“You know something is successful when the community has embraced it and other talented people have come in and taken it on and taken it to the next level,” Lauren Stack says as she observes where ACT is today, 20 years after it was founded around her conference room table. As a founding board member of ACT (from 2002 to 2019), she was there for the early days when it felt like the philanthropic efforts in Alexandria were overlapping and people began saying, “There has to be a better way to think about the needs of the city.”
As a successful entrepreneur and executive with a track record of rolling up her sleeves and leading organizations through all aspects of strategy, development, growth, and sales, she was at the center of those early conversations. Lauren is the Co-Founder & serves as Chief Operating Officer & Board Member at HyperSpectral APD. As a corporate governance expert, she serves as a Board Member of JPMorgan’s Six Circle Funds and J.P. Morgan Access Multi-Strategy Board. “My secret sauce is not a very glamorous one, but it’s operations,” says Lauren. “At the time, I had a company headquartered downtown and a big conference room. I had the resources to be able to facilitate the process.” People from all different parts of Alexandria gathered around that table and Lauren says they spent a year and a half “envisioning what Alexandria might look like 20 years from now.”
Looking back on how far ACT has come in 20 years, Lauren says it is rewarding to see those projects she was instrumental in live beyond what they imagined for them. She says her philosophy around leadership is that if things you start are going to last, you have to let other people take on leadership roles and put their mark on them. The founding board put a framework around projects like the Child Advocacy Center and Spring2Action. Lauren says she has seen projects continue and thrive or fulfill their need and move on. “That’s something I really value about ACT,” Lauren says.
As Lauren thinks about how the foundation set in the first 20 years has poised ACT to respond to the next 20, she says, “History is important, but now we need to think about what’s next.” She believes ACT is a valuable resource for what is coming down the line for Alexandria. “The best thing I ever did was advocate for Heather coming into her role,” she recalls. “She has helped the community go through so many really challenging and difficult times.” Lauren says if ACT has proven anything through COVID or some of the other societal shifts over the last 10 years, it is they are able to adapt and support the city in whatever is needed. “So, I am really confident and hopeful that the spirit of flexibility continues,” she says.
Believing in this adaptability, Lauren says the next 20 years will require tapping into the ethos of ACT in which people put on different lenses to look at things differently and be willing to try new things. “It’s important to recognize it’s successful not to be successful all the time,” Lauren advises. “Because if you’re successful all the time, then you’re certainly not taking enough risk.”