Kristy Tillman: Inviting Yourself to the Table

About this presentation Have you ever had an idea that you wanted to execute or be involved in, but it never quite happened for you? For Kristy, this was not only true for her, but at times it felt like the defining sentiment of her career. While we live in a world of interconnection, it's still so easy to feel like we're not making the impact that we'd like or taking advantage of all of our opportunities. However, instead of asking for permission or waiting for life to happen to us, Kristy urges us to invite ourselves to the table. In July 2014, Kristy and her partner Tiffany Bell, started the Detroit Water Project, an organization started in response to united officials shutting off the running water for single mothers in the Detroit area. Neither she nor Tiffany knew anything about utilities, yet both understood that something needed to be done. Today, they've paid more than $240,000 in water bills to keep the water going for these families and expanded their business. Kristy invited herself to this table after being discouraged by officials and knowing little about the industry, yet "committed to the process and not the outcome that put me in place to land meaningful opportunities than I could have imagined," she says. In this talk, Kristy challenges us to "restate the problem: How might [you] begin to make [your] own opportunities? By inviting yourself to the table." About Kristy Tillman Kristy Tillman currently serves as the Design Director for Society of Grownups, a Boston-based start-up whose mission is to democratize financial literacy for the young adult set. There she leads design teams dedicated to crafting exceptional experiences across both digital and physical platforms. Prior to Society of Grownups, Kristy was a designer at IDEO, an award-winning global design consultancy where she helped solve design problems across a variety of industries including consumer product goods, finance, education, and healthcare. She also did a tour through the footwear industry as a product graphic designer at PUMA and Reebok. Kristy believes in a future where design is a tool that aids underserved communities in solving sociocultural problems. As the former co-founder of the Detroit Water Project and founder of Tomorrow Looks Bright, Kristy has a strong commitment to furthering the accessibility of design. She is an alumna of Florida A&M University.

Have you ever had an idea that you wanted to execute or be involved in, but it never quite happened for you? For Kristy Tillman, this was not only true for her, but at times it felt like the defining sentiment of her career. While we live in a world of interconnection, it's still so easy to feel like we're not making the impact that we'd like or taking advantage of all of our opportunities. However, instead of asking for permission or waiting for life to happen to us, Kristy urges us to invite ourselves to the table. 

In this 99u talk, Kristy challenges us to "restate the problem: How might [you] begin to make [your] own opportunities? By inviting yourself to the table."