25 Women for 2023: Holly McPhail 'made her own way,' helps others do the same

When you stand in the woods and hear the rustling of leaves around you, the wind is at work. It cannot be seen with your eyes or felt with your hands, but the effect of it can be seen and heard.

Throughout Holly McPhail’s life, the wind has been at her back and blowing against her, and sometimes felt like a tornado. The tenacity, perseverance, and resourcefulness that she has cultivated as a result makes her one of Tallahassee’s 25 Women You Need to Know.

“The traditional path did not really work out for me, and I made my own way,” she says pragmatically. “I was lucky that their safety net caught me,” she says of her time in the high school dropout prevention program.

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Now when she volunteers and works with youth services programs in Tallahassee, it comes with experience. “I know what it’s like to not be sure if you’ll eat tonight or where you will sleep… to be expelled from school and told you’ll never amount to anything,” she says.

And she also knows what it is like to have someone who believes in her. “I remember Dr. Kimball Thomas, who was the principal at Rickards High School at the time, told me to not let other people’s vision of me define me, that I could be whoever I wanted to be.”

Now, she pays that back in her professional and volunteer work. After earning a degree from Florida State University in International Affairs and developing a career in nonprofit management, she is the founder and chief strategist at Windwood Communications, named for the wind that has shaped and propelled her.

She has a passion for working with local organizations that are dedicated to improving the wellbeing of children and the quality of life in our community. “My different professional experiences, from the Florida Department of Health to the Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida and then the Florida League of Cities, have prepared me for the role I am in now making sure that local safety nets are ready to catch others,” McPhail said.

“I’m a storyteller, but I know that you can’t tell your story unless you know what you do,” she says of her approach to working with organizations on identity development strategies.

She was part of the wind behind the Children’s Services Council of Leon County, supporting the launch of the organization and its mission to support children and families in Leon County. Her thumbprint can also be found on local and state child serving organizations and programs like Capital City Youth Services, Whole Child Leon, Healthy Families, Florida After School, and Florida’s Grade Level Reading Campaign.

She makes time for whimsy, too, volunteering for the Tallahassee Beer Festival and the Tallahassee Battle Lions soccer team. “We call it football,” she says, “since my husband is from Scotland.” You’re likely to find her at the pitch volunteering for her son’s school team, club soccer, Tallahassee’s semi-professional league, or cheering for Liverpool on her couch at home.

Holly enjoys walking in the woods and kayaking, and she’s serious about her book clubs. Her husband will tell you that her biggest hobby is volunteering. This year she was selected to be a KCCI Catalyst. “It is such a great experience to work with so many people who are looking for ways to give back,” she said.

She is inquisitive. Supportive. Honest. “I stand for the trees and the children,” she says, “neither of whom can vote.”

They are lucky, because with Holly McPhail on your team, the wind is always at your back.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: 25 Women: Holly McPhail makes way for children to thrive