This feature is our inaugural recognition of Women Setting the Table. After we launched our Save a Seat Campaign, these women came to mind as we realized it was Time to Set the Table. They are creating spaces and welcoming others to join them.
In a world where ‘hustle’ culture and ‘get-rich-quick’ business are common, social impact is often an afterthought. These three women are dedicated to enriching their own communities through their own businesses and helping others bloom. From postpartum gift boxes to a children’s book, these women are setting the table–not only for themselves but for women everywhere.
Maria Berglund
It takes a village to raise a child and Maria Berglund, the founder of In Kind Boxes and mother of three, knows that better than anyone. Her nonprofit is dedicated to helping women before and after birth with special gift boxes that include treats for both the baby and the mother. Berglund believes that “[h]aving a baby is one of the biggest moments of someone’s life. It only makes sense to show up and be a village for them.”
Berglund became concerned with the maternal health crisis in the United States and decided to help out struggling new parents by starting her nonprofit. Having a baby is an extreme time, money, and physical commitment and the support parents need is not sufficient in healthcare systems. When Berglund started her nonprofit, one out of every seven babies was born into poverty. “Imagine not having had a baby shower, or the funds to even purchase the most basic essentials that you need to take care of yourself or your baby. Imagine what it would be like going through that and not having family or friends who can help you during that time,” she explains. The In Kind Boxes include not just gifts for the baby but for the mother as well. Baby supplies like nursing pads and a blanket are stocked alongside self-care items for the birthing parent such as lip balms and facial masks.
Since starting the company, Berglund has received critical acclaim nationwide. In Kind Boxes has been featured on television, podcasts, and websites. For her, it’s all about the mothers/birthing parents that the gift boxes have helped, stating: “I'm always so grateful when I receive thoughtful messages from mothers themselves saying how special they feel after receiving a gift box from In Kind.” The boxes have helped over 2,200 families in need since the founding.
While many postpartum families have received an In Kind Box, Berglund is always looking to create more opportunities for awareness. Social media has been a great factor in that, helping grow the community and recognition for the nonprofit. Berglund, who tirelessly works to find new partnerships and grants, shares: “I am continuously working… (to) expand our reach in order to be able to help more struggling families. We provide gift boxes to families with newborns for a variety of reasons including those who struggle financially, NICU families, refugee families, cancer families, those suffering from PMADs, and more.” Anybody and everybody is able to donate money or items as well, solidifying the community around postpartum parenthood.
Akilah Darden
Akilah Darden, an Indianapolis-based founder in construction, saves seats wherever she goes. Not just a manager for any business, Darden is the founder and owner of The Darden Group, a construction management company.
She enjoys helping others to be able to access their own opportunities, saying “[i]t is important to me because we perform at our best when we have people in the room that we can relate to, allows us to be ourselves, and embraces our perspectives and suggestions.” Her construction projects prove it, too--a current project is 44% people of color, and another for a manufacturing facility is being built by 100% diverse contractors.
Darden is also proud of a smaller but just as significant project: the book she and her children wrote, called My Mom is a Construction Manager. Written through the eyes of her children, it tells the tale of a woman making her own entrepreneurial success, helping remove stigmas about women of color carving their own path through the world and making their own careers. For her, helping open the door for people who may not usually have the opportunity is the most important aspect. Darden has seen individuals gain opportunities, she says, “all because I not only opened the door, but also placed a doorstop at the door, and showed companies how they can be more intentional about equitable opportunities for diverse vendors and the diverse workforce. Standing behind diverse goals as an expectation and qualification in order to receive contracts, is the impact I am most proud of.”
Another way Darden helps open doors of opportunity is by offering a construction management class. With 18 years in the business, they offer a certification institute-approved course to help people make their own opportunities and success. Darden loves the impact that it has on others; her goal is to “continue inspiring, encouraging, supporting, and empowering others to achieve their dreams by executing their specific skills. My goal is to continue to remove barriers of entry not only in construction but in entrepreneurship and STEM fields.” Her attitude was inspired because of the discrimination and walls that were put up when she was a young Black woman starting out in construction.
Now, Darden writes of her own success in spite of the difficulties faced: “I have witnessed the impact I have made in communities when I see individuals who have started on one of my projects and are now on larger, more complex projects and some are in managerial capacities. I have had family members who not only said thank you for getting their family hired but have also chosen a career in construction. I have seen my mentees become successful business owners. I have hired entrepreneurs who are now very successful business owners.”
Her success is built off of building others to be successful, and Darden loves it. Mentoring others is one of her passions and she continues to help educate anyone she can. “Everyone can lead and inspire in the seat they are currently in,” she states.
Lissa Prudencio
Meet Lissa Prudencio, AFC®. She’s the founder of Wealth for Women of Color, dedicated to breaking down barriers in financial education. Based in Los Angeles, she uses YouTube, TikTok, and other apps to produce educational investment and financial content for women of color.
Prudencio’s passion for financial education comes from her own experience with the systemic wealth gap. Raised by Filipino immigrants in California, she worked hard but became frustrated by her own lack of access to wealth knowledge.
“It wasn’t until I started seeking more knowledge about money—driven by frustration—that I realized how limited my views of wealth and success had been,” Prudencio states. For much of her life, her own view of success was landing a stable job and saving money. “While there’s nothing wrong with these goals, they can be limiting in scope. For instance, I never considered investing in the stock market because it wasn’t something my parents did. I never thought about starting my own business because I was only taught to earn money through traditional employment,” she explains. Prudencio further explains that money is often a taboo topic among cultures, especially amongst women who weren’t taught good financial advice.
With her background in corporate at Google and after becoming an accredited financial counselor and certified educator, Prudencio started to make her own content to help other women. “Women of color, in particular, earn less money and hold far less wealth than white men,” she says. “Through my platform, Wealth for Women of Color, I want to change that narrative. I want women of color to see that wealth is for them—that the words ‘wealth’ and ‘women of color’ belong in the same sentence. But before they can attain it, they first have to be exposed to the idea that it is possible.”
Prudencio now has many avenues where someone can learn about financial advice--a podcast called Net Net, a YouTube channel, TikTok, and more. She feels honored by making even the smallest impact on someone’s life, saying that “[t]he common thread is that women finally feel seen and heard when it comes to their struggles with money. To me, positively influencing one person’s future trajectory of wealth is a huge win and fuels the work that I do.”
With her background in corporate at Google and after becoming an accredited financial counselor and certified educator, Prudencio started to make her own content to help other women. “Women of color, in particular, earn less money and hold far less wealth than white men,” she says. “Through my platform, Wealth for Women of Color, I want to change that narrative. I want women of color to see that wealth is for them—that the words ‘wealth’ and ‘women of color’ belong in the same sentence. But before they can attain it, they first have to be exposed to the idea that it is possible.”
Prudencio now has many avenues where someone can learn about financial advice--a podcast called Net Net, a YouTube channel, TikTok, and more. She feels honored by making even the smallest impact on someone’s life, saying that “[t]he common thread is that women finally feel seen and heard when it comes to their struggles with money. To me, positively influencing one person’s future trajectory of wealth is a huge win and fuels the work that I do.”
These channels enable her to help others, and she’s always working to reach more people. She shares, “My current focus is on expanding my reach through my podcast, Net Net, and my YouTube channel, Wealth for Women of Color.”
Interviews with Maria Berglund, Akilah Darden, and Lissa Prudencio by Zoe Walsh. Images courtesy of interviewees.
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