Some might find following a legend to be a daunting assignment. Dress for Success Tampa Bay’s new Executive Director Lisette Parsons is prepared for the challenge.
After the untimely 2023 passing of Katie McGill, Dress for Success’ first volunteer, driving force, and Executive Director for 16 years, a nationwide search was launched to find a successor.
Parsons was in a unique position to fill the role. She met McGill at a networking event in 2021 and they had an instant rapport. McGill recruited Parsons as a volunteer, eventually naming her interim executive assistant. In that role, Parsons became deeply familiar with the organization’s operation. That's one strength that made her the right choice for executive director. A track record of successful leadership is another.
“I started young,” Parsons says. “I got good grades; I was an honor student. I participated in a special program where I alternated between attending school one week and working at a law firm the next week. I learned so much, especially about customer service. I learned how meticulous you had to be to succeed. I loved the law.”
That respect for the legal process and the law firms that are vital to it introduced Parsons to a unique aspect of the business side of those firms. Before joining Dress for Success, she held numerous positions in the outsourcing industry, staffing law firms with employees from receptionists to paralegals.
“I loved putting together ‘dream teams,’” she says. “I’ve launched teams in sixteen states; I’ve traveled all over the country.”
In recognition of her efforts, Parsons was named the first Latina vice president at the Fortune 500 company where she worked. Her success is especially inspiring given the personal obstacles and challenges she overcame. Originally from the Bronx, New York, Parsons raised three now-grown children under challenging conditions. She refers to herself as “a domestic abuse survivor” and says her “passion now is to help other women…to give them hope.”
More than 60 percent of Dress for Success clients "are single mothers, working to overcome challenges and build brighter futures for their families," says a press release on the nonprofit's annual Power Walk fundraiser.
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Dress for Success Tampa BayDress for Success Tampa Bay Executive Director Lisette Parsons“When women ring the doorbell at Dress for Success, we help them,” Parsons says. “We not only dress them; we give them tools. We offer one-on-one career coaching appointments, and our Moving Forward programming is delivered in a classroom style to support job readiness and career development.”
Dress For Success volunteers help update resumes and LinkedIn profiles. They’ll also role-play practice interviews and help create a job search strategy. And very importantly, they’ll talk clients through difficult situations, or assist in finding non-job-related community resources if there are personal obstacles you need to overcome, Parsons says.
The organization is included in the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay’s 211 community resource data database, which helps connect people 24/7 to support and information on various community services, including assistance with financial difficulties, housing, food, and mental health.
Financial literacy training is also crucial. It familiarizes clients with the importance of good credit and their credit score. According to the Dress for Success website, “Clients learn about budgeting, basic banking, tackling debt issues, taxes, investing, credit, retirement, and more!” The organization partners with local and national banks and corporations to offer two to three financial education courses per year. Upon successful completion of the program, participants receive a $100 voucher.
As part of a holistic approach, Dress for Success also offers mental wellness support through group conversations and life coaching.
“Some of these women have been incarcerated,” Parsons says. “Some have fled unimaginable abuse, like the woman who had boiling water thrown at her and had to flee with five children. One woman came to us wearing only a sweater and no underclothes. They ring our bell, and they are embraced.”
Parsons’ dedication to her position and Dress for Success’s mission fuels everything she does, including driving daily to work from her home in Weeki Wachee.
“I’m very passionate about empowering women,” she says. “I just wish Dress for Success had existed when I needed them. I’m blessed that I can now do this work. I believe I’m fulfilling my purpose.”
For more information, go to Dress for Success Tampa Bay
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