- [Narrator] Funding for this edition of One-On-One with Steve Adubato has been provided by The Russell Berrie Foundation.

Making a difference.

New Jersey’s Clean Energy program.

Lighting the way to a clean energy future.

The North Ward Center.

New Jersey Sharing Network.

The Turrell Fund, a foundation serving children.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Working for a more a healthier, more equitable New Jersey.

Delta Dental of New Jersey.

Everyone deserves a healthy smile.

PSEG Foundation.

And by Seton Hall University.

Showing the world what great minds can do since 1856.

Promotional support provided by Northjersey.com and Local IQ.

Part of the USA Today Network.

And by Meadowlands Chamber.

Building connections, driving business growth.

- This is One-On-One.

- I'm an equal American just like you are.

- The way we change Presidents in this country is by voting.

- A quartet is already a jawn, it’s just The New Jawn.

- January 6th was not some sort of violent, crazy outlier.

- I don't care how good you are or how good you think you are, there is always something to learn.

- I mean what other country sends comedians over to embedded military to make them feel better.

- People call me 'cause they feel nobody's paying attention.

_ It’s not all about memorizing and getting information, it’s what you do with that information.

- (slowly) Start talking right now.

- That's a good question, high five.

(upbeat music) - Recently with my colleague Mary Gamba on our sister series, "Lessons in Leadership," we talked with Helen Archontou, who's with the YWCA of Northern New Jersey.

We talked about empowering young women, and leadership with young women.

We talked about a whole range of issues, particularly if you're a leader in a not-for-profit organization, the challenges you face.

And that's what Helen talks about in this very important, compelling conversation.

"Lessons in Leadership" is pleased to welcome Helen Archontou, who is the CEO of the YWCA of Northern New Jersey.

Helen, good to see you.

- Good to see you.

Thanks for having me.

- Tell everyone what the organization's all about.

- YWCA of Northern New Jersey focuses on eliminating racism and empowering women.

We're over a century old, served five counties in New Jersey: Bergen, Essex, Morris, Passaic, and Hudson.

- And let's talk about women in leadership positions.

Do you think there's anything significantly different?

And if so, what is it about helping women become the strongest leaders they can be versus any guy?

- Well, I think when it comes to women in leadership, it really just has to do with access and equity, and we just don't have the same opportunities there.

And that's really what the YWCA of Northern New Jersey is all about, is providing those opportunities.

I've been with the organization 13 years, and our focus really has been, and continues to be, creating equity for all.

We do that by providing access to training, to mentorship, to concrete resources and funding, and opportunities for healing.

I mean, this is what women need based on our experience, based on the inequities that we are faced with daily, to be able to be pushed into these leadership spaces.

- Mary, jump in.

- Yeah, definitely, and talking about women in leadership, particularly younger women looking to get into the workforce, what advice, recommendations, you talked about training.

If there was one training tip, tool, book for these young women who are really looking to get out there and be competitive in the workforce, what type of leadership and communication skills tools do you think that they should acquire?

- Well, I think mentorship and sponsorship are really key in terms of pushing into a leadership space, and just pushing into a new arena to be able to get more skills.

All the other pieces, the training, funding, opportunities come once you have that gateway.

So it really is imperative.

And the reality of it is, all women don't have access to that gateway.

And that's why organizations and programs like ours are so important, because we do create opportunities for that, for all, not only for women, but more specifically, women of color.

We know that access for our underrepresented communities is even more challenging.

- Let me ask you this, I'm curious about something, because there are a whole range of organizations that we've worked with that seek to empower women, and particularly women of color.

And this is what I'm curious about.

Do you believe, and we're heavily into leadership coaching, communication coaching, do you believe that it is particularly important to have a woman leading, facilitating, coaching, being the trainer, the expert, if you will, in the field, or does it not matter?

- I think representation matters.

We see that over and over and over again.

So it is, especially right now, I would say, because we have a history of not having women, and not having women of color in these spaces, it is essential for that to be a priority right now.

Look, the reality of it is, we all need to link arms together, so it can't be done in a solo or in a vacuum for any one group.

But right now we definitely need to have women, and most importantly, women of color, at the forefront and at the lead and at the head of every table.

- The connection in your mind between being a strong woman leader, a strong leader who happens to be a woman, and wellness, is what?

- Well, I think the challenge for women as a whole is that wellness is not something that we have put at the top of our list for ourselves.

So we have been pushing ourselves to get into leadership spaces, but there's been a cost for that, because we have not felt that we could embrace wellness simultaneous to that.

And I think that that is a shift that has changed, and is changing.

You know, we talk about that there were some of the, try to look at some of the bright spots of the time of COVID.

It really did force us to look at mental health.

It really had us focus on mental health differently, that it really is wellness.

It's not just, you know, as if it were something prescriptive or a medical condition.

The reality of it is, mental wellness is really the word.

It's that kind of combination of the two.

So it's important for women to be at the lead, but it's also important for women to be supported, and to have opportunities for access to mental wellness on that journey as well.

- Mary, one more?

- Yeah, definitely, I would love to talk a little bit.

The pandemic, obviously, it shone a light on the challenges that, especially in my opinion, women, being a woman leader myself, were having, because we're working from home, but we also had the children at home.

So obviously now our kids are back in school.

But what opportunities now have come from those challenges of these women?

Have we learned anything in terms of how women can rise up in these challenging times?

- Well, I think that we've provided more opportunities for flexibility, and we're continuing to push those opportunities, and advocate for them, for ourselves.

And we're not as fearful when we are on job interviews to ask about those opportunities, and to put them down as an expectation and a requirement for employment.

And hopefully, there are more employers.

I know at the YWCA of Northern New Jersey, we came back as a permanently hybrid workforce with a flexible work schedule and a hybrid work week, which is not common in the nonprofit sector, even now.

But the reality of it is, it's better for your employees, it's better for their mental health, it's better for their work productivity.

It's better for our organizations, and it models for others to see that it can be done.

- It's interesting how Helen lays us out the hybrid situation, and I've said this before, we are fully remote.

Yes, we do get together in certain situations when our production operation is out in the field, but we are 90%-plus remote.

And so connecting with each other and making sure people don't feel as isolated as they obviously are, in many cases, when you're fully remote, is critically important for men, women, for anyone out there in the workplace.

So Helen, I wanna thank you so much for joining us.

Best to you and the team at the YWCA at Northern New Jersey.

Thanks so much, Helen.

- Thank you for having me.

- Stay with us.

We'll be right back.

- [Narrator] One-On-One with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Celebrating 30 years in public broadcasting.

Funding has been provided by The Russell Berrie Foundation.

New Jersey’s Clean Energy program.

The North Ward Center.

New Jersey Sharing Network.

The Turrell Fund, a foundation serving children.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Delta Dental of New Jersey.

PSEG Foundation.

And by Seton Hall University.

Promotional support provided by Northjersey.com and Local IQ.

And by Meadowlands Chamber.

(light music) - The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, in partnership with utility companies throughout the state, can help you save money and create a more comfortable home through Comfort Partners, a free program that helps income-eligible customers reduce their utility bills through cost-effective measures that save energy, including lighting, hot water heaters, large appliances, heating and cooling improvements, insulation, and much more.

Learn more at NJCleanEnergy.com/CP.