Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Patti Smith. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Patti, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s talk about innovation. What’s the most innovative thing you’ve done in your career?
Thank you for asking. I have two that come to mind: 1. I am a RN and have been associated with the Career and Technical Education profession 30 years. When working as a Health Education Consultant I was given the opportunity to create a health education program in an elementary school. It was so fun. I was invited to work with the school IT/Librarian and we created a HOP program at Paris Elementary school for Kindergarten through 5th grade students. The HOP stands for Health Occupations at Paris. Our program was given Thursdays as the HOP specials day, much like other specials days at many elementary schools for music, art etc. Every Thursday we had 425 students (three classes of each grade- one grade level at a time) in the gym. Our curriculum I created included an introduction to Health care and many different professions, medical terminology, guest speakers and table projects around the room each student had to participate in. Our guest speakers were: Fire Fighters and their trucks, EMTS and the ambulances, Zoo Healthcare professionals and more. The students were broken into groups within their classes and each group was required to do a presentation on one of the Healthcare Professions, Our hands-on demonstration project tables for the students to experience different projects were relating to their age and abilities with our speakers participating. It was a wonderful program. At the end of the year meeting with 5th grade students and parents or care giver we asked them to share what they enjoyed most and to answer some questions about Medical Terminology and they remembered the definitions.
2. I created a Historic, public outdoor art/education exhibition Recognizing Women to Inspire Girls. this nonprofit is Living Her Legacy. This is this first outdoor public art exhibition in our community of Fort Collins, CO and in the state of Colorado. We are blessed to be the renovation project to the East entrance of our Old Town section of our city. We selected 48 notable women over 3 1/2 years time and 7 selection events with over 100 community members participating. These Legacy Honorees impact is in our community yet they have lived all over Northern Colorado and they go back to the 1800’s. We also offer education programs to girls: Girl Leaders program for 16-19 year old girls + teen mom’s and a 5th grade role model art workshop. We will be adding a Women to Women forum for women 18 + to get together to discuss women’s issues and more as an educational support group. Our Legacy Honorees history’s/life journeys will also be written into our local school district curriculum for 2nd grade Fort Collins History, 4th grade Colorado History, Middle/High School Social Studies and into the art classes regarding our artist process. Our website is www.LivingHerLegacy.org.
Patti, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Living Her Legacy Impact: As LHL was initiated by women, Our Mission is: We have created Living Her Legacy to inspire women and girls to discover themselves in the many talents, contributions, and achievements of women, both past and present. Recognizing Women. Inspiring Girls. ‘Inspiring Women and Girls To Create Their Own Legacies’
Our Movement Impact: Our Living Her Legacy nonprofit is Recognizing Women and Inspiring Girls. We are creating a generation of changemakers who will impact their communities and the girls who come behind them., with our women’s art exhibit and our education programs for girls. www.LivingHerLegacy.org
Patti Smith, RN Founder/Executive Director: I initiated Living Her Legacy based upon many factors and my Mother’s influence during my life journey.
1. I grew up in North Dakota on a farm helping my Dad with farming. My Mother was a RN. I was blessed to attend a BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) school that supported both farm kids and Native American kids. My Grandparents homesteaded by the reservation fence. I learned a lot from my Native American friends and their Grandmothers about their life journeys and that of their ancestors.
2. One of my healthcare positions was–I worked at Tucson Medical Center in the Emergency Department several years and experienced girls situations from various walks of life and life experiences as they were patients.
3. I have been a member of the Zonta Club of Fort Collins, for many, many years, which is a chapter in Zonta International. We envision a world in which women’s rights are recognized as human rights and every woman is able to achieve her full potential. In such a world, women have access to all resources and are represented in decision-making positions on an equal basis with men. In such a world, no woman lives in fear of violence. We support local projects in our community supporting girls and women as well as International projects at the International level.
4. I have been in the Career and Technical education profession over 30 years having taught high school students at our local community college, 12 years, to introduce these students, from 10 high schools, to the healthcare professions. I met students from all walks of life in this program, which was a wonderful experience.
5. I was a RN in the Army Reserves in the 1st Persian Gulf War working in a Riyadh, Saudi Arabia hospital caring for American soldiers. I met many expats ,who shared their experiences and had lived their for years and learned a lot about girls and women growing up in that country. The November, 1990 before we arrived in country in January 1991, their were many women in Riyadh took their husbands cars and drove them to protest women’s repressive laws. Their initial minimal right to drive began in September, 2017.
6. I enjoyed a 20 year business as a Health Education Consultant in Colorado that provided me many, many experiences meeting students from all over Colorado–students from rural communities, urban communities and students who were born and raised in refugee camps prior to them being able to come to Colorado with their families.
7. I have learned a lot about women’s life experiences over my 73 year life journey. I support girls and women to have access to healthcare, education, women have access to all resources and are represented in decision-making positions on an equal basis with men. and importantly to live free of violence. Women’s Rights are Human Rights.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
I initiated this nonprofit with a small idea/concept. I had no prior experience with nonprofit management. Having been a healthcare provider for many, many years I was used to providing a service to folks not asking them for anything especially funds.
I thought you had to write grants to run nonprofits. So, my project artist partner and I wrote 6 grants in 2015 and received not a one. I began watching a myriad of nonprofit webinars from many businesses that support nonprofits.
Also one of the six grants we wrote was to the NEA (National Endowment of the Arts) in Washington, DC. Their education director called me one day 6 months after we received our denial letter. She was the only grantor that offered suggestions on what was required to right grants. AND, we learned that impact shown is key, not your idea that we felt was so awesome.
I also learned that relationships are key from the business sales webinars I was also on in addition to my nonprofit education webinars.
Today, we focus mostly on our relationships with businesses in our community sharing our impact from our public art exhibition and education programs for girls and not spending time on grants.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
We are 8 1/2 years in with our nonprofit, Living Her Legacy. We keep moving forward one day at a time as we know the women’s lives, our Legacy Honorees, that we are recognizing will inspire girls futures from 5th grade to 19 year olds + teen Mom’s.
We have created wonderful relationships with our supporters, our nonprofit friends, our school district and our incredible volunteers.
We have a very committed board of directors, no staff but myself and no one is paid as of yet. We move forward as we know we can inspire girls to dream big, creating leaders who will impact the girls who come behind them.
We do this one day at time with perseverance, and a lot of help from individuals who have provided input along the way.
Not being afraid to ask for help is a very important skill to develop. as well as sharing gratitude for everyone’s assistance.
Patti, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Living Her Legacy Impact: As LHL was initiated by women, Our Mission is: We have created Living Her Legacy to inspire women and girls to discover themselves in the many talents, contributions, and achievements of women, both past and present. Recognizing Women. Inspiring Girls. ‘Inspiring Women and Girls To Create Their Own Legacies’
Our Movement Impact: Our Living Her Legacy nonprofit is Recognizing Women and Inspiring Girls. We are creating a generation of changemakers who will impact their communities and the girls who come behind them., with our women’s art exhibit and our education programs for girls. www.LivingHerLegacy.org
Patti Smith, RN Founder/Executive Director: I initiated Living Her Legacy based upon many factors and my Mother’s influence during my life journey.
1. I grew up in North Dakota on a farm helping my Dad with farming. My Mother was a RN. I was blessed to attend a BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) school that supported both farm kids and Native American kids. My Grandparents homesteaded by the reservation fence. I learned a lot from my Native American friends and their Grandmothers about their life journeys and that of their ancestors.
2. One of my healthcare positions was–I worked at Tucson Medical Center in the Emergency Department several years and experienced girls situations from various walks of life and life experiences as they were patients.
3. I have been a member of the Zonta Club of Fort Collins, for many, many years, which is a chapter in Zonta International. We envision a world in which women’s rights are recognized as human rights and every woman is able to achieve her full potential. In such a world, women have access to all resources and are represented in decision-making positions on an equal basis with men. In such a world, no woman lives in fear of violence. We support local projects in our community supporting girls and women as well as International projects at the International level.
4. I have been in the Career and Technical education profession over 30 years having taught high school students at our local community college, 12 years, to introduce these students, from 10 high schools, to the healthcare professions. I met students from all walks of life in this program, which was a wonderful experience.
5. I was a RN in the Army Reserves in the 1st Persian Gulf War working in a Riyadh, Saudi Arabia hospital caring for American soldiers. I met many expats ,who shared their experiences and had lived their for years and learned a lot about girls and women growing up in that country. The November, 1990 before we arrived in country in January 1991, their were many women in Riyadh took their husbands cars and drove them to protest women’s repressive laws. Their initial minimal right to drive began in September, 2017.
6. I enjoyed a 20 year business as a Health Education Consultant in Colorado that provided me many, many experiences meeting students from all over Colorado–students from rural communities, urban communities and students who were born and raised in refugee camps prior to them being able to come to Colorado with their families.
7. I have learned a lot about women’s life experiences over my 73 year life journey. I support girls and women to have access to healthcare, education, women have access to all resources and are represented in decision-making positions on an equal basis with men. and importantly to live free of violence. Women’s Rights are Human Rights.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
I initiated this nonprofit with a small idea/concept. I had no prior experience with nonprofit management. Having been a healthcare provider for many, many years I was used to providing a service to folks not asking them for anything especially funds.
I thought you had to write grants to run nonprofits. So, my project artist partner and I wrote 6 grants in 2015 and received not a one. I began watching a myriad of nonprofit webinars from many businesses that support nonprofits.
Also one of the six grants we wrote was to the NEA (National Endowment of the Arts) in Washington, DC. Their education director called me one day 6 months after we received our denial letter. She was the only grantor that offered suggestions on what was required to right grants. AND, we learned that impact shown is key, not your idea that we felt was so awesome.
I also learned that relationships are key from the business sales webinars I was also on in addition to my nonprofit education webinars.
Today, we focus mostly on our relationships with businesses in our community sharing our impact from our public art exhibition and education programs for girls and not spending time on grants.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
We are 8 1/2 years in with our nonprofit, Living Her Legacy. We keep moving forward one day at a time as we know the women’s lives, our Legacy Honorees, that we are recognizing will inspire girls futures from 5th grade to 19 year olds + teen Mom’s.
We have created wonderful relationships with our supporters, our nonprofit friends, our school district and our incredible volunteers.
We have a very committed board of directors, no staff but myself and no one is paid as of yet. We move forward as we know we can inspire girls to dream big, creating leaders who will impact the girls who come behind them.
We do this one day at time with perseverance, and a lot of help from individuals who have provided input along the way.
Not being afraid to ask for help is a very important skill to develop. as well as sharing gratitude for everyone’s assistance.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.livingherlegacy.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/living_her_legacy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HerLegacyFortCollins/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patti-smith-fort-collins/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@livingherlegacy5989/streams