Leadership Journeys: Why Gerri Hobdy Always Dreams Big
In all her years using the arts as a vehicle to improve communities, Gerri Hobdy says the best grant she ever wrote was for feathers and beads.It was for a social and pleasure club participating in the first Mardi Gras after Katrina, when she was the director of partnership relations and grantmaking at the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. She describes her post-Katrina work as building a plane while it’s flying and on fire.” “Trying to manage all that information and need, you feel incapable,” she says, but she knew rebuilding cultural industry in the state was key to recovery.At 57, Hobdy has had the chance to meet and learn from professors, state officials and world leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu. She has held positions at the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge and the Louisiana Division of the Arts and the Office of Cultural Development, which included appointments on state tourism and film boards. She served as the State Historic Preservation Officer for 10 years. Following that, she worked for many years in philanthropy at BRAF.She now serves as the director for community relations at Baton Rouge Community College , manages Plemora, her consulting business, and serves on several area boards, including the Louisiana State Arts Council (former chair), Capital Area Human Services District, Baton Rouge Gallery, Mid City Merchants and Catholic Charities. “My main passion and interests at this point have been honed down to the arts, behavioral health, and community development,” she says.
Lifting Others Up
Hobdy grew up in Ohio, where her parents served as strong role models. “First and foremost, my parents modeled leadership behaviors,” Hobdy says. Her father was the president of the local community association, and both her parents were politically engaged. “They represented a voice when others would not or could not have access to,” she says. “Growing up and seeing that modeled, it was instilled in me. I learned that from my parents.”Hobdy went to Dillard University, where she studied theater arts under Dr. Floyd Sandle and majored in theater and speech. An “old-time talented intellectual,” Sandle was one of the first African Americans to receive a Ph. D. from Louisiana State University, and instilled in his students a drive to improve themselves and others. Hobdy says he told students a story about being prohibited to use a gas station bathroom soon after receiving his Ph.D., which made him realize that people’s perceptions can still hold you down, no matter what you’ve achieved. “You have a responsibility to do well and change that perception, Hobdy says.”Hobdy says John Davies, president and CEO of BRAF, has also been a strong mentor in her life. They lunched regularly every quarter or so well before she was at BRAF. “This was not a big-table meeting; he shared his personal time with me, and one of the big things he taught me is you must have a vision,” she says. “People go in and they want to ask for money for projects, and it’s just a finger in the hole of a floodwall. He taught me you have to think of the whole dam. Change the way the dam is built.”
Thinking Bigger Than Yourself
Hobdy says she’s faced challenges all through her career. One big one was when she joined the office of cultural development at a young age and managed people “with Ph.D.s in stuff I didn’t know anything about,” she says. “I thought I needed to know everything. But really, I learned that all I needed to do was provide a vision, remove impediments, secure resources, and allow those with the expertise to do their jobs.”Another big one was her work at BRAF post-Katrina. Grants to supports artists who had lost everything were sometimes turned around in a matter of days. “I learned that there is something way bigger than yourself and to put your trust there,” she says. She recently attended a panel commemorating post-Katrina work, and she was moved to hear how those grants to artists who had nothing were able to create stability for the people who create the cultural fabric of the state.
Building Future Leaders
Hobdy works hard to pass along her knowledge, connections, experience and insights to others as well. At any given time, she says she’s formally or informally mentoring five to 10 people by helping them with their resume, making introductions, advising them on career paths, giving them interview clothes, or finding them a seat at the table.“When I mentor folks, I always have two conditions — I’ll help and share my contacts, but when I call you, wherever I am and wherever you are, you will answer,” she says. “And if I send someone for you to mentor, you do for them what I did for you.”Looking for ways to develop leaders at your organization? Contact us to learn about our leadership development and coaching offerings.Success Labs is a leadership development and management consulting firm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more than 25 years, our expert team of consultants has worked with hundreds of companies to explore their business potential and improve their company and cultural performance. Contact us to get proactive about your people strategy.
