We were lucky to catch up with Mahlia Lindquist recently and have shared our conversation below.
Mahlia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the toughest things about progressing in your career is that there are almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?
To give you a little bit of background, I am the Executive Director of LEAP, a non-profit that for 13 years has remained the sole provider of comprehensive programming geared exclusively toward women transitioning from prison to community in Florida. Our programming empowers women who have experienced incarceration by teaching entrepreneurship, employability skills, and trauma-informed substance abuse classes. We currently have two transitional homes and have grand plans to serve women coming out of jail and federal prisons also. Our social enterprise, the Dragonfly Thrift Boutique, provides the women with a paid retail internship. Most of the women being released have no family, nowhere to go and everyone has given up on them. We provide them with a home, a job, a phone, and hygiene. Essentially, we ensure their basic needs are met. With this being done, our women are able to thrive while attending 12 step meetings, therapy, and building job skills while reacclimating themselves with freedom and decision making. I think this is something we as a society often overlook, that those we incarcerate are stripped of all identity, all choice, even when to use the restroom and when to speak. They are spoken down to and encouraged not to think, just act. Yet, we expect them to just finish their sentence and come home, mentally prepared to enter a society that shuns them at every turn.
There are so many women that are not given the opportunity that LEAP provides for its ladies. Countless numbers fall between the cracks due to the negligent lack of services in our system. I can not even begin to tell you how many organizations promised assistance to our ladies, only to never follow through with any tangible, meaningful aid.
One of the most unexpected problems is the complete lack of housing options post prison. Even with no place to go, people coming out of prison are not considered “homeless” and therefore not accepted into shelters. How can you tell someone with nowhere else to go, that they need to be homeless, sleeping on the streets for 3 days before they can “officially be considered homeless and able to receive assistance”? That’s just crazy. The barriers these women face due to the stigma of being labeled a “felon’ or “ex-offender” is heartbreaking and in no way beneficial to anyone. Jobs, housing, securing credit, regaining custody of their children, the ability to become economically stable and therefore self reliant, our system is set up to ensure that they fail in all of these essential areas.
We as an organization feel so passionately about these issues that we have recently launched the “More Than” Project, which calls for the restoration of human dignity for those who have experienced incarceration. Throughout the campaign we will host events to educate the public about the challenges women face during re-entry. Additionally, we will host a press event at our social enterprise, The Dragonfly Thrift Boutique, with a panel discussion with empowered AND empowering women. As part of the campaign, we have developed a fashion collection with designs geared to changing the narrative and language surrounding justice-involved women. The problem is that no matter how hard the women work, the stigma of a criminal conviction lasts long after they serve their sentences. Their punishments literally last for the rest of their lives.
Everything that we do at LEAP is rooted in the concept of revolutionary love & transformation (hence our Dragonfly symbol!) We believe that together we can transform systems that undermine, oppress, and degrade others. Systemic change allows for individual transformation for the better. We want society to see that the women coming out of prison are ‘more than’ “felons”, “offenders’, or “cons.” They are mothers, sisters, daughters… humans deserving of compassion, empathy and opportunity.
The More Than designs are featured and available for purchase on the Dragonfly website, https://dragonflythrift.org/pages/more-than along with the stories of the women for whom each design is named. Our hope is that every person who believes we are ALL more than our past will purchase a More Than design and post a photo on social media tagging @LeapforLadies with the hashtag #MoreThanProject.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I spent over twenty years trying to find my calling as an attorney. Like Goldilocks, I tried many different things, looking for something that felt “just right.” From a big fancy firm, to a boutique practice, to government service, to finally having my own firm; I always felt a vague sense of dissatisfaction in my professional life. I had always volunteered in the community, which I enjoyed immensely. However, it never occurred to me that I could make a career in the nonprofit sector. I think I unconsciously felt that work had to be unpleasant.
One day I attended an event where a woman shared her harrowing story of childhood abuse, addiction and prison, and how Ladies Empowerment & Action Program (“LEAP”) had changed the trajectory of her life. I was hooked. Within a year of volunteering with LEAP as a mentor to a woman in prison, I was the Executive Director, a position for which I felt myself to be wholly unqualified. LEAP had never raised much money and was on the brink of closing as the founders were burnt out and wanted to retire. I was convinced that the only thing to recommend me to lead LEAP was that I continued to work as a volunteer. My plan was to “help out” for a short time and go back to practicing law when we could afford a “real” Executive Director.
Six years later, I am still with LEAP and plan to never practice law again. This is my life’s work. Other than parenting two daughters, it has been the most rewarding, meaningful, fun role that I have ever had. Also, like parenting, a role filled with frustration, anxiety and many sleepless nights. Yet, my worst day working with the women of LEAP is better than my best day practicing law. I have had to figure out how to write grants, leverage social media, build a website, operate a retail operation, deal with a board of directors, navigate a byzantine department of corrections, figure out how access food stamps and Medicaid, develop a budget, draft sponsorship packets, run a group home and a zillion other things. The easiest and best part of my job is working alongside the women that LEAP serves. The same women who are ostracized by most of society. Their determination to overcome the many obstacles put in front of them is truly heroic. They all love their children and want, like all parents, to be able to take care of them. They are loving, funny, and compassionate. In all of my years practicing law, I truly have never had better colleagues.
I still suffer from imposter syndrome at times, but am proud of the fact that over the past six years, LEAP’s budget has increased more than 25 fold with a corresponding increase in services. We have more than doubled the number of students, launched new online classes, established a thriving social enterprise, and opened two transition homes. In the process we have become a leading voice for women in prison and I have found my calling.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I would like to touch on this, as I feel that a lot of people can relate. When the pandemic started, we were literally locked out of the prison, unable to teach our ladies. The doors were closed to all visitors and that was closely followed by our social enterprise, Dragonfly Thrift Boutique closing as well.
We had to think quickly on our feet to prevent the whole organization from going down. However, this is when great new things can happen. Born out of Covid-19 was our present Virtual Academy, an entrepreneurial program offered nationwide to those who have experienced incarceration. We then also launched our Dragonfly Thrift Boutique online store, switched to Shopify and amped up our social media game to weather the storm. When Dragonfly was able to open again we expanded the in-store training program to include Shopify and online photography training for the ladies. Disaster can breed new growth, this is what we teach our LEAP ladies and we have to be that example.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
I have found the most effective strategy by far is implementing ways to consistently acknowledge the hard work and effort my team puts in. It’s such a simple thing, to let someone know what a great job they did, but it can go such a long way. It’s huge.
No matter what business you are in, there are going to be problems along the way. You have to remember to not always focus on the negative. As a leader, everything you do affects your team, the entire vibe, and it can shift everything. I think it’s important to recognize this and more importantly recognize this in yourself, regardless of what is going on around you.
The more real you are with your team, the more transparent, the more trust you have in each other. It builds cohesiveness to allow managing a team effectively. Anyone can manage a team, but not everyone can do this well.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.leapforladies.org (LEAP) & www.dragonflythrift.org (Dragonfly Thrift Boutique-our social enterprise)
- Instagram: @leapforladies / @dragonflythrift
- Facebook: @leapforladies / @dragonflythrift
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ladies-empowerment-and-action-program-leap-/
- Twitter: @leapforladies / @leaps_dragonfly
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDH3slt0ZQz8K2E2Cs1PNBQ
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/dragonfly-thrift-boutique-miami?rh_ident=clothe&rh_type=phrase
Image Credits
LEAP Graduates.