Service, Mentorship, and Saying Yes to Opportunities with Diana Charbonneau

In this episode, I am joined by corporate learning facilitator and speaker Diana Charbonneau to explore how a life of service, mentorship, and saying “yes” to opportunities can reveal a deeper sense of purpose. Diana shares her journey from uncertainty and imposter syndrome to becoming a sought-after facilitator, nonprofit leader, and inspirational voice in her community.  

We dive into the power of mentors who see your gifts before you do, the importance of getting in the room, and the courage it takes to honor your talents even when the path feels unclear. This conversation is a reminder that you are worthy of every room you enter and that one aligned “yes” can open doors you never imagined.

Transcript

Theresa Cesare: 0:06

Welcome to Heart to Talk the podcast. I am the host and creator Theresa Cesare My intention for this podcast is to deliver to you wisdom, inspiration, and consciousness. Through solo episodes and conversations amongst insightful people. It is my greatest honor to bring to you talks that come from the. Beautiful souls. Welcome to another powerful episode. Today's guest is someone i'm truly thrilled to share this space with, and the story of how we met still feels divinely aligned nearly a year ago. We. The same runway in a fashion show together for our friend Veronica, who owns the Boutique True Me Inspire. And the moment I met her, there was this undeniable presence of focus and purpose. Let me tell you who she is, Diana Charbonneau. Diana is a native Tucson and who is deeply committed to reinvesting in the community that raised her, serving as a corporate learning facilitator at Tucson Electric Power, where she supports employees around the world with powerful learnings on emotional intelligence, on unconscious bias. And with building trust beyond her corporate role, she has volunteered with more than 25 local nonprofits and currently serves on the board of A A UW Tucson and a hundred plus Women who Care Tucson, all while being an intentional mama who loves spending time with her adventurous 6-year-old daughter. Girl, welcome to the show.

Diana Charbonneau: 1:40

Thank you so much for having me.

Theresa Cesare: 1:42

I am so honored, I would love for you to just, share who you are today and how you become this version of yourself?

Diana Charbonneau: 1:48

well, I'll start with the first piece. This year I actually got to start my own business, my own speaking, LLC. I have done inspirational speaking. I was able to be the keynote speaker for the YWSA Women's Leadership Conference, and I've just had incredible opportunities thanks to the people who support me. And this year I had a local defense company who wanted me to come in for a leadership speaking engagement. And. I bit the bullet and I said, now is the time. So I started my new business next Horizon, Arizona, where I actually am able to go in and speak inspirationally too. Businesses, conferences. I spoke to a school last month that was my mom's high school at Cholla High School, and that just is really fills my cup giving back to others.

Theresa Cesare: 2:30

That's seriously incredible. We had coffee maybe six months ago and I remember you telling me like, I'm ready to launch my speaking business and here we are. You took action, you made it happen. And girl, I'm just so proud of you. So tell us like the backstory though. Were you always a good speaker? Were you always confident on a stage? Was that something you were naturally born with you? Would you say?

Diana Charbonneau: 2:50

No, and I tell this story often for people who are scared to speak and say, I could never do what you did. I used to be so scared to speak in. Front of people that I had, a college professor actually had me sit down because I was almost having heart palpitations during a two minute speech on hip hop in Washington DC where I went to college. And so this version of me, I always say I learned my work ethic from my mother. My parents got divorced when I was in seventh grade. I was pretty happy about it, but I was raised in a very strict religious family. And so I never thought of the future or financial planning, any of that. I really. Saw my mom work and I just always have been working since I was 13. And that work ethic is what drove me into my success. I'm from Tucson. I was born and mostly raised, but I went to college in Washington DC where I had to be a hundred percent independent. And that's really where I got my. Life experience. I joke, I actually almost failed out of college twice because I worked two or three jobs at any time during school, and that was more important because our school tuition was$53,000. You know all the things they never tell you about. Go to school, do all these things, but there's not that, that planning piece. What do you want to do? What are your talents? I actually went to DC because I wanted to be a hacker and the CIA, and ironically my political science TE teacher in high school got his hands on me right before I went to DC and so I changed my major to political science and I still remember my first 8:00 AM class with political science and there was guys in suits sitting in the front row. And I very quickly learned what career politicians are and what. The importance that politics can play. And I realized that was not necessarily my, my end game, if you would. And so I actually just got involved in dc I'm thankful for some of the girls there. They took me under their wing and I started volunteering there. I had never really volunteered, and that is what I really brought home with me when I came home from school a week after my graduation, because we were snowed in for three weeks straight in Washington dc It's way too gold there. I came home and I started working at a temporary tattoo company, tattoo manufacturing. I print over a million a day. I got to travel the country, work on a number one TV show, but all the while I always volunteered. I joined a, the board for first book. Uh, literacy is very important to me and I just started volunteering to the point of I would say yes at any opportunity that I could. This is where I always say I had no intention, no end game goal that I was really going to. I think of myself as an arrow, it was just kind of shot off and I had high capacity that I've built over the years and so I just volunteered. I took advantage of opportunities wherever I could, and the the big turning point I would say would be. My coworker and friend mentor someone I greatly look up to Stephanie Bermudez She spoke at Tucson Young Professionals annual conference called Ignite five two oh and. I was so inspired hearing her speak, you could just feel the energy in the room and we were all young then, and just seeing what all we have accomplished just from that inspiration. And I remember that moment saying, I wanna do that. I wanna be able to speak and. Fire people to where they go and take action or know that they are capable of this. And that was the beginning of what is now almost a decade of speaking in rooms that has led me to the position I'm in today, which I absolutely love. I never thought I could be working a job where I get paid over six figures to do what I love. People don't really talk about that, and that's why I'm here with you. I truly feel that people don't know their worth, their talents, and the things you're able to accomplish. Because usually we just don't have that opportunity. And if you've heard the quote, if I have seen further, it's because I've stood on the shoulders of giants. That is truly how I feel. My mentors are the ones who set me up for success. They showed me how to do it right from the get go, and I've always tried to pay that forward. And I have some incredible mentees like Lucas isu. He is out in South Carolina, North Carolina on a, on a program. I'm just incredibly proud of the ripple effect that you can have with. Speaking and inspirational and mentorship being a big piece of that.

Theresa Cesare: 7:20

I just love learning from your story. And I love that you just talked about mentorship, the power of getting in the room. And with conversations with those that are a few steps ahead of you or where you want to be. Right.

Diana Charbonneau: 7:33

Yeah, I fell into mentorship. Honestly. I mentioned Stephanie Bermuda. She has been one of my key mentors. She's brought me into opportunities that I never would've taken advantage of, like running the Young Entrepreneurs Academy for the Tucson Hispanic Chamber Foundation. Unfortunately, that did go away, but it was such an incredible experience. Tucson Young Professionals is really where she brought me, and that's where I got my start, if you would. And we actually helped start the first mentorship program for TYP. And the irony of, I just went through Tucson Young Professionals new mentorship program last year and we're actually onboarding it at my work for UNS Energy. And we're actually gonna bring in that model for our. Employees. And so it's so full circle seeing this mentorship program over a decade ago that we started and now what they've done with it, and Jessica Suskin has done such a wonderful job helping us facilitate that. But if you're interested, especially if you're in Tucson, look for those mentorship opportunities for TYP. We created that mentorship opportunity, but it is now open. They take it, I believe, 20 or 25 mentees a year. And we also have something called the Emerging leaders Program, which is where I fell into It was originally with the Tucson Metro Chamber, which is now merged and is now. The Chamber of Southern Arizona, and I just saw they're putting out the program again, and that's where you're really matched up with a C-suite level mentor who has been in those rooms and wants nothing else but to see you succeed. And I can tell you, I would not be here where I am without those mentors. My first mentor, Jennifer Schnat truly set me up for the reputation that I have in town. I can still remember her telling me, be so secure in every action that you take, that no matter what is ever said about you in any other room, it just bounces off of you like glue because you know where your intentions are, what your actions are, and that has really helped in two decades of working alongside people, there's just a lot of things that happen and just knowing I know that I did good, I know that I was in the right, just is a really big help. My next mentor, Howard Stewart is one of the most generous philanthropists in town, the CEO of a GM containers. I knew I was transitioning my career at that point. I didn't know where, and he helped me really get into the mindset. Be more open to it. If you haven't heard of the book, what color is your parachute? If you are a person who's in a job that you don't feel satisfied, if you just can't figure out, well, I don't know what I would do or where I would go from here. Please check out the book. What Color Is Your Parachute? It also has a workbook addition where you can take notes. And my next mentor, chief Van Hook, who was the CEO of Habitat for Humanity, is the one who really got me the job that I'm in today. I would not have known what a corporate learning facilitator was. I will be a hundred percent honest, transparent. And when I was looking, she said, look outside of this box that I had created. And when you're looking for a job, it's hard as it is. There's so many opportunities. I had been in nonprofit for six years, all pretty much a decade with all the volunteer work that I'd been doing. And I think that resonates with a lot of people. You know, they've been in nonprofit or they've been in positions where they feel that they don't have that growth or the ability to jump into a different industry. And I am a perfect example and I would be happy to sit down with anybody who says that that's not possible, because it really does just take support and persistence. I'm really grateful for where I landed. I, I love my job. Absolutely.

Theresa Cesare: 11:18

So talk about that transition, it sounds in theory like, yes, this is it. But sometimes when we're, given the opportunity to go to a next level, fear kicks in self-doubt. You almost wanna stay where you are for safety, even though you're probably been. Desiring to pivot, did you have kind of those, you know, competing beliefs and feelings happening during that time?

Diana Charbonneau: 11:37

Yeah, all of the above. Imposter syndrome is real and, and when I took the role, honestly, I had not been trained.. So just for example, I basically came in and I had to get certified and trained to facilitate 12 completely different subjects. Everything from leading up the speed of trust, mastering emotional intelligence, crucial conversations. These are big topics. These are not, oh, let me take a webinar really quick and I'm gonna be able to, no, I. Pretty much took the training and was facilitating, but I am so incredibly thankful for the mentorship and getting to work alongside Keisha Dawson who I was able to work with through SVP Fast Pitch. She's a 30 year facilitator in the corporate world. I am so thankful that I got to learn from her because she set me up for success, but also wanted it to be mine. It was never come in and do it how I've been doing it. She really wanted me to get the growth and to bring a new flavor, just a new face, a new viewpoint, and I'm so thankful for that because I could've easily. Just bottomed out and said, I can't do this. And there was definitely days when I was facilitating something. I had just learned that I didn't feel as confident in it, but I had people come up to me after almost every class. This is what drives what I love about my job. Saying thank you. I didn't wanna come to this training, but I am now leaving, realizing I was contributing to bad company culture and I did not even know it, and I'm leaving with a completely different perspective and I'm gonna go back and try to be the better person, and that just fills my cup. I love it. I just, just. So impactful in that piece of what I'm able to do. But for facilitation, you know, that was a lot I had to learn in the year and then I come back, get a little more confident with it, but it's all still pretty new. I'm just very thankful for the support that I had to be able to, to do it. And now. I'm not the same person I was when I started two and a half years ago. The growth that I have experienced has been so substantial that my, my mindset has shifted. How I experience change has shifted my emotional intelligence and being aware of my emotional hijackings has shifted and it's really made me just such a bigger person with so much more to go.

Theresa Cesare: 14:06

That is incredible. Whoever you see on the other side of that success behind the scenes, people do it scared like I do everything. Scared not being perfect, but just like you said with time. The right mentors. Mentors. You get better over time. That's how you build the confidence. So I would love to know, how you juggle just being such a high level, achiever, with the corporate training and now starting your business, motherhood, being a wife, friendships, family. What have you learned in that?

Diana Charbonneau: 14:36

I have to say, I think this year is the year I am finally figuring it out. I am, I'm very thankful. I built myself to be a high capacity person. I can just do a lot more than the average person in Tucson can, and I got that from the east coast. You just have to kind of hustle and I was able to split out the hours in my day to know exactly how many hours that I have. But this year I did not attend a single nonprofit gala this fall. Can't say the beginning of the year, but I tried the, the end of the year I. Didn't attend any of the, frivolous extra things I normally would've done. I stayed home with my family those Friday, Saturday nights and it felt a lot different and I realized that I had built a huge network that I felt that I needed to keep fueled, but I was losing my family time, and so that's what I was able to bring back this year. It's definitely difficult to just juggle. All of the things a couple of years ago, I had a really awesome friend group that I had fallen in with, and now looking back, I laugh because I was with them more than I was with my family. You know, we went to Rocky Point a few times a year, but you want that, the friendship, the camaraderie, you want the, feeling like you belong. And I am an only child. And so I think as I worked through this with my only child, I've realized. The power is within me and I need to be confident and sure in where I am. And so being with my family, especially really making that time for my husband, I'm very thankful for him. He's the rock to my tornado. He pretty much lets me do what I want, but I'm out volunteering in the community 80 hours a year. You know, I'm doing all of these things and so. I just started doing red light sauna at DTI Adora earlier this year after a surgery, and I do red light meditation, and I came to the realization that I do not celebrate anywhere near as much as a person should. In fact, I am almost robotic in transactions. When I complete something like, awesome, check that off my list, like, move on. But I've accomplished some significant things this year. That I've realized I need to show my daughter. We need to celebrate even the little things because if we don't celebrate it, nobody else is gonna celebrate it. And I had gotten into a habit that I'm, you know, I do a lot in a week. In a year that, okay, got it done, checked. Move on. And so what I'm really going to focus on this year is celebrating those wins. For all those high capacity people. When you have your to-do list and you cross something off, celebrate it. Have somebody else celebrate it with you because it can be really easy to just brush it under the rug, keep on moving, and go into the next year. But those little nuggets, if you would, are really going to be what helps you realize your value and what you can give back, and to continue to level up and not just be. I, I like to call it, I'm running on a treadmill with no goal. I do, I have goals long term and short term, but really in the day to day of things. Are you being present?

Theresa Cesare: 17:41

Mm-hmm.

Diana Charbonneau: 17:41

Jorge Ruiz recently gave me the gift of a VR therapy, and I am told him I'm gonna make him famous with this thing, but he talks about it as an hourglass. When you have an hour glass and you see it running through, are you looking at the little pieces of sand that are actually going through right now, or are you living in the past where all of the hurt and the trauma, everything took part? Or are you just looking to the future because you don't wanna be in the present and you're just hoping to get through every day until you can get there, until you can really see those little pieces of sand falling through and enjoy those little moments and be okay in the peace in the present of the present. That's when you really get the most out of life. And I feel like that's where I am right now.

Theresa Cesare: 18:26

Oh, that's incredible. Thanks for sharing and being so authentic in that, that just helps so many people. So how can we find you to connect, follow, or even hire you for a speaking engagement?

Diana Charbonneau: 18:38

Yeah, I am on LinkedIn, I think is definitely the thing that I use the most just because I learned from someone. Great. Mr. Frank? Uh, my LinkedIn is DC Tucson and I am on other social platforms, but that's really the best way to find me, if you would. I really love connecting with people, especially when. You resonate with that same story, connecting people with mentors. I have a lot of people who've told me, well, I don't know where to look for a mentor. And it's a lot easier to find one than you think, than you think it is. So definitely connect with me on LinkedIn, all those socials and I. I just wanna say, Theresa, I really admire the community that you've built, and you always talk about imposter syndrome, and I just think you have created a space and your energy really goes further than even, you know, that's why we were brought together. I know. I,

Theresa Cesare: 19:35

Thank you for saying that. I love learning from you and I think you're so awesome. You have a beautiful family, and before I wrap up with the ending questions, I is there any last thoughts, any last tips, any exciting announcements that you wanna share before we pivot to our traditional ending questions?

Diana Charbonneau: 19:50

Yeah, I'll share. I have a big thing coming out this year, but I can't share it until later in the year. You'll all, you'll all know what that is and we'll

Theresa Cesare: 19:57

do another podcast for the big announce on everyone.

Diana Charbonneau: 20:00

But. I'm really excited because I went to a women's leadership conference this year and really wasn't expecting to get much out of it. Really what came out of it was they said, who has a goal that you wanna say Stand up and say it? And I'm not usually one to do, I have my goals, but I just kind of had an urge. And I have been working with somebody who encouraged me to put it out there. And I got up and I said, well, I'm actually really wanting to create a women's empowerment space. Similar to this, but different, it'll be very aligned with energy, financial, professional, whatever women are looking for. And I just said, I, I know this is gonna happen. I sat down, I had somebody I know come up to me and said, I've been having that thought too. Why don't we sit down? So a couple weekends ago, we all sat down, there was three of us, and we said, all right, let's do this. We said, what do we want it to look like? What do we, there's a few things out there, but what do we want it to look like? Really creating a women empowerment space where, you know, similar to a women's leadership conference, but something important to me where there's a, a registered, uh, trauma therapist in every room. So many times you go to an event or something that brings up trauma and there's not really an outlet or something to be said about that. And I really want it to be intentional. I want it to be done right. And what I love about these other ladies, we all have our specialties, so we're gonna create a big event and then a retreats throughout the year so that women can actually find that space. And I feel that. My gift is a physical empowerment. So for those of you who know me, I've gotten back into shooting with my shooting instructor. I might do a competition next month. I started doing archery with a good friend of mine who came back from Egypt and had a calling to go back to that, I want it to be all of the different modes. If you wanna shoot, you could shoot. If you don't, there's knives, archery, B, J, J, all these different ways that women can just feel empowered. So that we feel not even safe in our own skin. Not that it was about walking down the street, but I know my daughter is so confident in herself. I see it in a way that I don't see in other children, and it's because hopefully she really sees that strength and the diversity that I bring. I bring her volunteering with me. We give out kindness coins by the hundreds. We do things different, and I think that's. What needs to come about right now is we need something different. For decades, one person went to work for 40 hours a week, and that was enough to support the family, and that was kind of how things were structured. And society has changed so much, but that structure did not. But I'm here to just support everyone knowing that your journey does not have to look like it used to. In fact, it will look different and that's okay. So that was a long-winded answer of we have great things in store for 2026.

Theresa Cesare: 22:54

Love all of that, alright girl. I'm gonna pivot now to the traditional ending question. So the first one, because I love affirmations. I wanted to ask you, what is your favorite affirmation or mantra to go to?

Diana Charbonneau: 23:08

I'll give you my favorite quote and then I'll give you the affirmation that I say every day. My favorite quote is, act as if what you do makes a difference. By William James and I, I live by that. That's my quote in my most of my emails. And then the affirmation that I came up with for this year, and I have actually, it was last year, but I've started building on, is. My mind is focused, my body is strong, and I inspire the future. I inspire many futures, and together we inspire a much better future for those who might not even be here. For those who hope to be to come,

Theresa Cesare: 23:46

that is seriously so powerful. Wow. Thanks for sharing. And then the next question what is your favorite book?

Diana Charbonneau: 23:53

For this audience, if you haven't read Multipliers by Liz Wiseman, how to multiply the Genius on your teams and not be an accidental diminisher. It's by far one of my favorite facilitations. I'm listening to it again on audiobook right now. It is such a mindset changer in a way when, how I mentioned before, society has shifted and changed with so much that so much really hasn't in the structure of things. This is a mindset game changer. Multipliers by Liz Wiseman.

Theresa Cesare: 24:24

I'm adding that to the list girl. Thank you so much. And the final question, what are you most proud of?

Diana Charbonneau: 24:30

I know it's sappy, but I think truly being a role model for my daughter, starting my business this year was very scary. In fact, the only reason I did it was because I needed to get paid from that defense company. But just stepping off of the ledge and doing it, I'm really proud of myself for doing what I always tell people, go for it. Go for the things that you want. And I know it's just the beginning. I. No, there's much more in store for that, but it is my greatest accomplishment to be here, to give back and to help others.

Theresa Cesare: 25:05

Thank you so much for tuning into this episode. Please download, rate, subscribe, and share this podcast. Also, be sure to visit my theresacesare.com to check out my inspirational merch, connect to my social accounts, and much more may you continue to be filled with wisdom, inspiration, and consciousness. Otherwise, friends, I will be back for another episode of Heart to.