This month our staff writer Meredith Kleeman interviewed Alicia Wilson, the Managing Director and Head of Regional Philanthropy for North America at JPMorgan Chase. Her story is incredible, and I think you’ll love it.
Alicia’s journey is such a powerful reminder that we all have something valuable to contribute, no matter where we are or who we’re with.
Tell us about a noteworthy mistake you made at work, and the lesson you learned from that event.
I’m a lawyer by trade, and when I first started practicing, many times I’d be in board rooms, in conversations, or in dialogues where I was the “only.” I would be the only woman, the only African-American, or the youngest person in the room.
That can sometimes make you feel like you should let the older person or the people in the majority take the lead. You might think that the good ideas are probably already sitting around the table. The mistake in that is not recognizing that you’re at the table for a reason.
Early on in my career I represented labor unions, and I remember being on a negotiation team for the Baltimore City principals union. There was an older individual on the team, and I was the younger team member. I remember being in the room and feeling very overwhelmed. I was the youngest, I was the only African-American on the team, and I was the only woman on the team. My partner and I would meet outside of the negotiation room and I would bring up certain points, and he would say, “Why didn’t you say that in the room?”
And I realized I was supposed to say that in the room. It doesn’t mean that you’re out of turn, or out of line, or any of those things. He told me, “I don’t have those same points in my head, I’m not thinking about things in that way. You, as a black woman who grew up in the city, who went to city schools, you will approach these things in a very different way than I approach them.”
That’s the value of diversity, and the value of having different viewpoints around the table — people see things with different perspectives.
Because of that critical moment, I now take the responsibility to speak in the room very seriously, and raise issues that others may not raise. We all come into the room with our sense of experiences, our own biases, our own lens.
Your voice is valuable, and maybe even more valuable when you are the “only” or the youngest demographic in a room. It’s almost obligatory for you to utilize your voice in that setting to bring into the room those who are not at the table, and the ideas that are not at the table, and the raising of issues that wouldn’t be brought, but for you being at the table.
It’s a valuable lesson in helping individuals find their voice, but it’s also a great lesson for us as leaders. When we’re in a room and we have people who are more junior than us, or individuals who are totally opposite from our demographic, we ought to make the environment accessible.
Understand that your voice matters, your voice has impact, and you’re in the room for a reason. Ultimately, if you find that you can’t be a valued voice in the room, you probably don’t want to be in that room anyway.
What’s a significant conversation you’ve participated in, and what was the outcome?
My most significant conversations, and a piece of significant advice I’ve received, is around salary negotiations. As women, that’s a conversation we don’t talk about enough.
One of my mentors told me that when you’re asked in an interview, “What’s your number? What amount do you want?” that you shouldn’t actually reply with a figure. What you should say is: “I want the full value of the seat.”
By saying that, you’re conveying that you want whatever the upper limit is, because you can start bidding against yourself if you simply say a number. You’re signaling that you don’t want to see a pay differential between you and someone who’s doing the same thing. You’re essentially saying “I want to be paid at the top.”
Most people are hesitant about salary negotiations, but I don’t shy away from that conversation. I’m saying, “I want what you’ve budgeted for, I want that full amount.”
In my experience, people perk up because they understand you’re serious about the negotiation. They understand that you get the economics of hiring.
You have to do your research to understand what that number is. If you don’t get the full value of the seat, you’re always going to be playing catch up. And if the answer is, “We’re not going to give you the full value of the seat,” wouldn’t you rather know that going in?
What makes you feel powerful?
I pray every morning before I go into work. I pray before meetings, I pray before hard conversations. The prayer is: I can do all things through Christ. That gives me confidence—even when I might be by myself, I’m not alone, in whatever setting I may find myself in. Sometimes I’m the only one in that room, or I may be the youngest, or this or that. That helps me to realize that I’m there for a bigger purpose and that I’m not alone. I should have the confidence and strength to do whatever I need to do.
About Alicia Wilson
In her role at JPMorgan, Alicia oversees the local philanthropic strategies across over 40 markets in North America, which includes helping to steward the $2 billion philanthropic commitment as part of the firm’s broader Racial Equity Commitment. Prior to joining JPMorgan, Alicia served as Vice President of Economic Development for Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Health System.
She currently serves on the boards of Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland School of Law Board of Visitors, the CollegeBound Foundation, Kennedy Krieger Institute, and the France-Merrick Foundation. For her accomplishments and public service, Alicia has received over 50 professional awards and honors. Most recently, Alicia was recognized as the 2024 Voice of Justice Honoree by the University of Baltimore School of Law, as one of the Power 50 Women of Influence for 2024 by the US Black Chamber of Commerce, and was recognized as one of the 15 Black Marylanders to Watch for 2023 by the Baltimore Sun.