Xandrine Griffin and Olivia Clopton-Foster
WOC is thrilled to announce a very special installment of Wonderful Woman of WOC - with a double-feature!
This special edition is due to the fact that because of WOC, these two childhood best friends, Xandrine Griffin and Olivia Clopton-Foster, reconnected at the WOC Around the World event in San Francisco.
They both entered the event, looked across the room and saw the face of an old friend.
That is the power of a network and community like WOC, so we wanted to celebrate this through Wonderful Women of WOC!
In Their Own Words
What are your favorite quotes?
Dr. Maya Angelou, Poet and Activist
Photo credit: Caged Bird Legacy | The Legacy of Dr. Maya Angelou
Xandrine: One of my favorite philanthropic quotes is “I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.”
—Maya Angelou
Olivia: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
—Maya Angelou
Who inspires you?
Xandrine: Isabel Wilkerson, author and first woman of black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in journalism has been a longtime inspiration of mine.
She wrote one of my favorite pieces of literature The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration which inspire my own exploration of my family’s history. She inspires me to be curious, diligent and radically empathetic.
Olivia: All the powerful women in my family and through my network.
Why is it important to be part of a community like WOC?
Xandrine: Often working in the field of philanthropy, I find myself longing for connections with more women of color for comradery and collaboration. WOC provides both valuable professional resources and priceless community connections that have enriched my career in fundraising.
Olivia: It’s important to be a part of a community like WOC because being around like minded, intelligent women of color inspires me to be a better version of myself every day.
What’s next in your careers?
Xandrine: I look forward to celebrating my 4-year anniversary at UCSF next month and continuing to grow in my frontline fundraising career.
Olivia: I am currently working at a healthcare non profit and completing my master’s in International Studies with a focus on healthcare policy. I hope to pursue a career in women’s health care either in fundraising or policy.
