Meet Olga Martinez Hickman, PhD | Executive Director-Bachman Lake Together

We had the good fortune of connecting with Olga Martinez Hickman, PhD and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Olga, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
The last time I wrote about work-life balance, was about 10 years ago. I was a young mother, pursuing my Ph.D., and managing work, school, and home. That journey led me to my current role, as an Executive Director. I’ve learned, now more than ever, is that achieving a work-life balance is a journey. a pervasive challenge that intensifies with every step you climb in your career ladder.

The role of a mother is often filled with guilt. You feel guilty about working too much, or not making it to your little girl’s dance recital because you have a board meeting. At work, people can’t believe you’re a mom because you are so driven–making you feel guilty again.

In order to keep that guilt at bay, I’ve managed to figure out how to be “on” during business hours and how to turn work
“off” during mom hours.

I’ve built a pretty good system that includes prioritizing, compartmentalizing, and Compartmentalizing, prioritizing and guard my yes.

Prioritizing allows me to use my time effectively, not just efficiently. Before I leave the office, I perform a daily check-in that includes identifying my top three priorities for the next day. Of course, there are days when I’m not able to check off a priority, kids get sick, staff is out, but I really try hard to prioritize that task for the next day–instead of taking up my family’s time. Post-Covid, I’ve found a lot more empathy from those I work with and my family as well.
Prioritizing holds me accountable, and helps me measure how productive I am.

Compartmentalizing allows me to handle competing commitments. I am usually up a 5 a.m. to exercise and get dressed before the chaos of getting ready for school begins. I have a four-year-old, which means I have to be fully present when she’s ready to go. I drop my 16 year old off at school most days, and then begin to attack my workday by blocking off chunks of time. Scheduling time for meetings and preparing are also critical and a part of those blocks.

One thing I have really had to work on is saying no. Although it’s not always easy, it is absolutely necessary in finding balance. For me, saying no goes hand in hand with prioritizing and compartmentalizing. To do this, I make sure that I only say yes to the things that align with my capacity, establish boundaries, and carve out time in my calendar to ensure that I have protected space.

Many times, I have had to say, ““Thanks so much for thinking of me to serve on this board. I want to commit with I don’t have too many conflicting priorities, and I currently don’t have the bandwidth to show up as my best self. Let’s touch base at the end of August, and reevaluate.”

Finding this sense of balance has taken time, and allowed me to understand that I can’t be everything for everyone–and that’s ok.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I grew up in a small, town in South Texas. English was my second language, and I often found it difficult to fit in with a lot of my friends. Their parents were professionals, and mine didn’t even finish high school. However, my love for learning started at an early age. I had a unique advantage over my siblings, I went to pre-school The youngest in my family, I needed a safe place to go while my parents worked. My mom enrolled me in a local Head Start program. “My mom sent me to Head Start for a childcare option, not because she knew it would matter for education.”

I started off my professional career as a teacher. Many of my peers talk about how they never had a teacher that looked like them. I was fortunate that 95% of my teachers, growing up, looked and spoke like me. They instilled the same core values at school that my parents did at home, and I wanted to ensure that when I stepped into the classroom young learners experienced the same with me. I’ve worked in or around the field of education for over 2o years. earning my doctorate in educational leadership, research, and policy studies. Throughout the years, I focused on early literacy gaining insight from the teacher and the parent perspective. I remember using my young daughter, Rejinah as her very own case study. today, I experienced firsthand the impact that intentional exposure to literacy programming can have on a young child.

I didn’t just land my current role, as Executive Director. It took a lot of learning and hard work. I’m a first-generation Latina, and you don’t hear of many Latina PhDs or ED’s. My role at Bachman Lake Together has led me full circle.
When I started working on my Ph.D. and my dissertation about what Latino parents experience in white schools, it was a time for me to reflect, and help disprove what the world tells us about Latinos-that we are uninvolved. Our organization We focus on a child’s first five years of a child’s life, and partner with other non-profit organizations, schools, and community leaders to meet the changing needs of the community.

What sets me apart is my commitment to equity and inclusion. As a first-generation Latina, I know the lasting effects of being left out, as if you don’t matter. I’m fortunate to lead an organization that values constituent voice and welcomes parents as decision makers. So many times, we talk about equity and inclusion, but we don’t put it into practice. I want to be known for our welcoming environment, for breaking bread with those I serve and for always learning.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My friends love the City. I would make sure that we visited downtown Forth Worth and Dallas. We would visit the lovely museums, and have dinner at KISS (Dallas) and brunch at Esperanza’s (Fort Worth).

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Stagen Leadership Academy

Website: bachmanlaketogether.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mtzolga/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/olga-martinez-hickman-phd-54416360/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrMtzHickman

Image Credits
Stephanie Drenka