Pledge 1%'s #WomenWhoLead series celebrates female leaders who are paving the way for the next generation. While our featured leaders come from a variety of backgrounds and industries, they are united in their efforts to promote equality for all women in the workplace. We’ve asked them to share a bit about their journey to success, as well as lessons they’ve learned along the way.
Angela Wilson
Founder, CEO, & Chief Vision Officer, Exploryst
Denver, Colorado, USA
What is your current role? Briefly describe in 1-2 sentences.
I am responsible for setting the mission and vision, assembling a diverse team, driving profitability, and managing the company's overall operations.
What’s the best part of your job? What do you enjoy the most?
It is knowing that I am solving a problem that has not been addressed for over a billion people with disabilities worldwide.
We’ve all faced personal and professional challenges these past two years - what motivates you to keep going?
As the parent of a child with disabilities, this is a problem that my family and I will be facing for years to come and it has not been solved to our satisfaction.
Individuals and families should not be restricted from the transformational activities that become part of your soul when you experience new things and visit new places.
I want to share the world with my family, with all families.
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
Go slow to go fast.
What does generosity mean to you?
I have been generous by supporting and donating to causes and people beyond my comfort zone. It helps me grow and allows others the opportunity to grow.
How do you feel businesses can play a larger role in solving today’s biggest challenges? Do you have any specific stories or examples from your work or colleagues you can share?
Hiring for diversity is not only better for business outcomes, but it is also better for the workers and their communities as well.
"A Study Finds That Diverse Companies Produce 19% More Revenue"
Exploryst has instituted policies for diverse hiring - age, race, religion, color, sex (including breastfeeding and conditions related to breastfeeding), gender (including gender identity and gender expression), national origin, ancestry, family status, medical condition, sexual orientation, genetic characteristics and information, physical or mental disability, and military or veteran status.
If you could describe yourself in one word what would that be and why?
Resilient. Starting a tourism industry business right before a global pandemic and sticking with it over the past two years is definitely resilience.
If you could pick a song to guide you through 2022, which song would it be?
Don't Stop by Fleetwood Mac.
What are you looking forward to this year? Are there any goals (personal or professional), activities, or experiences you are excited about?
Professionally, my goals are to successfully fund raise for our seed round and begin to expand into other metropolitan areas around the country and the world.
