Daily Inspiration: Meet Lauren Roadman

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Roadman.

Lauren, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I always knew I wanted to have a career focused on working with and helping people – I just didn’t know exactly what that meant. I started my career in nonprofits, working for a reputable cancer research organization, the William Guy Forbeck Research Foundation (WGFRF), where I got to flex my multi-tasking muscles, ignite my brain with curiosity and build new skills.

During my time at the Foundation, I thoroughly enjoyed what I was doing and the impact my work had on the world, though I was also asking myself what my next steps would be. After several years with WGFRF, I transitioned my career to the for-profit industry in a community impact role at Breckenridge Brewery, a then-subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch. I enjoy sharing this piece of my story because I took a risk by pitching to create the role I had for the next four years.

During my interview process at Breckenridge Brewery, in addition to the role available, I pitched to expand the position to add a community impact function – could I layer it into the role available? Could I create the community framework for the company from the ground up? Yes, I could, and they let me! They agreed to build out the position and over the course of my time in this role, I was fortunate to work with a team that encouraged building this idea together and allowed me to take risks in what I was trying to create.

As a result of building this role, I was even more fortunate to become the Craft Women in Beer National Lead with Anheuser-Busch, supporting over 20 craft breweries across the United States. This role enhanced my passion for corporate impact work and gave me the stepping stones for my next career adventure. Today, I work on the global community relations team at Ball Corporation – a tiny and mighty team of two – as a Global Community Relations Specialist, supporting our global community impact work.

Even two years in, it still feels unreal at moments that I landed one of my dream jobs, at such a great company. In community relations, we focus on supporting our team members with community impact opportunities and supporting charitable organizations to create a sustainable future through recycling and education in STEM.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Define smooth. Corporate Social Responsibility, the ‘S’ in ESG, is a very rewarding and impactful field and I am proud of myself for working as hard as I have over the years – and continuing to do so – to build the career I want. With that being said, smooth isn’t the word I would use. At times it was rewarding, joyful, humbling, and also, very hard.

Corporate Impact work is still developing as a field and is emotional work – we have to make hard choices on funding, programs, and strategy. It’s thanks to the amazing network of fellow CSR (corporate social responsibility) & ESG (environmental, social, governance) professionals I have leaned on over the years for insight, advice, and mentorship, that have helped me on my journey.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As a member of the global community relations team at Ball Corporation, my role focuses on supporting the communities that our team members call home – where we live and operate – through charitable partnerships, community engagement, and more.

There is a misconception that community impact work is mostly volunteerism. While volunteerism is important work and should be highly valued for its contributions to the community, (CSR) work goes much deeper into partnerships, strategy, and intent. As a community impact professional, my personal and professional goal is for my work to make a difference, every day, throughout my career.

If I have to pick one moment I am most proud of, I will say it was my time as a Craft Women in Beer National Lead for Anheuser-Busch. Being able to meet so many driven and successful women across the business was invaluable and I carry those relationships with me today. I believe in women supporting each other and “sending the elevator back down”.

That is exactly what that role was about – mentorship, support, education, and so much in between. During my time in this role, I had the privilege of bringing together over 70 women from locations across the country including curating educational content, engagement sessions, and time to network in a unique way.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
As someone who took a big risk to create the career I have – by pitching a job idea during an interview – I believe taking risks can be extremely rewarding. However, oddly enough, I don’t consider myself a risk-taker in the slightest. When I look back, I ask myself, was it a risk or was it advocating for what I wanted, doing my background research, and applying myself? I like to think it was a little of both.

Contact Info:

• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-roadman/

Image Credits
Eric Benner (@siraerich)