Join us for a special episode during Women’s History Month as we welcome Katlyn Grasso, Founder and CEO of GenHERation, to the podcast. She discusses how the financial industry can change their current perception to recruit and retain the next generation of talented women.

Well, in honor of Women's History Month, we are joined by Katlyn Grasso, founder of GenHERation, to talk to us about how the financial services industry can attract the next generation of talent and retain it. A topic that I'm very excited to hear more about, but let me tell you a little bit more about Caitlin before we hear what she has to say. She is the founder and CEO of GenHERation, which is a network where young women and companies connect in her role as CEO. She has created GenHERation Discovery Days, hosted the GenHERation Summer Leadership series, developed original GenHERation web episodes, launched the GenHERation product line, and has grown the generation community to reach more than 600,000 young women domestically and internationally. Katlyn was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list as one of the most influential entrepreneurs in the world and has been recognized as one of the world's leading experts on women's leadership and entrepreneurship by Melinda Gates', pivotal Ventures. Let's hear what Katlyn has to share with us today. Welcome, Katlyn to the Human-Centric Investing Podcast. I'm so excited to be here with you today.

Thank you for having me. Happy Women's History Month.

Happy Women's History Month to you as well. I'm so glad that we could gather during this important time. Maybe we could kick things off today and you could share with our listeners what you and the generation team are doing in terms of bringing, uh, high school and college age young women together to educate them and have them experience different career paths. I think you've taken such a unique approach to that career exploration, and I would love if you would give an overview and share some of the highlights.

Of course. So, our mission at Genheration is to connect high school and college age women with companies to create transformative opportunities, whether that's jobs, internships, mentoring, scholarships, and we really are driven by the foundational principle of experiential learning. So on March 1st of this month, we just celebrated our ninth birthday and the milestone of empowering more than 600,000 young women around the world and hosting more than a thousand events. And the approach we take towards career exploration, as I mentioned, is rooted in experiential learning, meaning, uh, I always say the mantra of generation, if you can see it, you can be it. And that is really putting the young women in the shoes of women who are leading careers they hope to lead in the future. So we do that in several ways. That is through in-person events like our cross country bus tour discovery days that physically takes young women to visit what we think are the most innovative companies in America.

It is more than 200 plus virtual free events that we host online every year that allows young women to, uh, participate in skill building activities, whether that is resume building workshops, personal elevator pitch, brand development workshops, whether that's industry panels, so that they can really get an up close and personal look and develop the skills needed to succeed in a particular industry. And it's even what we like to call skill building simulation. So we work with more than 300 partner companies, we call them, ranging from financial services companies like Hartford Funds and Capital One to tech giants like Google and Netflix to sports franchises like the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Yankees. And we work with these companies to develop skill building simulation so that young women can actually work

and solve real world problems that these businesses and organizations face. So just to give you an example, with Hartford Funds through u the partnership with the m i t age lab, we partnered with students and they actually came up with a model of a house that promotes intergenerational living. So this is a real issue that the scientists at m i t are studying, they work with Hartford Funds, and then we bring that back directly to the students. And just in the past five years, we've had over 5,000 young women go through that simulation with the MITage lab, and it's been incredible to see the young women, what they get out of it and actually how they can translate that into their professional and personal lives.

Katlyn, that's so great. And I think the, the hands-on approach is, is what is certainly so unique. I know I was very fortunate at a young age to have an internship in financial services and just to see the breadth and depth and the opportunities was so unbelievable because I think so often it, it, the misnomer is that it's just about the numbers or the stocks or the bonds. And as we all know for financial services or any industry, but especially financial services, there are so many roles and so many passionate people that have come together to ultimately deliver a great client experience. It's exciting to be able to show the next generation all of those opportunities and, and break them out of just thinking it's just about the numbers and the investments. It's interesting as I sit down with financial professionals and their teams and they're thinking about what is the next generation of their legacy and how do they attract talent from a less seasoned generation. Could you share with us, since you are locking arms with Gen Zs and millennials day in and day out, what, and I'm gonna generalize here, , but what are they looking for in a career? What are some of those aspects that that come up in the conversations that you're having when you are mentoring them?

That's a great question, and I think it really boils down to three things that Gen Z and millennials are looking for in the workforce in, in today's day and age. And that is impact community and mentorship. And dialing down a little bit on each of those. I think on the impact realm, it's not only about having, uh, an impact within your company, and I think people, especially the younger generation, wants to know how in the work, how is the work I'm doing today, how is that affecting the company, our clients, our community? How does act action A relate to output b I think that's very critical. People don't wanna just be a cog in the machine. They wanna see how all of their hard work and labor is actually driving the company forward. Secondly, I think it is also a broader impact. People, especially millennials and Gen Z are driven by purpose.

They wanna know that they're part of something bigger than themselves. So even outside of what the company does is actually their day-to-day business activities. Does their company volunteer in the community? Did they have a foundation? Are they philanthropic? I think people really wanna know what their company stands for in the broader scheme of things. So it's really twofold of impact both, uh, personally in the company in outward beyond the company. Secondly, I think that the next generation is looking for community and the workforce, and really I think that is about belonging and connection. So there was actually an interesting article that came out recently in CNBC, and it was talking about a Harvard study on happiness that actually started in 1938. So a decade long study studying what makes people happy and makes them feel like they're living a fulfilled life. And they actually found that the number one, uh, driver of happiness is positive relationships or what they call social fitness.

And so if you think in today's day and age when we're all working in a hybrid workforce, we might only see people on the screens. Young people are craving that connection and sense of belonging. So I think that that's a challenge for all workplaces to figure out how can we create that connection in this new workforce that we live in. And I think that that can be through employee resource groups, that can be through town halls, that can be through, um, you know, getting paired with different people in your organization who have common interests. And that's why I think social connection in the workplace is so important because it really builds upon that impact community and mentorship. We wanna connect the work we're doing to the broader work of the organization through the people we work with and through the people that support us. So when I mentioned that study previously, I was talking about the importance of positive relationships and social fitness, and it's really like a muscle.

So, you know, we exercise our mind, we read, we go to professional development courses, but how are we exercising our social muscles, our social fitness? So I think that's really important to think about, you know, in the workplace, who are three new people we can meet every week at the organization? Can it be somebody who, you know, sits in a different office, somebody who sits in a different department and just saying, you know, here's who I am, here's what I do at the organization. It would be great to get to know you more. And they actually found that people who have greater social connectedness within an organization stay longer, which is, I think the goal. Everybody wants people to stay at their companies to grow and develop and nurture talent. So the happier they are, the more connected they are, the longer they'll stay.

I just, I love those three words, connection, impact, and mentorship. And I, I truly believe with every fiber of my being that financial services has all of that. Maybe we just haven't done as great of a job of articulating it. But I'm curious, when you are speaking with these high school and college aged women and talking to them about opportunities based upon some of the partnerships that you and the generation team have with financial services in particular, what are they sharing with you behind the scenes about maybe their, their excitement or their fears or their concerns? How can we get inside of their heads so that we understand a little bit more about, you know, what they're feeling about financial services so that maybe when we're having conversations and trying to attract them to our teams or our firms, we can address some of those issues or topics proactively?

I think that's a great question. What I hear a lot from young women who want to go into finances, what is it like to be a woman in finance? Because, you know, the statistics are actually more than 53% of entry level classes. And this is a, a, a McKinsey survey that talked about specifically about banking, but 53% of the incoming analyst class are women, but less than a third are at the SVP and the C-suite level, even more so, Goldman Sachs released a study last year that about 18% of financial advisors are women. So I think it's not any question of the young women thinking if they can do the job, it's how does this look for me in 20, 30, 40 years, who are people who are accomplished women and accomplished leaders in the firm who can share their journey? So a lot of the questions we hear is about, I don't know, uh, you know, someone who maybe has a similar background to me who succeeded in this career, how can I connect with her?

So I think that that is the biggest concern of saying, and, and that transcends industries. It's not just financial services, it's tech, it's academia, it's government. So that's why we're so passionate about what we do at Genheration because it's really sort of dispelling those myths about what it takes to get to the top of a field and really having meaningful conversations about, here's how I succeeded and I wanna extend a hand and help you up along the way. I think that's the number one we con concern me here, is that if there's not, you know, more women at the top, how are they gonna support? How are they gonna sponsor and mentor me to get to where I wanna be in my career path?

That's so interesting. So it really takes us right back to the mentorship theme that you just talked about a moment ago, and I couldn't agree more. And I, I, I know you and I have worked together a generation for many years and you know, my passion for connecting with the next generation and sharing the stories and lifting each other up. So you're certainly speaking to my heart and soul when you say that, but I also think what's interesting from an actionable standpoint is if you aren't a female in financial services and you're, you're running a team or on a team, but you're trying to attract a, a younger female to the team or to your organization connecting with other females that have had success and and allowing those opportunities to build those relationships and have those candid conversations, is that fair to, to take away as, as a potential actionable step for someone that's looking to attract someone new to their team?

Julie, I think that's a great question, and I think it's important to realize that women's leadership and advancement is just not about, you know, more senior women mentoring junior women. It is about getting men and allies involved in the conversation because women's leadership and advancement is an issue that involves everyone. I think it really comes to having sort of a 360 degree mentorship approach and three different types of mentors for young professionals. So there's someone who might be aspirational 20 to 30 years ahead in their career, and they say, I wanna be like Julie someday. Then I think there's people who are a little bit closer in age, maybe that they are three to five years older in their career, maybe, you know, they're just one college graduation class ahead, and there's someone who said, you know, in the short term, I can be like that person someday.

Then I think there's this idea of pure role models who is in the trenches with us, who sits next to us at our desk, who are the people who motivate me other every single day. So I think it's a combination of people we see ourselves in the long term and the short term, and then people who are almost living parallel lives to us who say, how can we all band together to be successful? So I think when you look at those three different types of mentors, it is that 360 degree approach. It's not one person. It takes a village and it takes a community. Going back to what I said earlier about what young people are looking for in the workforce,

Katlyn, I think that's such a great image, that 360 degree approach to mentorship, and that it's not just women mentoring women. I can tell you that in my career, I, there have been so many men and women that have been sponsors, allies that have lifted me up, shown me the ropes, given me guidance. I wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for all of them. So I, I wholeheartedly agree with that image that you just laid out there. You know, it's, it's interesting as I reflect on financial services, and again, growing up in this industry, I, I don't think about it probably as deeply as maybe others do that switched careers

maybe midway. And this is, this was a new, uh, foray for them, but we have the people side and we have sort of the paper and the financial side of financial services.

And I think the people side is, I oftentimes liken it to, you know, this is a people helping people business at the end of the day, not unlike a doctor or a nurse or the medical type profession, and how do we sell or articulate the people helping people side, you know, as you're having conversations with both the companies and the young women, how financial services do a better job of articulating the people side, the human side to young professionals looking to dip their toe into financial services, as I would say, a very rewarding long-term career path.

I think that's so important, Julie, because as you said, you know, it might not be you're, you're going to a hospital every day, but you have people's physical health and you have their financial health and you have their social emotional health. So I think financial health and wellness is such an important topic and something that's becoming, you know, more mainstream, especially for the younger generation today. So when I think about it, it goes back to showing that impact, and I think how do we show impact through storytelling? So I know that, that when we, the different companies we work with, young women are drawn to companies that say, okay, you know, here's this, uh, you know, family that we helped achieve their financial goal, or here's this elderly couple that we helped achieve their financial, uh, retirement goals. So I think people really like to put, uh, you know, a face with the numbers, so to speak, as you were saying earlier before, and showing how if, you know, you go in and you work in financial services every day, these are how you're affecting people's lives.

They're families, they're children, their personal and professional goals, and I think that's what young people want. They wanna work at a place where they feel like they're part of something bigger than themselves. So how do you show that? Is that through client testimonials? Is that through marketing materials on your website? But honestly, I think it comes across best when, you know, I think of the people we work with at Hartford Funds and speaking of male allies like Ryan Sullivan and Brian Briggs, is that people who speak so passionately about what they do and they say, I love my job in financial services because I get to help other people achieve their goals. I think that that's what's motivating. And so if you hear a panel of professionals and people are talking about, you know, oh, I like my company because we get free food, or, you know, we get a four day work week, which are all great things, and I'm sure we all want, you know, free lunch at work every day, but it's those companies that you can say when they say, you know what, my clients are actually more like my friends.

You know, they have become mentors to me. I sort of feel like I've become part of their life and they become a part of my life. And those are just such genuine stories, and you can tell when professionals are talking about that, that's what really resonates. So I would say for financial professionals, when, you know, when you're thinking about how to recruit the younger people, don't afraid to, don't be afraid to be vulnerable and put yourself out there and share what you like about it. It is an emotional job, and I feel like though that young people are connected to that because they wanna make a difference.

You know, I think that's such another actionable taken away, and I can't tell you how many financial professionals will share with me, especially when we're having a coaching conversation about their

practice or their team, and oftentimes with tears in their eyes, they will share with me that, that clients will sit down and say, we haven't even told our family, but we're adopting a child and we're so excited. Or We haven't shared this with anyone else but X, Y, or Z. And so the financial professionals are such an integral part of their network and their family and their future. And I think curating some of those stories and examples to share is such a great idea. And, and again, I think we do get caught up in, in wanting to show the role and the structure and, and maybe we're comparing ourselves to other industries that don't have the, the kitchen with the fancy coffee maker and the free granola bars and the brightly colored chairs or whatever it may be. But there are so many examples of how we truly impact lives and change the outcome. So I love that as a takeaway, and I'm hoping those listening also have started to curate their own stories that they can begin to share if and when they're looking to bring the next generation of talent onto their team.

Going back to what we were previously talking about, about what makes a happy life of that Harvard study with positive relationships being the number one driver of that satisfactory level, think about the positive relationships that financial services professionals cultivate every single day. So I think I cannot underscore the importance of developing and cultivating and curating those both within the firm and outside the firm to recruit the next generation of talent.

Well, that's so true. It's not just the advisor client relationship. There are so many relationships amongst the team with other departments at the firm. There's marketing compliance, all sorts of other individuals that you just have these great opportunities to truly connect with on a human level band together and ultimately deliver that great client experience. So I think those are just such excellent reminders for those of us that are so neck deep in what we do every day to sometimes pop out and say, these are just interesting stories, examples that we really should be talking about in order to fully articulate the, the impact and the opportunity that we can provide to the next generation. I know that you interact and, and share successes and challenges day in and day out with the next generation of talent, and it's interesting to me, do you have an example that you could share with us, maybe a, a breakthrough scenario or a success story that, you know, maybe someone went through the generation mentorship and educational program and found that job in financial services that truly did speak to her heart, fit her skills, her passions, her abilities.

Could you share with us, uh, a success story just to energize us and, and help us continue to see the opportunity out there?

Julie, that's a great question. And we're so lucky at generation that we get emails and notes every single week from young women saying, I found my job, my internship, or my mentor, and when I read those emails, I get goosebumps because that's why we do what we do. And being able to make a tangible difference on a young woman's life that just is, you know, the, the greatest gift in the whole world. And we're so lucky that we get to do that every day. So a story that stands out particularly for, for this podcast is it's, um, a young woman in the generation community who lived out in the Bay Area and got an internship with Hartford Funds several years ago. Um, and we are, our office was in Philadelphia at the time, and I remember at the end of the summer she told me, she asked, you know, reached out and said, could we meet up for coffee?

Because I just wanna share, uh, the impact this internship had on me. And it turned out that she was the first, uh, the first person in her family to go to college. So a first generation college student. It was the first time she had left her hometown from the Bay Area to come to Philadelphia to do this internship with Hartford Funds. And she just told me about all the incredible people that she had met as mentors and sponsors throughout the summer who were, are still involved in her life. And I, I'm still in touch with this young woman today, so it was so incredible to see, you know, when she was talking to me about how this had just opened her eyes and she said, you know, I never thought that I would work in financial services. I never thought that I would fly across the country and work for a large company. So it's just so rewarding to see young women who think, you know, uh, I don't know what's possible for me, can I do it? And the moment it clicks in their head and they see, yes, I can, it's just incredibly rewarding.

That's a great story and, and an excellent example. You know, we've talked a lot about attracting the next generation and sort of how we can, you know, frame the conversation and, and think about the, the stories and, and really curate that process. Let's maybe shift gears. So once we've employed or attracted that next generation onto our team, let's talk about retention and growing and nurturing that talent. I know that we've all seen all of the headlines, especially over the last couple of years throughout the pandemic of the great resignation and then the great regret and then more resignation, and you know, it's, see, I'm sure that that will continue to be a cycle, right? A lot of people always think the grass is greener, but how do, what are you seeing in terms of success stories of truly retaining talent and nurturing that and growing it as it pertains to millennials and Gen Z?

Julie, that's a great question because I think we spend so much time and attention focused on getting people into the door, but how do we keep them, because it's an expensive process and we invest a lot of time and effort into getting the right people into our organization that we wanna make sure they stay.

And I think in order to do that, it really comes down to three things, sponsorship, feedback, and appreciation. And when I talk about sponsorship, I'm not talking about financial sponsorship, I'm talking about building off of mentorship. So a lot of times, you know, people hear mentorship, and we all know what mentorship is, but taking it one level further sponsorship is when you have an advocate in the organization who goes out of their way to make sure you are considered for opportunities. So it might be a leader who says, you know what I think would be great for this role, we should consider her.

Or it might be someone who says, you know what, I have this stretch project, I think you would be a great fit for that. So I think it's, creating a culture of sponsorship is really important because mentorship is great to bounce ideas off of people, but we need people who will pull us up and help us get to where we wanna go. Feedback is also an incredibly important part of retention, because I hear a lot of times from young people that, you know, they might have quarterly meetups with their, uh, manager or a mentor sponsor in their organization, but they might not be getting feedback. So it might be like, you know, the end of your performance review and they, they think they're doing a great job, or they think they're being benchmarked against a certain KPI. And then, you know, the manager says, oh, like we realized, you know, you weren't doing this or you weren't doing that.

And that person said, oh my gosh, I had no idea I was even being evaluated on that, or I was spending all my time on project A, I didn't even know you wanted me to work on project B. So I feel like particularly at larger organizations, it can be hard to sort of raise our hand, pick our head up and say, are, are we doing what we need to be doing? Are we being measured correctly? And are we managing and measuring expectations appropriately? So I think having regular feedback, both as a manager and a leader to say, can I make sure that my people feel like they're heard and valued along our gold destination? And especially as the employees asking your manager and mentors and sponsors to say, can I have feedback about this? Is this what I'm being evaluated on? So I think that open line of communication is so key.

And lastly, this is really, really simple and I just think, you know, it's often understated. Um, it's just appreciation, the power of saying thank you, I can't tell you, you know, how many times we hear from the young people we work with that, you know, they're working long hours or they stayed up late to reach a deadline. And you know, they don't think about, okay, you know, uh, it's not about the salary, it's not about the title. They'll say, you know, my manager just reached out to me and said, thank you so much for staying late to complete that project, or thank you so much for your contribution. It really stood out to the client and the power of thank you goes a very long way. And just that gratitude, you know, two simple words can increase retention greatly, and I think it's something that we can all do. So, you know, don't be afraid to say thank you and just show people that you care because it'll pay you back in dividends.

Katlyn, those are such great actionable ideas. The sponsorship, the feedback, and the appreciation. And you're right, we in financial services, it is so fast paced and especially when markets are crazy like they are right now, things move so quickly throughout the day that just taking that moment to hit the pause button and say thank you or call out a success, I encourage teams to do that each and every day, but it's much easier said than done. And I also think when you talk about feedback, you know, a great leadership coach once said to me, Julie, feedback is a gift, and without it, we have no opportunity to get better. And I think you're right. We yearn for that, especially those that have very high standards for themselves. And so just keeping that conversation and that feedback loop open is just so important. So thank you for sharing those three very actionable insights based upon the real life day in and day out conversations that you're having with your generation individuals. I'm also curious, because you do so much work and collaboration with so many different organizations in so many different fields, what are you seeing in terms of best practices on creating inclusive dynamics on teams to, again, attract and retain that talent, but mostly just make sure that every voice is truly heard around the table?

I think it's really important. That's a great question. And I think belonging and connection are those two pillars that create community, which is one of the characteristics that I said that young people are most looking forward companies. And, you know, to give you an example of companies, you know, we work with more than 300 companies. Companies that I feel like have done it really well, they actually all do it pretty similarly. What they do is they create an open space for people to talk about issues that are important to them. So whether that's saying every Wednesday we have a town hall and there's, there's no agenda, you know, it might be the C-suite, it might be the, the head of hr, but they'll say, you know, submit any questions or any concerns you'd like us to cover, and then we're gonna work through them as a team, and it's gonna be an open, transparent conversation.

Um, I was actually at one of our retail partners out in California the other day, and we were at their team meeting and they have 200 stores, um, across North America. And we were zooming with all these store leaders, and it was their executive team in Los Angeles. And the head of people said something really interesting, and she said, our customers are only as happy as our employees. And that really resonated with me, uh, because you know, you, the, the employees are the face of the brand. They're the people that interact with them at the stores, so they really are your first line of defense. So it all comes down to empowering your people so they can then empower your customers. So, and during this forum that they meet, you know, every Tuesday for an hour, the head of people sort of went through her agenda for 30 minutes, and then the 30 minutes was open for the floor, and then it was different stores talking about, here's a challenge that I made this week, uh, or a challenge I faced this week, and then everybody brainstormed as a collective unit.

And just think about how less daunting a challenge feels when, you know, you have 200 other people in the room who are there to roll up their sleeves. And then I think the, the best companies come when it comes to advancing women's goals when it comes just to advancing the culture of an organization.

Companies that I think do it really well, ask their employees, ask the people they mentor and sponsor, what can I do to help you? What barriers can I remove? And I feel like the most successful leaders that I've worked with are always thinking about how they can remove the barriers from their people's way so that they can thrive and be as productive and successful and happy as possible in their workplace and in their own personal.

I think those are excellent points and great reminders as well. And before we wrap up today, maybe we could end on your thoughts or ideas on keeping females in industries like financial services that may, may not have been traditionally female, but you know, those individuals that, that have a passion for it and want to grow in their career and take on more responsibility. What, what are some ideas or aspects to that conundrum that you've seen successful in as you've mentored and watched your generation individuals grow and thrive in their own careers over the nine years that you've been doing this?

I, I wish, you know, there was a, an easy answer to say, here's what we're gonna do to get more women in financial services and in many

, I was counting on you for that.

And we're, we're working on it, you know, and another nine years, hopefully we'll have the answer. But again, you know, going back to sort of modeling that inclusive, uh, culture, creating a sense of belonging, what I think is really important is having open, honest, vulnerable conversations about what it means to be a woman in financial services. So, you know, there's a real, a senior woman who's the CEO of a very large, uh, fund that she manages herself. It's her own, uh, you know, uh, wealth management fund, billions of dollars. And she talks openly and honestly about, you know, she's a mom of four, here's the work-life balance challenges she faced, here's what she needed to help get support in her personal and

professional life to be successful. And she came and spoke to an audience of 200 young women and just seeing them say, wow, like, yes, there are gonna be challenges along the way, but she figured it out and I can figure it out too.

And I think especially for, you know, younger people, it doesn't matter, you know, what stage of life you're in, um, you know, everybody has their own personal and professional obligations. So seeing somebody who's in their twenties create work-life balance might be different than someone's who's in their sixties. So I think even having younger women ask me, you know, I wanna run a my own startup, what's that like? How do you manage, um, you know, how do you manage all these aspects of your life? So I think a lot of people, you know, someone once told me we shouldn't struggle in silos. And I think a lot of times, you know, women, professional people, you know, we feel like we have to have it all together. We have to be able to figure out. But just having someone say, Hey, you know what, I've been working a lot.

I'm having a hard time meeting this deadline. Can you help me? Not being afraid to ask for help I think will help us get so much further. Or, you know, I need a mentor, I need a sponsor, I need a career coach. You know, maybe I need to work three, two hybrid schedule in order to, for, to fulfill different obligations outside of, of the office. So I think it's just creating a place to have open honest conversations so that once I feel like we just start talking about these issues, it's so important. And it's been so great for me too, as we've done this over nine years, the questions that young women ask as we progressed, I was actually speaking into high school the other day, and there was a, a 14 year old young woman who asked me, you know, what does it mean to be, uh, a successful woman in 2023?

And I said, whoa. Like, that's a heavy question for, uh, a 9:00 AM morning assembly. But it was, you know, it was just so refreshing, you know, to say them saying, you know, she said, success just isn't about career. It's not just about money. What does that mean to you? And to see these young women reframing success and their career journey and a completely different life was just so eye-opening. And it makes me very excited for the next generation about how they are, uh, you know, evaluating what career success and life success looks like for themselves.

I couldn't agree more In the conversations that I've had with many of your generation young women, I have been just blown away by the, the thoughtfulness and the sophistication of the questions that they've asked. And it isn't, most of them aren't about money. In fact, I would say 97% of the questions are not about money. It's more about purpose, contribution, being part of something. So it's, it's been a very interesting and exciting conversational path for me as well. And I'm right there with you. I have a lot of excitement and enthusiasm about our next generation of employees and team members. Well, Caitlin, because it is the Human-Centric Investing podcast, if it's okay with you, we would love to ask you some lightning round questions. Totally sure. Not related to the topic that we're on today, , but to get to know you, the person a little bit better. So we'll just, we'll blow through a few questions here quickly, just whatever's top of mind. It's, it's your rapid fire answer, obviously. No, right. I'm ready, but let's, okay, perfect. So I'll start with a tough one. On a scale of one to 10, how good of a driver are you?

Mm, nine to 10. I have a lot of confidence when driving .

Ooh, there we go. Oh, I love it. I love the confidence. Are you a morning person or a night owl? And I think I know the answer to this based upon the emails I get from you, but I'll, I'll refrain answering your questions.

Night Owl, I, I pretend I live on the East Coast, but I tell my team, I work on West Coast time, even though I'm in New York.

. So I've noticed that, that's for sure. What's the best age?

I, I think whatever age you're currently at. I mean, I think for me, life has just gotten more fun and more full of adventure every year. So I would say, you know, for me, uh, the age I'm at right now, uh, I I'm happy. So I think everyone, you should just live in the moment. Enjoy every, every day. So I think the age you're at is the best age.

I love that. I'm trying to do better at that. Uh, are you a dark chocolate fan or a milk chocolate fan?

Milk chocolate.

You did, you did introduce me to those sponge candies.

Sponge candies.

Buffalo sponge candies. Wow. Amazing. I have to say. So thank you for that. Yes. Uh, yes, you added a few extra calories to my week that week, but it was totally worth it. , do you prefer texting or phone conversations?

Phone calls. I just like, I feel like you can be a lot more efficient. I also feel like there's more sort of a spontaneous thoughts and conversation when you're talking to someone over the phone. But I feel like, uh, I I, you can be funnier over text .

I think that's true. What was your favorite board game as a kid? Katlyn Grasso (35:57):

Mm. My favorite board game is Clue. I love mysteries. So I, I always feel like I'm trying to figure out who, what was the murder weapon in the library and who did it .

Love that. And to wrap us up here, do you prefer to online shop or go to the store?

Go to the store. I'm gonna make a plug. You should go to your, the nearest All Saints store and buy the GenHERation Buy All Saints. Oh,

Yes, I'm wearing it. I I'm modeling it today right here, .

It's wearing, uh, and it's funny, I was actually, when we've been doing a lot of store events, and so just side note. Uh, so for Women's History Month, we launched this collaboration with global fashion brand All Saints and all the proceeds go to funding, uh, scholarships for underserved, uh, communities to serve, uh, to attend our summer programs across the country. So it's incredible because it's really gonna allow young women who may not get the opportunity for career exploration to have that opportunity. So it's something that's very near and dear to my heart. So as part of this collaboration, we've been going to a lot of different malls, and my team knows I love a good mall. And the reason I love shopping in person is it's about the experience. It's about the people. Uh, you know, I love getting a, you know, a soft pretzel and walking around the mall and seeing what's out there. So I'm definitely an in-person shopper, but I can al you can also buy the All Saint shirt online. So what, whatever you know, speaks to you, you can make it happen.

I ordered mine online, I will admit, but for those of you that are looking to peruse all of Katlyn's, uh, at attire and opportunities mm-hmm. to contribute to generation, uh, it is www.shopgenHERation.com. I have one other piece from the collection here because I've never met an animal print I didn't love. So I'll show that as well. . And then Caitlin and her team have put together some Women's History month programming, an amazing lineup of events, speakers, a collection hand curated of great value add, also at genHERation.com in the Women's History month section. Katlyn, thank you for all that you and your team are doing to continue the conversation and to attract the next generation of talent to all of our teams, but especially for the work that you do for us here in financial services from the bottom of our hearts, we truly, truly appreciate it. And thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to be with us on the Human-Centric Investing Podcast today.

Thank you so much, Julie. And I also just wanna thank you. Julie has been an exceptional mentor, received the GenHERation Icon Award in 2022, and that is an award that is voted on by our community, by an executive leader who's made a positive impact on their life. So thank you, Julie, for everything you do for women at Hartford Funds and beyond. We so appreciate it at GenHERation. And thank you for having me on the podcast today.

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