Gretchen Villegas
Global Development Social Impact Executive, CEO at CHIEF and Impact Table
International Trade and Development
Education: MA Intercultural Management - The School for International Training
Little Rock, AR, USA
Biography
Gretchen Villegas is a powerful public speaker, leader, facilitator and global development executive with a passion for transformation. She strives to disrupt poverty and empower vulnerable populations internationally. She has a proven track record of unifying stakeholders (including the private sector) to achieve common goals. Her professional portfolio totals more than $320 million.
Gretchen is an established thought leader, global executive and lead consultant. She uses public speaking to educate, fundraise, connect and inspire audiences. Through active listening and evidence-based solutions, she supports impoverished communities create sustainable change.
Gretchen shares the stories of those communities with those in the private and public sectors who have the resources and power to help. Using data, analytics and storytelling, Gretchen harnesses her voice and the power of social impact to catalyze positive change.
Gretchen started her career volunteering with the Peace Corps. There, she experienced firsthand the challenges of living in poverty without access to basic resources or education. This experience inspired her to work in global development, partnering with local communities to break generational cycles of poverty.
Passion
I am passionate about global development, impact and travel. I’ve seen firsthand how international development can help break systemic cycles of poverty. I want to empower people to live safer, happier and more secure lives. I’ve always loved to travel, so working in global development is perfect for me. I get to see the world and learn about different cultures – and I get to do good at the same time.
I am excited to share my knowledge with both the non- and for-profit- sectors through speaking. I am devoted to helping leaders understand why partnerships between for-profits and non-profits are a winning strategy for both. Together they can bring about true positive and sustainable change in global development. It’s my mission to make that happen.
I am willing to travel
More than 100 miles
When it comes to payments
I generally get paid for speaking but make exceptions
Topics
Best Story
I spoke at the 2022 Horizon Gala, a fundraising event to support the Horizon Initiative in its mission to empower orphaned, vulnerable children. Afterward, the donors told me that we raised $1 million in just one night. The attendees and donors shared that my onstage talk provided them with real, concrete stories about how we can collectively create impact. My detailed storytelling allowed them to be able to visualize the impact and in turn, give more.
Origin Story
I found my life’s calling in the Peace Corps. Right after college, I joined the Peace Corps and started doing aid work in Suriname. I spent two years in a village in the Amazon rainforest, with no running water, no electricity and no road leading into the village. As I worked to bring basic resources and education to the villagers, I reflected on who I was and what I wanted to do with my life. I asked myself, “What is global development, really, and is it what I want to do?”
What I learned in South America was that development isn’t about knowing all the answers. It’s about facilitating opportunities with people who are close to a problem, trying to find solutions together and then giving them opportunities to address the problem. Until then, I couldn’t put my finger on what people in global development actually did. But this was it – and I had finally found something I felt could give me long-lasting purpose. That’s why I pursued a career in development.
Development is what brought me to speaking. We need effective communication for people in developing emerging market countries who are struggling. That’s what raises the awareness and funding we need to facilitate change. Over time, I became as comfortable addressing a boardroom or an audience of 1,000, as I was talking to a child in a remote village. No matter my audience, I lead with empathy – and it works.
Example talks
How to Succeed with Intercultural Integration
Intercultural Integration is defined as a form of cultural exchange. It happens when one person or a group adapts to the practices and beliefs of another group. Neither group sacrifices their own culture while respecting the culture of the other. Teams need to take the time to build intercultural integration to ensure success. This means spending more time developing a common vision understood not only by words, but by meaning. This entails defining a process that works for all cultures to build a consensus. It also means defining protocols for communication everyone agrees to follow for collaborative efforts.
Your audience will learn how intercultural integration leads to:
- A high degree of respect and trust in the workplace or community.
- Innovative ideas from varying perspectives.
- The ability to reach audiences across different cultures.
Global Social Impact: How to Impact the World
This talk is aimed at C-Suite leaders that want to make a significant difference on an international scale. Innovations, policies and collaborative work are the keys to breaking systemic cycles of poverty and establishing self-sustaining communities. However, these are only possible to achieve when leaders are willing to invest in their home team and staff members. They can then learn and grow within the organization.
Your audiences will learn:
- How to create meaningful success measures for their organization or business.
- How to empower employees and volunteers.
- How the U.S. system can change with a vision for the future care of orphans, vulnerable children, at-risk youth, and/or vulnerable families.
- How to elevate your brand so that it is aligned with social impact globally.
- How to affect systemic change in global contexts.
Fundraising and Public-Private Partnerships
Doing the world’s most important work isn’t a solo gig - it’s a time when we come together to maximize our individual and collective impact. I can speak on a range of topics in the realm of public-private partnerships and why they are imperative for global development. These talks can be molded to address both corporate audiences, nonprofits, or foundations alike.
Your audience will:
- Learn where and how corporations can spend money on social impact, investing in areas with supply chains and going global.
- Receive a list of questions to reflect on before partnering/investing.
- Learn real-life examples of how partnerships can be done successfully, and data showing the impact of these actions.
- Learn exactly how to reach out to the private sector or institutions for funds, with clear examples from my experience.
- Hear not only about my successes, but also about my failures which I have personally learned from and refer to as, “failing forward.”