CULTURE CRUSH RX Young Mind Community Center with Sara Mertel
In this episode of Culture Crush Rx, Deb chats with Sara Mertel, CEO of Young Mind Community Center, an inclusive education center for young children with a specialty in excellence and innovation in early autism intervention. Sara gets candid about the challenges and rewards of running a center with a unique approach to learning and development, working day in and day out with your spouse, and the importance of assessing culture fit as a first step in the hiring process.
Young Mind Community Center (YMCC) brings together clinical expertise in autism and excellence in early childhood education to provide a comprehensive, transdisciplinary approach that delivers the best possible outcomes. 
Our unique, focused approach results in exceptionally high concentrations of expertise and related resources centered on early autism intervention. YMCC offers families the convenience of visiting a single site for access to a comprehensive spectrum of wrap-around services, which are coordinated and delivered seamlessly by a transdisciplinary team.
Our transdisciplinary team includes experts from early childhood education, psychology, behavior analysis, speech and language pathology, and occupational therapy. Our highly skilled professionals work as a collaborative team to optimize resources, redefine problems outside normal boundaries, and innovate to reach new solutions and optimize results.
Sara Mertel is an educator who has spent the last two decades studying, applying, and teaching about solutions-oriented approaches to sustainable community development. She has her Ph.D. in community resources and development from Arizona State University and specializes in values-based, mission-driven leadership. She is the co-founder of the Young Mind Community Center, where the mission is to bring together clinical expertise in autism and excellence in early childhood education to provide a comprehensive, transdisciplinary approach that delivers the best possible outcomes.
Dr. Mertel’s portfolio of presentations and publications includes creating and sustaining inclusive communities, family capacity-building, transdisciplinary approaches to autism intervention, developing impactful leaders, evaluating program impact, and strategic planning. She was awarded for her work as a language arts teacher at a Title 1 middle school, earned a master’s in education, was a lecturer and the director of the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance at Arizona State University, and has extensive experience in the non-profit sector dating back to her undergraduate experience at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
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ABOUT CULTURE CRUSH Rx
Culture Crush Rx is an exploration of what makes a great company culture, how successful leaders create it, and how it affects the overall success of the company. We highlight the companies in our community who are crushing it with culture and get practical tips from local experts on how to do the same.
Each episode, we dive into real-life experiences, tips, and best practices for creating a healthy work environment in which everyone is functioning at their highest level and finding joy and satisfaction in their work. Whether you’re a top-level leader, a startup entrepreneur, or part of team, we aim to provide you with valuable insights to help make your work enjoyable and your life well-rounded.
If company culture isn’t consciously created, it will still be created.
ABOUT YOUR HOST
Deb Caron is the owner and principal consultant of Anahata Marketing, a Phoenix-based marketing and brand communication consultancy that focuses on empathic listening and content creation to foster real connection between businesses and the customers they serve. She hosts Culture Crush Rx as part of her personal passion for helping people live healthier, more fulfilling, well-rounded lives. Deb is also a registered yoga teacher and she truly enjoys sharing her knowledge and love for the practice with her community. Deb can be reached at deb@anahatamarketing.com and on Linkedin.
