Work It : Evan Schmidt
A glimpse into the daily life of Valley Vision CEO Evan Schmidt
BY Jeff Wilser PHOTO BY Wes Davis
Evan Schmidt , CEO of Valley Vision , spends about six hours a day in meetings but tries to reserve Fridays for planning time .
Think of the biggest problems facing the Capital Region . Maybe it ’ s social equity ? Environmental sustainability ? Income inequality ? Evan Schmidt thinks of these problems all day , every day , because as the CEO of Valley Vision , a nonprofit civic leadership organization , it ’ s her job to help solve them .
The 15-person organization does this through research and policy proposals to “ catalyze action on pressing issues ,” says Schmidt , such as the recent Sacramento Region Food System Action Plan ( published in late 2021 ), a roadmap for improving the region ’ s food access .
Because of all the collaboration with community partners , Schmidt spends a lot of time in meetings . “ I spend about six hours a day in mostly virtual meetings ,” says Schmidt .
“ I try to reserve Fridays as minimal meeting days . For internal meetings we do 50 minutes or 20 minutes to create some buffer times . I like meetings to be human connected and purpose driven ." Here ’ s how she gets it done .
5:45AM - Alarm goes off . The first thing she does is drink coffee ( her husband delivers it bedside while she ’ s sleeping ). The second thing she does is start working . “ I don ’ t know how much I want this in there , but I actually just sit up in bed and work on my laptop ,” says Schmidt , laughing .
7AM - 30-minute cardio / weight class with two friends at Iggy Training in Davis . “ I love it because it isn ’ t too early and it ’ s short : Get in and get out !”
32 comstocksmag . com | April 2022