Forgive yourself instantly if you make a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes, an individual mistake is very rarely a big deal. Take time to understand what went wrong, but don’t waste more time wallowing in an error. If you keep making the same mistake, take the responsibility to find someone who can help you stop making it. Learning to ask for help is one of the greatest strengths you will ever develop.
As part of my series about “individuals and organizations making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kate Moulène.
Kate Moulène is the CEO of River LA, leading efforts to revitalize the Los Angeles River corridor and recently launching the capital campaign for the “Friends of Taylor Yard” project. She also serves on the California Water Commission and previously on the Los Angeles Water Review Board. Before River LA, Kate founded Capian Enterprises and the Global Creative Forum, orchestrating high-profile campaigns and partnerships that garnered significant media attention and raised millions.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
My career path was an unplanned accident. I was the West Coast Bureau Chief for InStyle Magazine for several years, and a large part of my job was setting up the celebrity covers and talent for the cover and ‘Features’ articles. When I decided to move on from the magazine, I started receiving constant calls from people asking if I could connect them to celebrities for different projects. I kept saying ‘no.’
Then one day, a friend said if he couldn’t get a celebrity to come to the launch of a new car, he was going to be fired. I was so affronted by his employer’s attitude, I told my friend to tell his boss that if the company made a $100,000 donation to a charity I would get them a celebrity. He immediately said ‘yes.’ At that moment, I realized that I could create a model of partnering corporations, charities, and celebrities that supported them in a way that was a win for all three elements.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
We were working on the new LA County Master Plan with Frank Gehry, along with a brilliant landscape architect, Laurie Olin, and phenomenal engineer from Geosyntec. One day when we were all at the Gehry offices, Frank offered to take me on a tour of his office and show me the history of models from projects he had built over the decades. We were supposed to return to the group within 15 minutes, but for over an hour, he took the time to show me dozens of models and tell me utterly captivating stories about each one. The work, and details, were simply visionary and inspiring. It was a real privilege to hear these stories directly from the person who had created them.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I could write a book about my mistakes! When I first graduated from Vassar, I thought that I should be instantly respected. But the truth is, I had no full-time work experience — just summer jobs. I hadn’t grasped that being 20-something and well-read was pretty useless in the work environment compared to people who had decades of work experience, a larger depth of life knowledge, and thousands of hours dedicated to mastering skills that I had not even begun to develop.
One day, my boss very rudely told me to go make him some coffee and go pick up his dry cleaning. I told him to make his own coffee and do his own personal errands. I was fired.
Today, executives would probably not make those personal requests, but I was foolish to not invest a couple of hours of my time doing something he needed in exchange for the years of experience and knowledge that I might have gained working for him. He was a total jerk but I should have learned what I could from him before I quit on my own terms.
Can you describe how you or your organization are making a significant social impact?
River LA is working on many projects that will deeply impact the lives of all Angelenos, as well as visitors to our city. We just completed the new LA County Master Plan and are now leading a capital campaign for what will be the largest (100 acres) park built in LA since Griffith Park in 1896.
We are also developing a critical forum addressing water security for the state in partnership with some of our most impactful leaders, and leading an Outdoor Equity Grant in Compton where we will expose more than 2,500 youth over the next three years to the many outdoors parks and resources that our city/state offer. A highlight of our program in Compton is called “Careers in the Wild/Wild Careers,” which shows all the opportunities that exist in the outdoor/environmental space for our youth.
Can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
We are an organization that focuses on whole communities and all the individuals in them. I hope that our work can impact many specific individuals it touches — but our goal is to have the greatest overall impact on all of our communities and to support programs that reach as many people as possible.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
- Financial support from individuals and corporations is critical to the programming and development of parks, open spaces, and infrastructure
- Legislative support from politicians is critical to move projects forward and succeed
- Public awareness campaigns through media to educate the community are necessary
How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
Leadership starts by surrounding yourself with great individuals, and then making sure they have the resources and support they need to thrive. No one person can accomplish any large-scale impactful project — that requires teamwork, communication, and cooperation.
I’ve been very fortunate to find exceptional people who have greatly contributed to projects that I’ve been leading, and I’ve seen almost all of them go on to become exceptional leaders themselves.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
- If people around you fail, you will fail. Helping others is key to your success.
- Do not work 10 hours a day, seven days a week. As you get older, you will look back on memories with friends, lovers, and family. You will forget most of the day-to-day tasks in your work life.
- Check your ego at the door. It is unpleasant and boring to work with people who make everything about themselves or who always think they are right. These are the people who get in the way of both their own success and others.
- Take time to enjoy nature. I’m a master falconer, a decent equestrian, a scuba diver, and I spend as much time gardening and digging around in the dirt as I can. Life is about balance. Find your passions and don’t ignore them or put them aside. Make them a daily priority.
- Forgive yourself instantly if you make a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes, an individual mistake is very rarely a big deal. Take time to understand what went wrong, but don’t waste more time wallowing in an error. If you keep making the same mistake, take the responsibility to find someone who can help you stop making it. Learning to ask for help is one of the greatest strengths you will ever develop.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Helping people to understand the value of Water — there are many critical issues in the world today, but if we don’t solve the water problem, we are not going to have the chance to solve the other problems. Every person needs to be informed and part of the solution to our global water crisis.
- If there is no water, there are no crops or food. Lack of water resources can set us back decades in our effort to eliminate hunger and starvation — it will also drive up local food prices for all consumers.
- Today, more than 10 major global cities are within a decade of reaching net-zero water. If a city has no water, people cannot live in it. That means those people are forced to migrate to locations that have more water, compounding our global immigration challenges.
- Droughts don’t end because you have winters with atmospheric rainstorms. Lots of rain is helpful but if we can’t capture, store, clean and reuse the water, it does not contribute to water solutions.
The conversation around water relates to climate change, energy use, and every single person every day of their lives. We take water for granted. If we don’t stop doing that, the consequences will be devastating.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.” — Friedrich Nietzsche
There is always more to learn. Each new thing you are open to learning and experiencing has the potential to lead you to something wonderful in your life.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
Elon Musk. Only about .0001% of our population has created a business that truly impacts people on a global scale. Musk has created half a dozen of them. He is the most prolific entrepreneur of our time.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Visit our website, www.riverla.org, to learn more about the exciting work we’re doing.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
Social Impact Heroes: Why & How Kate Moulène Is Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.