Tori Leto

Spending the last year at RISE Community Solutions / CAC Osceola has been an unforgettably formative experience. Leaving almost feels like a breakup. Packing my office to move back to Tampa, I am excited for this next chapter but forever grateful for the learning and experiences I had here. I will always hold other organizations and jobs to the standards this one gave me. I had a Executive Director who was consistently honest, prompt, and vulnerable about the political landscape and the...

The Bigger the Boat, the Slower the Movement One of the most significant lessons I have learned in leadership, organizational life, and systems work is that the bigger the boat, the slower the movement. When you are a passenger, you see only your corner of the ship. You look around and naturally wonder why progress feels delayed or inconsistent. You may ask yourself why the ship is not moving, why things feel stuck, or what you personally can do to influence the direction. These questions are...

For most of my life, I’ve tried to be the version of myself that made other people proud. I was the responsible one, the grateful one, the humble one. I carried myself with an almost instinctive desire to honor the people who raised me, to reflect their love and their sacrifices in the way I moved through the world. But beneath that, there has always been a tension—this tug-of-war between my authentic self and the guilt that emerged whenever I spoke up, pushed back, or chose differently. I am...