Meet Nuria Haro-Lopez | Executive Director & Health and Wellness Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nuria Haro-Lopez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nuria, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
Sister League of San Diego has been providing safe, supportive housing for women in need since 1942. What started out as a mission to help the women and children of our city during World War II has developed into decades of compassion and care. It’s easy to look at our mission and think of course this is beneficial to our community and thus the world but there is an even simpler way to see how it is so. Giving women a place to land after they have struggled with their mental health and have grappled with the reality so many in our world face of not having a home requires a lot. We are lucky to have the homes that house 30 women at any time, the supporters who donate their time and money, and all the professionals who help these women until they find our program. The simplicity of our organization is what helps our community. When we think about solving global issues such as homelessness and the mental health epidemic we think of the experts who need to weigh in and all the money and infrastructure it takes to solve it but it can be broken down in smaller ways that can make huge impacts. That is what I’m trying to do now at Sister League. As helpful as it would be to have clinicians and millions on hand to help every woman that comes through our doors, we are proof that we can make change by just taking the time and displaying more understanding for each individual resident. Falling on hard times doesn’t make someone inadequate but that is often the feeling of some of our applicants. So when someone is accepted into our program we’re helping rebuild that confidence. While all of our staff have a background in mental health we make it clear that we are not clinicians but are still able to make a great impact in our community. Our supportive staff checks in weekly with each resident to ensure that they are meeting with the proper professionals, are being connected to resources, and most importantly just feel empowered in their decisions again. We are creating a space in which we can help ease the pressures of the factors that may have gotten them to such a low point to begin with. Helping our community and thus the world begins with space, understanding and sensitivity. Something we are all capable of doing and it is how we lead in our organization every day.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Running a nonprofit can be such a beast some times. I think the biggest lesson for me was the feeling of the mission not being enough. When I took over I knew it wasn’t going to be easy but I figured we had a strong start and such a powerful mission that keeping it running should be smooth sailing. The board and myself quickly realized that we needed to make a lot of changes. Our supporters had drastically dropped, it was difficult for us to get funding, and our program had lost a lot of its structure. That’s what I mean by feeling like the mission wasn’t enough. I couldn’t understand how we weren’t growing while being constantly told that we do such great work. So we almost had to start fresh. We had to spend money to make money and that was scary because just like any other business, nonprofits have to justify every expense but I think nonprofit CEO’s feel a different pressure because it’s proving it’s for those that we serve directly, not just the organization as a whole. But we took the risk. We rebranded and brought on consultants to make sure we were steering the ship in a new direction while still staying true to why this organization started in the first place. It was extremely difficult to become comfortable with spending in areas that don’t immediately bring back revenue because our sense of responsibility to our residents is so strong. But that’s business. Our ability to be able to help women in need in San Diego is only possible by ensuring that the organization is healthy and that includes financially as well. If we wanted to become a household name in San Diego once again, we needed to refresh our logo, restructure our staff, and make changes to the program itself to show the community why our services our needed. I quickly had to learn donor development and bookkeeping while rebuilding our team and programming operations. None of it was easy, but always worth it. Today we are in a much better place in terms of the security we feel in the effectiveness of our program. We have an amazing team, our volunteer base has grown exponentially, and we are seeing women go through the program much more efficiently. While we’re still working on getting back to financial comfortability, I think it’s the task you take on as a nonprofit CEO indefinitely. The rising costs in our world at the moment put a strain on being able to maintain our over 100 year old homes year after year and there’s so many other amazing nonprofits doing great work in San Diego that I still fight that feeling of our mission not being enough for the level of funding we need. But I’d still choose this position every day. I’m lucky enough to get to know all of our residents every day and that’s what keeps me going. Advocating for our organization is advocating for every woman that walks through our doors. If anyone in San Diego is wanting to put their time and efforts to direct change I would say Sister League is a great place to start.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m a super simple girl when it comes to having a good time in this city but my go-to’s are always good food, good beaches, and a good game. Anyone who comes to visit me knows we’re going to get tacos. I don’t discriminate it when it comes to Mexican food in San Diego and any taco shop usually satisfies all my visitors. When I first moved to San Diego I loved to go to the beach in Coronado so it definitely holds a special place in my heart and a drive over the bridge is always a must in my book. Any of the beaches off sunset cliffs are always a hit too and fun to scale down to for my more active visitors. And of course, Petco Park will always be the number one ball park in my heart. If I have the opportunity to take friends or family to a Padres game I will and its always such a fun time.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
All the women in my life definitely deserve credit to helping me get to where I am today. I know that may sound cliche on some level, but it’s so true. My desire for helping women specifically in the realm of mental health comes down to my grandmother, mother, and all my aunts. At various points in all their lives they needed more understanding surrounding their mental health but times were different and unfortunately the care for women was not, and sometimes still is not, what it should be. Professionally, I’m incredibly lucky to be connected with all the women who serve on my board. Their vision in my potential and the trust they put in me to run this organization is something I will forever be eternally grateful for. And lastly, all the women I work with, not just on my staff, but the residents we serve as well have all helped me grow immensely and I wouldn’t be where I am without them.

Website: https://www.sisterleaguesd.org

Instagram: @sisterleaguesd

Linkedin: Nuria Haro