New year, new WESST president

Lindsey Kay started the non-profit Paws and Stripes when she was 24, and at 39 she is taking the reins at WESST.

Last August, Agnes Noonan announced her retirement after leading WESST for 33 years. The organization was previously called the Women’s Economic Self Sufficiency Team. This month, Noonan announced her replacement in Kay, who had been WESST’s vice president of client services.

Kay will start in the new role Jan. 1.

“I have had seven months to get to know her,” said Noonan, who hand-picked Kay.

WESST is a small business loan provider helping women, people of color and others get the resources and skills they need to succeed in entrepreneurial endeavors.

Kay pushed against the idea that she would be walking in the shoes Noonan is leaving behind.

“I’m not filling any shoes; my shoes fit just fine. Those are Agnes’s; that is her legacy,” said Kay.

Next year, Kay said her focus will be on stabilizing WESST during the leadership shift. After that, Kay said, the future of WESST will be a question for the community.

“One of my core values is authenticity,” Kay said.

Her experience in Paws and Stripes taught her the importance of human-centered design.

Paws and Stripes is a non-profit organization that pairs New Mexico veterans with animal-assisted therapy and other mental health services.

“We have a really diverse state,” Kay said. “We can’t always take a cookie-cutter approach to everything.”

Kay said she doesn’t anticipate big changes at WESST.

“WESST is going to keep doing what it does best, always,” Kay said.

Kay is from North Carolina and moved to New Mexico in 2010.

“From the first time I got here, I just really felt like this was home,” Kay said.