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We recently caught up with Hannon who, after taking a monthlong hiatus from the churning wheels of San Diego to lend support during the passing of her beloved father in January, was forced to take a long hard look at where she was and where she was going.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a nutshell, my nearly four years work for the Uptown community at the parking district was a tremendous experience,\u201d Hannon said.\u00a0\u201cI learned much about designing our streets, the inner workings of our public agencies, politics, and developed such fondness for the four unique communities. I should also mention the personal joy and challenge it was to balance all the varied voices, letting them be heard, finding compromises and steering opinions to find common ground to bring about community consensus.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hannon said she understood how important it was to ensure the district\u2019s recently hired support staff were equipped appropriately to continue making progress for the region in the four transportation modes of choice \u2014 walking, biking, bus riding or parking.<\/p>\n
One of Hannon\u2019s fait accompli was making sure that the district reviewed its vast parking demands and documented all the statistical data, which included patterns of usage and time of day, as well as parking needs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe developed a parking toolbox with tools to manage our needs and analyzed the data to deliver a set of comprehensive strategies that can better manage parking in Uptown,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
With decisions made and loose ends wrapped up, \u201ceverything aligned wonderfully\u201d and Hannon has now moved on. In April, she landed at Sutra Research, in a role with a larger focus on the region\u2019s transportation issues and the added ability to pursue the reality of her dreams. Here are five questions for Elizabeth Hannon.<\/p>\n
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- What is your new role at Sutra Research and Analytics and what does this company do?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Sutra provides technology, strategy and planning, system engineering and change management with a focus on transportation for public agencies and organizations. A progressive technology and strategy-consulting firm, Sutra is based in San Diego, with clients worldwide. They are regarded for their expertise in bridging ideas and communication between technology developers and project stakeholders.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been brought on as their COO to coordinate operations, expand and develop business, while serving as a project manager and community liaison on current projects.<\/p>\n
For some time, I have been looking to create a livelihood in work that is a bit more profound and rooted in my spiritual practices. It is through my studies and implementation of the practices of Buddhism, yoga and mediation that I find the greatest connection to my authentic self and I honor the role of mindfulness in being a leader.<\/p>\n
To this end, I\u2019ve been attending summits and retreats for many years to learn and to integrate these key practices into my day-to-day life with the intent to share them with others.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been able to manifest a win-win situation to develop a passion project, \u201cWiser Everday,\u201d while still putting (gluten-free) bread on the table, as Sutra is fully supporting this effort.<\/p>\n
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- What is \u201cWiser Everyday\u201d and who will benefit from it?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
My passion project has now come to fruition with the founding of this new organization. Together with my partner, Ty Manzo, we launched Wiser Everyday to provide leadership and development training and consulting, rooted in mindfulness practices.<\/p>\n
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Currently, we are working with several women-focused nonprofit organizations for those seeking to develop skills and a leadership presence to advance equality in their work.<\/p>\nOf the people we\u2019ve begun to work with that are women, many are in affinity groups \u2014 for those working at corporations \u2014 or small businesses, or are entrepreneurs themselves. Several are interested in leading social change.<\/p>\n
We have designed and are customizing workshops to teach everyone, with a focus on women, how they can develop the leadership mind.<\/p>\n
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- What motivated you to start it?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
For the past 15-plus years, I\u2019ve been exploring a spiritual path rooted in Buddhism. Mindfulness, as taught in Buddhism, is key to finding the clarity and compassion to be a resilient and resonant leader.<\/p>\n
(l to r) Ty Manzo and Elizabeth Hannon, partners in life and now in business, have launched an organization focused on empowering women leaders with mindful practices. (Courtesy of Wiser Everyday)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Throughout my career and work in the community, it has been a tool that allows one to find the space between a situation and a response; it is being aware of others and of one-self and a major contributor to how one can find the space to lead others.<\/p>\n
As our personal partnership blossomed, Ty and I discussed the significant benefits we\u2019ve both experienced with this and in emotional intelligence.<\/p>\n
We wanted to share our insights with others to create more inspired and keenly developed leaders \u2014 many of whom are women \u2014 to better lead our organizations and communities with more compassion, more courage and the confidence to find their own voice.<\/p>\n
[The Women\u2019s March], events like it and what we are doing are the best thing to come out of this seemingly devastating administration. People, and especially women, are standing up and getting engaged!<\/p>\n
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- What are your short- and long-term goals for the organization?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
This fall, we will be conducting a survey called, \u201c100 Wise Women Leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of our goals is to use the survey and the stories from it as a means to inspire, provide role models and develop mentor programs. We are interested in learning more about how these women have achieved their wisdom, how they moved through the leadership ladder, and what advice they have to share.<\/p>\n
Those chosen for the survey will come through our established connections, input sought through our partner organizations, and guidance received from our task force\/working group.<\/p>\n
We also have two main ideas for books in the works and will be tying all of these ideas together to share our life lessons and the 100 wise women\u2019s life lessons to further develop compassionate, resonant leaders.<\/p>\n
Later this summer, we\u2019ll be talking a bit more about our 100 Wise Women Leaders interviews and survey to better understand the opportunities and obstacles for women in leadership positions and those stepping onto or up the ladder.<\/p>\n
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- Do you have any upcoming events that will allow the community to get more involved?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Our only public event in the next few months is on June 21, presented by the San Diego Chapter of NOW.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s called \u201cDeveloping Leadership Presence for Social Change\u201d and takes place from 6\u20138 p.m. at the San Diego Foundation, located at 2508 Historic Decatur Road in Liberty Station.<\/p>\n
- Do you have any upcoming events that will allow the community to get more involved?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
- What are your short- and long-term goals for the organization?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
- What motivated you to start it?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
- What is \u201cWiser Everyday\u201d and who will benefit from it?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
![\"Where](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Wiser-logo.jpg\"){kind=logo}
Currently, we are working with several women-focused nonprofit organizations for those seeking to develop skills and a leadership presence to advance equality in their work.<\/p>\n![\"Where](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/web-EB-and-Ty-Wiser-Everyday-Staff-Photo.jpeg\")