Today we’d like to introduce you to Irma Barbee.
Hi Irma, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I have known what it is to feel underqualified, unprepared – and even a little unstable at times – in the fast pace of this world and the pressures within the workforce. In the days of raising our young family, I had to be productive, contribute to the household income, and set an example of self-sacrifice to my children. Over the years, this has driven me to encourage and assist others in that same path through volunteerism, missions work, and community outreaches that lend a helping hand in hard times. This developed into a passion to lead and help others discover their purpose, build their confidence, and teach them how to use their skills to contribute to the community around them. In 2016, after four years of settling into a new life in a new state with my husband and kids, I stepped into a non-profit organization that was teaching marginalized woman a work-readiness and life skills program that prepared them to meet the challenges of life while discovering their true identity in Jesus along the way. Since my first day in a classroom with WINGS Ministries and a room full of women who were incarcerated, now facing the realities of life after release, I have never looked back. I continue to dedicate my time to serving women in a transitional time of life through this program. In 2020, I took on the role of CEO, carrying the baton from past leaders and hoping that the work we are doing will create new leaders and forge a new path for this ministry and so many others.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
As all leaders know, leadership in the non-profit world does not equal less work or less investment. Leading means you serve at a higher capacity than the level that you left behind, and sometimes that means making due with lesser resources while still remaining stable and continuing to cover whatever ground is open to you. In my journey, I have had times where daily pressures increased because of staff moving away, volunteers having real-life issues happen, or navigating hard decisions about the future of the ministry. Big changes can sometimes come suddenly, and being able to maintain momentum and stability is so important. I made a quality decision long ago that during tough times, I would look for the lessons hidden in the challenge, always be willing to make a mistake as long as I was doing my best, and always move with the flow of change by using it develop my skills, my patience, and my experience as a leader.
Our organization has a leadership structure that symbolizes this service philosophy very well: the inverted pyramid. In this structure, the participants of our program are at the very top, with volunteers, team leads, and staff respectfully supporting the levels above them. Close to the bottom of this pyramid is my role as CEO. My goal is to, no matter the challenge, fulfill it to the best of my ability.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As CEO, I oversee the mission, vision, and overall operations of WINGS Ministries, which offers marginalized women hope for a transformed life by equipping them with employment-readiness and life skills, and a clear understanding of their true identity in Christ.
With the help of incredible volunteers and support staff, we don’t have to wait for women to come to us. We’re set apart by the fact that we go to them in the facilities or homes where they’re housed during their time of transition from an old life that may have included addiction, homelessness, incarceration, or human trafficking to a new life of hope, for a bright and successful future.
I am most proud of the growth that we’ve been able to have over the last 12 years of service – from one class at Harris County Jail and two volunteers – to over 8 locations and thousands of women learning ways that they can live a strong, productive life. I’m proud of every person who has said yes to joining us on this journey and of those who have taken what they’ve learned and done the hard work of lasting change.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out.
My advice to anyone starting a new path, perhaps one no one has ever been on before, is to embrace the hard things just as tightly as the good ones. Embrace the moments of discomfort because underneath them are nuggets of wisdom and experiences no one can take away from you. I wish I had accepted the fact that mistakes would be part of my development and growth early on rather than taking the longer road to learn this, thus allowing them to affect my courage or my drive. Don’t get me wrong, I still avoid mistakes as much as I can! However, when they come along, I keep them from controlling how I view my value or the value of others and press on towards the goal of lives changed and hope restored.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.wingstofreedom.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wingsministries_tx/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wingstofreedom
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/wingstofreedom/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@WINGSMin
