Piper Fellowship fuels leadership growth at UMOM

PHOENIX (STN) – As part of a special recognition for her selection, the June episode of ‘It Happens at STN’ featured a deeper look into Monique Lopez’s experience as a Virginia G. Piper Fellow.

Currently the chief operating officer at UMOM, Lopez used the opportunity to reflect on leadership, explore national models in social enterprise, and bring back tangible strategies to strengthen her organization.

Her fellowship centered on enhancing Helpings Café and Catering, a social enterprise that provides career skills training for people transitioning out of homelessness and serves as a source of unrestricted funding for UMOM.

“Every dollar curated in that business goes back to the programs and services of UMOM,” she explained. “One of the things that’s important to me is figuring out how to enhance that business model as we grow.”

Through her travels, Lopez connected with culinary job training programs and mission-driven businesses across the country, identifying ways to scale and refine UMOM’s unique model. The experience, she said, gave her something rare in nonprofit leadership: space and time to think strategically.

Since completing her fellowship journey, Lopez has turned the ideas she brought back into action by helping implement leadership development plans for UMOM’s next generation of managers and directors. These individualized plans go beyond conferences and workshops, focusing instead on long-term growth and intentional investment in people.

Lopez emphasized that for leaders, professional development isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity. “You can’t just give everything to your organization,” she said. “You also need to develop yourself as a leader so you can better serve your community.”