U.S. Bancorp's Pamela Joseph: Developing Schools, Communities & Leaders

It takes Pamela Joseph a moment to reflect on how all of it started-the origin of the idea that brought her to some of the poorest places on earth and began transforming how women at U.S. Bancorp get things done. Then she nods her head and explains. It was all about aligning actions with words.

It happened in 2010 when Joseph, vice chairman of payment services for U.S. Bancorp, was preparing to speak-yet again-about how mentoring was critical to fostering the success of women in the corporate world. As she organized her talking points, Joseph had a realization. "It was time to stop talking about what we were doing," she recalls, "and actually create something that we could point to as a result."

A women's leadership conference in Atlanta, where Joseph is based, was a catalyst for gathering senior female leaders from across U.S. Bancorp's far-flung payments operation. She invited the women to attend the program and organized an informal lunch where everyone could just talk. They put faces with names and email addresses. They learned about one another's jobs. They decided a gathering like this should happen again-and again.

At that point, Joseph did what any good leader would do: She delegated. She challenged the group to figure out how this federation of women would come together and what its goals would be.

It didn't take these self-described Type A women long to get to work. They set up a schedule for regular meetings. They chose a name-Women Leaders in Action-and defined a three-pronged mission: networking; developing leadership, including through mentoring; and engaging in a philanthropic service that would allow them to bond while doing good work.

The networking part came easy. The women wanted to get to know each other better, and once they did, they found ways to help one another with projects or advice. The mentoring and leadership development took more coordination, and it's still a work in progress because WLA this year is doubling from its 28 original members to more than 50-expanding to a group that includes women lower down the ladder at U.S. Bancorp.

It was when WLA got to the philanthropic goal that things really began to get interesting. Choosing a project was simple: The group wanted to help children, especially girls. But what project? Which children? Where and how?

WLA is an international group. Members live in Poland, England and Ireland and across the United States. The markets they serve are even broader; U.S. Bancorp has operations in more than 30 countries. But there was one place that was neutral, where nobody from WLA lived or worked, and where every dollar collected through silent auctions and fundraising drives could have real impact-Africa. With guidance from Rotarians who have been doing service projects on the continent for years, WLA members decided that furthering education-particularly for girls-would be their mission, and they chose two Kenyan schools that needed their help.

Beth Blaisdell had never imagined visiting the places where these schools are located. In fact, she hadn't really thought about Africa much at all. The continent didn't factor into her work as an Atlanta-based senior vice president of payment solutions at U.S. Bancorp, and Africa certainly wasn't a spot she would choose for a vacation. But that was before she knew of its riches-how hope thrived there amid crushing poverty. How children sang with a beauty and sweetness that blotted out despair.

Now, she carries photos of a Nairobi slum on her iPad. She understands that if you give a child there a meal, she will take only a few bites and bring the rest home to her brothers and sisters.