In recognition of Women’s History Month, members of Drum Corps International’s IN STEP — a committee focused on efforts related to diversity, equity and inclusion in the DCI community — reached out to a variety of established and noteworthy women in various leadership roles in the drum corps activity.
Their responses, shared below, provide important perspective on the present and future of women’s experiences in drum corps:
REBECCA COMPTON-ALLEN | Director, Santa Clara Vanguard
How have you built confidence and/or resiliency over the course of your career? ”As a female leader, I have done a lot of personal exploration of what strengths my femininity brings to the table, because it wasn't necessarily readily apparent to me. That has been an exciting and fulfilling endeavor. I have also been lucky to be surrounded by people who have been supportive and affirming, and that is the greatest asset for me.”
KRISTEN ECK | Brass Caption Coordinator, Bluecoats
Who inspired you to be a leader and why? “My first role models in leadership were my parents, who were both public school band directors in Texas. My mom taught middle school, and my dad taught high school. I remember seeing them pour themselves into their work and even as a kid, watching the positive impact that had on the students, the school, and the entire community. I didn't know exactly how, but I knew I wanted to contribute to the world around me the same way, one day.”
LAURA GASPER | Color Guard Asst. Caption Head, Santa Clara Vanguard
What are the benefits to having women in leadership? “Visibility is important. I may not have known that I belonged in spaces without seeing many strong women be in those roles before me. Women can also lend a certain perspective to things simply because of their experiences they have had — which will naturally be different than men’s experiences. And as we have seen, we need balance and a wide arrange of experiences, beliefs, personalities and strengths to truly make an organization run the best it can for its members.”
KIMBERLY POTTER MITCHELL | Board of Directors, Boston Crusaders
How have you built confidence and/or resiliency over the course of your career? “This is something even the most successful woman deals with constantly. It takes mindful practice, and celebrating attempts versus successes. It’s easy if you know you’ll succeed, that’s reinforcing enough; it takes a bit of extra self-care if you aren’t sure you will.”
KATIE GILCHRIST | Visual Instructor, Vanguard Cadets
What are the benefits to having women in leadership? “I think women bring a huge offering of experiences, knowledge, and ideas to any leadership position. Having their voices heard at any meeting is so important because it can diversify a company or organization. Also, representation is critical to inspiring another generation of female-identifying leaders.”
KATHERINE STEINACKER | Director, The Battalion
Who inspired you to be a leader and why? “I had incredible band directors and peers in high school and college who inspired and encouraged me to be a leader. They saw leadership potential in me before I saw it in myself and encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and audition for drum major roles. In those roles I learned the importance of servant leadership and resilience.”
What advice would you give to the next generation of female leaders?
Compton-Allen: “This activity needs your talents, your perspective, and your leadership. Your presence and participation is essential to the growth of this activity.”
Mitchell: “Listen, but process it through your own internal filter. I compare it to trying to drive around a detour while your GPS is telling you to go straight ahead; you have to remember that you have information that the GPS doesn’t.”
Gilchrist: “Take that risk or that opportunity, especially if you can see a glimmer of success that it will bring you in the long run. If you see a need that you know you can fulfill, do not be afraid to put yourself in that conversation. Share your ideas or strategies with others and hopefully they will resonate and help build your confidence as a woman in whatever field you are working in. Also do not be afraid to call out anything that you see that is detrimental to the success of other women or minorities in your field.”
What advice would you give to young women entering this profession/organization?
Eck: “You may be less-represented comparatively right now, but you are not alone. We are a community within a community — and we're all here to help each other be great, together.”
Steinacker: “Believe that you belong and have something to offer. Just because something has been done a certain way for many years, it doesn’t mean it is the only option. Challenge yourself to be creative when creating solutions. Stick to your values and what you believe.”
Gasper: “Watch and learn from the people around you. If you are still marching, watch how people teach — how they set things up, how they design things, how they handle variables when they come up. Learn how you want to teach and appear, and even how to not teach.”
How can women support other women in DCI and related activities and organizations?
Compton-Allen: “It is important that we continue to have conversations with each other about our experiences as female members and leaders, because we can both understand and validate each other in a special way. However, I look at this question and think more so about how important it is that men in our activity take on this mantle. Men can ask women, trans, and non-binary people about our experiences as members and leaders. They can ask how they can better support us, or ways that they may have caused us harm. They can work to recognize that we offer unique and necessary perspectives for the betterment of the activity, and they can be intentional about seeking out women, trans, and non-binary people for positions within our ranks ranging from membership to staff and leadership.”
Gilchrist: “Support scholarships for women and other minority groups, tour fee donation, care packages on tour, reaching out and checking in with female members — especially during move-ins, those days can be really hard. Also, support women when they are sharing their struggles they've had because they're a woman in DCI. If we don't hear those stories and reflect on them, these bad practices will continue to repeat in a cycle and we will continue to see women have these experiences. DCI should be rewarding for all who march, so let's create environments for everyone to succeed.”
Steinacker: “I think back on my experience and I am here because someone encouraged me to take a leadership role. We need to continue to encourage and support one another! There are strong women who are involved in this activity who are making impactful contributions at all levels. I can’t wait to see more women involved in this activity.”
