In this episode of Atlanta Business Radio, Lee Kanter chats with some amazing guests who went through the American Express Leadership Academy. They talk about how important it is to develop leadership skills and build communities in the nonprofit sector.
Cat McAfee, Executive Director of LaAmistad, a program that provides educational services to the Latino community in Atlanta, shares about the challenges they face and the impact of their programs. Charaun Cash from VOX ATL, a media and youth development organization, and a Josh Rodgers from Habitat for Humanity also join in on the conversation. They encourage young people to consider a career in nonprofits.
Founded in 2008, the American Express Leadership Academy builds the personal, business and leadership skills of emerging nonprofit and social purpose leaders through multi-day, in-person trainings. The initiative has grown to a global program, training world-class leaders in the areas of education, the arts, social services, health, the environment, and more. Since 2008, we hosted more than 160 Leadership Academy programs around the world and training more than 6,000 nonprofit and social purpose leaders.
Josh Rodgers is a writer and DEI practitioner originally from Memphis, TN. He works with Habitat for Humanity International, creating strategies and resources that support the organization’s global DEI strategy.
Josh also serves as a content writer for Blavity, AfroTech and Buzzfeed – highlighting the nuanced experiences of Black culture and entertainment. He can also be found on the mic as the co-host and founder of The Jigsaw Podcast.
Josh holds a B.A. from Morehouse College, an MPA from Arkansas State University, and an MPP from Georgia State University.
Connect with Josh on LinkedIn and Instagram.
Cat DaCosta McAfee, Executive Director at LaAmistad, was born and raised in Attleboro, MA. Mrs. McAfee earned a B.S. from Georgia State University and is a graduate of the Spanish School at Instituto Chac-Mool in Cuernavaca, Mexico.
She is deeply involved in the community serving on Atlanta Public School’s Advisory Committee, Georgia Coalition for English Language Learners and the Georgia Department of Public Health Brain Trust 4 Babies Committee.
McAfee is also a founding board member for Atlanta Classical Academy, a tuition-free, open enrollment, K-12 public charter school opened in 2014. When Ms. McAfee is not at LaAmistad, she loves playing guitar, salsa dancing, wakeboarding, snowboarding and hockey.
Connect with Cat on LinkedIn and Instagram.
Charaun Cash, Executive Director of VOX ATL, is originally from Dayton, Ohio, but has called the Atlanta area home since 2015. She is a graduate of The Ohio State University where she earned her bachelor’s degree in communications and holds a Master of Public Administration from Georgia State University.
She is passionate about equitable education access, entrepreneurship, and civic engagement. She was a member of the Atlanta Women’s Foundation’s Inspire Atlanta class of 2020. She was recognized by the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of Atlanta’s 30 Under 30 Nonprofit Leader Program for her outstanding leadership, innovation, and commitment to community work in Atlanta.
Charaun enjoys spending her free time helping entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and social enterprises tell their brand stories through design and photography.
Connect with Charaun on LinkedIn and Instagram.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
- About the American Express Leadership Academy
- About the nonprofit sector in Atlanta and how it’s changed over the past few years
- Challenges facing nonprofits and your particular organization
- How important it is that nonprofit leaders undergo learning and development programs like the Leadership Academy
This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix
TRANSCRIPT
Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio. Brought to you by Onpay. Built in Atlanta, ONPAY is the top rated payroll and HR software anywhere. Get one month free at on paycom. Now here’s your host.
Lee Kantor: [00:00:32] Lee Kantor here another episode of Atlanta Business Radio, and this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, Onpay. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. And today is a very special episode. This is an episode where we’re focusing in on the American Express Leadership Academy and some of the folks who went through that program here in Atlanta. First up, we have Cat McAfee, the executive director of LaAmistad. Welcome.
Cat McAfee: [00:01:03] Thank you. Good morning.
Lee Kantor: [00:01:04] Before we get too far into things, tell us about your program, how you serving folks.
Cat McAfee: [00:01:09] So we work with the Latino community here in Atlanta providing educational services. We have our largest program which provides after school supports and takes a holistic approach, educating the parents at the same time doing classes and workshops in Spanish for anywhere from how to navigate your school to financial literacy, digital literacy and anything in between. Whatever the families may need. We provide those services for the parents. We take the academics for after school program very seriously, making sure that the students have access to reading specialists and teachers so that they can get their homework done. But we have such a learning curve that we have with lots of learning loss, especially since the pandemic. So of course, making sure that we’re providing those services to really make sure the kids are on reading level by third grade and can go ahead and graduate high school. And so we see them through that trajectory starting today from birth to five all the way through adult education.
Lee Kantor: [00:02:09] So what’s your backstory? How’d you get involved in this line of work?
Cat McAfee: [00:02:12] Well, I was skating through Atlanta on a pair of roller blades, and I tell people God had a plan in a sense of humor. And I was asked to teach some skating classes to a group of students that were getting off the bus. And that’s where it all started. Met those kids, skated them around the gym.
Lee Kantor: [00:02:27] Serendipity.
Cat McAfee: [00:02:27] It really was. Absolutely. And fell in love with the students and their families and slowly but surely began to do more.
Lee Kantor: [00:02:35] So what are some things, maybe some myths you can kind of unlock here for folks who have maybe don’t understand that community as well as you do?
Cat McAfee: [00:02:46] I think the biggest piece that I understand today that I didn’t when I started was the fact that there’s so many Latinos that are here in Atlanta, in Georgia, and really throughout the country because they want an opportunity for their children to be academically successful. They want access to school. It’s extremely important. Education is important. It’s what sets people free. And I think that is something that I see through all of the families we serve is that desire to give their children an opportunity that maybe they never had.
Lee Kantor: [00:03:18] Now, what are some of the challenges when you’re working with children, especially whose parents may not speak English as well as you’re trying to teach them, and they don’t have that kind of support inside the home?
Cat McAfee: [00:03:32] I think one of the big pieces is understanding that they come with a different understanding of education in general. And so in many Central and South America, many of the many locations in Central and South America, a school is something you pay for. And so those nuances are extremely different in the United States, so much that parents are frightened when invited to a conference and they don’t understand that collaborative environment that the schools here in the United States really desire. So in breaking down a lot of those barriers with the families, our families are much more comfortable going into the school setting, advocating for their children, understanding that they have a voice at the table. So that’s a lot of the work that we do. Initially when students and families join our program, is helping them to understand those those small nuances that are the educational system here in the United States.
Lee Kantor: [00:04:24] Now, when you started working with these folks, was there a moment where you were like, Hey, I’m good at this, This is something I can really make a difference? Can you share that when that kind of light bulb went off?
Cat McAfee: [00:04:37] I think it’s something where we can all make a difference. There’s a lot of need out out there, right? And it’s just where you feel that you can line up your talents in a way that can really support a student family and change the trajectory. I think early on, the small successes of seeing a child that with a little bit of support not only were able to read well, but even do better than some of their peers so much that they were able to take places and and some of the more prestigious, even private schools here in Atlanta. We had students in those early years taking seats at Pace Academy or the Westminster schools because they were extremely smart. Right. And with the additional support, they were able to do so much more. And and those students today have come back and they now work for the organization or we’ve got kids even in law school at this point in time. So that little bit of education and support you give the children in the beginning, it has such a ripple effect and it’ll do so much more for the entire city and state when we have folks that are able to take seats at the table, especially tables like these.
Lee Kantor: [00:05:42] Now, can you share an example of that ripple effect, how impacting one person can impact maybe their family and even their community?
Cat McAfee: [00:05:50] Sure, absolutely. So there’s a family that actually sticks out. In particular, the mom had very little English skills and she had three children in the public school sector. And her oldest son was the first to take a seat at a private school here in Atlanta in eighth grade. And he went on to graduate from Oglethorpe University, and he’s now pre-med at Tulane. He is also joining the military, wants to become a doctor and wants to give back to his family. His sister is at Loyola University after graduating from Pace Academy and the youngest child is in his probably junior, junior or senior year at Pace Academy. So all three children were able to acclimate through private school once given the opportunity. But more importantly, Mom learned English, has a command of the language and can advocate for herself, can be a spokesperson for the program, and has been able to do a lot more than so many others in her family just by giving the by being given the resources that we’ve been able to provide them.
Lee Kantor: [00:06:56] So what do you need more of? How can we help you?
Cat McAfee: [00:06:59] We need folks like you to volunteer. We need we have centers all over the city. An hour a week or an hour a day makes such a big impact. And we see that those kids that can connect to a volunteer, they take it with them for a lifetime. These kids will come back in and I’ll see them when they’ve graduated, and they want to share those successes, which are fantastic. But I always ask them, What do you remember about La Amistad and what made the difference? And each one can name a volunteer that impacted them. So minimally. Sharing an hour of your time can make a big difference that you might even might not even realize what it can do to change the trajectory of a child’s future. And then, of course, like all nonprofits and businesses, we need to keep the lights on and continue to pay all of these wonderful teachers and specialists that are working with the students around the clock. So continued funding is always important.
Lee Kantor: [00:07:50] Now to be a volunteer, do you have to speak Spanish?
Cat McAfee: [00:07:52] You don’t. I think that’s another one of those myths, right? The students are in our public school system and they all speak English very well. And we just want to wrap have folks that can wrap around them. So I tell people, if you want to know, if you qualify for a volunteer, if you can read any books in English and if you know a two plus two is you are over qualified, come join us.
Lee Kantor: [00:08:15] And then if somebody wants to connect with you and learn more about the program, what’s the website?
Cat McAfee: [00:08:19] LaAmistad Inc. Org That’s LaAmistad Inc.org.
Lee Kantor: [00:08:26] Good stuff. Well, thank you so much for sharing your story and hang around because at the end of each of these interviews we’ll come back and do a roundtable about the American Express Leadership Academy. Thank you. All right. Next up on Atlanta Business Radio, we have Charaun Cash with VOX ATL. Welcome.
Charaun Cash: [00:08:44] Good morning.
Lee Kantor: [00:08:45] How are you doing today?
Charaun Cash: [00:08:46] I’m doing great.
Lee Kantor: [00:08:48] So, again, share a little bit about Vox. What mission purpose? How you serving folks?
Charaun Cash: [00:08:54] Absolutely. So Vox is a media and youth development organization based here in Atlanta, Georgia. We provide free after school programing and summer programing for teens ages 13 to 19. And all of our programing is centered around amplifying youth voice. And we do that through employing journalism principles, spoken word poetry and also leadership development. And we have an online publication where our teens are able to come together, write stories that are really impactful to them. And then we produce those stories online and also in our print publication.
Lee Kantor: [00:09:34] So how did you get involved with Vox?
Charaun Cash: [00:09:36] It’s funny. So I actually started my role as executive director in January, so I’m fairly new to the organization, but I’ve seen their work ever since I’ve been in Atlanta, which was since 2016, and it’s just been a really nice trajectory to how I ended up here. I actually stumbled across their work while I was interning at Cox Curry and Associates. It’s a fundraising consulting agency that used to work with Vox, and I said, That’s cool. My background is actually in communications and I have a master’s in public administration. And so I’ve always been looking for ways to collaborate and combine those two things.
Lee Kantor: [00:10:16] Now, do you find the the students that you work with are hungry for this type of education? Is it something that maybe they have a little bit of an interest, but once you kind of give them a platform for this and they can dive deeper, then they’re just kind of all in and they just really run with it.
Charaun Cash: [00:10:31] Absolutely. So the teens that come to Vox, they’re all they’re very passionate. They feel deeply. They have a perspective. They have something to say. And so when you give them the opportunity to be able to share their perspective and share their stories, they’re not going to shy away from that opportunity. We have teens who are eager to cover press conferences. For example, we had some teens go to the premiere of Wakanda Forever, and they wrote their stories and their reviews, and they were very honest. And we have teens who go to to the Fox Theater and watch the plays and then share their their reviews because they have perspective. And so just giving them the opportunity to do that allows for them to lean in and they really do like take it, take advantage of it.
Lee Kantor: [00:11:19] And they take it.
Charaun Cash: [00:11:19] Seriously. Yes, it’s very serious to them.
Lee Kantor: [00:11:21] Now, have you found that when given that opportunity, that this is transferable skills, no matter what they want to do later in life, these are skills that can transfer to the to whatever it is.
Charaun Cash: [00:11:34] They’re absolutely. So not all teens that come to Vox are coming to learn how to be a journalist. Some of them come because they want to, you know, have a safe space after school. Some of them need access to a computer. Some of them just want to build community. And so regardless of what your career aspirations are, you can come to Vox and you have a place here, but the skills are transferable. So right now in this day and age, digital media is so huge. As you can see, during the pandemic, there was a lot of, you know, a need for people to tell stories and storytelling. And you saw that on social media. You saw teens or you saw organizations and companies utilizing Zoom and virtual technology to bring their programs to teens or in their constituents. So yeah, I think no matter what it is that you’re doing, you can you can use those skills. But it’s more than just the media making as well. We’re also a youth, like a holistic youth development organization. They’re learning how to use their voice to make positive change. So that means impacting the systems that are impacting them the most, influencing the systems, impacting them the most, and like the school systems and, you know, lunches are things. Do you see an injustice? If so, can you call it out? And do you know what to do with your voice now?
Lee Kantor: [00:12:59] What is a kind of a day in the life look like? So say school ends, they head over to Vox, so it’s in person. In real life, It.
Charaun Cash: [00:13:07] Is in person. We are located. We’re located in the Peachtree Center Hub. Like right on the Internet, like on top of the MARTA station, right in the heart of downtown. And so after school ends, you can come over to Vox. We have computers, we have music going, there’s snacks, there’s a healthy meal so that they can, you know, be nourished and they can think and then their friends are. There. We have like soft furniture that they can like lounge on if they want to. And then, you know, if we have a podcast studio as well, so much like the table that we’re sitting at right now, they can go in the podcast studio and and talk about whatever it is that they’re interested in.
Lee Kantor: [00:13:48] And then what’s the fee for them to participate in this?
Charaun Cash: [00:13:51] Oh, no, it’s absolutely free. So there’s.
Lee Kantor: [00:13:53] No charge for them to participate.
Charaun Cash: [00:13:54] No charge. And that’s why we exist right now.
Lee Kantor: [00:13:58] How did they get there typically?
Charaun Cash: [00:13:59] Yeah. So that’s that’s that’s huge. So transportation, our teams come from all over. We have someone who is coming from Alpharetta, downtown Atlanta, because that’s how much how much it’s so important to her. But we they come on the MARTA, they come on, they use the bus. We provide free transportation. So Marta, marta, Station fair. And then we also validate all the parking for volunteers as well as our teams who are getting dropped off or parking and coming to the space.
Lee Kantor: [00:14:33] Now, do you have a success story that you found? I know you’ve only been there a short time, but is there anybody that stands out maybe that’s now working with you that started through the program?
Charaun Cash: [00:14:44] Yeah, absolutely. So I would love to spotlight one of our alumni. Her name is Zariah. She is very talented and she is very passionate. She has gone through the program and now she is working to be one of our largest advocates, not only for herself but also for the organization. She speaks on panels at Vox. We believe in this idea of distributed leadership, not only amongst our team but also into the teams. And so she has definitely proven herself to be a leader, shows up when needed, and then she’s very active in with our community partners. So we take teens, we take teens who are interested in becoming leaders, and they have the opportunity to lead programing for our community partners and showing them how to employ and include youth Voice into their curriculum in their programs. So we’re not only just making an impact at Vox, we’re taking it out into community as well.
Lee Kantor: [00:15:46] Now Vox is a well known media platform that goes beyond what you’re doing. How do you kind of what are your metrics of success that gets them all fired up, that, hey, this is a good thing we should be investing our resources in?
Charaun Cash: [00:16:01] For the teens.
Lee Kantor: [00:16:02] For like how is Vox defining success? Like what? What’s something that you’re excited to share with the Vox corporate people to let them know that, Hey, this is a program you should keep investing in?
Charaun Cash: [00:16:14] So we’re actually unaffiliated with Vox Media. Oh, right. Unaffiliated. You know what? We’ve been in the we’ve been in the business for 30 years. We got our name first. I don’t know if we should put that in there, but. But we do want to partner with them. Vox means voice in Latin. And so you see a lot of organizations out there who have the word vox in their name because it’s such like, that’s what we’re totally independent, we’re completely independent, teen led organization. And you know, but they would love to be contributors on books. So if you’re looking for.
Lee Kantor: [00:16:48] A sponsorship.
Charaun Cash: [00:16:49] We definitely are. We absolutely.
Lee Kantor: [00:16:52] And they should know about you.
Charaun Cash: [00:16:53] I’m sure they should. And we would love to connect.
Lee Kantor: [00:16:56] So if somebody wants to connect with you and either volunteer or be part of the program, what is the website?
Charaun Cash: [00:17:02] Absolutely. So you can get connected with Vox ATL at Vox, ATL, org. You can also find us on social media at Vox Rox ATL. That’s Vox ATL.
Lee Kantor: [00:17:14] Good stuff. Well, thanks for sharing your story.
Charaun Cash: [00:17:16] Thank you.
Lee Kantor: [00:17:17] All right. Next up on this episode of Atlanta Business Radio, we have Josh Rodgers with Habitat for Humanity. Welcome.
Joshua Rodgers: [00:17:24] Thank you.
Lee Kantor: [00:17:25] Well, tell us about Habitat for Humanity for the three people out there that don’t know what your work is,
Joshua Rodgers: [00:17:31] For sure.
Joshua Rodgers: [00:17:31] So Habitat for Humanity International is a global nonprofit focused on providing affordable housing to people who typically wouldn’t be able to afford it. So we’re working in all of the 50 states in the United States, and then we have offices in the Americas. So that’s North and South America, the Middle East, Africa. And then we have our office down in Southeast Asia as well doing that work.
Lee Kantor: [00:17:52] Can you share a little bit about the history? How did this idea get started? Because it’s now, like you said, a global organization, but it didn’t start that way. It did.
Joshua Rodgers: [00:18:00] Not. So it started in Americus, Georgia. That is a real city in town for people who do not believe that. But our founder, Millard Fuller. So he had this idea of wanting to basically build out what Dr. King described as the beloved community. People from different spaces and races and socioeconomic statuses coming together and building this community where people can have access to equity specifically through housing. So it started there on what is now considered Koinonia Farms. And as it continued to grow and build, we began to see expansion in several different areas of the United States. And it has blossomed into this wonderful global organization that the world knows today.
Lee Kantor: [00:18:39] And it isn’t just a handout of here’s a house, right? There are some sweat equity and there’s some involvement of the people that are getting the housing.
Joshua Rodgers: [00:18:48] Sure, Absolutely. So I think one idea that people kind of misconstrue about habitat is that exactly that that we’re just giving away homes. But there is a full application process. There is financing that has to take place. People are qualified based on their median income, the median income within the respective areas that they’re in. But there is a sweat equity portion that goes into it. So every family is required to go through certain financial literacy classes. They’re also required to help build the home that they’re a part of, or if their home is at a certain completion point, they’re assisting another family with the building of their home. So it is an entire process and at the very end, they own their home at the same way that any traditional person who’s seeking home ownership would.
Lee Kantor: [00:19:30] Now, why was that important component of this? Because a lot of organizations are like, here, we’re giving you something and this is saying you have to earn some of this.
Joshua Rodgers: [00:19:41] Sure. I think a part of it is to get them invested in the process. And I think another part of it, if I’m going to be really honest, is to provide them a I don’t have another word, but a sense of normalcy around acquiring their home. Right. So it doesn’t make them feel like it is just a handout more so than it is a hand up, as we like to say at Habitat. And it gives them this sense of pride that they they earned it, maybe not through the traditional sense of having a set amount of money, but this is their home. So it puts them in a similar space with the community members around them.
Lee Kantor: [00:20:11] Now, do you find that when they go through the process in that manner that they take more care or more like, do they stick around to pay off the loan more than somebody who doesn’t go through a process like that? Like is there any statistics around that?
Joshua Rodgers: [00:20:26] Absolutely. I don’t have the exact numbers, but we do know for sure that individuals who have habitat homes, they their children. Number one, Georgia Tech did a research study for us a few years ago. Their children have greater retention and graduation rates than people who are considered low income, who do not have access to affordable housing. So one of the things that we do understand is that if we can take away the housing cost burden off of families, it opens up so much more of their income to be able to do additional things like after school, care for their children, to even provide transportation to opportunities like Sharon talked about it. Have asked him another level of access to health equity and just a myriad of things, right, that they probably would not have the financial means to tap into if it were not for relieving that housing cost burden that habitat provides.
Lee Kantor: [00:21:14] And then can you share a little bit about affordable housing? Because this always confuses me, because when you have affordable housing like this, they have equity in the home. This is their home, right? Sure. So as most people who have a home, they want that home to appreciate and value. And sometimes when an area becomes desirable, then the housing price goes higher and then it’s no longer maybe affordable to the people that started out there. But then they get that wealth that’s created by the appreciation. How is that? Are you finding that habitat homes are appreciating and they are generating that generational wealth from their homes? Absolutely.
Joshua Rodgers: [00:21:54] So Habitat homes are just like any other home. The difference is, is that it is particularly financed in a special way for low income families. So once they complete the process of the home being built, they are qualified, they have the same access as anyone else. So if that home appreciates because the area is changing based on some community development norms that we’re seeing across the United States, then they have access to that same level of wealth, right? So it is creating and generating generational wealth for those families. If they find themselves in the space where they are looking to possibly sell that home before their 30 year mortgage is up. You know, in good faith, I think some affiliates, our local affiliates are the ones who are doing the work. They would love if a family would donate the home back to Habitat so it can go back to another low income family. But because it is their home. Right. And it’s still financed through traditional financing means, they just have very low interest rates that allows it to be affordable. In that sense, they have the right to sell their home at market value, so they’re able to tap into their generational wealth that’s created with that home as well.
Lee Kantor: [00:22:59] So it really is a win win for everybody.
Joshua Rodgers: [00:23:01] It is a win win for everyone for sure.
Lee Kantor: [00:23:02] So what do you need more of? How can we help you?
Joshua Rodgers: [00:23:05] Yeah, so my role specifically is helping our affiliates diversify their volunteer base, right? So what we’ve found at Habitat is that sometimes our staff and our volunteers do not always represent the communities that we serve. So our community, the communities that we serve are in high percentage persons of color, right? And our staff and our volunteers do not always represent that. So what we the help that we would need, is going to your local habitat affiliate. And if you have connections with very diverse organizations and they don’t have to be diverse and just race forward work, I think a lot of times we think about diversity, we think about race first, and that is okay. But if we can find younger volunteers because we have we have a problem with attracting youth, if we can find more women who are interested in being volunteers because some people believe, because it’s construction based, that it is a very male dominated volunteer corps. So just think about the myriad of ways that diversity can show up. And if you have any connections or you yourself want to volunteer just from a different perspective, be it your background, your socioeconomic status, we welcome all of that level of inclusivity onto the volunteer site, and it helps us be a greater representation, which then allows us to be a greater community trust and continue to work within the communities that we serve. Now, you.
Lee Kantor: [00:24:19] Mentioned that a lot of people’s first thought is, Oh, I have to be great with a hammer or saw. What are some of the other kind of job requirements or job needs that you have to fill that maybe aren’t necessarily climbing on a roof? Yeah.
Joshua Rodgers: [00:24:32] So the thing about that as well as though is that even if I am not handy at all, but I’ve been on several habitat builds something, right? Yeah. They’re going to find something for you to do and they give really great instructions prior to. However, Habitat also needs skilled volunteers, so if you’re really good in, if you have a finance background or we have a really great advocacy program. So if you have a political background or a public policy background, there are many different ways that you can tap into our work and help advance the mission of affordable housing as well.
Lee Kantor: [00:25:03] So if somebody wants to connect with you and have more substantive conversation about that, what is the website?
Joshua Rodgers: [00:25:08] Yeah, so they can go to habitat.org. It’s really that simple. And then we’re Habitat for Humanity across all social media platforms.
Lee Kantor: [00:25:15] Good stuff. Well, thank you for sharing that for sure. Now I’d like to get a little bit of your perspective about the American Express Leadership Academy. Anybody here want to volunteer and share what their experiences was with that program, and was it worth your time?
Cat McAfee: [00:25:32] I’ll start us off.
Lee Kantor: [00:25:33] I’ll start us off.
Cat McAfee: [00:25:33] All right. I think it was definitely worth our time. It was an incredible way for so many of us to connect that have never met each other, but are doing similar work in the same types of spaces. And there was a lot of collaboration. So I think just the benefit of all of the nonprofit leaders coming together was extremely powerful. Of course, then you take that and you provide all of these incredible opportunities to deepen the work that we do and provide additional trainings. It was it was really, really impactful. I think for me, I enjoyed the storytelling components of it and working with the TEDx Talk people and getting an opportunity to take a deeper dive into how do you do that, do that extremely well and and tell your story. It’s such an important part of what we do every day. So those types of trainings I think were extremely beneficial.
Lee Kantor: [00:26:27] So how did you hear about it?
Charaun Cash: [00:26:30] Well for me. I heard about it on LinkedIn, actually. I mentioned earlier that I was a new leader. I just started my role in January and so I was just looking for ways to kind of increase any knowledge or any resources that could help me just continue to strengthen my leadership style and just my leadership opportunity. I was hoping to to find, you know, a book, but I found I found the American Express Leadership Academy. So I’m really grateful for that. So what was the program?
Lee Kantor: [00:27:06] How long was the program?
Charaun Cash: [00:27:08] It’s a six month program. We had a couple of online Zoom sessions before a session with Ted to prepare for our in-person. And then we spent, what, 3 or 4 days in New York City, all of us together in one room, which was really great, especially after the pandemic. That was my first large conference that I had attended. And so we we got training from amazing leaders. We got training from one another. And it’s just been a really great experience.
Lee Kantor: [00:27:37] Josh you want to share what you what was the most kind of memorable thing you got out of the program?
Joshua Rodgers: [00:27:42] Sure. So I got to go out on a limb and say that this was one of the best professional development programs that I’ve ever been a part of and I’ve been a part of a few. So shout out to American Express and Common Purpose for putting that together. But I’m out. Ditto with the ladies just expressed. The storytelling component of that was really great. Being able to really marry our passion and our work together and tell that in a way that is impactful not just for, you know, future donors, because we need those as well, working with nonprofits, but also to be able to communicate our work in a real holistic way. And I think beyond that, for me, it was stretching our leadership skills in a way that not only advances the work we do with our organizations, but allows us to stretch our capacity and to think beyond. I know for me what I was doing on a day to day basis, so how can I grow as a leader? What is my capacity as a leader and what strategies can I put in place that just not only, you know, like this program wasn’t the cap of my growth, but how can I take what I’ve learned today and really continue to expand across the course of my career?
Lee Kantor: [00:28:42] Now, all of you mentioned the importance of having that community and having a cohort where it was people doing similar things, but a little different than you’re doing. Do you find that that type of community exists here in Atlanta? All of you are from the metro Atlanta area. Is there a community of nonprofits that serve you in that manner, or is that something you would like wish there was?
Charaun Cash: [00:29:06] I would say so. I mean, I feel like Atlanta has a very strong nonprofit sector. Like we’re doing amazing work. I’m involved in Impian. It’s a young nonprofit. You know what? I’m not even going to try to figure out. I’m involved in Impian, so I’m connected to other nonprofit leaders as well. You know, I’m just trying to find ways to build community myself. And so, yeah, I would say that Atlanta does offer those opportunities.
Lee Kantor: [00:29:37] And then is there anything that you wish Atlanta provided more for you all? Mm. Because now that you’ve had kind of got a taste of what nationally, what could be, is there anything here in Atlanta you wish you could take some of what you learned and incorporate it here in the metro area?
Joshua Rodgers: [00:29:57] I would say probably if we could duplicate this on a local level, even if it was biannually, I think that would be great. One of the biggest takeaways as well was the opportunity to be in smaller groups and really talk through challenges, gain inspiration, get really great ideas about some of the problems that we’re facing. So if we were I know for me specifically, if I was able to have that on a more consistent basis with my peers, it would be really helpful to some of the work that I’m doing right to learn best practices.
Lee Kantor: [00:30:27] I mean, all of you deal with similar things in the sense of, Oh, we need volunteers, Oh, we need funds. You know, there are certain common things that each of you needs and to learn from each other and to share these kind of best practices. I would think everybody would benefit from that.
Charaun Cash: [00:30:43] Yeah. And I would just add that, you know, I really got a chance to know people personally during that experience in New York. And so I would just love to understand the humans that are you know, running these amazing nonprofit organizations. And what’s your story? How did you come to the work? So I guess opportunities like this at Atlanta Business Radio to come up here and just get, you know, get a better sense of who you are on a human level, right?
Lee Kantor: [00:31:09] Because everybody’s paths are different now that each of you obviously are a part of nonprofits. Is that something you feel like your career is going to be in that area moving forward?
Charaun Cash: [00:31:20] Yes. For me.
Cat McAfee: [00:31:22] Yes, for me too.
Joshua Rodgers: [00:31:23] Yeah, I think I’m open to the possibility of that.
Lee Kantor: [00:31:26] Now, any advice for a young person out there that’s listening and maybe hasn’t considered going down the path of non profits? You know, a lot of people are kind of taught, oh, you got to get a real job out there in enterprise level business, a big business, something like that. And they don’t even consider non profits as a career path. Is there anything you can share to that person that maybe some of the trade offs you get from being part of? You know, there’s good and bad about being part of any industry but non profit specifically. Anybody want to share any advice for young people?
Cat McAfee: [00:32:01] I’ll start by saying non profit work. It is a real job and we have real positions in every single position you’ll find in a traditional corporate environment. You’ll find in the non profit space as well. Coupled with the fact that it allows you to have really impactful work, which is the biggest difference, you can work for corporate America all day. But when you work with people and you see folks lives changing because of the work that you do and you feel and see that impact, it’s life changing for you as well. And so this is this these are the reasons why I would never leave this work, because you not only can, you know, pay your bills by creating a good salary, but at the same time, you’re also making a huge impact on the lives of the folks that you serve. And to me, there’s just nothing like it.
Lee Kantor: [00:32:48] And that impact is real and it’s personal. And that is something that in corporate America, maybe you don’t get to see kind of the results of your work that specifically with an individual, you know, with tears in their eyes thanking you for what you’re doing.
Charaun Cash: [00:33:02] Absolutely. And I will say that there are large organizations and there are small organizations, and you might have different experiences working at both. So with a larger organization, you might feel like, you know, it is more like a traditional corporate position because they have departments. But with a smaller organization like Fox, you know, we we have to kind of know the ins and outs of the business all the way through because we’re a smaller organization. And so for someone starting out their career who wants to get experience or who wants to, you know, really learn really fast, I think nonprofit, especially at a smaller nonprofit organization, could really give you that experience really quickly.
Lee Kantor: [00:33:40] And that is also great advice for a young person. You may not have to become an employee of that organization, but volunteering in this organization can give you those leadership opportunities that you might not be able to get in a in a traditional corporate job. All right. Before we wrap one more time, your websites.
Cat McAfee: [00:34:00] Cat Sure. La Amistad, Inc. Org. La Amistad. I Encore.org.
Lee Kantor: [00:34:07] Good stuff.
Charaun Cash: [00:34:08] Sharon Yes, we are Vox ATL and our website is vox atl.org vox atl.org.
Joshua Rodgers: [00:34:17] Josh Yes, and we are a Habitat for Humanity International and you can find us at habitat.org or across all social media platforms at Habitat for Humanity.
Lee Kantor: [00:34:25] All right, this is Lee Kantor. Thank you all for listening to this very special episode of the American Express Leadership Academy. We’ll see you next time.
Outro: [00:34:37] Today’s episode of Atlanta Business Radio is brought to you by Onpay. Built in Atlanta, Onpay is the top rated payroll and HR software anywhere. Get one month free at on paycom.
