By Joy King, 2025 President, Women’s Health Leadership TRUST
As the year winds down, it’s natural to feel the weight of all we’ve carried—professionally, personally and emotionally. As women in health care leadership, we lead teams through uncertainty, support others through transition and often do so while managing our own unseen challenges.
Yet even in the darkest of seasons, one truth shines through: we hold light for each other.
The Women’s Health Leadership TRUST has always been about more than titles or credentials. It’s about community that uplifts you and reminds you that leadership isn’t a solo pursuit. This year, that sense of connection has been on full display. Whether it’s through our leadership development sessions, the Mentorship Program, or quiet one-on-one conversations that occur in between, we see women stepping up to share encouragement and wisdom.
Holding light for each other doesn’t mean having all the answers. It means listening to someone when they need support. It means sharing a hard-earned lesson so another leader doesn’t have to learn it the painful way. It means sending that text, making that introduction or offering a few words of grace when a colleague doubts herself.
Showing up for one another can be a simple act that creates a ripple effect. When one woman feels supported, she’s more likely to extend that same energy to her team, her patients, her organization and her community. That is how resilience spreads.
As winter approaches, it’s a good time to ask yourself: Who’s been holding light for me this year? And whose path might need a bit of light from me?
When shining a light, consider aiming it toward:
- Colleagues finding their footing.
- A mentor who’s quietly burning out.
- TRUST members navigating a career transition and seeking their next opportunity.
- New TRUST members who could use a warm welcome as they join our community.
- Yourself! Realize that allowing others to support you is also a form of strength.
At the TRUST, we see daily that true leaders stand together. Our collective light is brighter, steadier and more sustaining than any one spark on its own.
As the days grow shorter, let’s commit to keeping that light alive for ourselves and for each other. Let’s continue to lead with empathy, courage and community. Because when we hold light for one another, we illuminate the path forward for everyone who follows.
Joy King serves as the 2025 TRUST President and is the CEO of the Animal Humane Society (AHS), one of the nation’s leading animal welfare organizations. Prior to AHS, Joy spent nine years at NMDP (formerly the National Marrow Donor Program and Be the Match), where she was Chief Advancement Officer and Executive Director of the NMDP Foundation. Joy spent 16 years in leadership roles at the American Cancer Society, ultimately serving as Senior Vice President of Operations for the organization’s Midwest division. Joy has served on the board of Kappa Delta Chi Sorority Inc.’s Emerald Foundation and Jeremiah Program. She has been recognized by the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal as a 2015 Women in Business, Twin Cities Business Magazine’s Best In Class Healthcare Executives, Greenspring’s 500 Most Powerful Business Leaders in Minnesota, and Marquis Who’s Who Top Executives.