Age: 34
Grants & Community Engagement Manager, U.S. Venture
Early in her career, Parker Wolf says, she didn’t think it was possible to pursue a corporate path without forgoing charitable work. But find the right organization that aligns with your passions, and you can truly shine.
For Wolf, that has meant spending nine years with U.S. Venture and at the same time dedicating time, talent and treasure toward causes including cancer research — her personal history includes a Hodgkin’s Lymphoma diagnosis at age 16; helping veterans; and mentoring children. If she wasn’t in her current profession, the Kohler native says, she’d be a teacher and a swim coach.
“I’ve always enjoyed working with kids and helping them build confidence, discipline and skills they can carry with them beyond the classroom or pool,” she says.
Personal theme song: “Tubthumping” by Chumbawamba. It perfectly captures my mindset of resilience and perseverance. Life and career both come with challenges, but this song reminds me that setbacks are temporary and determination matters more than perfection. It’s energetic, optimistic and a little nostalgic — exactly the kind of reminder I need to keep showing up, getting back up and moving forward no matter what.
Current reading material: “Atomic Habits” by James Clear, and it has really changed my perspective on accomplishing goals.
Hidden talent: Matchmaking! I’ve successfully set up three couples who are now happily married. I have a good instinct for connecting people and seeing compatibility before they do — or just providing that extra bit of confidence they need. This is a skill I use in my profession as well by connecting people to their passion areas in their communities.
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