Finding Clarity in the Chaos: Justine’s Summit LA19 Journey
In September 2019, TPS Founder and President Justine Evirs attended the Military Influencer Conference in Washington, D.C. Even as she was surrounded by many of her colleagues and some of the biggest names in the veteran and military spouse community, she knew she was looking for something even bigger. In order to grow The Paradigm Switch as well as her own personal brand, she knew that she needed access to networks outside of the military community. As luck would have it, she learned about the Summit Fellowship during a panel presentation that included the Schultz Foundation. At that moment, she was certain of its potential impact and wanted to learn more. The following day, she cold messaged the Schultz Foundation and the Summit fellowship program coordinators on LinkedIn. Although the application process had already closed, Justine scored an interview and blew the interviewers away with her passion, vision, focus, and drive.
Summit is a series of invitation-only events that brings together the next generation of social impact leaders in business, art, spirituality, wellness, and much more. Through a variety of events and experiences, Summit creates a global community of people who are on fire for their respective companies, causes, and communities. Not only was Justine accepted to the Summit program, but she was also selected to participate in a new initiative called Summit Fellows. Over the next two years, Summit Fellows is bringing together 80 underrepresented social entrepreneurs from 23 different countries while giving them access to the Summit community through mentorship, peer-to-peer advice, events, and much more. The entire program is designed to accelerate their careers and businesses and amplify the impact of their work and voices across the globe.
Justine’s Summit journey began with a trip to Los Angeles in November 2019 to attend Summit LA19. Arriving two days early for the exclusive Fellows retreat, she didn’t quite know what to expect. During the two-day retreat, Fellows spent time networking, connecting, and receiving mentoring. There was lots of downtime to build relationships, and this was the crucial aspect of the retreat for Justine.
“Having two whole days to build strong bonds with this diverse and dynamic group of entrepreneurs before the official festival started was a game changer,” she said. “All of a sudden we went from a small group of 80 to a crowd of 3,000, and the energy was through the roof. There is so much going on at once at a Summit event that it’s impossible to absorb it all. Having strong relationships already with the other Fellows was grounding in the midst of all the excitement and allowed me to focus on my reasons for being there, which were to expand my network and learn more about myself as a leader.”
Justine experienced an instant vulnerability when the larger festival started, but the entire Summit community welcomed her and the other attendees with open arms. As she moved from panels to yoga classes to art installations, she felt the power of being among so many passionate people.
“The Summit community really is a family,” she said. “I could see the connective tissue throughout the entire festival and how everyone was doing their own thing in their own vertical while still being tied together. There’s a big focus on health and wellness at a Summit event, as well as lots of room for creativity. When you’re having fun and staying relaxed the ideas flow more freely, and it was quickly clear to me that The Paradigm Switch needs to think bigger.”
Justine came away from Summit LA19 with a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the challenges facing underrepresented founders in the social impact space. She learned that she needed to be kinder to herself — as a first-time founder and a minority female at that, she is facing an uphill climb as she competes for funding. In short, she is a female founder solving a female problem — and that can be a challenge since most funders are male and don’t experience the problems as their own.
“I thought I was thinking big about the future of The Paradigm Switch, but it turned out that I wasn’t thinking big enough,” she said. “I learned not to take so many things personally and to celebrate the successes I and TPS have had in the face of very difficult odds. I also learned that underrepresented founders have to take time to educate funders on why our problems are “worth” solving. This is sad in my opinion, but that process is actually how the change we seek is ultimately created. Finally, and this is the biggest takeaway, I left Summit with a firm understanding of what The Paradigm Switch needs in order to really make a difference. Military spouses face a similar but unique uphill battle as they build their careers, and it’s time to take the conversation out of the military spouse space and into civilian communities. Leaving Summit, I feel as though for the first time I have the resources and network to make that happen.”
Justine’s Summit journey is just beginning. Over the next two years she will continue to grow alongside the other Summit Fellows, building relationships and attending several more events. She is embarking on this journey with a clear vision of what a world would look like with military spouses in high-paying jobs and stable careers.
“When this happens our military is stronger,” she said. “Active duty service member families are stronger and veterans can transition out of service with the in-home financial support they need to be successful. A dual income household is not a “want” in America any longer. It is a need, and our military families need it too.”
This is the vision for The Paradigm Switch moving forward. Justine is asking herself how we might infuse the military spouse community with the non-military affiliated employment resources they need to be even more successful. How might we set military spouses up to lead the way financially so that our nation’s veterans can continue to have the support they need at home as they make major transitions from the military to the civilian world?
These are the questions Justine is left with as she embarks on her 2020 journey. She is thinking bigger and with more clarity on her ten-year career in service to the military community as a Navy veteran and military spouse herself.
The sky’s the limit for her and for The Paradigm Switch. We could not be more proud of her leadership and commitment to our success.
She IS The Paradigm Switch.
