SANTA ANA PUEBLO, NM - For as long as I have known it, the Women’s Fresh Perspectives Conference (WFPC) has had a legacy of sending attendees home with ways to be the change they want to see when they get back to business, and the fire to do it. After sitting with 2022 Keynote Speaker Sara Ross, I have no doubt that legacy will continue.

Sara is a Researcher and the Chief Vitality Officer at BrainAMPED who wants to see stress converted into energy, especially in the workplace.

“I don’t believe those who say they want less stress—instead, they want to feel more alive, engaged, and excited,” Sara observes right off the bat. “After two years (or more) of so many being in constant survival mode, people are tired of being tired. What I focus on are three core behaviors that help show how to shift a mindset to energy infusing versus energy depleting.”

With stress as something of a prerequisite to joining the fresh produce industry, I don’t know that Sara could have found a better audience. Add the worries that tend to weigh heavier on the minds of the women of our industry, and you have a near-perfect alignment.

“Women especially are great at seeing others’ potential and pushing them forward. Now, I want to inspire them to walk away with more self compassion. The permission and the path to grant themselves the grace that they don’t need to be perfect, they just need to keep learning. Biologically, once you know what you need, you see the way to get there,” Sara points out, while I am left to wonder what would be possible for the women in our industry if stress were reshaped into a more self-sustaining energy.

This, Sara points out, is exactly one of the reasons she is eager to meet our industry and has been for quite some time.

“I heard about the WFPC a couple years ago and put the word out that I would love the opportunity to come speak if it ever came up, and I am so happy it finally did,” she laughs. “I feel honored to see women that are part of an industry that is not only male-dominated but also even more important than ever. And, once I saw the ‘What is your I Am?’ on the website, I felt extremely connected and excited to participate!”

Driven in her daily life by ‘I am’ mantras, Sara shares that WFPC, in particular, is set up much how she coaches audiences to live their lives: take applicable tools, apply those learnings, connect, refine, and learn some more.

“This is the model we need to approach work with,” she concludes. “I hope people will take away from this upcoming session a feeling of being truly inspired to make a change.”

If you are not able to attend the WFPC April 10–12, Sara just so happens to be sending the finishing touches on a book even as we publish this article. Dear Work, Something Has to Change is set to publish January 31, 2023, covering everything Sara will share at the conference and more.

And for those of you who will be in attendance, I look forward to seeing you as we learn about swapping out stress for energy.

International Fresh Produce Association