Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY TK; ILLUSTRATION BY TK to compromise and think they have to be very dictatorial because they see that as a sign of strength. I see it as quite the opposite. LH: Lucia, you made a leap from being a corporate lawyer to an agent for the FBI; and Kerry, you went from politics to education. What gave you both the confidence to say, "I'm going to be fine" ? Kerry Healey: I looked at the culture of Babson College, and it was an entrepreneur institution. It was a place that embraced change and wanted to help change society for the better by empowering people. One of the rea- sons I went into government was to find ways to create positive change and to empower people. When you think about economic empowerment, that's especially important to women, right? This is what frees women up from difficult situations, and it's what allows them to provide for themselves and their families. I saw enough commonality between the two things that I could make that leap. I wasn't concerned. LH: Was that true for you as well, Lucia, knowing that you were essen- tially going from one area of law to another, but that something would be different? More adrenaline, perhaps? Lucia Ziobro: At the US Attorney's office, I was exposed to DEA agents, FBI agents, IRS agents, and they were real people. They encouraged me. LH: How important is that notion of risk in what you're doing? BL: You have to take a risk. You won't have a life unless you take that risk. Jumping off the cliff… I don't know, opening eight restaurants was crazy. I was self-taught. Writing a menu in French—it was all crazy. It still is crazy. But when you take that risk, that's when you find the path you're suppose to be on. It just grows from there. PJ: I agree with Barbara. In medicine, women's health is a relatively new field, so it involves developing something quite new and entre- preneurial in a very traditional environment. How to navigate that, how to build [something new] yet respect and honor the current cul- ture, how to truly break through those barriers—that was a risk, but one that that has paid off tremendously. The science speaks for itself. The impact speaks for itself. CO: I totally agree that it's important to take that risk. What I have seen and experienced is that women hold themselves back; we don't PHOTOGRAPHY BY TK; ILLUSTRATION BY TK that risk, that's when you find the path you're suppose to be on. It just grows from there. PJ: new field, so it involves developing something quite new and entre- preneurial in a very traditional environment. How to navigate that, how to build [something new] yet respect and honor the current cul- ture, how to truly break through those barriers—that was a risk, but one that that has paid off tremendously. The science speaks for itself. The impact speaks for itself. CO: seen and experienced is that women hold themselves back; we don't TOP: Carmen Ortiz answers a question from the audience. LEFT: Photographer Mitch Weiss directs. BELOW: Carmen Ortiz, Kerry Healey, and Lucia Ziobro. "YOU HAVE TO TAKE A R ISK. YOU WON'T HAVE A LIFE UNLESS YOU TAKE THAT R ISK. THAT'S WHEN YOU FIND THE PATH YOU'R E SUPPOSED TO BE ON." —BARBARA LYNCH BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM 109 106-111_BC_F_Women_LateSpring14.indd 109 4/7/14 4:24 PM