Today we’d like to introduce you to Piper Nelson.
Hi Piper, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My parents instilled in me the need to give back to our community. A teacher and a therapist, they encouraged us to volunteer, took us on church mission trips, and modeled how to take care of others.
In high school, I would go with my dad on Tuesday mornings, early before school, to a church where folks facing homelessness could get breakfast, clean clothes, a shower, and just loving attention. It was never entirely comfortable for me – I was a teenager expected to engage with men and women facing struggles I could not understand – but the result was that I learned that giving back is the key, comfortable or not.
In college and afterwards, I volunteered with kids, helping with reading and schoolwork. And when I had kids, I took them to volunteer, most particularly at food banks. I also realized that volunteering (or really any extra activity!) when you have kids is so hard. So I was determined to join a nonprofit board and give back that way. I found AIDS Services of Austin and had a glorious board experience, finding friends, becoming board chair, learning to read financial reports, and managing through a merger.
But six years ago, when I was 45, a good friend and I got a bit inebriated and created a bucket list for me. It included running for office, living in another country with my kids, serving as a nonprofit executive director, and starting a THC company aimed specifically at serving older women.
Five years ago, I ran for school board in Austin. I did not win, but I garnered over 10,000 votes and had a GREAT time running a campaign with my friends. Four years ago, my family and I moved to southern Spain for a year – in part because I lost the school board race and could leave! It was an incredible year for our family and our kids, both of whom are now fluent in Spanish.
Professionally, over the course of 30 somewhat rambling years, I inadvertently gained a series of nonprofit and management skills – fundraising, personnel management, communications, board management, etc. After taking that sabbatical year with my family to Spain, I realized that I now had the skills necessary to become a nonprofit executive director. Knowing that few nonprofits could fulfill my need to support women and/or give back to the broader community, three years ago I was so lucky to find the position of Executive Director at the nonprofit I Live Here I Give Here.
(As for the pot shop, well, we will see what happens when it becomes legal in Texas!)
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Because I never had a particular career objective for most of my life — I never dreamed of being the CEO of a big company or getting super rich — in many ways it has been a smooth road.
But, as with everyone, there have been struggles – the most acute being in a fatal car accident that killed my boss. In addition to losing my supervisor and a job I adored, the accident resulted in a traumatic head injury and several broken bones. After a wheelchair, then a walker, and lots of therapy and love from my family, I returned to the work world with a new dedication to taking only jobs that I knew would have an impact on our community – and make me happy. I was also determined to take every minute of vacation time I had and use it to travel the world with my family. And I have!
There were, of course, smaller struggles as well.
I did not get the two jobs I most dreamed of having – both working to advance women’s empowerment, at the US Agency for International Development and at a political action committee.
When I was in my 30s and attempted a career change, I was told it was impossible – and it did take over 100 informational interviews and many months to make the change.
And there is the constant struggle of making sure that you are being a great mom, wife, partner, friend, daughter, and sister, all while being a fierce professional woman – and staying fit, reading books, eating enough protein, and engaging in volunteer work. WHOA.
But I will say that the confidence given to me by my parents, natural positivity, and the knowledge that I am loved have helped me keep to my professional true north – originally supporting women and girls, and now giving back to my local community.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
As the Executive Director at the nonprofit I Live Here I Give Here, I work with a brilliant team to help every person in Central Texas give back. Whether through financial gifts, time, or talent, it is an honor to spend every day thinking about and enacting ways to encourage generosity in my community, particularly knowing how important it is to me and how acute our community’s needs are right now.
What matters most to you? Why?
When I was a sophomore in high school here in Austin, Ann Richards was elected governor of Texas. My mom, a feminist, took me and my sister out of school to attend her inauguration. The three of us marched up Congress Avenue, catching glimpses every now and again of Governor Richards’ tall white hair.
As I walked, surrounded by women and girls joyously celebrating, I realized that I wanted to dedicate my life and career to raising up women and girls.
In high school, I was called a feminazi (completely inappropriate) and wrote every paper about women – authors, historic roles, artists, etc. In college, I minored in women’s studies and wrote my thesis about three surrealist painters – Frida Kahlo, Remedios Varo, and Leonora Carrington.
I then received a Fulbright to Ecuador and spent a year talking with women working on rose plantations about their lives and experiences. After some post-college twists and turns, I finally got a job supporting women running for political office in other countries, even traveling to Sierra Leone to train women candidates.
Later in my career, I worked for Annie’s List, helping get Texas women elected; for Michelle Obama’s Let Girls Learn education initiative; and for an anti-violence organization serving survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.
That focus on women and girls integrates into my personal life, too – I really only listen to female musicians, serve on the board of Annie’s List, and created a support group for female-identified nonprofit executives.
Currently, I am obsessed with the increase in toxic masculinity and the way it is promulgated through our current political landscape and by the football industry, which has so much money and so many entrenched problems that I sometimes cannot breathe thinking about it. I married a feminist man – who, to his detriment, does watch football! – and am raising a feminist daughter. My son will likely be a feminist, too, but right now he is too contrarian to be anything!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ilivehereigivehere.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ilivehereigivehere/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ILiveHereIGiveHere
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/i-live-here-i-give-here/
- Twitter: https://x.com/ILH_IGH
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ILiveHereIGiveHere-ATX
