As CEO of Pathfinders, a professional mentoring and leadership development company, Helene G. Lollis enjoys daily opportunities to make a positive impact in the lives of others.
“Our approach builds strong, confident women who make a difference,” Lollis said.
Lollis derives her leadership style from several key pillars: having a clear vision, living by values, balancing risk and reward and empowering people to succeed.
Her adept leadership enabled Pathfinders to successfully reinvent itself during COVID-19 shutdowns — ultimately, to emerge from the pandemic as a stronger company. “It felt more like survival than risk-taking,” Lollis said, recalling the bold choices she and her team made to reenvision and redesign the company’s mentoring and leadership development programs for a new online environment. “Our clients and volunteers trusted us to find a way to do our work differently yet achieve the same powerful outcomes.”
Lollis credits Pathbuilders’ success, in part, to the mission-driven focus of her team. “Working with women at all stages of their careers and creating developmental experiences that unleash their potential is the core of our work,” she said.
Pathfinders takes pride in supporting clients during all phases of their professional development — from new graduates entering the workplace to late-career, accomplished professionals seeking opportunities to mentor others. “Our programs develop skills, create balance and build depth,” Lollis said. “We share real-life perspectives from people who are proven leaders, and in doing so, we help women move forward in their careers as fast as they can possibly move.”
To date, Pathfinders has worked with nearly 4,000 professionals from more than 500 client organizations representing a broad array of sectors, including Fortune 500 companies, government agencies and colleges and universities.
Beyond her work with Pathfinders, Lollis shares her leadership skills with the broader community, serving on various executive boards for organizations such as Junior Achievement of Georgia, Agnes Scott College and the Engineering Foundation of her alma mater, North Carolina State University. Lollis’ leadership efforts have helped NC State’s College of Engineering launch an inaugural Inspiring Engineers webinar series and new alumni outreach efforts in support of the university’s upcoming centennial anniversary celebrations in 2023.
As Pathbuilders continues its mission to develop, empower and transform high-potential women at various stages of their careers, Lollis keeps her gaze to the horizon. “In the wake of a pivotal year, I have challenged myself to engage smart and capable partners to help me work on the business, looking at our processes with new eyes and bringing about the changes we need to support the growth we are pursuing.”
