Dream and Deliver—A Legacy of Service

Transcript

• 00:02Okay. Hello, everybody.
• 00:05I'm hoping the folks over
• 00:06Zoom
• 00:07can hear me as well.
• 00:09I should assume they can.
• 00:11I say here otherwise. Okay.
• 00:13Welcome
• 00:14all to the first on
• 00:17leadership
• 00:18grand rounds of this academic
• 00:21year. We are very, very
• 00:22happy to have you with
• 00:23us in person and also
• 00:25over Zoom
• 00:26so that I don't forget,
• 00:28because I'm notorious for getting
• 00:29this. I'm gonna let you
• 00:30know that next week I'm
• 00:31gonna tell you what's happening
• 00:31next week, and I'll introduce
• 00:32this week. We're gonna have
• 00:33our own Kasia Shavarska talk
• 00:35about her work on, research
• 00:37on autism in bees and
• 00:40toddlers. So that's
• 00:41next week. Now let's focus
• 00:43on this week. So like
• 00:44I said, I'm very welcome
• 00:46I'm very excited to welcome
• 00:47you to this talk.
• 00:49The ON Leadership Series was
• 00:51launched in the fall of
• 00:52twenty twenty three and provides
• 00:54an open forum with leaders
• 00:56at the at the School
• 00:56of Medicine and beyond who
• 00:58are committed to the principles
• 00:59of collaboration,
• 01:00cooperation,
• 01:02and service.
• 01:03For our talk today, our
• 01:05very own Tara Davila will
• 01:07be speaking with doctor Eric
• 01:08Clemens, and there will be
• 01:09time for a Q and
• 01:10A after their fireside chat.
• 01:13So to introduce Tara very
• 01:15quickly,
• 01:16because she was it last
• 01:17week? The week before? Yeah.
• 01:20K.
• 01:21Tara is a Puerto Rican
• 01:22bilingual Spanish multiracial
• 01:24multiracial clinical social worker with
• 01:26over twenty years of experience
• 01:27providing identity tailored care to
• 01:30Connecticut's historically underserved youth and
• 01:32families.
• 01:33For the last four years,
• 01:34she's been our vice chair
• 01:36of DEI,
• 01:37which has allowed her to
• 01:38lean into her personal and
• 01:40professional values as a social
• 01:41worker for social justice and
• 01:43honoring the dignity and worth
• 01:44of all people.
• 01:45And then for the last
• 01:46eleven years, she's also done
• 01:48a lot of work in
• 01:49the community, a lot of
• 01:50philanthropic work, in association with
• 01:52the Latine community.
• 01:54K. You can read more
• 01:55about her academic and professional
• 01:56experiences on her Yale bio.
• 01:59And now I will introduce
• 02:00doctor Eric Clemens. I'm very
• 02:02excited that he's with us
• 02:03today. He is the founding
• 02:04CEO and president of two
• 02:06New Haven based organizations, the
• 02:08Connecticut Center for Arts and
• 02:09Technology,
• 02:10CONCAT,
• 02:11and its sister organization,
• 02:13the Connecticut Community Outreach and
• 02:14Revitalization
• 02:15Program, CONCORE.
• 02:17CONCAT, founded in twenty eleven,
• 02:19is a nonprofit organization
• 02:21dedicated to creating empowering
• 02:23art based educational environments
• 02:25for underserved students and training
• 02:27programs for under and unemployed
• 02:29adults.
• 02:31Concore, which was then founded
• 02:32in twenty eighteen,
• 02:34is designed to explore and
• 02:35implement opportunities for economic development
• 02:37and investment in New Haven's
• 02:39most impoverished communities.
• 02:41So his bio was incredibly
• 02:43impressive.
• 02:44He's a trustee at many
• 02:45places. He sits on many
• 02:46boards. The pieces that stood
• 02:48out most to me as
• 02:49relevant for our talk today
• 02:51is that he,
• 02:53has sit on the Connecticut
• 02:54State Board of Education for
• 02:56the last eight years where
• 02:57he serves as chair of
• 02:58the board's academic standards and
• 03:00assessment committee.
• 03:01During his tenure, he's seen
• 03:02the board reaffirm its commitment
• 03:04to improving the academic lives
• 03:05of Connecticut's growing diverse body
• 03:07of students
• 03:07by updating its position statement
• 03:09on culturally responsive education.
• 03:12In twenty twenty one, he
• 03:14was tapped to be a
• 03:15board member of the newly
• 03:16formed Partnership of Connecticut
• 03:18founded by Ray and Barbara
• 03:19Dalio, which promises to commit
• 03:21a hundred million dollars to
• 03:23strengthening public education in the
• 03:25state.
• 03:26After the death of his
• 03:27wife, Sharon, Eric erected the
• 03:28butterflies fund with the Community
• 03:30Foundation for Greater New Haven
• 03:32to recommend grants that support
• 03:34scholarships for young black women
• 03:35at the alma maters of
• 03:36their daughters, Smith, Tuskegee, Hampton
• 03:39University, and Spelman College.
• 03:41In the first year, he
• 03:42has raised one point eight
• 03:43million dollars to be invested
• 03:44in eight young women.
• 03:46K. He's also a little
• 03:47bit closer to home, although
• 03:48that's also home because it's
• 03:49New Haven. He's a trustee
• 03:51at very institution at various
• 03:52institutions, including Yale New Haven
• 03:54Hospital and serves as a
• 03:56lecturer on social entrepreneurship
• 03:58at our School of Management
• 04:00as well as urban planning
• 04:01at the School of Architecture.
• 04:02He has a bachelor's of
• 04:04science in sociology from Southern
• 04:05Connecticut and a master's of
• 04:07arts in theology and ethics
• 04:08from the Hartford Seminary. He's
• 04:10also a recipient of an
• 04:12honorary doctorate of humane letters
• 04:13from Albertus Magnus.
• 04:15Please join me in welcoming
• 04:16doctor Clemens as he draws
• 04:18upon his extensive background.
• 04:20Yeah.
• 04:22No more. I didn't say
• 04:23any more. Here you go.
• 04:26Welcome. Wow.
• 04:28Well, then the talk's over.
• 04:29So
• 04:31Wow.
• 04:32So in full disclosure, it
• 04:34is really an honor for
• 04:35me to sit here and
• 04:37chat with
• 04:38Eric who is also a
• 04:39friend. Mhmm.
• 04:41And so
• 04:42with
• 04:43the
• 04:44leadership series
• 04:46that Darren and Linda,
• 04:49launched, one of the things
• 04:50we started talking about was
• 04:52making sure that we bring
• 04:54in leaders from New Haven.
• 04:55And when that conversation began,
• 04:57the first person who came
• 04:58to my mind was Eric.
• 05:00So
• 05:01now
• 05:03we go back Yes. A
• 05:05long time.
• 05:06Long time. Was Logan even
• 05:08born yet? No. What's he
• 05:09was not? So
• 05:11my husband worked at Leap
• 05:13many, many moons ago. And
• 05:15so this is he was
• 05:16in his late
• 05:18twenties, probably.
• 05:20And he comes home and
• 05:21tells me,
• 05:23so there's this new guy.
• 05:26And I feel kinda weird
• 05:27because, like, I'm he's supposed
• 05:29to report to me, but
• 05:30he's, like, definitely got more
• 05:32experience than I do. But,
• 05:33like, I'm the person he's
• 05:34reporting to. And it cut
• 05:36lo and behold, it is
• 05:37you.
• 05:39And you had just
• 05:41decided to change gears
• 05:44in your life, and you
• 05:44went to LEAP. So I'm
• 05:45wondering if you could tell
• 05:46us a little bit about
• 05:47what you did before and
• 05:48what caused you to change
• 05:50your pathway. Absolutely. Well, first,
• 05:53I am really honored
• 05:55to be here, and I'm
• 05:56a little
• 05:57nervous because I don't know
• 05:58if I could live up
• 05:59to the the introduction. I'm
• 06:01serious.
• 06:02And
• 06:04and I'm I'm I'm honored
• 06:05and and also,
• 06:07humbled and thankful because a
• 06:08lot of the conversation,
• 06:10historically in New Haven,
• 06:13around
• 06:13Yale and the city of
• 06:15New Haven
• 06:16has not been favorable,
• 06:18to Yale, quite frankly, and
• 06:20and unfairly.
• 06:23And I think, as I
• 06:24said as I've mentioned,
• 06:26something that's making.
• 06:29Okay.
• 06:30Hitting the lapel. I'm just
• 06:31looking a little high on
• 06:32it.
• 06:34You don't mind? No. Not
• 06:35at all. For every word.
• 06:38Alright. How's that?
• 06:40And and so,
• 06:43as I mentioned earlier,
• 06:45what what really excites me
• 06:47about this initiative, this endeavor,
• 06:49is this is how I
• 06:51believe you build authentic relationship.
• 06:53Like, this is how the
• 06:54university builds authentic relationship,
• 06:56not in looking at data
• 06:58and measuring folk who are
• 06:59not who are struggling,
• 07:01but by,
• 07:02sitting and listening to the
• 07:04stories
• 07:04of people
• 07:06and using those stories because
• 07:08I believe stories are
• 07:10the first and most formidable,
• 07:13longitudinal studies in my opinion.
• 07:16And so
• 07:17I'm just delighted that I'm
• 07:19a part of this. I
• 07:20I really am because I
• 07:21think this is the way
• 07:22you're supposed to do things.
• 07:23So thank you, my dear
• 07:25friend.
• 07:26Thank you for accepting me.
• 07:27You have this patience. And
• 07:28so to your to your
• 07:29question, you know, I had,
• 07:31you know, I grew up
• 07:32in in in abject poverty.
• 07:34I'm I'm from Knoll, Connecticut,
• 07:36which is about a half
• 07:37an hour south of here,
• 07:39and didn't do well in
• 07:41school
• 07:42at all.
• 07:43And I didn't do well
• 07:44in school, and I hated
• 07:46school quite frankly because,
• 07:47because I believe that the
• 07:49the teachers in front of
• 07:49me who didn't look like
• 07:50me hated me.
• 07:52And so,
• 07:54but didn't mean I didn't
• 07:55I wasn't smart. Like, so
• 07:56I I I read every
• 07:58book I could get my
• 07:59hands on.
• 08:01My favorite,
• 08:03writers were were Emerson, CS
• 08:05Lewis, and and James Baldwin.
• 08:07And so I effectively, I
• 08:09I guess, kinda taught myself
• 08:11because of my my peculiar
• 08:13relationship with formal education
• 08:15and ended up leaving high
• 08:16school. I got out of
• 08:17high school. I grad I
• 08:18had no idea how I
• 08:19graduated high school. No idea.
• 08:22And,
• 08:23you know, found a job
• 08:25here and there, and I
• 08:26ended up at the postal
• 08:27service working there. And it
• 08:29was an honorable and noble
• 08:30Mhmm. Position,
• 08:32profession.
• 08:33And
• 08:34there, I started thinking about
• 08:36what my contribution to the
• 08:37world would be.
• 08:39I met a girl.
• 08:41I'm a lot of girl.
• 08:43I I met a girl,
• 08:44and and her and I,
• 08:46begin we got married and
• 08:47and had children. We have
• 08:48four daughters as you heard.
• 08:50And so around my
• 08:53fourteenth year at the post
• 08:54office,
• 08:55I,
• 08:56again, still reading, still still
• 08:58writing and, you know,
• 09:00thinking about the world and
• 09:02and and,
• 09:03really,
• 09:04pondering, like, what I would
• 09:05do next.
• 09:07I ended up,
• 09:08my sixteenth year. I I
• 09:10no. I went back to
• 09:11school my twelfth year at
• 09:12the post office,
• 09:13got a degree in sociology,
• 09:15and my,
• 09:17my adviser, doctor Shirley Jackson,
• 09:19at the time,
• 09:20she was there at the
• 09:21time,
• 09:23knew I wanted to teach.
• 09:24And my my my mission
• 09:26was to teach
• 09:27kids who look like me
• 09:28who were living in the
• 09:29conditions I was able to
• 09:30overcome.
• 09:32And so she sent me
• 09:33to this place called LEAP
• 09:35to do after school programming.
• 09:38And I was still working
• 09:39full time at the post
• 09:40office and going to school
• 09:41at the, full time as
• 09:42well.
• 09:43And so for a year,
• 09:45I did an internship at
• 09:46this place called LEAP. I'd
• 09:47never even heard of LEAP.
• 09:48Mhmm. And I remember calling
• 09:50this guy named Malin Davila
• 09:53and leaving messages on his
• 09:54his,
• 09:55his mess there were no
• 09:56cell phones at the time.
• 09:57Oh, there were no Right?
• 09:58And he would never call
• 10:00me back.
• 10:02And so finally In fairness,
• 10:04he was in in youth
• 10:05development. It was a lot
• 10:06of work. That's right.
• 10:08And he ended up calling
• 10:09me back one day, and
• 10:10and he and I have
• 10:11become fast and long time
• 10:12friends. But he was my
• 10:14supervisor during my internship.
• 10:16And I I could see
• 10:17that he was,
• 10:19he was very reticent about
• 10:22managing me.
• 10:23One, because I was experienced,
• 10:25but that's I think that
• 10:26was his sweet way of
• 10:27saying I was older, much
• 10:28older than him.
• 10:29And so here I am,
• 10:31this thirty four year old
• 10:32guy
• 10:33comes and works at this
• 10:34youth serving organization.
• 10:36And when I tell you
• 10:37these were the smartest
• 10:39and most courageous
• 10:41young people I had ever
• 10:43I remember coming home telling
• 10:44my wife, you know, I
• 10:45said, I can't believe these
• 10:46young people,
• 10:48are doing this work and
• 10:49they're they're young and smart
• 10:51and courageous and hopeful and
• 10:54Malin and Shay Dawson and
• 10:55Tommy Veal and,
• 10:57Shafal and all these people
• 10:59who some of you, know
• 11:00who are still doing work.
• 11:02Ty Richardson. Ty Richardson. Eliza.
• 11:04Eliza Halsey. They were all
• 11:05there. They were kids, you
• 11:07know, doing this work. And,
• 11:10it was just absolutely incredible.
• 11:12And so I did my
• 11:12internship, and I wrote a
• 11:14thesis on LEAP. I graduated,
• 11:17from Southern with a degree
• 11:19in sociology.
• 11:20I was thirty
• 11:23I was thirty eight years
• 11:24old. So I met your
• 11:25husband and I at thirty
• 11:26four. I was thirty seven.
• 11:29And,
• 11:31was I then quit my
• 11:32job
• 11:33at the post office after
• 11:35sixteen years
• 11:36to chase a dream
• 11:38of first teaching, but my
• 11:40real heart I mean, my
• 11:42heart was really into,
• 11:44how do I impact community
• 11:47and impact communities of of
• 11:49poverty,
• 11:50because I felt called, quite
• 11:52frankly,
• 11:53to go back and redeem
• 11:55the times,
• 11:57so to speak, and try
• 11:58and help as many people
• 12:00get out of poverty poverty.
• 12:03No different in ways in
• 12:04which people have helped me.
• 12:06Well, you went with the
• 12:07idea of teaching,
• 12:09but that is not No.
• 12:10What you did. Yeah. So
• 12:12what happened next? Yeah. So,
• 12:13you know, I I I,
• 12:16entered into,
• 12:17Fairfield University's,
• 12:19grad ed program and realized
• 12:21very quickly
• 12:22that,
• 12:23there were no people who
• 12:24look like me,
• 12:26who are actually interested in
• 12:27in teaching.
• 12:29And so I got totally
• 12:30disenchanted,
• 12:32and I started working at
• 12:33a,
• 12:35at a middle school, Thomas
• 12:37Edison Middle School in Meriden,
• 12:38Connecticut,
• 12:39where I did substitute teaching,
• 12:42and I was a paraprofessional
• 12:44making no absolutely no money.
• 12:46So if you can imagine,
• 12:47we have four four kids.
• 12:49Right? We have a mortgage.
• 12:50My wife was a serious
• 12:52and and, very successful entrepreneur.
• 12:56And, you know, I go
• 12:58from a job that was
• 12:59very stable.
• 13:01It wasn't as high paying,
• 13:02but it was very stable
• 13:03and noble
• 13:05and,
• 13:06to making no money,
• 13:09and chasing a dream.
• 13:11And so,
• 13:12I did that work.
• 13:14I then,
• 13:16let me back up. During
• 13:18my time at LEAP,
• 13:21Shea and Allen
• 13:23invited me to a golf
• 13:26outing, a fundraiser,
• 13:27and
• 13:29I actually called out of
• 13:30work to go.
• 13:32And because I was in
• 13:33you know, I love golf.
• 13:35And so
• 13:37I I met them at
• 13:38the Wallingford Country Club. There
• 13:39was a lead fundraiser.
• 13:41And I sat next to
• 13:42this gentleman who is now
• 13:44a very dear friend. His
• 13:45name is Andy Boon. I
• 13:45don't know if any of
• 13:46you know Andy Boon.
• 13:48And I sat next to
• 13:49Andy, and I sat next
• 13:50to Andy because there was
• 13:51only seat left.
• 13:53And he and I started
• 13:54talking. He, you know, wanted
• 13:56to talk to me about
• 13:56my story.
• 13:58And I told him, you
• 13:59know, what I was doing,
• 14:00why why I was, in
• 14:02relationship with LEAP.
• 14:04And he said, you know,
• 14:06we have he was very
• 14:07blunt. He said, we have
• 14:08no black people on our
• 14:09board of directors.
• 14:10We have actually, we have
• 14:11one. Her name was Regina
• 14:13Winters.
• 14:14And
• 14:16I wanna talk to you.
• 14:17I'm gonna talk to somebody
• 14:18about trying to get you
• 14:19on our board. I didn't
• 14:19even know what a board
• 14:20of directors was. I wasn't
• 14:22I wasn't
• 14:23I was industrialized,
• 14:24quite frankly.
• 14:26And so,
• 14:28a month later, I got
• 14:29this call from a woman
• 14:30named Roz Meyer.
• 14:32Roz Rosin and Calabresi.
• 14:35And they asked me if
• 14:35I will be on the
• 14:36board of LEAP, and I
• 14:37told them yes. And I
• 14:38only said yes because I
• 14:39love my time at LEAP.
• 14:41And so here I am
• 14:43now serving on the board
• 14:44of directors at LEAP, doing
• 14:46substitute teaching, all the other
• 14:47things that I'm doing.
• 14:48Three years go by,
• 14:50and
• 14:51we the the our ED
• 14:53resigns, and now the board
• 14:55asked me to to run
• 14:56the organization
• 14:58that I was just the
• 14:59intern at.
• 15:01Well, from the intern to
• 15:02the board? To the to
• 15:04now the executive director.
• 15:06And I said yes.
• 15:07One, because I wanted to
• 15:09make more money, quite frankly.
• 15:12Two, because I love the
• 15:13work that Leap was doing,
• 15:14and it so resembled the
• 15:15way in which I grew
• 15:16up. And I knew the
• 15:17symptoms of the people
• 15:19who were leading,
• 15:22the services that Leap rendered.
• 15:24And so,
• 15:26I then became the executive
• 15:27director
• 15:29of the organization that I
• 15:30was just the intern of
• 15:32that I had never heard
• 15:33of.
• 15:35And,
• 15:37you know, during that time,
• 15:38Malin
• 15:40left and went to the
• 15:41Grouse Time Memorial Fund and
• 15:43and Shay went off to
• 15:44the city of New Haven.
• 15:46So,
• 15:48but here I am now
• 15:49running an organization.
• 15:51And I didn't know again,
• 15:52I didn't know what I
• 15:53was doing, but I knew
• 15:53why I was doing.
• 15:55It. And I knew I
• 15:55couldn't learn if I didn't
• 15:57pretend that I knew what
• 15:58I was doing.
• 15:59Ah. Yes. Okay. You needed
• 16:01to not pretend. That's right.
• 16:02Right? So
• 16:04you went with the
• 16:06why,
• 16:07but not the how. That's
• 16:08right. But part of getting
• 16:09to the how
• 16:11was humility. That's right.
• 16:13Right? And so how did
• 16:15that humility serve you? Yeah.
• 16:17You know, I I thought
• 16:18it was really important that,
• 16:20again, I didn't pretend that
• 16:21I knew what I was
• 16:22doing
• 16:23and that I would find
• 16:24or muster up the courage
• 16:26to fail miserably publicly.
• 16:30You know?
• 16:31That I you know, that
• 16:32there was a lack of
• 16:34of competence in some of
• 16:35the areas of in terms
• 16:36of running an organization.
• 16:39But it didn't matter because
• 16:41most often while growing up
• 16:43in the ways in which
• 16:44I grew up, you you
• 16:46know,
• 16:47the the thing about poverty,
• 16:48I think, writ large,
• 16:50is there are
• 16:52moments every day
• 16:54that you have to figure
• 16:56it out.
• 16:57And there are moments every
• 16:58day you are figuring out
• 17:00something that you'd have no
• 17:01idea how to how to
• 17:03deal with
• 17:04because there is a lack
• 17:05of because of the lack
• 17:06of stability.
• 17:08And so didn't realize that
• 17:09was an unconscious competence that
• 17:11I had
• 17:12that I knew, like, I
• 17:14knew you know, we used
• 17:15to say back in my
• 17:16neighborhood, like, you gotta be
• 17:17able to make a dollar
• 17:18out of fifteen cents.
• 17:21Like, you had to.
• 17:22And so I I took
• 17:24those skills
• 17:26that I didn't know I
• 17:27had, that I didn't know
• 17:28were skills,
• 17:29and apply them to running
• 17:31an organization.
• 17:32And at the same time,
• 17:34if in fact, I would
• 17:35render myself vulnerable
• 17:37to
• 17:40to the point where I
• 17:41knew that there was some
• 17:43incompetence in what I was
• 17:44doing,
• 17:45then I hoped
• 17:47that the staff
• 17:49would do the same, that
• 17:50they would feel comfortable enough
• 17:52to render themselves vulnerable. You
• 17:54were modeling. Exactly. You were
• 17:55modeling a way of being
• 17:56that isn't
• 17:58typically modeled. Right? As a
• 17:59leader often,
• 18:01whether through the messages of
• 18:03the institution
• 18:04or their own internal message,
• 18:06right,
• 18:07often receives the message that
• 18:08I've gotta know all the
• 18:09answers. That's right. Right? And
• 18:10I've gotta show up with
• 18:11all the answers.
• 18:13But when you don't,
• 18:14that right. There's danger in
• 18:16that monstrosity. And so you
• 18:17were modeling a different way.
• 18:18How did you see that
• 18:19play out?
• 18:21You know, it actually worked.
• 18:24It
• 18:25it actually worked because I
• 18:26I realized too that the
• 18:27answers were in the people
• 18:28that we were serving.
• 18:31You know? They weren't in
• 18:32the books that I was
• 18:33reading.
• 18:34And so,
• 18:36it worked. I I, you
• 18:37know, I I I I
• 18:38believe I did a very
• 18:40successful job in running that
• 18:41organization
• 18:42and actually lifting that organization
• 18:44back up.
• 18:46And then this idea of
• 18:47the community center, the Connecticut
• 18:49Center for Arts and Technology
• 18:50came to New Haven by
• 18:52way of the Community Foundation
• 18:54for Greater New Haven.
• 18:56And, I got a call
• 18:57one day and,
• 18:59actually, it was I got
• 19:00an email from a a
• 19:01guy named Leon Bailey, who's
• 19:03a good friend. I know
• 19:03you you know Leon who
• 19:04works at the Community Foundation.
• 19:06And he sent me this
• 19:08job description of a c
• 19:09e it's a CEO description
• 19:11for the Connecticut Center for
• 19:12Arts and Technology.
• 19:14He said, hey. You know?
• 19:16This is your job.
• 19:18And I sent it to
• 19:19Shay Dawson. I said, I
• 19:21did. I said For me,
• 19:22I had the accident to
• 19:23send it to you. I
• 19:23said, I'm not leaving another
• 19:24job. Right?
• 19:26And so,
• 19:27I said to the yes.
• 19:28I said to Deshay. I
• 19:29said, would hey, man. You
• 19:30might be interested in this.
• 19:32And so I got a
• 19:32I get a call from,
• 19:34Will Ginsburg who, at the
• 19:36time, was running the Community
• 19:37Foundation,
• 19:38and Bill Strickland,
• 19:40who's a probably the preeminent
• 19:41social entrepreneur
• 19:43in the country,
• 19:45definitely was at the time,
• 19:47who built this thing called
• 19:48Manchester Bidwell, which Concat would
• 19:50be a replication of that
• 19:51work in Pittsburgh.
• 19:52And so they came to
• 19:53see me,
• 19:55you know, and knew about
• 19:56the work I was doing
• 19:57in community
• 19:58with also Carlton Highsmith who
• 20:00had just retired as
• 20:02a very successful
• 20:03entrepreneur.
• 20:05And we had a conversation,
• 20:07a long conversation about ways
• 20:09in which we would save
• 20:10the world.
• 20:13And they came back to
• 20:14me. They did a national
• 20:15search, came back to me,
• 20:16and asked me if I
• 20:17would be interested, and I
• 20:18told them no.
• 20:20I told them no. I
• 20:21was definitely interested.
• 20:23I told them no. Why?
• 20:24Because I was scared to
• 20:25go to my wife.
• 20:27And I
• 20:28and I was this is
• 20:29a serious truth. It's the
• 20:31truth. I was scared to
• 20:32go to my wife and
• 20:33tell her that I was
• 20:34gonna leave another job. Yes.
• 20:36Yeah.
• 20:37And so I told them
• 20:38no.
• 20:40And so they kept doing
• 20:42a search.
• 20:43They came back to me
• 20:44a month later,
• 20:46and I had talked to
• 20:47Sharon about it. She said,
• 20:49you know, she realized, like,
• 20:50this is, like, how I
• 20:51am, I guess.
• 20:54And I I end up
• 20:55taking the job on in
• 20:57two thousand
• 20:58eleven.
• 20:59Built the organization in two
• 21:01thousand,
• 21:02for a year,
• 21:03and we,
• 21:05fully we're fully operational in
• 21:06two June of two thousand
• 21:07twelve.
• 21:09Yeah. Again,
• 21:10doing some now now we're
• 21:11talking about building an organization,
• 21:13not running Did you know
• 21:14how to do that? No
• 21:14idea what I was doing.
• 21:16No idea. Yeah. But I
• 21:18was willing to learn. And
• 21:19I was not only you
• 21:20know, I think willing to
• 21:21learn is really important,
• 21:23but even more important than
• 21:24willing to learn is willing
• 21:25to listen.
• 21:26And so I was willing
• 21:27to listen to people,
• 21:30as it relates to building
• 21:32put like, really putting together
• 21:34the mechanics of an organization,
• 21:36infrastructure,
• 21:37culture,
• 21:38fund development, all of those
• 21:40things. Yes. Yeah.
• 21:42So
• 21:43this is another example
• 21:46of not knowing the how
• 21:47Mhmm. But knowing the why.
• 21:49Right. Right. And so you
• 21:50went with it. You also
• 21:51said something that was interesting,
• 21:53which is
• 21:55the answer. You said two
• 21:56things, actually.
• 21:58Listening was important and that
• 22:00the the answer was in
• 22:01the people. Yeah. Right? And
• 22:03so
• 22:05that is
• 22:06a way. Right? We we're
• 22:07we think about that often
• 22:09here,
• 22:10as cultural humility. Right? Being
• 22:12able to ask and invite
• 22:14others to bring their expertise
• 22:15into the room
• 22:16and to level out that
• 22:18power imbalance.
• 22:20Right? But when you're the
• 22:21leader and you know all
• 22:22the answers or pretend to
• 22:23know all the answers, there's
• 22:24no space Yeah. For others
• 22:26to bring in ideas. Yeah.
• 22:28Right? So this is parallel
• 22:30in some of the ways
• 22:30that that we endeavor to
• 22:33engage the people that we
• 22:34work with both clinically and
• 22:35through research and also our
• 22:37colleagues. Mhmm.
• 22:38But it's a hard thing
• 22:40to do in spaces with
• 22:41traditional structures and hierarchy
• 22:43and traditional ideas of what
• 22:45power and success
• 22:47and leadership look like. Yeah.
• 22:48Alright. And I imagine you
• 22:49face some of that with
• 22:50funders. Yeah. Right? So how
• 22:52did you navigate that? Because
• 22:55you are telling us right?
• 22:57You went in not with
• 22:58your eighty point strategic plan,
• 23:01but with, like, okay. I'll
• 23:02do it. And I'll figure
• 23:03it out. And I'm gonna
• 23:03trust. And I know I've
• 23:05got some things. And I
• 23:05know I don't know things,
• 23:06but I know there's people
• 23:07around me who know things.
• 23:09How were you able
• 23:10to
• 23:11hold funders and and,
• 23:14entice them to continue to
• 23:15support this work without these
• 23:17traditional measures? Yeah. Great.
• 23:19Thank you. Great question.
• 23:23You know, I I think
• 23:24as as it relates to
• 23:24funders, there are a couple
• 23:25of things that that I
• 23:26will share.
• 23:28One, I I think when
• 23:29it whenever talking to a
• 23:30funder, and I believe this
• 23:31to be true,
• 23:33when you ask a funder
• 23:36for funds
• 23:38directly, they will give you
• 23:39advice.
• 23:41When you ask the funder
• 23:42for advice,
• 23:43they will give you funds.
• 23:47There's the secret. Yes.
• 23:49That's first of all. Second,
• 23:51and most importantly,
• 23:53when
• 23:54someone funds your endeavor,
• 23:57when they actually fund your
• 23:59idea,
• 24:01the two things that are
• 24:02important to know.
• 24:04One,
• 24:06that do exactly what you're
• 24:08going to do exactly
• 24:10what you say you're going
• 24:12to do with the funds
• 24:13that are giving you.
• 24:16Because most often, funds that
• 24:17are giving you initially,
• 24:20are a test to see
• 24:22if in fact you will
• 24:23be compliant.
• 24:26Secondly,
• 24:27and I believe this to
• 24:29be the most important,
• 24:30that funders fund people.
• 24:33They don't fund programs.
• 24:36Funders will fund you based
• 24:37on the relationship that you
• 24:39have with them or how
• 24:40you make them feel
• 24:42about you.
• 24:44And so that was really
• 24:45important to me, and I
• 24:46knew that to be the
• 24:47case
• 24:48instinctively.
• 24:49And so what I would
• 24:50do, again, is lead with
• 24:52stories.
• 24:54Lead with the story of
• 24:55myself.
• 24:56Like how I got here,
• 24:58why I'm doing this work,
• 24:59how I look to achieve
• 25:02the work that I am
• 25:03presenting to you with the
• 25:04funds that I you will
• 25:05potentially
• 25:06provide me.
• 25:08Them stories of the people.
• 25:10I think, you know, I
• 25:11think stories are and I
• 25:12know I'm saying this probably
• 25:14in the wrong place,
• 25:16but but stories are the
• 25:17best piece of data you
• 25:18could ever have. I really
• 25:20believe that.
• 25:21I think grandmothers are the
• 25:23best
• 25:24the best data holders of
• 25:26of anything.
• 25:28I believe in data. I
• 25:29believe in measuring things. That's
• 25:31super important. I believe in
• 25:32quantitative
• 25:34measures.
• 25:35But also I believe in
• 25:37the power of the heart
• 25:38and in the power of
• 25:39the spirit,
• 25:40and and especially the power
• 25:41of the heart and power
• 25:42of the spirit as it
• 25:42relates to the human condition.
• 25:45And so to the extent
• 25:46that you can present the
• 25:47human condition in a way
• 25:48where you can reauthor that
• 25:50condition,
• 25:51is really important
• 25:52to funders because funders want
• 25:54to see
• 25:55impact.
• 25:57Right? Not just in data
• 25:59sheets, but also in the
• 26:00lives of people. Like, empirical
• 26:02data is really, really important.
• 26:04And and I think
• 26:06those things have have, bode
• 26:08well for me.
• 26:09And,
• 26:11you know, I don't see
• 26:12funders as people who are
• 26:13funders. I I see them
• 26:14as my friends.
• 26:16I see them as my
• 26:17partners in the work that
• 26:18we endeavor to do to
• 26:20reauthor the stories and recast
• 26:21lives.
• 26:22That's really important to me,
• 26:24and I think it's important
• 26:26to the people
• 26:27who probably won't come to
• 26:28Dixwell,
• 26:29but they'll come to Dixwell
• 26:30through me.
• 26:32That's right. Yeah.
• 26:35So then
• 26:36you
• 26:38went from
• 26:41the post Yeah. The postal
• 26:42service
• 26:43to a school to Leap
• 26:45Mhmm. To the board to
• 26:46Leap to Khan Kat. Kat.
• 26:48Mhmm. And then Yep. To
• 26:50Concord. Concord. Yeah. And so,
• 26:52I mean, there's some funding
• 26:53that was part of Concord
• 26:54for sure. Yeah. There's really
• 26:56some funding that's part of
• 26:57Concord. That's what's right. So
• 26:59can you talk a little
• 27:00bit about
• 27:01what why you said yes
• 27:02to that? Yeah. So let
• 27:04me talk about ConCAT really
• 27:05quickly and programmatically, especially.
• 27:08You know, ConCAT,
• 27:10we we, you know, based
• 27:11our training programs
• 27:13on the needs of Yale
• 27:14New Haven Hospital. So I
• 27:15was in in terms of
• 27:16workforce development.
• 27:17And so before creating any
• 27:19programs,
• 27:20sat with Marta Boorstrom, who
• 27:22was the CEO at the
• 27:23time, Kevin Mayotte, who was
• 27:24the head of, HR for
• 27:26a health system,
• 27:28and asked what is their
• 27:29immediate need, what is market
• 27:31relevant
• 27:32for the hospitals.
• 27:33They said phlebotomy.
• 27:34We need phlebotomists,
• 27:36and we need medical billers.
• 27:38So we design training programs
• 27:40based on those needs.
• 27:42So there is a
• 27:43pipeline from our training to
• 27:45a job at the hospital
• 27:46or to the to the
• 27:47hospital system.
• 27:49That became very, very successful,
• 27:52because we did feasibility.
• 27:55Then I realized I did
• 27:56a very poor job of
• 27:57addressing the issue of reentry.
• 28:00You know, hundreds of folks
• 28:01come back to New Haven,
• 28:04daily
• 28:05from incarceration
• 28:06with no skills, no place
• 28:07to live, no money.
• 28:09And of my,
• 28:11our training programs didn't address
• 28:12those those those folks and
• 28:14their needs.
• 28:15And I knew that, and
• 28:16I knew that I would
• 28:17be called out on that
• 28:18very soon.
• 28:19And so,
• 28:21started thinking about what could
• 28:22be a a a training
• 28:23for folks who are incarcerated.
• 28:26Did another feasibility
• 28:27study with with Yale School
• 28:28of Management,
• 28:30and we designed a culinary
• 28:32school.
• 28:33I raised about two point
• 28:35seven million dollars,
• 28:37negotiated eight thousand square feet
• 28:39of space downstairs in the
• 28:40same building on in Science
• 28:42Park,
• 28:43and we built a culinary
• 28:44school,
• 28:46where thirty percent of the
• 28:47folks who came to the
• 28:48culinary school were folks who
• 28:49had been incarcerated at some
• 28:51point in time.
• 28:53And so,
• 28:55that is really what put
• 28:56us on the map nationally
• 28:57was that that program.
• 28:59We also had a youth
• 29:00we have a youth development,
• 29:03programming where we use the
• 29:04arts as a vehicle for
• 29:05academic achievement. That became very
• 29:07successful.
• 29:10But then started thinking about
• 29:11what is the next iteration
• 29:12of impact that we could
• 29:13provide given that we have
• 29:15trained hundreds of adults now
• 29:17through our,
• 29:19through our adult programs.
• 29:21And so, you know, we
• 29:22need to ensure that the
• 29:24folks who are now working
• 29:25and seeing the world differently
• 29:26and walking in the world
• 29:27differently
• 29:28because they have,
• 29:30a job
• 29:32and they have a sense
• 29:33of dignity.
• 29:34Right? So it's not just
• 29:35about a job.
• 29:37What could we do next?
• 29:38And so
• 29:39we,
• 29:40developed Concorp,
• 29:42which,
• 29:43would be our economic development,
• 29:45economic justice
• 29:47organization.
• 29:48But so now the good
• 29:49thing is Mhmm. I knew
• 29:51how to build this organization
• 29:52because I didn't Now you
• 29:53had a house. I knew
• 29:54how to do it.
• 29:56And so, but I didn't
• 29:58know anything about
• 29:59finances.
• 30:01Right? I I didn't. I
• 30:02didn't know anything about business
• 30:04in the formal way.
• 30:06And so, you know, and
• 30:07that kinda gave me, you
• 30:09know, I I had some
• 30:10trepidation about that, to be
• 30:11honest with you, because now
• 30:13this work was was also
• 30:14about the return on investment.
• 30:16It wasn't just about the
• 30:17return on investment being the
• 30:19soul and spirit of people,
• 30:21being invigorated and the stories
• 30:23being reauthored.
• 30:24This was without, like, real
• 30:25money now,
• 30:27and I didn't know if
• 30:28I wanted to get into
• 30:29that. Mhmm. I didn't know
• 30:31if I really wanted to
• 30:32be, like, a capitalist
• 30:33in a formal way.
• 30:35Okay. I
• 30:36understand this. Okay. So tell
• 30:37me Okay. Though, what turned
• 30:39it?
• 30:43I realized that in doing
• 30:45economic development work
• 30:47and the idea of transforming
• 30:49people that one has to
• 30:50be willing to be transformed
• 30:52first.
• 30:53That's number one.
• 30:54I realize also
• 30:56doing a deep deep dive
• 30:58into economic development and now
• 31:00the financial realm of the
• 31:01world
• 31:03that
• 31:03the reason why folks are
• 31:05in poverty is because they
• 31:06don't have money.
• 31:08Right?
• 31:09It's just
• 31:10and so
• 31:11the best way to do
• 31:12that the best way to
• 31:14remedy that, one, is to
• 31:16provide
• 31:17assistance or funds.
• 31:18Two is for me to
• 31:19learn
• 31:20how this world works so
• 31:22I can now teach it
• 31:24to the people who don't
• 31:25have the the the
• 31:27the blessing
• 31:29to sit with very, very,
• 31:30very wealthy people
• 31:32who are telling me these
• 31:33things. And telling me these
• 31:35things,
• 31:37became a burden of responsibility
• 31:38because the responsibility now is
• 31:40for me to disseminate this
• 31:41information to people who would
• 31:43be willing to listen.
• 31:45And so I I that
• 31:46that's what changed my mind.
• 31:48And so I was able
• 31:49to
• 31:50raise a significant amount of
• 31:52dollars,
• 31:54to do the work of
• 31:55Concord.
• 31:56It was in the papers.
• 31:57You can say Okay. You
• 31:59can say how much it
• 32:00was. So I I raised,
• 32:01first, I raised about
• 32:03forty million dollars,
• 32:07from a dear, dear friend
• 32:09and family whose
• 32:12missions in life are aligned
• 32:13with my own and with
• 32:14with Con Corps
• 32:16especially.
• 32:19And what we did was
• 32:20we we used the forty
• 32:21million dollars as a,
• 32:24as a backstop or collateral
• 32:26to a twenty five million
• 32:27dollar line of credit.
• 32:30Right? And so I'm I'm
• 32:31talking about this now with
• 32:32with some level of of
• 32:34skill. Yes. But when when
• 32:36I was I've learned. Right?
• 32:37When I heard it, I
• 32:38was like, can you tell
• 32:39me what like, what is
• 32:40what are you what are
• 32:41you talking about? What is
• 32:42it? I mean. And so
• 32:43so we have a forty
• 32:44million dollar venture fund. Right?
• 32:46There's forty million dollars used
• 32:47as collateral to a twenty
• 32:48five million dollar line of
• 32:49credit. So we withdraw from
• 32:51the line of credit while
• 32:52the the collateral would be
• 32:53invested. And so that forty
• 32:55million turned into a hundred
• 32:56and ten million dollars
• 32:59while never
• 33:00but but at the same
• 33:01time, we're we're using
• 33:03the line of credit
• 33:04as a way to do
• 33:05the work while the money
• 33:07that's really there is growing.
• 33:12The question was what was
• 33:13the time span? About three
• 33:15years.
• 33:16Yeah.
• 33:17Three years.
• 33:18Three? Three years. Which three
• 33:20years?
• 33:22During the pandemic.
• 33:24During the pandemic. Yep. Good
• 33:26question.
• 33:28And so,
• 33:30and, you know, we you
• 33:31call that an arbitrage.
• 33:34And so
• 33:36that,
• 33:38enabled us to so a
• 33:39couple of things. Concord, we
• 33:40we ventured to really create
• 33:43economic infrastructure and capital formation
• 33:45in the Ditchwell community, especially.
• 33:47And the Ditchwell community has
• 33:48languished in poverty for at
• 33:50least sixty years with no
• 33:52investment at all,
• 33:53neither from city or state.
• 33:55And it's Redlining.
• 33:57Yeah. I'm sorry? Victim of
• 33:58redlining. It's a definitely a
• 34:01victim of redlining.
• 34:02And, you know, this it
• 34:04it's a historic
• 34:05and y'all know this. Right?
• 34:06It's a historic
• 34:08black community
• 34:09that has a deep sense
• 34:11of pride, deep sense of
• 34:12history.
• 34:14Yet for whatever reason,
• 34:16and I think poverty is
• 34:18intentional, quite frankly. It's just
• 34:20my own projection and my
• 34:21own stuff.
• 34:23I I think we can
• 34:24you know, poverty does not
• 34:25have to exist. I think
• 34:27poverty exists in the city
• 34:28in any urban city because
• 34:30that city allows it to.
• 34:33And so
• 34:34we said, you know, we
• 34:35want to create beauty, dignity,
• 34:37and utility in this neighborhood.
• 34:39And so we looked at
• 34:40the, Dittwald Plaza,
• 34:42which was a,
• 34:44strip mall that was a
• 34:46a block long, eight acres
• 34:48of of of land, eight
• 34:50acre footprint
• 34:51with, eleven buildings and maybe
• 34:53two businesses. And Mhmm. And
• 34:55those buildings were viable.
• 34:57And it was blight. Eight
• 34:59acres? Eight acres of land.
• 35:00Viable businesses. Two two viable
• 35:02businesses.
• 35:04Yeah. And,
• 35:05you know, we said, you
• 35:06know, we wanna do something
• 35:07about this that that this
• 35:09place should not look the
• 35:12way it looks.
• 35:14And so we put together
• 35:15a property acquisition strategy myself,
• 35:18my board chair, Carlton Highsmith.
• 35:20And Did you know how
• 35:21to do that? I have
• 35:22no idea how to do
• 35:23that.
• 35:24No idea.
• 35:25We did, put together a
• 35:27property acquisition strategy, and my
• 35:29and and my chief operating
• 35:30officer who is his name
• 35:31is Paul McCraven.
• 35:34We then,
• 35:35hired a architect firm where
• 35:38we master plan the entire
• 35:39site
• 35:40and,
• 35:41program the entire site. Programming
• 35:43and this is important,
• 35:45especially, you know, the stuff
• 35:47that you're you're talking about,
• 35:48Tara.
• 35:49We programmed what we would
• 35:50do there
• 35:52based on the conversations
• 35:54we had
• 35:55with community.
• 35:58So I would attend every
• 36:01meeting possible
• 36:03for three years
• 36:05and listen to the Dixwell
• 36:07residents, what they wanted, what
• 36:09they needed, what they yearned
• 36:10for,
• 36:12What they said they wanted
• 36:14and needed and yearned for
• 36:16was housing,
• 36:19was
• 36:20a place to purchase fresh
• 36:21food,
• 36:23fruit, vegetables.
• 36:25They wanted safety.
• 36:27They wanted quality early childhood
• 36:29care.
• 36:31They wanted the revival of
• 36:32arts and culture. Dixwell was
• 36:33a,
• 36:34hotbed for jazz and and
• 36:36and and the arts.
• 36:38They wanted the revival of
• 36:39that.
• 36:41And they wanted a place
• 36:44places to to to eat.
• 36:48Yeah. So that does not
• 36:50sound
• 36:51well, let's say this. How
• 36:52many of you have that
• 36:53in your neighborhood already?
• 36:56Those things. Yeah. Some hands
• 36:58are being raised. Right? You
• 36:59have some of those things
• 37:01just already. And this is
• 37:02what a community's
• 37:03yearning for and wanting.
• 37:05An established community that's been
• 37:07here for a long time.
• 37:08And so then you listened.
• 37:10Listened? And so, you know,
• 37:11it was it was I
• 37:12I kinda
• 37:13couple years back, Tara, I
• 37:15I was really working with,
• 37:17Myra Jones Taylor. Do you
• 37:19know Myra? Do. Myra and
• 37:20my Myra's a different
• 37:22her, myself, and
• 37:27Jessica Sager.
• 37:29Leaders in the early childhood.
• 37:30Yeah. We got together some
• 37:32years ago
• 37:33and did a project,
• 37:36around early childhood,
• 37:38providers.
• 37:39And we use
• 37:40Stanford's,
• 37:42IDO,
• 37:44human centered design approach.
• 37:46And so I just kinda
• 37:47lifted
• 37:48language and
• 37:50know how from that experience
• 37:53to really engage Dixwell.
• 37:55How do we put the
• 37:56folks who are indigenous to
• 37:57this community
• 37:58in the center
• 38:01and kinda work from what
• 38:03they said they wanted, needed,
• 38:04and yearn for?
• 38:06And so and and create
• 38:07a response to that. And
• 38:09so what we are effectively
• 38:10doing now
• 38:12is building a hundred eighty
• 38:13four units of housing. Well,
• 38:15we purchased the entire block.
• 38:16Took us three four years
• 38:18to do so.
• 38:21We knocked down all the
• 38:23buildings. So you see now
• 38:25eight acres of of developable
• 38:26land there. It's fenced
• 38:28if you go. It's between
• 38:30West Street and Charles Street,
• 38:32on Dixwell.
• 38:34And,
• 38:36we're building a new concat
• 38:38headquarters,
• 38:39which will be a fifty
• 38:39thousand square foot
• 38:41building that will house the,
• 38:44a child and family family
• 38:45guidance center,
• 38:46ran by the Hill Health
• 38:47Center,
• 38:49a early childhood center ran
• 38:51by Friends Center for children,
• 38:53and CONCAT in in all
• 38:55its programs.
• 38:56We'll then build a public
• 38:58plaza
• 38:59that will be attached to
• 39:00the headquarters.
• 39:02We'll build a hundred and
• 39:03eighty four units of housing,
• 39:05a grocery store,
• 39:07retail prices,
• 39:09a fifteen restaurant food hall.
• 39:12We'll then phase two will
• 39:14start a three hundred seat
• 39:15performing arts center,
• 39:18a sixty thousand square foot
• 39:20office building,
• 39:21townhouses,
• 39:22and greenhouses.
• 39:25All of this will all
• 39:26in will be about two
• 39:27hundred and twenty million dollar
• 39:28project
• 39:29where we broke ground on
• 39:30October fifteenth
• 39:32of, yeah, October fifteenth of
• 39:34this year,
• 39:35and start pouring cement
• 39:38in the next three weeks
• 39:39for the first building. Oh
• 39:40my goodness. Yeah.
• 39:42Thank you.
• 39:47And in addition to Concord,
• 39:49because everyone thinks that project
• 39:50is what Concord is, and
• 39:51it's so much more.
• 39:53We purchased a forty five
• 39:55thousand square foot elementary school
• 39:57at the corner of Newhall
• 39:59Street,
• 40:00in Hamden,
• 40:01where we converted into a
• 40:02black business incubator.
• 40:04It's called the lab at
• 40:05Concord,
• 40:07and it's absolutely beautiful space.
• 40:10We're finishing the third and
• 40:12garden level floors and and
• 40:14are partnering with with organization.
• 40:15Now Long Wharf is there
• 40:17now doing a play.
• 40:18And if you have not
• 40:19seen it, please go see
• 40:20it. It's called She Loves
• 40:21Me. Incredible.
• 40:24I opened up an art
• 40:25gallery at the lab at
• 40:26Concord because I I believe
• 40:28I believe artists and children
• 40:30will save the world.
• 40:31I really do.
• 40:33And,
• 40:35I believe that artists,
• 40:36their voices,
• 40:39and their hearts
• 40:40need to be on view,
• 40:42and there need to be
• 40:42spaces created for that.
• 40:45And so I opened up
• 40:46a an art gallery in
• 40:47the lab at Concord Court
• 40:48Orpig Gallery.
• 40:50We also have,
• 40:52six food business lines as
• 40:54well,
• 40:55and we have a real
• 40:56estate portfolio. We own about
• 40:58five homes at this point.
• 41:00And we started buying up
• 41:02buying homes in Newhallville and
• 41:04Dixwell because we realized that
• 41:05we're people who are not
• 41:06indigenous to these communities.
• 41:08We're buying property in New
• 41:10Haven. Imagine that. That's right.
• 41:12In in land banking, not
• 41:14doing anything with the properties,
• 41:16just waiting for
• 41:17the,
• 41:19waiting for the appraisals to
• 41:20go up.
• 41:21And so we wanted to
• 41:23curb some of that, so
• 41:23we started buying properties and
• 41:25redeveloping those properties with the
• 41:27city of New Haven,
• 41:28and putting them back into
• 41:29the market for folks who
• 41:31are living in Dixwell and
• 41:32Newhallville only.
• 41:36We have that. We have
• 41:36an entrepreneurship
• 41:37academy
• 41:38as well. And I'm actually
• 41:40one thing two things I'm
• 41:41proud of, but this particular
• 41:43thing I'm really proud of.
• 41:44I've been working with the
• 41:45Boston Federal Reserve for
• 41:47the last four years,
• 41:49and they called me to
• 41:50see if, I would work
• 41:51with them in addressing the
• 41:53racial wealth gap in New
• 41:54Haven.
• 41:55The Boston Federal Reserve is
• 41:56looking at beta testing two
• 41:58cities, Providence, Rhode Island, New
• 42:00Haven, Connecticut as relates to
• 42:01the racial wealth gap and
• 42:02ways to address that.
• 42:04And so I've been working
• 42:05with them for the last
• 42:06four years, and what we
• 42:07have done is set up
• 42:08a fund called the Wealth
• 42:10Solutions Accelerator.
• 42:12And we have raised,
• 42:14at this point,
• 42:16one million, one point four
• 42:18million dollars.
• 42:20The Connecticut project ran by
• 42:21Garth Harry is what I
• 42:23know you know,
• 42:24was first in on this.
• 42:25And what we'll do
• 42:27is give,
• 42:29cash injections
• 42:31to CONCAT graduates.
• 42:34And so we'll identify twenty
• 42:36CONCAT graduates of our adult
• 42:38training programs
• 42:40and
• 42:41give those twenty people twenty
• 42:43thousand dollars
• 42:44to do whatever it is
• 42:45that they want to do
• 42:48as a way to address
• 42:49the racial wealth gap and
• 42:50for them to use the
• 42:52twenty thousand dollars as a
• 42:53lever
• 42:54to build wealth, whether they
• 42:55wanna pay debt,
• 42:57use it as a down
• 42:58payment to buy a home,
• 43:00purchase a vehicle,
• 43:02whatever it is that they
• 43:03wanna do. And the Urban
• 43:04Institute is now involved in
• 43:06this as well.
• 43:07And so I'm really, really
• 43:08proud
• 43:09of of that work, especially.
• 43:13So that's a new piece
• 43:14that I didn't know about.
• 43:15You have to know, like,
• 43:16how much I'm restraining myself
• 43:17from, like, giving him the
• 43:18biggest hug ever for all
• 43:19the things he's telling me.
• 43:21But one of the things
• 43:22or many of the things
• 43:23that I'm hearing though is
• 43:25that you went from not
• 43:26knowing what how,
• 43:28but knowing why
• 43:32and created a comprehensive
• 43:34strategy
• 43:36to uplift a community,
• 43:38very dedicated to the indigenous
• 43:40folks of that community, the
• 43:42folks who have been there
• 43:43inhabit inhabiting Dixwell for years,
• 43:46who've got ignored and listened
• 43:48to, and you listened. Now
• 43:50you talk to me and
• 43:51you talk to us about
• 43:53how you have to,
• 43:55deliver
• 43:56on what you said you
• 43:57were gonna deliver financially. Yeah.
• 44:00What about the community? Yeah.
• 44:02I tell you.
• 44:05Great question. One of the
• 44:06questions I I was hoping
• 44:07you wasn't gonna ask me,
• 44:08but I'm I'm gonna ask
• 44:10you. You know, while doing
• 44:12that work
• 44:13still doing the work,
• 44:15it was very, very difficult.
• 44:19You know, I remember
• 44:20attending,
• 44:22management team meetings. So so
• 44:23New Haven has these community
• 44:25management teams,
• 44:27in each community in New
• 44:28Haven,
• 44:29and they would meet monthly.
• 44:32And Dix Wells'
• 44:33management team meeting, I believe,
• 44:35is on a Thursday.
• 44:37And so I go and
• 44:38I bring these, renderings, beautiful
• 44:40renderings on what we're gonna
• 44:41build
• 44:43for them
• 44:47and talk about what we
• 44:48were gonna do, how we
• 44:49were gonna do it, why
• 44:50we're doing it, how much,
• 44:53economic infrastructure we'll create, how
• 44:54many permanent jobs,
• 44:56all of these things. And,
• 44:58it wasn't it was not
• 45:00working. Not at work. No.
• 45:01They were it was not
• 45:03working.
• 45:05And,
• 45:06you know, I tell the
• 45:07story quite a bit now.
• 45:08This woman,
• 45:09miss Ella Smith, who, just
• 45:11turned eighty five years old.
• 45:12I just wrote an op
• 45:13ed. I'm gonna send it
• 45:14to you.
• 45:15And I I added her
• 45:16to the to the to
• 45:17the op ed. I put
• 45:18her in the op ed
• 45:18because
• 45:19she just created such a
• 45:20pivotal moment for me.
• 45:24In one of the meetings,
• 45:25she pulled me to the
• 45:26side and said, can I
• 45:27talk to you?
• 45:29I said, sure. She said,
• 45:30you know
• 45:31you know, we love you.
• 45:32And I was and, like,
• 45:33as soon as you hear
• 45:34that Yeah. You know what's
• 45:35going on, but
• 45:36Yeah. Especially from a eighty
• 45:38five year old.
• 45:41Let me talk to you.
• 45:41Yeah. Let me talk to
• 45:42you.
• 45:44And she she she pointed
• 45:45to the fact that,
• 45:47you know, people weren't feeling
• 45:49me because they didn't know
• 45:50me.
• 45:51And they didn't know me
• 45:52because I chose not to
• 45:53present myself. I chose to
• 45:54present this project.
• 45:58And
• 45:59that was the best I
• 46:00mean, when I tell you
• 46:01the
• 46:02because I just knew I
• 46:03was I was right. Like,
• 46:05I knew what I was
• 46:06doing. I knew what I
• 46:07was what I knew it
• 46:08would help.
• 46:10I knew that the people
• 46:11would love it. I knew
• 46:13it because they look like
• 46:14me and all of this.
• 46:15So all of you know,
• 46:16I had all this this
• 46:17bias.
• 46:19And,
• 46:20it just wasn't they wasn't
• 46:21feeling it. They weren't feeling
• 46:22it. And so
• 46:24I started to present myself
• 46:26and tell my story.
• 46:28Why I'm here? Why I
• 46:29do this work? Why I'm
• 46:30in Dixwell? All of these
• 46:31things.
• 46:33And I realized also while
• 46:35telling my story in in
• 46:36reflection, I I I realized
• 46:38that, you know, growing up
• 46:40very, very poor,
• 46:43I was talking to the
• 46:44people in a way of
• 46:45letting them know that I
• 46:46wasn't poor anymore.
• 46:50Oh, what do you think
• 46:50that was about? I I
• 46:51you know, I I think
• 46:53it it is I think
• 46:54there are there's some PTSD
• 46:57around poverty.
• 46:59And a lot of
• 47:00I'll say I. A lot
• 47:01of the decisions I was
• 47:03making
• 47:04was rooted in the fact
• 47:05that,
• 47:07poverty was so scarring that
• 47:09I wanna make sure you
• 47:10know I'm not poor anymore.
• 47:13I don't want you to
• 47:13know I'm privileged,
• 47:15but I definitely
• 47:17I I definitely want you
• 47:18to know I'm not poor.
• 47:20Wow.
• 47:21And and so this proximity
• 47:23to poverty was really interesting
• 47:25for me too Yeah. In
• 47:26in terms of learning.
• 47:28And I realize now that
• 47:29a lot of times people
• 47:30who wanna help, they wanna
• 47:32help poor people, but they
• 47:33don't wanna be around poor
• 47:34people.
• 47:36And so
• 47:37I think a lot of
• 47:38philanthropy is rooted in that
• 47:39as well.
• 47:41And so,
• 47:43once I got over myself,
• 47:45right,
• 47:47I started making headway with
• 47:49community in a huge way.
• 47:52There were a lot of
• 47:53there was a lot of
• 47:54resistance to the work that
• 47:55we endeavor to do
• 47:57with because of the threat
• 47:58of gentrification,
• 48:01because of the threat of,
• 48:04folks who are not indigenous
• 48:06to the community,
• 48:07coming into the community,
• 48:09taking more property,
• 48:11because of this really peculiar
• 48:13relationship that the university has
• 48:15with black communities,
• 48:17that the the people in
• 48:19the community,
• 48:21assumed.
• 48:22And, actually, some of them
• 48:24just knew that we were
• 48:25agents of Yale University,
• 48:27that we were coming to
• 48:28Dixwell to do this work
• 48:29on behalf of the university.
• 48:31And I bet you that
• 48:33was not well received. Oh,
• 48:34god. It was it was
• 48:35it was terrible. I mean,
• 48:36when I when I say
• 48:37I was the most hurt,
• 48:39it was because of that.
• 48:43And I, you know, I
• 48:44I realized also
• 48:46in some that the sum
• 48:48of all of this
• 48:50was that
• 48:53because of the legacy of
• 48:54poverty and disinvestment
• 48:56in the community,
• 48:58that the people couldn't see
• 49:00themselves in what we were
• 49:01building.
• 49:02They just couldn't imagine that
• 49:03this would be for them.
• 49:07And so what was important,
• 49:10and I would imagine it's
• 49:11important to your work as
• 49:12well,
• 49:13is that you no matter
• 49:14what, you come back.
• 49:16Like, whatever you're saying about
• 49:17me, all these things and
• 49:19some New Haven independent and
• 49:20Arthur Kearns wrote some really,
• 49:23you know, untrue things, salacious
• 49:25stories.
• 49:27I'll be back tomorrow.
• 49:29That would that was my
• 49:29message. Sleeps up. I'll yep.
• 49:31I'll see you tomorrow. I'll
• 49:33be back.
• 49:34And so that was really
• 49:35important.
• 49:36Again, you know, if in
• 49:38fact you are looking to
• 49:39transform community or transform anyone's
• 49:41life, you have to be
• 49:42willing to be transformed first.
• 49:45And economic development is also
• 49:47about human development for me.
• 49:49You know?
• 49:51Looking at the time Okay.
• 49:53And one last thing Alright.
• 49:54That I wanna ask you
• 49:55because this is this is
• 49:57also a little little selfish
• 49:59on my part.
• 50:01While you're doing all of
• 50:02this and you're modeling and
• 50:04you're learning and you're listening
• 50:06and you're responding Yeah. You're
• 50:08also
• 50:09for a spell. And at
• 50:11least, the spell I'm thinking
• 50:12about was pouring directly into
• 50:14the growth of leaders
• 50:16Yeah. Through your investment and
• 50:18engagement,
• 50:20in the community leaders program.
• 50:22Yep. And that's where I
• 50:22had so I had an
• 50:24opportunity to do that program,
• 50:27and I was able to
• 50:29engage with Eric outside of
• 50:30being friends, but in this
• 50:32this different space.
• 50:34Can you talk a little
• 50:36bit about that?
• 50:39Yeah.
• 50:40One, it was a pleasure
• 50:42and honor
• 50:43really getting to know you
• 50:44in that space. Oh, shucks.
• 50:46I mean that. That was
• 50:47amazing.
• 50:48And I think that might
• 50:49have been the last cohort
• 50:50before the pandemic. Was it
• 50:52not? It was. That's right.
• 50:56You know,
• 50:57Bill Rauschteyn,
• 50:58had this,
• 51:00created this community leadership program.
• 51:02And it was it's a
• 51:03program where leaders from all
• 51:04over
• 51:05come together
• 51:06monthly
• 51:07in a circle.
• 51:10And, there are prompts and
• 51:11and so forth, but it's
• 51:12really rooted in story.
• 51:16And
• 51:17I chose to to do
• 51:18it,
• 51:19to lead
• 51:21the circle myself,
• 51:23my dear friend, doctor Karen
• 51:24Du Bois Wallen,
• 51:26and, my other dear friend,
• 51:28Liz Keenan. Liz is a
• 51:29social social,
• 51:31social worker at at Seller.
• 51:36Because I I didn't want
• 51:38leaders
• 51:39to have to
• 51:41deal with the things that
• 51:42I had to deal with,
• 51:44to get to where I've
• 51:45got.
• 51:47That I would render myself
• 51:49vulnerable and and share
• 51:51whatever it is that,
• 51:52one would ask me to
• 51:54share
• 51:55for the express purpose
• 51:56of developing
• 51:58their own sense of leadership.
• 52:00And so it was really
• 52:01me contributing to other people's
• 52:03lives in a way that
• 52:04people contributed to my own
• 52:06life.
• 52:08It's it's yeah.
• 52:09Yeah. Well, I'm grateful
• 52:11because it was
• 52:13also because of it was
• 52:14after that
• 52:15that I
• 52:17felt
• 52:19I answered the
• 52:20call to put my hat
• 52:21in the ring, because I
• 52:22had a similar situation with
• 52:23the vice chair for DEI
• 52:24where they were like, did
• 52:25you see this job? I
• 52:26was like, it looks like
• 52:27a great job for someone
• 52:28else.
• 52:29And then they were like,
• 52:30just wanna make sure you
• 52:31saw this job. I really
• 52:32hope someone takes that job.
• 52:34But it was actually through
• 52:36through the stories
• 52:37and through
• 52:38that experience
• 52:40where
• 52:41it kinda opened me up
• 52:42to this idea of well,
• 52:44maybe sometimes
• 52:46others know better. Yeah. That
• 52:48right? And you've gotta be
• 52:49open to listen. Yeah.
• 52:51So What you're doing
• 52:53and I'm not just saying
• 52:54this, because we're here. And,
• 52:57I mean, you're doing an
• 52:58incredible,
• 52:59incredible job in in the
• 53:01way you're
• 53:02approaching this and
• 53:04and and knitting people together.
• 53:06It is it's it's absolutely
• 53:08mind blowing. I mean, that
• 53:09and and to the extent
• 53:10that this could be modeled
• 53:12other in other places,
• 53:14that this idea of top
• 53:16down is just doesn't work.
• 53:18Right? And and so I
• 53:20just have to tell you
• 53:20that. And
• 53:22and to be able to
• 53:22see these two young people
• 53:24who who I've known
• 53:26since they were younger,
• 53:28and seeing their grown women
• 53:29is just
• 53:31incredible to me. So thank
• 53:32you for this. Thank you.
• 53:33Yeah. Thank you. Alright.
• 53:37We
• 53:42do not have a ton
• 53:42of time, but I don't
• 53:43know if anybody had quest
• 53:45oh, yes, ma'am.
• 53:47And, Alex.
• 53:48I had to say something.
• 53:49I I'm personally at the
• 53:50scene. So I've had the
• 53:51pleasure the immense pleasure of
• 53:53knowing mister Eric and his
• 53:54family for
• 53:55over twenty years now. And,
• 53:58you know, just knowing you
• 53:59and miss Sharon and your
• 54:00daughters, I don't think there's
• 54:02anyone who's come across you
• 54:03or miss Sharon
• 54:04or the girls who hasn't
• 54:06been immediately
• 54:07inspired by you. And I'm
• 54:09just as you're talking, sitting
• 54:11here reflecting on all of
• 54:13the lessons you and miss
• 54:14Sharon have taught me over
• 54:15the years that have kind
• 54:15of guided my life and
• 54:18constantly hearing your voice in
• 54:19various parts of my life.
• 54:23My question is,
• 54:25you know, you've raised four
• 54:26really successful women in their
• 54:28own right, and they're incredible
• 54:30leaders and very dedicated, and
• 54:32then that success has definitely
• 54:33been passed on.
• 54:35What you know, as we
• 54:36sit here as,
• 54:38child psychiatrists and social workers
• 54:40and people who work with
• 54:41children day in and day
• 54:42out, what advice would you
• 54:43give us in how to
• 54:44talk to children who are
• 54:46struggling and lessons that you
• 54:47would, you know, you made
• 54:49sure to pass on to
• 54:50your girls and all the
• 54:51children who have come through
• 54:52here? Yeah. Great question, Alex.
• 54:54So, yes, I've known her
• 54:56for a long time.
• 54:58And,
• 55:00when I talk about,
• 55:01you know,
• 55:03ways in which
• 55:04I gain knowledge and experience,
• 55:08when I get stuck,
• 55:10I look to her parents,
• 55:12really, doctor Gary and and
• 55:14Deborah Dazir,
• 55:15who have guided me in
• 55:17in ways that, you know,
• 55:18you don't even know yet.
• 55:19Right? They're just amazing parents.
• 55:23I would you know, what
• 55:24I do and especially what
• 55:26I did with my my
• 55:27my girls
• 55:28is I would listen for
• 55:29what I'm not hearing.
• 55:32Right? What what is
• 55:34most often
• 55:35in
• 55:36in communities that I serve,
• 55:39what is bringing what what
• 55:41people are bringing to me,
• 55:44and what they're saying is
• 55:45not what they really wanna
• 55:46say.
• 55:48Just like I was saying,
• 55:50Alex,
• 55:51you know, a lot of
• 55:52the trepidation around the work
• 55:53that we're doing in Dixwell
• 55:55had everything to do with
• 55:57the folks not being able
• 55:59to see themselves in what
• 56:00we were building
• 56:01because they've gotten so used
• 56:02to,
• 56:04the manifestations
• 56:05of poverty.
• 56:06But they won't say that.
• 56:08So excuse me. So I
• 56:09had to really dig deep
• 56:11and be in relationship
• 56:13with them. And I think
• 56:14I think developing authentic relationship
• 56:16with those young people that
• 56:18you are gonna be or
• 56:19that you're you're now,
• 56:21gonna be working with
• 56:22is the most important thing
• 56:24because you you want
• 56:26you want the relationship to
• 56:27be go beyond whatever it
• 56:29is that you're trying to
• 56:30to heal in that young
• 56:31person.
• 56:32Yeah. I remember a young
• 56:34man
• 56:34at at LEAP
• 56:36said, oh, I'm I'm I'm
• 56:37tired of doing what he
• 56:39say? He said, I'm tired
• 56:40of being in therapy.
• 56:42Right? I don't wanna I
• 56:43don't wanna do therapy anymore.
• 56:45I wanna be with my
• 56:47friends. And what he was
• 56:48saying was, like, I'm tired
• 56:50of talking to you about
• 56:51this.
• 56:53Like, I wanna be a
• 56:54kid.
• 56:55And if in order for
• 56:56him to be in a
• 56:57a real kid with you,
• 56:59that you have to create
• 57:01a space and place
• 57:03and relationship
• 57:04for that kid to come
• 57:05out.
• 57:06That's the bottom I I
• 57:07mean, that's the only way
• 57:09this works. Relationships
• 57:10to me are the most
• 57:11important thing in the world.
• 57:13Authentic relationships.
• 57:16Thank you. Any other questions?
• 57:20It's yellow. It's
• 57:24Thank you so much. I'm
• 57:25just blown away with excitement.
• 57:27Oh, and I'm so excited.
• 57:28I wanna invite you to
• 57:29Bridgeport, Connecticut in the east
• 57:31end. So my question is,
• 57:32we're taking a track Mount
• 57:33Trashmore to Mount Gilmore, but
• 57:35the question is,
• 57:37scalability
• 57:38of what you're doing and
• 57:39how we can start harvesting
• 57:41some of your lessons learned
• 57:43in a very similar community
• 57:44there that's made a lot
• 57:45of progress, but we we
• 57:46need your we need to
• 57:47be able to take it
• 57:48to the next level with
• 57:49economic development. Yeah. You know,
• 57:52I I get that question
• 57:53a lot, especially from folks
• 57:55in Bridgeport and Hartford.
• 57:57And I've been very reticent
• 57:59about embracing the idea of
• 58:00scaling the work
• 58:02in different,
• 58:04in different cities. Now which
• 58:06is really interesting because, you
• 58:07know, CONCAT is called CONCAT,
• 58:09and CONCORP is called CONCORP
• 58:11because the con start stands
• 58:12for Connecticut.
• 58:13Because we had envisioned that
• 58:15we would go and we
• 58:16would scale the work.
• 58:18The what what makes me
• 58:19reticent,
• 58:20quite frankly, what scares me,
• 58:22is we can easily scale
• 58:23the work.
• 58:25Right? Because we there's a
• 58:26blueprint.
• 58:27I don't know how to
• 58:28scale the people
• 58:29Right. Who do the work.
• 58:31And if we've got those
• 58:32people there already rocking and
• 58:33rolling Yeah. It's it's like
• 58:35a team is there. We
• 58:36just need you to come
• 58:37in and give you that.
• 58:38Is it that reinforcement picture
• 58:40or whatever they Yeah. I
• 58:41you know, I've I've been
• 58:42talking I had been talking
• 58:43for for a while with
• 58:45Joe Carbone and do you
• 58:46know Joe? Yeah. And and
• 58:48other
• 58:49folks in in Bridgeport.
• 58:52I think New Haven's a
• 58:54bit different
• 58:55because there's more industry and
• 58:56market here that you can
• 58:58attach your programming to, especially
• 59:00as it relates to workforce
• 59:01development.
• 59:02However,
• 59:03I think there's a bounty
• 59:05in Bridgeport as it relates
• 59:06to economic development.
• 59:08And I see it happening,
• 59:09but it's not happening for
• 59:10the people who actually need
• 59:12it.
• 59:12Exactly. That's what that's what
• 59:13I'm I'm noticing,
• 59:15especially on the east end.
• 59:16Yes. That's where we are.
• 59:17Yeah. Right. Right.
• 59:19That's great.
• 59:20We welcome you. Thank you.
• 59:22The next six weeks. Yeah.
• 59:23We have one last question.
• 59:24One quick question. Thank you
• 59:26so much. This presentation was
• 59:27amazing. Thank you.
• 59:30So my question is and,
• 59:32Terry, you were getting to
• 59:32this a little bit, I
• 59:33feel, in in your line
• 59:34of questioning, how these lessons
• 59:36apply
• 59:38in our environment.
• 59:39Right? Not necessarily
• 59:40as,
• 59:42care providers, like what Alex
• 59:43said, but more
• 59:44working sort of as faculty
• 59:46within academic medicine where the
• 59:48structures are quite hierarchical.
• 59:50The way that we advance,
• 59:51it takes a long time.
• 59:52Yeah. What what are some
• 59:54of the lessons about vulnerability,
• 59:56service,
• 59:57humility
• 59:58that we could take with
• 60:00us working as we work
• 01:00:01here? Yeah.
• 01:00:06You know, I,
• 01:00:08I think culture
• 01:00:11means everything. I think the
• 01:00:12the the the greatest part
• 01:00:13of my work
• 01:00:15is where I get to
• 01:00:15go do this work,
• 01:00:17that,
• 01:00:18we believe that natural light,
• 01:00:21bright colors,
• 01:00:23art on the wall,
• 01:00:24jazz being played,
• 01:00:26fresh flowers. Like, if you
• 01:00:27come to Concat and Concord,
• 01:00:29that's what you will see
• 01:00:30because it speaks to the
• 01:00:31soul,
• 01:00:32and it speaks to the
• 01:00:33soul at a place of
• 01:00:35of humility.
• 01:00:36And I think a lot
• 01:00:37of times, especially, I would
• 01:00:38imagine I'm a trustee at
• 01:00:39Quinnipiac University.
• 01:00:41And so what I've
• 01:00:42learned and gathered
• 01:00:44is that academics, especially,
• 01:00:46are very high achieving people
• 01:00:48and like to get things
• 01:00:50right.
• 01:00:51And I think
• 01:00:52one has to be
• 01:00:55I think there's a thing
• 01:00:56about humility that that goes
• 01:00:58unsaid and untapped.
• 01:01:01That
• 01:01:02humility doesn't mean that
• 01:01:04you,
• 01:01:06are being embarrassed
• 01:01:07in any way.
• 01:01:09I think humility in the
• 01:01:10in in the essence of
• 01:01:11humility is really about how
• 01:01:12could I be the best
• 01:01:13person? How could I be
• 01:01:15the person that I truly
• 01:01:16wanna be?
• 01:01:17Right?
• 01:01:19I've
• 01:01:20you know, someone asked me
• 01:01:21a question the other day,
• 01:01:22and it was it just
• 01:01:23struck me. I almost started
• 01:01:24crying.
• 01:01:25He said, Eric,
• 01:01:27are you are you the
• 01:01:28person you wanna be? Are
• 01:01:30you just the person that
• 01:01:31you've just become?
• 01:01:36And that was
• 01:01:38a that was a hard
• 01:01:39question
• 01:01:40because I wanted to tell
• 01:01:42him I am the person
• 01:01:43that I always wanted to
• 01:01:44be,
• 01:01:45but I'm not.
• 01:01:47I'm the person you know,
• 01:01:48my life, I I live
• 01:01:50you know,
• 01:01:51I'm doing well, very well.
• 01:01:54But what I'm doing is
• 01:01:56not who I wanna be.
• 01:01:58What I'm doing is what
• 01:01:59I've become.
• 01:02:01And there's so much more
• 01:02:03to me that I wanna
• 01:02:04do,
• 01:02:06in terms of helping people,
• 01:02:08in terms of rendering my
• 01:02:10life vulnerable for the sake
• 01:02:12of others to to to
• 01:02:14find their potential. That's why
• 01:02:15I'm I'm actually, I'm a
• 01:02:15student at the divinity school
• 01:02:17now
• 01:02:18for that call to really
• 01:02:19understand my spirit and my
• 01:02:21you know, and and wrestling
• 01:02:22with the things of the
• 01:02:23world.
• 01:02:25But that that question
• 01:02:27made me think about, like,
• 01:02:30do I am I honest?
• 01:02:32Will I be as humble
• 01:02:34as possible
• 01:02:35and be as honest as
• 01:02:36possible and say, you know
• 01:02:37what?
• 01:02:38No. I'm not where I
• 01:02:39wanna be.
• 01:02:40I'm not.
• 01:02:42And I think there you
• 01:02:43know,
• 01:02:44I would imagine you all
• 01:02:45work with people who are
• 01:02:46the same way,
• 01:02:48who pretend that they are,
• 01:02:51they are where they wanna
• 01:02:52be because they know things.
• 01:02:56And I think, you know,
• 01:02:57a lot of times when
• 01:02:58people know a lot of
• 01:02:59things, they they realize that
• 01:03:00they don't know themselves.
• 01:03:02Right? They know things external
• 01:03:03to who they really are.
• 01:03:05And so that question squarely
• 01:03:07hit me in a place
• 01:03:08where, like, do I really
• 01:03:09know myself?
• 01:03:11Am I really where I
• 01:03:12wanna be? And the answer
• 01:03:13was no. And I had
• 01:03:14to I had to be
• 01:03:15honest.
• 01:03:16And I think
• 01:03:18I'm trying to answer your
• 01:03:19question in a way where
• 01:03:22it's it's not as transactional.
• 01:03:25I think people
• 01:03:27know that they know that
• 01:03:28they know that they know.
• 01:03:30You know? You know what
• 01:03:31I mean?
• 01:03:33They know.
• 01:03:35And a lot of a
• 01:03:36lot of times, the lack
• 01:03:37of humility is they don't
• 01:03:39want you to know.
• 01:03:42And the worst thing I
• 01:03:43could ever do, and I
• 01:03:44I I mean this, was
• 01:03:46to run around here acting
• 01:03:47like I know things when
• 01:03:48everybody knows I don't know.
• 01:03:50That's when you become a
• 01:03:51fool.
• 01:03:54I don't know if I
• 01:03:54answered your question, but thank
• 01:03:56you. We're we are.