How a private sector executive founded her own global nonprofit

When Saundra Pelletier traded her private sector pharmaceutical job for the unknown, lie-awake-at-night world of founding her own nonprofit, her colleagues thought she was having a midlife crisis. Becoming the CEO of WomanCare Global, which provides access to reproductive health solutions for women and girls around the world, Pelletier recalled that the transition didn’t come without a few panicked moments. “The jump from private sector to nonprofit is a bit like leaping over the Grand Canyon. The acronyms alone are daunting,” she told Devex. That said, Pelletier came armed with tools to create a global supply chain of reproductive health products. She had 20 years of pharma work experience under her belt, giving her extensive knowledge of women’s health products and rolodex of contacts within the pharmaceutical industry. In an interview with Devex, Pelletier talked about her inspiration, how she built her “personal and professional cavalry” of contacts and why those who are impassioned by a cause should act on it. Can you pinpoint one moment that inspired WomanCare Global, or was it something that you had thought about for years? I had several aha moments throughout my career. The first occurred whilst growing up in a rural community where women seemed to have few choices and even the choices that they did have were centered around what a man had already decided. Secondly, while in college, I realized that many of the young women around me were there as much to select a husband as to select a career path. Thirdly, as I began my career, I often heard feedback from women chronologically in their midlife (45-60) while we were conducting quantitative and qualitative research on what women want for hormonal choices — many instead wanted to discuss when in life did it become “their time.” When was it their chance to put themselves first because their husbands and their children had benefited from their sacrifices. The list of aha moments is long, but one of the most important was my first trip to Africa, which forever changed me. Seeing the overwhelming need for change and observing women and girls bearing the brunt of responsibility for families and communities while literally being treated worse than animals. At that time, I was unable to compartmentalize this horrific reality and pledged to myself that experience happened for a reason. Perhaps WCG providing safe and affordable contraception is not the answer to all of these problems, but it certainly is a piece of the solution puzzle. You mentioned that your contacts from 20 years of pharmaceutical work ended up playing a huge part in the initial success of WomanCare Global. How so? The pharmaceutical industry educates, mentors and creates a platform for every ambitious person who wants to refine his or her overall skills. I was lucky enough to have roles in sales, marketing, management, managed care and the global commercialization of many different brands where I met people who were experts in their roles. I called upon them to help me launch WomanCare Global — and thank goodness they took my calls. I was also able to build relationships with people in clinical, regulatory, quality assurance and global logistics. Many consulted for me to develop the business plan for WCG, and I recruited a few to come over to the NGO side. You’ve said that many of your early supporters were tired of the bureaucracy and the mergers in the private sector. How did that help you get people on board? Some people have an entrepreneurial spirit that cannot be denied. Identifying and then feeding that spirit is a challenging pursuit. However, once a self-starter hears the concept of a virtual organization focused on global consciousness with the emphatic mantra of “checking your ego at the door,” they find it hard to resist an environment like WomanCare Global. There is definitely the wonderful comfort in a big bureaucratic environment but it can also become like groundhog’s day. The people who dedicate their lives to public health are extraordinary yet often have trepidations about profit and sometimes a misunderstanding of what it takes to create sustainable business practices. Because WCG sits on the axis of the private and the public sectors, the leap is not as great. Our team cares passionately about executing our hybrid model, which is quite simply generating modest profits in developed markets and using those resources to impact markets where we would normally lose money. In turn, we are able to provide greater choice and access to products throughout the globe. How were you able to use those contacts to build your staff and supply chain, and what lessons can others draw from it? Every person should create a personal and professional cavalry. This is basically a rolodex of people who you identify with on a personal or professional level. These individuals may simply be nice contacts upon meeting them but communication should be maintained on an ongoing basis because as the winding road of life unfolds, you never know when a contact could be helpful and where people will end up. I have contacts now that I knew 20 years ago and they are extremely influential in many countries where WomanCare Global needs a friendly face. I would advise others to jog their memories about everyone influential that they have met, find out where they are today (if they don’t already know) and reconnect. I also think that it is important to share brief and top-level updates about impactful initiatives that you or your organization are achieving in an informative but nonboastful way. This sometimes creates new contacts unexpectedly and good people like building bridges for others because it is all about karma. What kind of NGO or business experience did you have prior to founding WomanCare? My NGO experience prior to WCG was obsolete. My business experience, however, was comprised of many hard lessons learned with a spattering of wonderful accomplishments — all in the area of women’s health care. Some of the most obvious but most important lessons learned were: - Always hire people smarter than yourself. - Create a corporate culture of transparency at every level. - Care passionately about creating an environment where people are emotionally invested in their work. - Always inspect what you expect in every department. - Never take yourself too seriously. - Don’t confuse motion with action. - Always admit what you don’t know and fall on your sword for what you know to be true. - Remember people’s birthdays. How different is a day in your life now compared to the time you worked in the private sector? Running a global and virtual organization requires an unorthodox time zone and travel schedule. Accessibility is absolutely key so I often start my days well before sun up, and although I believe in work-life balance, weekends might come in the middle of the week. Like everyone who works at WCG, we follow a schedule that works for our life. No one needs to make excuses for attending family events or needing a personal afternoon because everyone is fanatically committed to our goals. When you create a startup, the personal and professional seem to blend together, so rarely do I spend time outside the WCG family. But that seems to be exactly where we all choose to be. What advice would you give someone eager to transition from private sector to NGO work? The first challenge is really taking the time to do your due diligence to find out what pulls on your heartstrings, and then having the ability to make a commitment to a cause that you feel impassioned over. The second is understanding the political and fundamental barriers that may be associated with the cause and appreciating the cultural sensitivities that surround the mission. Finally, remember that oftentimes an adjustment in thinking may be required financially to serve a mission rather than chasing the almighty dollar. This is not for the faint of heart. In my opinion nonprofit work requires as much focus, tenacity and chutzpah as private sector roles. So if you need a relaxing vacation, this should not be your destination of choice. However, if you like to lie awake at night finding new and creative ways to make a difference in the world — then nonprofit work is the right field for you. Have questions or want to share your own career transition tips? Please leave a comment below, tweet @devexcareers or email careers@devex.com.