Five Questions With: Sierra Barter

SIERRA BARTER, co-founder and CEO of the Lady Project, hopes to have 15 chapters up and running across the nation by the end of the year. / COURTESY JEN BRISTER/STORY & GOLD
SIERRA BARTER, co-founder and CEO of the Lady Project, hopes to have 15 chapters up and running across the nation by the end of the year. / COURTESY JEN BRISTER/STORY & GOLD

As the CEO and co-founder of the Lady Project, an economic development nonprofit providing women a forum in which to meet and collaborate, Sierra Barter helps women network on a national scale. In 2015 she was appointed by Mayor Jorge O. Elorza to serve on the “Millennial Task Force.” Barter lives on the East Side of Providence with her two dogs, Lucy & Dee Dee.

PBN: Why did you choose to open the company’s 12th chapter in Tampa, Fla.?
BARTER:
Tampa is a creative, growing and diverse city, and it was the perfect spot to launch Chapter #12. I met Corinne, our Tampa Lady Project city manager through her fiancé, a longtime friend from Providence. We were following each other on social media, and I noticed she really loved Tampa. I messaged her asking if she’d be interested in launching a Tampa chapter and she was. This is the first time we have directly asked someone if they were interested in starting a chapter, with all previous chapters we have been approached by those would become the city manager.

PBN: What kind of following did you have in the Tampa area prior to opening the new chapter there?
BARTER:
We didn’t really have one. The majority of our marketing is from word of mouth and social media. Our city managers, and their team members, are local influencers, so they spread the word to friends, family and contacts. We had almost 100 people at the launch to celebrate TPA Lady Project. It was pretty awesome.

PBN: What are some of the events that will be hosted by the Tampa chapter during its infancy?
BARTER:
All of our chapters host our signature events like the 3×3 speaker series, active events where we try a new workout or fitness class, and our quarterly book clubs. Our TPA chapter will work with local business owners and artists to host and lead these events there.

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PBN: Why do you think it is important to provide a national-scale network for women, especially young women, looking to start their careers and break into the professional world?
BARTER:
It’s important to provide a national outreach because women are always changing and on the move. This world is small, and with the help of Lady Project and social media, our members can connect with one another, be it when they need a photographer in Seattle or are in D.C. for fun and need a brunch buddy. We have also heard members who move to a new city, where we have a chapter, find comfort in knowing there’s a group of “their people.”

PBN: What are your goals, nationally, for the company in the coming year? Will there be any more chapter openings before 2017?
BARTER:
This November we are having our first Gala and kicking off Women’s Entrepreneurship Week with the city of Providence. We also have five chapters launching between this fall and next spring, including Portland, Maine. We hope to be at 15 chapters by the end of the year to continue to spread the Lady Project mission and connect more women nationwide.

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