what I was taught at home about the world wasn’t necessarily true. For WIS, we are all about diversity and inclusion. There is a lot from my upbringing that I have to reckon with to open myself to creating a safe and welcoming space for all — not just creating that space, but also elevating and lifting those who were marginalized in the past. I committed over the past several years to continued personal development and education around diversity, equity and inclusion. I work hard to correct my behaviors that are harmful to others. Like many people, I have to unlearn a lot of what I learned in my childhood, but I make that commitment to my community. If I mess up, call me out. I want to know, correct the behavior, and learn how I can be better for everyone.

Do you have multiple revenue streams – if so, can you talk to us about those streams and how your developed them?

There are a lot of misconceptions about Nonprofits and money. Nonprofits still need to be financially stable and make income to support their cause and work. Fun fact, nonprofits should not operate in the red! :) Today, all nonprofits should be operating in similar manners as a for-profit business. Nonprofits, just like businesses, have operational expenses (computers, internet), payroll, insurance, benefits, and everything else it takes to run a business. Why have we always accepted that nonprofits, who are there to support those in need, should underpay their staff? This is so absurd to me. Nonprofit employees are some of the hardest and most dedicated workers and should be compensated with a living wage and quality life, just like anyone else. For us, we are about a diversified income stream. We are a membership-based organization, but keep our membership fee minimal so that it’s accessible and affordable to everyone. We also will be offering scholarships for memberships by early next year. Other revenue streams include grants, corporate partners, donors, events, fundraisers, swag, kickback programs and more! With COVID, nonprofits recognized that they must have multiple income streams, similar to nonprofits, to survive and thrive. We plan to set ourselves up for a successful and long term future that is not only making money, but supporting our employees, members and the organization! (Quick note, when you donate to nonprofits, please always consider choosing general operations instead of specific programs for your organization. The nonprofit knows best how to spend your money and sometimes that means buying a new computer or repairing a broken printer.) Want to know how you can CARE with us? Check out our website for more information to donate or become a partner today!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.womeninsustainability.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/women.in.sustainability/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/womeninsustainabilityUS
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/women-in-sustainability/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnAt80-cLxqyExvWVOOCPsQ

Image Credits
Headshot @firefly_denver – Melanie Moreno All other photos belong to me