Why Lindsay Sabadosa Fuels our Fund’s Future
Lindsay Sabadosa is a game changer. She started changing the game at age 9 and continues to impact the landscape for girls and women in Western Massachusetts today. When she was nine, Lindsay organized a protest march to bring awareness to the closing of her hometown library. Today, Lindsay is the first woman to ever hold the 1st Hampshire District seat as a State Representative. And Lindsay is also a member of the Women’s Fund Legacy Gift program, known as Joan’s Circle of Friends, and plans to impact the landscape for women and girls through her legacy gift for generations to come.
Lindsay first heard of the Women’s Fund through meeting numerous LIPPI program graduates. She shared, “I have a lot of admiration for people who participated in the LIPPI program, so I started to dig into what the organization (WFWM) does…and I saw some values alignment.” The values alignment was the impetus for Lindsay to get involved in the research to study the barriers that women and girls face in Western Massachusetts, which was spearheaded by the Women’s Fund. In particular, Lindsay was impressed with the Young Women’s Initiative (YWI) program. “YWI is pretty amazing. I never had anything like that when I was younger. These young women develop the muscle to speak with adults, how to articulate their ideas, and speak confidently about what they want.” Lindsay added, “You leave an event feeling so good about
he future…like wow! We are going to be okay because these young women will be leading in our future.”
By joining Joan’s Circle, Lindsay is investing in the future of inclusive leadership. “It feels really important to me to make sure we have a pipeline. It’s important to talk about how you have done things and have gotten to where you are, but also important to mentor and encourage more people to get involved.”
With her Legacy Gift, Lindsay wants to help fund the next generation of leaders. She noted, “Whether it’s politics, philanthropy, or education, women need to have a seat at the table. I want to see our stories up front and drive policy that is being enacted. The Women’s Fund breaks down some of those barriers. I want to see our next generation succeed and that is why I see this as important.”
It is not surprising that Lindsay supports organizations that help people who are under-represented. After graduating from Wellesley College and earning her master’s degree at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Lindsay moved to Italy and worked for a company that improved access to health care and provided telemedicine solutions across the European Union. At the same time, she started a translation firm, a small business that specialized in Italian and French legal and financial translation. Supporting others is in her nature. Lindsay notes that it is important that we express our support (for the Women’s Fund) through our words and actions, but more is needed. “That’s all good,” she says, “yet at the end of the day, I definitely believe in putting your money where your values are – and the Women’s Fund checks a lot of those boxes for me.”
Lindsay sees her legacy gift as an opportunity to make the biggest contribution. “When I was 19, I remember not having any money to give. But when you are in a place in your life when you can give, that’s the time to really step up and put your money where your values are.”
Learn more about Lindsay at https://www.lindsaysabadosa.com/about
