Each week on “On a Mission” we talk to community leaders who are out to make a positive impact in the area. Today, our host Wendy Norfleet talks to Mary Marx from Pace Center for Girls.

Pace Center for Girls works to ensure that all girls and young women have power in a just and equitable society by focusing on those who have experienced significant trauma in their young lives, and helping them they find hope, love, and change at home, in school and in their communities.

To learn more, visit https://www.pacecenter.org

Short company description: Pace Center for Girls works to ensure that all girls and young women have power in a just and equitable society by focusing on those who have experienced significant trauma in their young lives, and helping them they find hope, love, and change at home, in school and in their communities.

What makes your company unique?: Our foundational pillars of being gender responsive, strength based and trauma informed, coupled with a focus on finding the great in every girl

How do you define success?: When our girls lead healthy and fulfilling lives, however they define a fulfilling life

Who in the industry inspires you and why?: Molly Baldwin, CEO of ROCA in Massachusetts. Molly does similar work as Pace, but with an older population that has been completely marginalized and overlooked. She does such difficult but amazing work and is so incredibly committed to the young adults she works with

What is a tip for success that you would provide someone in your same industry?: Be flexible, fluid and agile and recognize that social impact work is impossible to do by oneself, build a great team and genuinely nurture external relationships

What excites you most about your industry?: Girls’ experiences in communities are greatly affected by many factors related to their community conditions and often include limitations in access to appropriate services, resources, and a lack of awareness of girls’ needs. Furthermore, existing systems designed to support girls, more often than not end up serving as barriers to their success. Pace recently developed a model to disrupt this dynamic through a data-driven approach that engages community collaborators, including girls themselves, to identify and address specific issues, systems, policies, and practices to improve the overall well-being of girls in communities across the country.

What is the biggest challenge you think you or your organization is going to face in the upcoming year?: The impact of COVID on the workforce. The service sector that many young women without a college degree had access to have changed significantly and we are going to need to pivot to prepare them for future success

Who is a Trustee in our community that you admire and why?: Nina Waters, President of the Community Foundation of NEFL. Nina is a big picture thinker, incredibly kind and generous and a connector of people, in addition to being incredibly humble