"It Will Never Let You Down": Alana Francis de Govia on Staying True to Your Values in Work and Leadership

In a working world where personal identity is easy to lose, Alana Francis de Govia emphasizes the importance of understanding yourself and the values you cherish the most. Her journey began in public health — Govia worked in public health for nearly 15 years before broadening her career beyond public health and focusing on aiding and guiding nonprofit organizations. Govia credits her decision to expand the scope of her career to what she discovered during her career in public health. She said, “I was getting a little disillusioned with the landscape of global health and the dynamics between large Western organizations giving money to South Africa and Asia in a patronizing way.”

Following her experience in public health, she became interested in how businesses could contribute to the work of social companies. She noted, “Businesses have a role to play in social impact. I think that being exposed to that and understanding that made me more interested in moving beyond public health.” 

Even as she began to make changes in her career, she continued to stay true to her values in more than one way. Govia learned the importance of her values when she dropped out of the PhD program she was once pursuing. Dropping out of the program was able to help her think about who she was, what she wanted to do, and what work environment and organizations she wanted to be aligned with. 

Another instance that was pivotal in helping Govia discover what she wanted to value in her career was her role as Senior Program Advisor at Keep a Child Alive, Alicia Keys’ foundation. During her time at Keep a Child Alive, Govia was able to learn about how to help nonprofit organizations in a holistic way. She was able to explore the “in-depth, comprehensive, intentional help” that transforms organizations and helps their organizational health on a long-term scale. She said, “Often when you’re in a nonprofit, sometimes, you’re just thinking about the mission. But, the mission is only realized with organizations that need to be healthy, that need to be supported, and are multifaceted.”

Govia’s interests and explorations led her to join Common Impact, where skills-based volunteering is crucial as they connect private-sector and social companies, as a Chief Program Advisor in 2023. Though this was a new milestone in her journey, the things she learned to value continued to bleed into her role. In particular, integrity is a moral that became vital to her as she made decisions in her leadership role. “When you’re in a leadership role,” Govia said, “you sometimes have to make tough decisions that people won’t like and sometimes you have to execute decisions that you won’t necessarily agree with.” Amongst the challenges that come with her role, integrity has helped her stay grounded.

The experience she gained during her career in public health and the care she learned to give nonprofits during her time at Keep a Child Alive have helped Govia in her role. Common Impact’s unique mission to bring private and nonprofit organizations together despite differences in goals can be a challenge for anybody. However, because Govia has worked with both corporations and nonprofits before, she was able to develop an understanding of the difference between the intersection of the two different businesses. Her understanding of that has made it possible for her to bring them together, with intention and care. 

Although Govia’s experience had well-prepared her for her time at Common Impact, she was also able to discover new perspectives. Because she was involved with both private businesses and nonprofit organizations, she was able to see how skills-based volunteering impacted both sides. Before her role, she had only the impacts it had on nonprofits and the businesses at large, and never the impacts it had on the specific employees at the businesses. 

Govia encourages anybody looking to explore their careers to “really [think] about who you are and what values matter to you” and to always stick to and be true to that. She notes, “Work is complicated. We live in a society where sometimes you have to pay the bills, and sometimes you have to do jobs you don’t want to do. But, just [remember] who you are, and [remember] that if you choose to, you can bring that to work. It will never let you down.”