Kim Shumpert has worked in the public, private and nonprofit sectors over the past two decades in a variety of jobs from marketing a construction company to raising money for Bethel Bible Village. But she says a common thread through her career has involved equipping people for success.
“There is no better feeling than watching people reach their fullest potential, and I have always had a passion for helping women and children,” she says.
As the executive director for the past year at the Chattanooga Women’s Leadership Institute (CWLI), Shumpert is eager to help more women of all ages and occupations improve their leadership skills and influence at work and in the community. The CWLI, a nonprofit group with over 600 members, was created in 1996 to do just that.
Shumpert said studies indicate the typical woman in the workforce leaves up to $750,000 of earnings potential on the table by not seeking or taking promotions or taking advantage of other job opportunities through their career.
“If we can mobilize that sort of earnings potential for our economic development in Chattanooga, what a catalyst that would be,” she says.