Mercy High alumna Erin Moran nurtures future generations

From the halls of Mercy High School to executive teams in New York City, Erin Moran has proven herself a leader.

Now, as the inaugural executive director of the Dr. Nancy Grasmick Leadership Institute at Towson University, she has the opportunity to share her experience and shape the future leaders of the region.

“The Leadership Institute exists to help uplift our region by investing in competent and ethically driven leadership of all levels of the organization and across all sectors,” Moran said, including corporations, nonprofits and governments.

Just as great corporations cannot exist without great leadership, she said, great regions also cannot exist without great leadership.

The Leadership Institute aims to develop leaders through programs and workshops designed for all levels, especially focusing on the characteristics of ethics, dedication, execution, self awareness and resilience.

A Baltimore native, Moran grew up a parishioner of St. Isaac Jogues in Carney and was a graduate of Mercy’s class of 1993. After leaving the city to attend St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, she lived in five countries and 12 cities across the United States over the next 28 years before learning of the opportunity at the Leadership Institute. She moved back to Baltimore for the position in September 2021.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to finally be home after all this time,” Moran said.

Her move back to Baltimore had another benefit – in addition to a son who attends The John Carroll School in Bel Air, Moran has a daughter who attends Mercy High School. Moran hopes that she, too, will have an “empowering” experience.

Moran remembers hesitating to raise her hand in middle school, fearful that it was not “ladylike” to know the answers. That changed when she started high school at Mercy.

“There were so many different things that we were exposed to that we could try, and do so in a very supportive environment, so we didn’t have to feel like we were the only girl in the room doing something,” Moran said. “That’s what I think really propelled me.”

Mercy helped develop her sense of purpose and leadership skills through her time as student council president and Field Day captain, and by playing volleyball and cheerleading (to name a few).

Moran entered college confidently.

Joanne Simmons, one of Moran’s math teachers at Mercy, said her ability to think outside the box and her dedication have contributed to her successes.

Moran “has boundless energy – she never takes no for an answer,” said Simmons, who, as the coordinator of student activities, was also a mentor to Moran. “If there’s something she feels is important, she keeps working at it until she gets where she wants to go.”

Most recently before her role at the Leadership Institute, Moran was the chief culture officer of Union Square Hospitality Group in New York City – better known as the parent company of Shake Shack. There she focused on the employee experience for 5,000 individuals, aiming to create a “vibrant, healthy workplace culture.”

“When employees feel respected and cared for and … fulfilled as a result of their work, I believe that makes them better family members, better citizens, better partners, better neighbors,” Moran said. “There’s a positive ripple effect when there are healthy cultures.”

Investing in great leaders, she said, is the only way to accomplish that goal. “You can’t have a great culture if you don’t have great leadership,” Moran said.
Early in her career, Moran often found herself the only woman in executive-team conversations. That changed over time.

“We’ve definitely made a lot of progress, but I wouldn’t want us to think that the journey is over,” she said. “We still have a tremendous amount of work to do.”
Moran sometimes found herself trying to model the behavior of the men, afraid that if she did not, she might lose her place at the table. Grateful to be involved, she did not want to put it at risk.

“What I’ve realized over time is that I need to be authentic to my own leadership style,” she said, adding that though it is often different from a male’s, neither way is right or wrong.

“As I evolved, both as a person and a professional, I realized my voice actually does matter. “By silencing it, not only am I marginalizing myself, but I am not serving the people that I am leading as well as I possibly could.”

One of Moran’s greatest passions is to advance more women in leadership, and at the Leadership Institute, she has the opportunity to help make that happen through multiple programs with that focus.

Moran facilitates the four-month Professional Leadership Program for Women, which sees approximately 30 women annually focus on building skills and connections, and expanding their influence and impact.

Women, generally socialized to strive for perfection and to allow negative self-talk, Moran said, often take fewer risks to avoid the chance of failure.
Moran’s first piece of advice for women? Ask for feedback from others, which will leave them empowered by the information so they can strive for progress – but not perfection.

Her second? Allow themselves to fall.

“I encourage women to push themselves outside their comfort zone into what I describe as a ‘stretch zone,’ ” Moran said. “If we fall, we pick ourselves back up and we don’t beat ourselves up for falling, but we use those as opportunities to learn and to grow.”

Accolades

• Moran was named one of the Top 50 Women Innovators in the Restaurant Industry (2019)
• She is a two-time honoree through the National Restaurant Association Power List of Culture Champions (2017 and 2019)
• She was an honoree of the Women’s Foodservice Forum Top Women in Metro New York Foodservice & Hospitality (2018)

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