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Tiffany Dufu
President at Tory Burch Foundation
Tiffany Dufu is a prominent figure in the realm of women's leadership and empowerment. She currently serves as the President of the Tory Burch Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting women entrepreneurs by providing access to capital, education, and community.123
Key Achievements and Roles:
- Author: Tiffany is the author of the bestselling book "Drop the Ball: Achieving More by Doing Less," which focuses on helping women achieve more by letting go of unnecessary responsibilities.123
- Founder of The Cru: She founded The Cru, a peer coaching tech company that was acquired by Luminary in 2023. The Cru uses an algorithm to match women in accountability circles to help them achieve their life goals.123
- Leadership Roles: Tiffany has held various leadership positions, including being a launch team member of Lean In, Chief Leadership Officer at Levo, and President of The White House Project, which trained thousands of women to run for political office.124
- Fundraising: She has raised over $25 million for the cause of women and girls throughout her career.123
- Awards and Recognition: Tiffany has been named to Entrepreneur's 100 Powerful Women and Fast Company’s League of Extraordinary Women.13
Education and Affiliations:
- Education: Tiffany holds a Master of Arts (M.A.) and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from the University of Washington.1
- Affiliations: She is a Trustee of Simmons University, a board member of Moms First, and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc..13
Tiffany Dufu is known for her commitment to advancing women and girls, and her work continues to inspire and empower women globally.
Highlights
Once every four years I’m an Olympic athlete - in my imagination, of course. In the real world I’m long past the ability to contort my body into such powerful and ethereal feats. But there is one athletic ability that all of us have access to: an Olympic mindset. As I’ve been watching the Paris games I’ve been reflecting on how I can incorporate some of the discipline of our American team into my own life. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:
Decide, then Practice: One of the reasons why Olympians excel is because they decide to focus on one thing and then they do that one thing over and over. Lauren Scruggs, who made history in Paris by becoming the first Black American woman to win an Olympic medal in fencing, chose the sport when she was seven and stuck with it. Unfortunately, most of us have a hard time putting a stake in the ground. Seth Godin put it best. “We hate to decide. We avoid deciding. We hide from it. Once someone decides they almost always succeed.” Personally, I’m starting with something small. I’ve never been flexible so I’ve decided I’m going to stretch for a few minutes each day until I can do the splits by the end of the year. What are you deciding?
Staying Present: I love this image of Simone Biles meditating floor-side in Paris. According to this article by Dr. Keren Landman, peak performance is often achieved by “reframing performance anxiety” in the moment. Whether it’s visualizing your success or repeating affirmations to yourself, all of us can benefit by focusing on the here and now instead of worrying about the past or the future. One of my habits involves inhaling lavender oil and taking three deep breaths. What practice will you adopt to help you stay present?
Gratitude: In an interview, after she won her 9th gold medal, swimmer Katie Ledecky shared that during the 800 freestyle she was thinking about the most beautiful things in her life — her family and friends and the time she spent with them watching movies and eating their favorite foods. During the race, she wasn’t thinking about the race. It turns out that elite athletes who can separate their happiness from their performance do better in their sport. This holds true for all of us. If you’re thinking, “I’m worthless if I don’t nail this pitch,” you’re less likely to nail the pitch than if you felt, “If I nail this pitch, fantastic, but if I don’t I still have an amazing career that I love."
As we cheer on the incredible athletes representing our nation and marvel at their super-human abilities, it’s healthy to recognize that they are, indeed, mortal. Thankfully, we’ve all got the potential to win a gold medal with the right mindset.
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#TiffanysFinds
Jennifer Romolini’s first book, Weird in a World That’s Not, was a game changer for women struggling with authenticity in a workplace not designed for us. I just read her follow-up and it’s more like a tidal wave…for all of us. Ambition Monster is a gut-wrenching memoir and a cautionary tale about the perils of conflating happiness with success.
Born to teenage parents in Philadelphia who had their hands full raising themselves, her career becomes a constant pursuit of internal worthiness that becomes more elusive as she accumulates external power. Romolini rises up the ladder in the media world of the 2000s when journalism becomes a race for clicks. While she doesn’t explicitly name any of the characters she comes across, anyone familiar with the frenzy of the era will recognize the individuals, which makes the book even more riveting.
Romolini builds street cred with her reader by bearing her experience with such vulnerable and ferocious detail that her authority as a workaholic is undeniable. By the time she suggests how we should manage our own repercussions of climbing the ambition ladder we are waiting with baited breath for her wisdom. She dishes it in droves with declarative pearls like, “Forgiveness is not nearly as essential as acceptance,” and “There are the stories of our lives and then there are the lives we are actually living.”
Reading Ambition Monster is like a good gym workout. The beginning is tough as your heart rate increases, the cool down is good for the body and soul, and afterward you’ll be glad you did it. The one insight from this book that I’m taking with me for the rest of my life is this: “Our great human flaw is living forward or backward, wanting and wishing for something other than the present, reminiscing about the pleasure of some nonexistent past.” Here’s to embracing the present—however tense it might be.
#WhatsOnMyNightstand #WOMN

