LIVING
LOCAL WE Elevate Why Walk When You Can Fly
GINA GIACOMO
Empowering Others to SOAR! by Michelle R. Nickens
“Once you have tasted the taste of sky, you will forever look up.” —Leonardo Da Vinci
G
ina Giacomo was the only female in her college skydiving club and has literally soared through life. With her heart as her guide, she has used her keen listening skills, objectivity and genuine love of people to change the lives of everyone she touches. “People say that I walk around with rose colored glasses on because I always see the best in everyone.” A quality that has made Gina a great mentor, friend, and confidant. "I support everyone,” she said, “men, women, and children—it takes all of us.” The passion for helping others started when Gina was in high school. She marched in Washington DC for the ERA, had the opportunity to meet suffragettes and volunteered at a local domestic violence shelter. Her mother and grandmother instilled in her to be fiercely independent, have courage, be passionate and confident. “It was the norm, not the exception,” Gina said. Currently, Gina is the Director of Administration at the Commission on Offender Review and is the chair of the Tallahassee/Leon County Commission for the Status of Women and Girls. She has volunteered and served in leadership roles at Zonta Club of Tallahassee, the Big Bend Coalition for the Homeless’ Hope Community, PACE Center for Girls, Refuge House, Oasis Center for Women & Girls and many others. “Generations of women have made it easier,” Gina explained, “and have passed the torch to me. It is my job to do the same. What that person does with the torch is up to them. I support a person’s goal. I don’t tell them what to do. What we want for people isn’t necessarily what they need. I provide thoughts on the good things and the challenges. People must choose to change their lives. You can’t change it for them. I was blessed early in my career to see that people can change, and I’ve carried that with me.”
16 tallahassee woman • februar y / march 2019
Gina shared a story of one woman she worked with who had three children, no high school education and needed help. Gina offered recommendations on jobs, supported her and listened. Years later, Gina learned that two of the woman’s children graduated college, one was in college and she had moved into management. “People say if you throw one starfish in the ocean, it doesn’t matter. It does! Empowerment isn’t about giving a pep talk. It is about listening and respecting someone’s journey.” Gina has gone the extra mile to support others, often not realizing it would lead to someone making a positive change in their life. “Most of the time,” she explained, “you don’t know you’re empowering someone.” In college, Gina waited tables. Another waitress always asked her why she studied all the time. “She said I should just be happy and content but I wanted more. We talked about this all the time.” Years later, the waitress called, asking permission to use Gina in an inspirational book she was writing. “I asked why she was writing about me. She said—I went to school, got a degree and now I’m an inspirational speaker. You are the one who told me I was smart and should go to college and how you jumped out of airplanes with no fear. I started thinking, I should be more fearless.” Gina was shocked. Words and actions are powerful and have a longlasting impact. “You also don’t know that when you support others, you will be the one that walks away with the prize. You get this huge thing in your life that you didn’t know was going to happen.” Gina was a member of a local tap group and one of her fellow dancers wanted to audition for a musical. “My friend didn’t want to go alone. I