Anthem Club: Grace Lee, Senior Specialist, Activism and Outreach, World Wildlife Fund
The Anthem Club is a professional networking and convening space for folks who work in the social impact community. Held by humans across non-profits and digital organizing, as well as journalists, documentary filmmakers, creatives and marketers, the Anthem Club is a digital and offline squad that comes together to share what’s working on the ground and inspire each other to build new dynamics for a better future.
Grace Lee is World Wildlife Fund’s Senior Specialist, Activism and Outreach
Was there a moment in your life when you knew you wanted to pursue a career in social impact work?
The idea of working in social impact has been in the back of my mind growing up and throughout college, but it was only after I had worked outside of the realm of social impact that I felt the need to pivot and refocus my work to have a larger purpose. I was lucky to have grown up with parents who opened the outdoors to me early on and made it so accessible, which helped guide me to pursue a career in protecting and conserving our nature and planet.
What advice would you give to young people who would like to pursue a career in social impact?
Your career can look different from the traditional idea of “working in social impact;” it’s not a singular industry. There are so many opportunities that address social challenges—find something you enjoy and can be successful in and figure out what skills and strengths you can bring to the table. To me, social impact is about leaving a space better than when you entered it—whether it’s through outward facing environmentalism work or changing internal dynamics and structures within your own workplace setting. Above all, I believe that with a growth mindset, you will thrive.
What is the role or project you have been a part of that you are most proud of?
Organizing WWF’s involvement in the People’s Climate March in 2017 has been a project that I’ve been very proud to be a part of. It was not only seeing my colleagues and friends show up at the National Mall to make a statement for strong climate action, but also seeing them amongst a crowd made up of different communities and people impacted by the growing emergencies of the climate crisis who were making the same statement that day. It was the first big march or rally that I had helped organize on behalf of WWF, so taking to the streets of Washington, DC with thousands of partners was a powerful experience for me.
