Tamra Ryan - CEO Women's Bean Project

Tamra Ryan

Tamra Ryan is the CEO of Women’s Bean Project, a Colorado 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the mission to change women’s lives by providing stepping stones to self-sufficiency through social enterprise. They believe that all women have the power to transform their lives through employment, and as a result they hire women who are chronically unemployed and they teach them to work by making nourishing products. Through the Women’s Bean Project, these women learn to stand tall, find their purpose and break the cycle of poverty. At the Bean Project, they believe when you change a woman’s life, you change her family’s life, too.

Tamra leads the Bean Project’s strategic direction and is instrumental in putting the organization on the national and international map, as a high-performing and impactful social enterprise. She is a former board member of Social Venture Partners-Denver, currently chairs the Board of Directors for the Social Enterprise Alliance and is on the advisory board for the Barton Institute for Philanthropy and Social Enterprise at the University of Denver.Congressman Mike Coffman (R-CO) recognized Tamra’s servant leadership and entered it into the Congressional Record of the 115th Congress, Second Session in May 2018. She has also been named one of the 2017 Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Colorado, was a speaker at TEDxMilehigh and is the author of The Third Law, a book which highlights the societal obstacles and internal demons that must be overcome for marginalized women to change their lives. The Third Law has won multiple awards for women/minorities in business and social activism. She is currently working on her second book, Followship: How to be a Leader Worth Following.

I’m so excited for you guys to connect with Tamra, check out her work with the Women’s Bean Project, and follow along as they change women’s lives by providing stepping stones to self-sufficiency through social enterprise.

I'd love it if you'd introduce yourself, what you do, and what you're working on.

I’m Tamra Ryan and I serve as CEO of Women’s Bean Project. As CEO my job is to provide the strategic direction and leadership for our team as well as to be the public face of the organization in order to bring resources and support to Women’s Bean Project. There are a couple of special projects I’m currently working on. First, in celebration of the Bean Project’s 30th anniversary, I am writing a blog series entitled “Pearls: 30 lessons learned on our 30 year journey”. The link to our blog can be found here. I am also looking for a new home in Denver for our organization as we have run out of space at our current location. Lastly, I have begun work on my second book, entitled Followship: How to be a leader worth following.

How did you get started?

My involvement with the Bean Project began as a volunteer. I was seeking a way to become more connected in the community and Women’s Bean Project was looking for someone with marketing and sales experience to join its sales and marketing committee. I volunteered for about six months and then the position of CEO came open. After trying to recruit a friend of mine to apply for the position, she said, “If you think it’s so great, why don’t you do it?” That was 16 years ago. What I loved about this organization then was that there is a business and the better the business does, the more the mission can be served. Today, I still love that idea, only now I get to meet each woman as she is hired, when she might come across as scared, angry or resentful. Then, over a relatively short amount of time – six to 9 months – she literally blossoms into the woman I believe she was meant to be. Every woman is a story of transformation and hope.

What inspired the work that you're doing?

In 1989 our founder was working on her Master of Social Work degree. As a requirement for the degree, she volunteered at a daytime homeless shelter for women and children. The women needed the services of the daytime shelter because they didn’t have a job to go to during the day when the night-time shelters are closed. She observed that even though the shelter kept the women safe, it didn’t help the women create lasting change in their lives. Women would get a job and leave the shelter, but she saw the same women returning time after time. She came upon the idea that if she could teach women to get and keep employment by actually working, that would be the cure for poverty. She invested $500 of her own money to buy beans and put two women to work making 10 Bean Soup, our first product, which they sold in the 1989 holiday season. That original investment yielded $6,100 in sales, the start of the social enterprise we are today.

Today we have about 50 different products sold across the US in about 1,000 stores and through numerous online outlets. But what has stayed the same is our mission to changewomen’s lives by providing stepping stones to self-sufficiency through social enterprise.

What is your biggest passion? Do you feel like you're living your passion and purpose?

I feel most passionate about being the best I can be; showing up as my best self in every context. To me this means being the best leader and coworker, the best mother and partner, the best friend and community member. I see this as a journey rather than a destination. It’s about being mindful of how I’m showing up in each of these contexts. I don’t think I’m ever “done,” justconstantly learning how to be better.

I believe my purpose is to use my platform wisely. I have the opportunity to represent those without a voice. That is an awesome opportunity and responsibility.

What is your joy blueprint? What lights you up, brings you joy, and makes you feel the most alive?

Appreciation. Of my life, of the gifts I’ve been given. Of the accident of birth that allowed me to be who and what I am today.

How do you live intentionally? Are there tools/resources/practices that you rely on to help you stay mindful and grounded?

I try to remember to start with the end in mind. In every situation I try to consciously ask myself what is the purpose, what do I hope to accomplish, how might I be most effective. That’s how Itry to live intentionally, with each action working toward a larger purpose.

In my interactions with others I also try to remember that each person is on their own journey. And while at this moment I may be on the journey with them, eventually they will continue the journey on their own. Therefore, I try to be very thoughtful about how might I best help the person on their journey and help them shine. This idea applies to the women we serve at the Bean Project, our staff members, my children, etc.

Lastly, I stay grounded in the fact that though I am the leader, and often the face, of an amazingorganization, it’s never about me.

What would your younger self think about what you're doing now?

My younger self would wonder why I worked so hard to get those two science degrees in order to be CEO of a nonprofit social enterprise. What I would tell my younger self is not to worry so much about where the path is going, but to be open to the possibilities and work hard.

Do you have a go-to mantra or affirmation?

I have what I call my park bench analysis; i.e., when I’m 80 sitting on a park bench, looking backat my life, what will I regret not having done? If the thing I am considering is something I believe I will regret not having done, I will pursue it. My other mantra is that fear is no excuse.

What is your biggest dream?

Having my first book, The Third Law, picked up as one of Oprah’s book club books. The book is about the challenges the women who come to the Bean Project face as they work to change their lives. It’s also about my personal journey and realizing it’s not possible to witnesstransformation without being transformed.

My MACRO dream is that the work Women’s Bean Project does today is so effective and far- reaching that there is need for our services in 20 years.

To learn more about Tamra and Women’s Bean Project you can visit their website www.womensbeanProject.com and you can find Tamra on Twitter @tamraryan and via email Tamra.ryan@womensbeanproject.com and you can find Women’s Bean Project on Instagram @womensbeanproject on Twitter @womensbean and Facebook @womensbeanproject

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