Hanging in the In-Between

Gabby Wilson currently serves as Executive Coordinator for Break A Difference, a nonprofit that focuses on engaging individuals and institutions in transformative, intentional, and well-organized volunteer experiences. Born and raised in Naugatuck, CT, she is proud to call Charm City home for the last seven years. Read our Q+A with Gabby below, and learn more about her journey in her full feature article in OutGrowth's April issue of En Root!

This month's theme is all about 'hanging in the in-between'. Tell us how this theme has played a role in your personal or professional life.

I've always thought it's unfair that society expects a person to map out their entire life plan when they're 17. How do you decide what you're going to do for the next sixty years when you haven't even stepped into the world? It’s so limiting. I’ve never felt comfortable being put in a box, so I decided pretty early to just start following my threads of interest. Sometimes the thread doesn’t go anywhere, but sometimes it gets you right where you need to be. Then you’ll have a new place from which you can choose your next path. Life isn’t Robert Frost with one fork in the road; There’s an infinite amount of choices and paths in front of you at all times. You’re living a “choose your own adventure,” and instead of feeling overwhelmed by that, I choose to feel freed by that. I wouldn’t be where I am - geographically, personally, professionally - if I didn’t explore things I like and follow my heart when an opportunity arose.

At OutGrowth, we believe in designing the space and time to reimagine the path forward. How do you think that finding that balance between openness and grounding can impact our lives?

Given what’s been happening in society and where we’re going, it’s far too easy to feel hopeless, like things won’t get better, or like you can’t create real change. I think it’s human nature to feel that way, but we as individuals and as a community have far more power to drive change than most of us understand. Most change starts with openness & vulnerability, and openness can lead to feeling grounded. Being vulnerable is very difficult for me, so I get it, but it really is the key to feeling like a balanced human being. We have to make the conscious decision to be open, and being open to finding community is the best way to feel grounded wherever you are.

What is one hard lesson you learned in this past year that contributed to your growth?

I had to clean up a lot of messes at work in 2024 LOL It was hard, but it gave me the space to step up and handle things that OTHER people believed I could do, but that I didn’t believe myself. It forced me to advocate for myself and become a stronger leader. It also confirmed a few things that I DID believe about myself, like that I’m a strong problem solver, and can thrive in chaos and under pressure.

What is one competency or skill you hope to develop in 2025?

I just turned 30 and it has finally occurred to me that I have to take better care of myself. My body isn’t invincible so I have to stop putting these things off. That includes physical things like stretching and eating better, but also my mental health and doing things that bring me joy. I want to focus on my hobbies like tap dancing and spending time in the community. When my cup feels drained in 2025, I want to be better at intentionally filling it back up.

What inspires you?

Seeing other people bring their unique creations and visions to life. By the time creations make it to the public, we see the finished product, but what we don’t see is all the stops and starts and challenges they had to face to get there. Like that quote about Thomas Edison - it’s not that he failed 10,000 times to make a lightbulb before getting it right, he learned 10,000 lessons that led to him getting it right. Seeing people create inspires me because their creation is the summation of their journey.

At OutGrowth, we believe in preparing the next generation of leaders. What is one resource you'd recommend to those looking to carve out the time for growth in the next year?

There’s a book called Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein, and it really influenced the way I think about my work. Specialists will always have a place in society, but being a generalist helps bring fragmented pieces together because they have more varied experiences. I think it’s important, in a world where it’s so easy to learn about so many different fields and interests, to build the skill of intentionally seeking out new information. You pull lessons from all that you learn, and that allows you to think bigger. This is a skill that will only help people as we go forward in an information-heavy society. Knowledge is only useful when we can make sense of it, and generalists help us bring context and connection to that knowledge.

What's next? What are you excited about in the coming year?

Trying out some new things! Like, I’m taking a course about event design this year. I coordinate a lot of volunteer events as part of my job, and doing that work has encouraged me to follow that “event design” thread. So, I’m excited to take these skills and apply them to the local Baltimore community.