By Sara Atencio-Gonzales, The Paper – Nicole Sterling-Bruton did not expect to become president of FemCity ABQ.
“I was doing Christmas shopping in her shop,” Sterling-Bruton says of the organization’s former president. “And she said, ‘Do you want it?’”
Two days before Christmas, the offer was made. By the day after Christmas, Sterling-Bruton was preparing to take over leadership of the Albuquerque chapter of the international women’s networking organization.
About a year and a half later, she has helped reshape FemCity ABQ into what she calls a “safe space” for women across Albuquerque.
“We want you to bring your whole self,” says Sterling-Bruton. “We don’t ask anyone who comes in to compartmentalize themselves.”
That philosophy has become central to FemCity ABQ’s identity. While many networking organizations focus strictly on business, Sterling-Bruton explains that FemCity embraces the personal and emotional sides of women’s lives too.
“We get so focused on what we do as being our identity, and that’s not our identity,” says Sterling-Bruton.
Monthly gatherings range from professional networking events to casual coffee meetups, but Sterling-Bruton explains that the organization’s biggest strength is community. She recalls women standing during introductions and openly admitting they were leaving jobs, navigating uncertainty or simply trying to figure out what comes next.
“I wanted to create a space that was safe for women to use their voice,” says Sterling-Bruton.
That mission feels especially personal for Sterling-Bruton, an Albuquerque native who also owns Connected Compass Ltd. Company, a spiritual guidance and coaching business born after a difficult chapter in her life. After closing a previous business in 2017 and navigating major personal changes, she said she began reevaluating her purpose and reconnecting with gifts she had long used privately among family and friends.
“I was going through a lot of changes in my life, and my world kind of imploded or exploded,” says Sterling-Bruton.
Balancing Connected Compass Ltd. Company with FemCity leadership has not always been easy. Shortly after taking over the organization, Sterling-Bruton lost her younger sister while also caring for her ill mother.
“My life became FemCity and taking care of family,” says Sterling-Bruton. “Family is always my priority.”
Motherhood remains at the center of how she leads. Sterling-Bruton describes her children as her “life savers” and says raising a neurodivergent and LGBTQ+ family shifted how she moves through the world.
“I moved from a space of being protective out of fear,” says Sterling-Bruton. “And then something happened when I stepped into FemCity. I’m still protective, but it’s from a place of love instead of being afraid.”
Now, as FemCityABQ enters what she calls a “relaunch phase” following the pandemic years, Sterling-Bruton hopes to continue building a community where women feel seen exactly as they are.
“If you allow them to, they will hold you and lift you up,” says Sterling-Bruton of the women inside FemCity. “They will connect you to other places and other people.”
Women interested in FemCity ABQ can attend monthly networking events, coffee meetups and community gatherings throughout Albuquerque. More information about upcoming events and memberships can be found through FemCity ABQ’s website (femcity.com/albuquerque).