International Women's Day. Give to Gain.

Years ago, a woman I worked with looked around and noticed something missing.

There were young professionals searching for leaders who'd walked the path ahead of them — people they could learn from, people who understood the journey.

But those connections weren't happening by accident. They needed intention.

So Nicole James built something.

She created GEMS — a mentorship community focused on the real challenges women and minorities face in their careers. Not abstract career advice. Honest conversations about navigating what others don't always see.

I had the privilege of serving as a mentor in GEMS during a season of intentional leadership — a time when I wanted to give back and contribute to future leaders who look like me. And here's what I didn't expect: mentoring others clarified my own path. Helping someone else navigate what I'd already walked through reminded me how far I'd come — and showed me what I still had to offer.

That's the thing about giving. It gains.

I caught up with Nicole earlier this week. What started as a small community has now expanded across countries and grown to include both women and men. She's still at it. Still building. Still creating space for people to find mentors and become them.

This International Women's Day, I'm not celebrating an abstract idea. I'm celebrating a specific woman who saw a gap and filled it — not because anyone told her to, but because she understood that mentorship is too important to leave to chance.

Nicole, thank you. For the vision. For the consistency. For showing all of us what it looks like to give in a way that multiplies.

Who's the person who created space for you?

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