Signature Spotlight Alysa Southall

THE MAG

INSPIRED WOMEN IN BUSINESS

May 2024

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SPOTLIGHT -Alysa Southall

Advocating for Equal Work Opportunities in America Today with the Trailblazing CEO and Founder of A People Partner

A People Partner Executive and CEO, Alysa Southall, is an individual who deserves recognition for the outstanding work she does every single day. As a leading authority and advocate she helps create equal work opportunities for all.

Over the years she has established herself as a person who cares about others and has a true passion to make the world a better place by the caring force she presents. Southall’s career began in a humble way by working in human resources departments at various locations. No job was too small, and she quickly learned what made things positive and what streamlined successful placements in the workforce.

Now her renowned company puts her work as an advocate for people on the forefront. Founded in 2022, the woman-owned business provides groundbreaking human resources and diverse recruiting services, and equal opportunity to job seekers. The entrepreneur is a trailblazer who is impacting the lives of hundreds of people who seek her help in the most spectacular way.

Q&A We recently sat with Southall to get her take on being a woman with a thriving business and how she is shaping the workforce landscape.

A People Partner is simply refreshing. Can you tell me what personally drove you to launch this?

After working in corporate HR and recruiting and seeing how parts of those processes were broken, I knew that I needed to make changes. To make the large scale of change that I desired, I had to start my own business so that I could help as many companies as possible. I knew I had the ability to make our workplaces better through diversity, empathy, equality, inclusion, teamwork, and transparency.

I’ve always had leadership tendencies and mindsets. I knew that I needed to build my own company to help others see the visions and changes that our world needs.

What are the three most influential things from your past that have influenced you to be the woman you are today?

My mom helped me to gain the confidence, strength, and independence I needed to become the person I am today. She has always believed in me, cheered me on, taught me to take accountability, empowered me to use my voice and to love myself. She let me pave my own path but was a helping hand along the way when I needed it. She is my best friend and my biggest supporter.

My niece changed my life. She taught me unconditional love.

Because of her I remember to have a little fun in this thing we call life. I get to see the world through her eyes, and I wish one day that the world she dreams of will be the one we live in. Everything I do, the business owner I want to become and the person I am is because of her. I want her to believe that the sky is the limit and to know that she can be whoever and whatever she wants to.

I didn’t know the profound impact this would have on my life years later, but in kindergarten I protected a young boy who was being bullied because he was disabled. Kids would pick on him for all sorts of reasons whether it was in class, at lunch or at recess. I stepped in and protected him. I sat with him at lunch and in class and made sure he was safe. For me, it was simple. He was a human being who deserved to be treated with love and kindness. What I didn’t know was that the school made sure he was in my class every year throughout elementary school. At our 6th grade graduation his parents came up to me and my family and thanked me for the kindness I had shown him. In the last few years, I have really started to comprehend how much my actions impacted him and his family. And how much that laid the groundwork for how I treated people throughout the rest of my life.

Your company has the motto of being an advocate for diversity while being sure to remember empathy and kindness. This is powerful. Why are these fundamental principles so important to you?

Equal opportunity doesn’t exist in our country today.

That is simply unacceptable. Every human being should have the right to be treated fairly, equitably, paid a living wage and with basic human rights. Every statistic will show you that diverse teams outperform non-diverse teams (financially and otherwise) every single time. If a company wants to innovate, they must be diverse. We never know what is going on in someone else’s life. We can’t walk in their shoes, and we can’t imagine what they’ve lived. But we can believe their stories as true. We can show them kindness, compassion, respect, care, and empathy. Even if we don’t understand or wouldn’t have responded the same way, we must come from a place of empathy and kindness. If companies would be genuine in these three elements, then we would have better working environments for people, happier families, and more profitable communities.

Companies who lead with a people-first approach statistically outperform profit over people models. All the data will show that if companies pour into their people and put them first, that the company will increase in productivity and profitability.

What are the hardest things about being a woman in your field?

For me, it’s been more difficult being a “young” woman.

Throughout my working career, I’ve always been told I was “too young” to be a leader. But I could conceptualize things well beyond the leaders I was working with. I could see the bigger picture and it was almost impossible not to see it. But I refused to let that be my story.

Of course, I still faced criticisms like too emotional, too loud, too outspoken, etc. I was always the person who would stand up for what was fair and just. So often that put a label on my back about being too outspoken. I learned early in my life that I wasn’t going to let anyone else define me. I took up space, I said what I felt, I fought for what was right because I could, and I had to.

Despite what can be hard, how does being a woman help you succeed in the field?

As a woman, I understand that our lives don’t revolve around work. That there are many sides to us that make up the whole person we are. Because of the number of times I’ve been overlooked, insulted, shamed, etc. just for my gender helps me lead with more empathy for others. I am able to help break down societal walls and barriers because others have tried to close me in a box.

How does being a woman in this space give you a competitive edge?

Being a woman in HR doesn’t give me a competitive edge, as it’s mostly a female dominated industry. However, I think that my answer about empathy from question 5 can be applied here too. I spent a lot of my life being competitive.

As an athlete who played on mostly boys’ teams and as someone who hung out with mostly guys, I was naturally competitive. I had to be. I had to show that I deserved a spot on the field, more than anyone else. And as a woman the competition increases because we are pitted together to fight for the few opportunities that exist for us. So, I’m not focused on being competitive anymore. I’m focused on surrounding myself with people who help me achieve the goals I know are possible for our workforces.

What are you most proud of today?

I am proud that I can be part of a group of incredibly powerful, confident, and successful women who are helping to close the dream gap. Many young girls don’t dream of becoming a CEO because it’s not a path that’s laid out for them growing up. I hope that my journey of being a CEO will inspire young girls to do anything they dream. No matter what.

I am proud to be part of a community of incredible people who are advocating for people-first work cultures, living wage employment, equality, equity, human rights, diversity and inclusion, fair hiring, and job seeker empowerment.

Tell me something else that inspires you.

The power of community and networking has been very instrumental for me. When I began my business, I was fortunate to have a neighbor, Mo Levasseur, who had been the owner of her business for years. She is also an incredible networker. Whenever I needed anything for my business, she had someone to refer me to. That helped me significantly.

Mo was also one of my biggest supporters and confidants throughout my journey thus far. Mo also encouraged me to attend a North Shore Women in Business networking event and two years later I am President of that same organization. Although our name has changed to North Shore Women Connect, the camaraderie and support I have received from the women in that group have helped me to grow and feel empowered in my own business. So, for me, networking was extremely important. I have met some incredible people just by networking on LinkedIn.

“we must come from a place of empathy and kindness. If companies would be genuine in these three elements, then we would have better working environments for people, happier families, and more profitable communities.”

The relationships I have built have been essential for my business. Not only can I count on these individuals for support and encouragement, but they help me generate ideas, think differently, help me with things beyond my skill set and provide a listening ear when I need something. With one of them, Sarah Blankenship, we even started regularly weekly Zoom calls. Without all these people, the road of entrepreneurship would have felt lonely and discouraging. I can't thank them all enough for the kindness, love and support they have and continue to show me. Never be afraid to network. The rewards are too great to risk losing.

What are the three things you are most excited for in the future?

I have three major initiatives that I want to implement. I am hopeful that one of them will be moving forward soon. This will change how we hire talent for the better. It will provide more inclusivity, less barriers, less discrimination, and more equitable hiring processes. Once I have secured funding for this, I can begin to make the changes that the world of hiring and the people in those communities need.

I want to resume my podcast and newsletter. We have been on a hiatus, and I would like to get everything back up and running. These two media were great sources of information, inspiration, and resources to those who received them.

I am in the process of writing a book for my business. I have written four novels which I am working toward getting published. However, it will be nice to have a book for my business written and published.

For more information on the wonderful work that Southall does, please visit apeoplepartnerllc.com and check out her All People Podcast at https://www.youtube.com/@apeoplepartnerllc.