Leadership times three: EmBe board members share passion behind service

This paid piece is sponsored by EmBe.

From financial services and communications to health care and higher education, members of EmBe’s board of directors reflect the strength and diversity of the broader community the organization serves.

EmBe is guided by a 12-member board of directors that helps provide leadership, vision, guidance and governance.

“Our board members serve as a crucial connection between the community, our organization and our mission,” EmBe CEO Kerri Tietgen said. “We’re grateful for the service of women and men of all ages and backgrounds and the unique skill sets they bring to our board.”

We sat down with three members of the board who blend their personal experiences with their professional expertise to help serve EmBe.

Board service follows lifelong connection

From childhood through motherhood, EmBe has been a constant in Beth Jensen’s life.

Growing up, her mother volunteered for what was then the Sioux Falls YWCA, including at an annual Santa’s workshop event where kids walked a themed path to meet Santa.

“My mom would bake Santa sugar cookies, so I have fond memories of that, and then we just spent time there as a family,” she said. “My daughter, Katie, played volleyball there several years, and both my kids got their babysitting certificates there.”

The news director at KELO-TV, Jensen also served as a mentor for many years for EmBe’s Women in Leadership Program, was recognized with a 2019 Tribute to Women award and emceed EmBe events, including the recent 100th anniversary celebration.

“What an honor to have my daughter, Katie, as well as my mother, Suzanne, on stage with me,” she said. “And one of the most rewarding community service things I’ve done is the mentorship program because you get to know someone on such a personal level and walk with them through their journey, and I love that.”

Jensen moved from volunteer and participant to board member when she joined the EmBe board earlier this year.

“I really enjoy it,” she said. “It’s a great mix of people, and I really love where EmBe is going in the sense of supporting women and children and families. Nothing is more important to our community from an economic perspective and also from an enrichment perspective than investing in women, children and families.”

Jensen, who also serves on the board of Sioux Falls Thrive, has enjoyed seeing the two boards collaborate as they tackle critical community issues such as access to child care.

“The more you know about the issue, the more complex it is,” she said. “And it’s so important with workforce shortages to have reliable, safe child care for families. The cost is such an issue for so many people, and paying workers a living wage is so important. EmBe has done a great job with their leadership in this area.”

Connection to mission drives service

Natasha Smith can point to multiple times in her life when EmBe would have been invaluable.

There was the time as a child when her mother transitioned from a food service job to become a registered nurse and experienced workplace culture shock.

And there was her own journey from entry-level call center work into a professional environment, when mentorship would have been huge.

“We have a lot of really great organizations in Sioux Falls that are giving back, especially when I think about workforce development, but the specificity around helping women at EmBe is really important to me,” she said.

“One of the bigger challenges is how do we make the connection between people in need and the services that are going to be a good fit for them. I think we have a lot of folks in Sioux Falls who would benefit from raising awareness. Plugging people in tends to be a challenge, and I think this has been a great year for EmBe because that story has been alive in our community.”

Smith, who leads diversity, equity and inclusion at Sanford Health, first connected to EmBe as a volunteer helping women with resumes and mock interviews, including those who were new to the U.S. or victims of sex trafficking.

She joined the board in early 2020.

“I think our 100-year anniversary this year has done a great job raising awareness around the services EmBe provides. The Women to the Workforce program is exceptional, and moving Dress for Success downtown where it’s easily accessible and much closer to the heart of the city is another big win by the organization for this community – just being accessible to the populations we serve.”

Going forward, “I’m really excited for the future with EmBe,” Smith continued. “We’ve done a great job telling the story this year, reaching new populations and reaching women with services, so I’m excited to expand on that. I think it’s about going deeper and not necessarily casting a wider net.”

Longtime service culminates as chair

Sonja Theisen’s EmBe life cycle has taken her from new mom to board chair.

“It started when my three boys were very young and in child care, so that was my initial draw to the organization. They started as babies downtown and then went through preschool in the Spanish Immersion program,” she said.

“I think for any mom, child care is one of the most important decisions you can make. As a parent, you have to enlist your trust in someone to have a career, and, at the time, I worked downtown, so the location was incredibly important as was the curriculum. When my sons went to Spanish immersion in elementary school, they stepped in day one and were able to thrive.”

Theisen, executive vice president of governance, risk and compliance at Pathward Financial, then connected with EmBe through the Women’s Leadership Program, where she served as a mentor and sponsored some of her female colleagues who completed the program.

“It was incredibly valuable to them,” she said. “It inspires confidence and provides them with tools you don’t necessarily think about going through your job every day.”

She first joined EmBe’s finance committee and then became a member of the board of directors in 2015. She currently serves as board chair.

“I have a background in accounting and finance, so I’m able to bring that skill set to the board,” she said. “All the board members challenge the team in different ways to think outside the box. It’s one of the best and brightest boards I’ve ever worked with.”

EmBe is doing well “sticking to its roots,” Theisen added. “We serve so many women and families and support them so they can thrive, which is a mission that really has continued from the beginning to where we sit today. I think our community needs that. When women excel, the families surrounding them are more successful too.”

Going forward, EmBe plans to continue building on its core mission while addressing additional ways to strengthen the circle of empowerment through serving women and families, including middle school and high school services as well as expanding services for women in all ages and stages, she said.

“And we are coming to the table with different organizations to figure out how we can be a value-added player to help address the child care crisis in our community and ensure families who need care have it,” she said. “We’re not necessarily expanding our programs but ensuring they’re top-notch and we’re delivering to the absolute best of our team’s ability.”

To learn more about the programs and services offered at EmBe, click here.