How to Scale a Nonprofit to $50M and Beyond (PROVEN Strategies)

[0:00]  how do you kind of think about the relationship with failure and failing forward oh boy that's that's something that's uh absolutely I mean I I agree with that context that um you're going to fail probably many more times it seems like than than the successes we have in life but I think that's where we grow right I think we know that that that's where um you fall you get up and and you learn and you try not to make the same if it was a mistake you try not to do that over again um you can choose to quit and give up or get back up and continue to move forward and fight battle through it um and and uh and if you if you have that mindset uh I guess I guess in a very humble way I'm a Living Testament that um that that does happen the successes will

[0:49]  overshadow those failures for sure but you got to keep grinding and moving forward the true uh you know judge of a of a person of an individual uh I think that there's been books written on this uh is truly not you know what your net worth is uh how big your house is or what kind of vehicle you drive uh it's your character um and it's how you treat others right um and so those are the values that that Integrity those those are the values that I was taught from a very young age uh starting with my grandfather uh and my dad and uh and so uh it's very important for me uh to pass that on to anyone that I interact with and especially my current role and especially my own kids obviously at home so uh something I try to live by on a daily

[1:51]  basis all right guys welcome back to a brand new episode of the heart and hustle podcast now I have an incredible leader across from me here today now we're going to be talking about how The Inspirations and experiences that we have at a young age can take us down a path to impact more Generations that we could really anticipate I've got an amazing individual across this uh little digital table with me and our first question is when you were a kid you participated in some Community Service events or activities and that led you to be the CEO of this amazing organization Mr Lopez welcome to the show man thank you uh Keenan I appreciate that appreciate the kind words and uh yeah I mean um I feel very fortunate to at this point in my career uh after almost 30 years of being in the private sector U

[2:41]  to end up in the not for-profit world in the role that I'm in in an organization that as you said yes I was part of when I was a a young boy for sure well for for me you know first of all the idea of crossing over from like I said more of a private sector environment my whole career um into this this uh different career path um was easier for me the transition was easier because quite honestly I could relate to to a lot of the uh challenges that many of our our our clients our families have gone through and particular some of the you a lot of the youth um I grew up in a uh immigrant family first generation

[3:28]  American I I am and so we were a Spanish dominant at our house and uh we work with the large Latino population here in Kansas City so when I think about the way in which the organization got its start I think it's really important that we talk about the origin story of creating a you know atrisk youth program and what you guys have evolved into since then so why don't you kind of take us down memory L sure sure uh to give people a glimpse of of who gu what Guadalupe is and what we stand for um it is our claim to fame is we truly are this is on the historic archives uh the the longest ongoing oldest Latino focused organization in the country um obviously perhaps down in the southwest

[4:16]  part of the country uh on the west coast uh maybe even on the East Coast there's probably some Latino Focus organizations such as ours but for whatever reason they did not survive the the course of time ours has for over 105 years and uh so uh some of the basic uh Mission and core values that that existed 105 years ago we still live today and and Implement today with our families but uh approximately 30 years ago um leadership had for good foresight around here both volunteer board members and whoever was here running the organization realized that there was a a large dropout rate within the public school system in Kansas City which is no different across the country um then and now among the Latino population and uh they yeah they started

[5:05]  with an net risk drop out School uh with one instructor 10 kids and to what it's evolved to to be now is is a really neat story uh we're the largest now charter school system prek through High School uh in Kansas City uh the largest charter school in the state of Missouri and um so U it's come a long ways now not only are we uh College or career ready uh where kids are either graduating going off to college or uh get a job a decent paying job and become good uh productive citizens in society right uh earning an honest living they say that our careers often don't look like a ladder but rather a spiral staircase that takes us through many different experiences and then leads us to where we're at you

[5:52]  mentioned a little bit about you being you know in the private sector and now doing different types of work what do you think have been the big biggest I would say lessons learned that you gathered from your private sector time that have helped you be such a successful CEO here yeah no that's great question um I feel very fortunate that um you know what I always tell younger younger uh individuals young ladies young men um that are trying to figure out what they want to do down the road in life and um I I tell them to associate themselves with good mentors number one and good set of friends um to help guide you um not knowing exactly what you want to do um but but having those kind of people around you is very helpful um for me um I I had good mentors and uh picked a path career-wise

[6:41]  that involved uh the the world of commercial real estate both from a leasing and and brokerage point of view and and also you know education wise uh going back to to get a master's in in business that focus on finance um you know I was fortunate to to to be able to let coverage that background and and and and have a successful career in in that area of commercial lending and Commercial Real Estate brokerage um and those experiences that I had like I said most of my professional career without a doubt have have uh have had a very positive impact in my role current role uh as CEO of this uh non for-profit here in Kansas City do you ever get time to reflect on the journey that brought you to where you're at here today because when we're a CEO and you know we're leading a nonprofit it's can often be

[7:30]  tough to have the time to slow down and appreciate that Journey yeah you know you know that that's that's something that I'm I'm uh very it actually humbles me because um you know the true uh you know judge of a of a person of an individual uh I think that there's been books written on this uh is truly not you know what your net worth is uh how big your house is or what kind of vehicle you drive uh it's your character um and it's how you treat others right um and so those are the values that that Integrity those those are the values that I was taught from a very young age starting with my grandfather uh and my dad and uh and so uh it's very important for me uh to pass that on to anyone that I interact with and especially my current role and especially my own kids

[8:18]  obviously at home so uh something I try to live by on a daily basis my father always told me it's more important about how people talk about you when you are not in the room than when you are yeah that's pretty accurate statement um and that way um you should never have to worry about there right when you always tell the truth um uh you know that that you can defend and and uh U just answer questions about down the road whenever you tell the truth and that's part of Integrity you know one of the things I think is really important for us to hit home on here is not only have you guys grown the organization but you guys have taken a very intentional strategic IC initiative to I would say expand economic growth within the community and so not only are you making sure that we

[9:07]  have students right who are coming out ready to take on life but you're also talking about hiring opportunities to support the whole family can we talk a little bit about that absolutely you know like you know I I think people that might be listening or watching uh this podcast uh there are many many I say that here locally but I I'm 100% positive across the country uh there are many very very well-run and and good intentioned non-for-profits that uh do amazing work across the country helping individuals helping humans um from a lot of different perspectives and um I'm pretty proud that here with ours um yeah I mean our our focus is to improve whether it's our school system or any of the Social Service wraparound programs that we offer it's to improve the whole

[9:55]  family the whole situation if we have parents that have children in our schools uh especially during covid that became more magnified I say this on a regular basis to a lot of our supporters um boy we really had to react quickly uh and I think that made us better U you know and and stronger for who we are now and in the sense that um you know a lot of the families that uh that had children in our school as the adults uh many of those individuals worked in the hospitality industry and we know that covid um you know Hospitality restaurants hotels that industry was impacted tremendously and so yeah a lot of those parents would come to us and not only for food pantry Assistance or utility assistant but about to get retrained um to continue to support their families with the with the a job that uh you know continues to give them

[10:44]  dignity and and hope and and uh provide the best environment for their children so we're very proud about that and uh so our our Workforce Development program um is something that we take very serious that has been part of the the mission and a big service that we've provided for many many years here at at wal Lupe centers man it's got to feel amazing to not only lift up you know the people in your near Circle but the entire Community around you You' mentioned that you know there's been a lot of gentrification and other things that have happened in Kansas City over the years and use the example of organizations like McDonald's as an example looking at demographic data and building to where people are going I believe I use the analogy of going to where the puck is moving right yeah why is that something so strategic and now having everybody understand a little bit

[11:31]  about your you know commercial real estate background why is that something that's important for the long-term success of the guad bay centers that's that's another great Point uh absolutely it's been very critical for for us and and uh how we try to be more strategic about meeting the needs right that's really what we're doing is meeting the needs of of society in this case in this community Kansas City um and yes it's no different what happens in in corporations like the ones you mentioned especially McDonald's and some of the the national uh uh sea stores gas stations um that's what they look at look for is demographic shifts and Trends in population and uh we're we're uh there's a larger number of population and they go there because there's a potential for market right for for an

[12:17]  opportunity for Revenue in our case um our schools kind of dictated uh what we physically grow and yes with gentrification that happens in many urban areas the our original neighborhood where this organization started uh we noticed that about 20 years ago actually that um gentrification started happening and many of the newer immigrants or people that would move into Kansas City could not afford to live in our original lack of a better word trade area or service area so um they were coming from other parts of Kansas City we considered more East Kansas City which are non-traditional Latino neighborhoods and we quickly uh again there was good foresight I give my predecessors credit um and uh we there were opportunities for us to acquire

[13:06]  properties that of which we can provide our services and and grow our schools into and so yeah so now our organization is not what originally was more neighborhood based uh now we are across an entire geographic area that makes up Kansas City proper and uh we service a lot of people in in a large territory for sure and you guys have the momentum of winning a couple Super Bowls behind you so I'm sure the community morale is awesome for you guys and I only say that as being a disheveled Las Vegas Raiders fan but that's for another conversation I tell you what anybody that grew up in my generation there was a lot of pain we went through too uh with some pretty bad uh uh teams that they put on the field um so we're going to live this ride take this this high ride for a while as long as we can and yeah it's kind of cool and

[13:55]  uh was able to was fortunate to go to the uh the local football team the Chiefs home opener and uh they were victorious and I guess they're off to a good start for this maybe three repat uh situation I'm putting a whole bunch of positive energy towards you but I hope at some point in time it comes back for one of my teams man I grew up in Detroit as well I was there we went 0 and 16 so I was for you guys you all won your home opener too so that's good stuff we did I got the text messages from everybody first time in years we've won an opener you know so we're off to a good start with in the Tes home opener so yeah yeah very true very true maybe see like we're so used to those losses that those wins just continue to erase themselves Detroit Kansas City had that in common for sure yeah you know one of the things that I

[14:43]  talk about in the podcast often is unique to nonprofit CEOs burnout is a huge challenge that we often face now one of the reasons why I've experienced burnout in my personal life is I have the challenge of of the moving Finish Line as soon as I start looking up towards my next thing I'm always looking for something bigger and there's a great saying that says goals are a destination a Finish Line or even an event but when we get them wrong they're a horizon knowing that you guys have to continue to do so much to meet the needs of the community how are you making sure that the goals and things that you guys accomplish don't turn into the Horizon so when you take a step forward it moves one step away yeah that's definitely a challenge I mean I think that's a challenge in in the private sector and

[15:30]  no different in the non for-profit World um and probably probably definitely a little bit more challenging non for-profit because yeah limited resources um and at the end of the day uh something that I learned along the way kind of best practices that um any organization if you want to be successful you're only as good as your team and you have to continue to invest in your team um you know just you know give positive reinforcement uh and training and and unfortunately even with uh salaries and benefits uh it's a big challenge for the non for-profit world but um in order to recruit and and retain a good Workforce um you really have to focus on on developing the workforce and making them feel uh you know uh needed and and and

[16:20]  appreciated um and that's a really big thing for us here and there's been a lot of thought and strategy put into that and uh we've been very fortunate we have supportive uh volunteer board of directors that support this this idea and yeah uh so that that allows us to uh to execute our our our vision and our mission and core values uh you know more more effectively for sure I'm interested in our previous conversation you talked about the character trait of being humble and you described yourself as being humble and I would completely agree for all that you've accomplished being a leader of an amazing organization it's easy for us not to put the light on our eles I cannot say the same about younger Generations who are often looking for you know quick acknowledgement quick results that transactional mindset when

[17:08]  it comes to the things that we want to accomplish when I think about your role of saying comes to mind and I'm not sure if you resonate with this is you've already accomplished things that you said would make you happy with the growth of the organization and everything else how are you keeping the younger generation of people who are coming into the organization grounded in the idea of the impact that they've already created is enough rather than always looking for more yeah well I have a little bit of an advantage in my own house I have some young adult daughters uh that are making their way to get their career started and that's kind of my lab that that's that's where I've learned a lot about the newer generation and what what makes them you know tick and motiv you know motivates them and um it it's helped me to be become a better

[17:55]  manager I guess and a leader and within my work environment here um just understanding that that every generation is a little different their motivations are a little different um but but at the same time uh it's kind of uh what you know it's kind of like uh you know tough love kind of kind of of an approach at a certain point they have to realize that at the end of the day you have to earn um your keep and and you can't demand respect you have to earn it um and the best way that I do it is by by teaching you know Liv you know teaching by example um you know I don't ask anyone on my team at any level to do something that I wouldn't do and and I and I really mean that sincerely I try to lead by example um and um sometimes

[18:44]  it's tough you know there's there's situations where um you know it could be a financial situation or uh just someone doesn't fit the certain role that we have and I put myself in that same situation if I'm not qualified or capable of of accomplishing a certain role with a position that we have in any part of our organization and you know then we have to be honest with ourselves and with those individuals and I kind of put myself in those situations you know when that happens and um but yeah I mean just have to treat people with respect and uh I think humble being humble to me um you know you can't ever you don't ever have to defend um you know always telling the truth and and integrity and and and not patting yourself on the back

[19:30]  all the time um but just by the way you live yourself comes back to that character trait that we were talking about a little bit earlier right there's um there's just so many there's so many things that I think is unique to leadership today I talked to so many different CEOs and leaders on the on the podcast and we often talk about the skill set of being a leader is different than the skill set at being very good at a specific task like sales or marketing or Ops and then being elevated to the role of a leader how have you become such a well-rounded leader in your journey were you like you said you had mentors which is great but did you ever get really tactical and intentional about becoming a better leader yeah I mean I think I think you know what the old saying is you never

[20:18]  stop learning right I think you have to continue to to always seek uh you know as many resources as possible and grow we we can all learn something new every day right uh whether it's reading a new management book a leadership book uh again continue to surround yourself with the right individuals uh in inside you know workplace and outside your workplace and uh to me those those are very critical um but uh yeah it's just Society continues to evolve uh we as individuals have to continue to evolve and um and um I just think the world keeps changing and uh if we don't realize you know that we have to perhaps be flexible and and open-minded to you know with uh things that are thrown at

[21:06]  you um you know it happens in every generation and and uh as as a leader as a manager if you don't identify you know that then it's going to be a tough road and uh and you know the new Workforce continues to evolve and change and you have to be flexible at the end of the day and um that's what we continue to do around here and at the same time continue to improve yourself and you know sharpen this the the blade right um uh that's an old old management tool um that we've used for years but whether your current generation or an older one um I think we all have to be open-minded to that I'm thinking about the the rapid changing expectations for work in our lives now when I speak to more seasoned leaders like yourself you guys came from

[21:56]  a time where doing the work putting in the time was something that was highly prioritized and it gave us great Returns the new generation seems to have a different idea about work life balance about you know using the job that they do as a way to help them live their life rather than life itself right instead of working to live they're living to work or the vice versa how do we meet this new generation with the expectations for work life balance when you're serving the community and you have to show up and continue to do right by the people who came before you yeah it's it's there's no there's no real answer to that that question or that scenario uh it's a challenge it's a daily challenge um and I I think when you read you know this part of your career such as myself

[22:45]  U and um you just have to learn like I said earlier you have to learn to recognize um you know this current generation has different expectations and have grown up different than than than my generation did um and you're right back then it was go driven you know everyone was supposed to build a career buy a house um you know have nice things saf for retirement um there's been so many things happened in in in the world the last 10 years the big one being co you know specifically that I think changed that Paradigm that way of thinking and um it was Game Changer so whatever Norms whatever was normal preco uh those Norms have changed and um you know after covid

[23:36]  I think for me as well specifically as I interact with a younger generation um you know I've had to recognize that and and realize that and and adjust my style um but to your point uh at the end of the day we're not selling widgets um we're affecting human lives every day and at the end of the day we we when we when we hire someone or consider hiring somebody or even put a job description together to us um the we we do p personality profile uh questionnaires and surveys and um at the end of the day if you don't believe in the core values of of this organization it's more than likely you will not be hired um and that's not that's not intended to be a crude uh or

[24:24]  or or a mean kind of perspective but more so yeah I mean core values and the mission of whatever organization you're part of um new hires need to really believe that um and you know our our core values and our mission is to help people and so right off the bat if if if if you don't fit that that criteria then it's probably not a good place for you makes a lot of sense that was going to be my question for you I had the privilege of speaking to an awesome people and culture leader uh from a Health Care system in Eastern Kentucky and he posed the question which was really interesting to me he said Keenan just because we have a shortage of team members does not mean that everybody is a good fit here and so when I think about hiring they have to be a good fit for culture because sometimes when we

[25:12]  make those shortsighted decisions of hiring somebody just to fill a seat the cause of them not being a good fit has consequences across the organization that is really hard to quantify how do you kind of think about that yeah no I I would agree with that statement um and um you know it it well again whether you're in a non for-profit environment or corporate environment uh any any work life environment I I think if uh if people don't fit your mission and your core values um they will struggle and it'll be frustrating in being in management uh to keep them around um and it's it won't be productive if you're in in a corporate environment it'll it'll affect your bottom line and it's expensive expensive to hire when you

[25:59]  hire people um that don't work out that's a very expensive proposition um organizations put a lot of resources into new hires and um somebody doesn't work out um I think that's why we're being uh you know more uh strategic and intentional about kind of our hiring process and I think you're seeing that more in in mainstream you know business and non for-profit environments there's a and I want to kind of segue into how you've been able to build this life of success and fulfillment while at the same time balancing the need to show up and work as hard as you possibly can so I want to kind of put a frame around this you know I'm in my my young 30s now and I find

[26:47]  myself constantly battling with the idea of I want to accumulate more I want to do more I want to provide more value for my partners so I can provide a life for my family and for the people who I choose to start relationships with but often I kind of have a tough time balancing the the integration of me pursuing this life that I want to build while also maintaining healthy relationships with my friends and with my partner and everything else like that and I find myself often asking the question am I building a life for the people in my life that they never asked for does that make sense yeah yeah I mean it's um I think at the end of the day um I think you have to do what's right for you and your family um first and foremost um you know a lot of times you

[27:36]  know whether you're closer to your age range or I'm a few years older than you it doesn't matter or even older than I am um sometimes we think we have things figured out um and I can tell you from from my experience even here the last 10 years um we may have something planned out things don't always happen exactly like we think they're going to happen and um I think you have to go go through life just uh again you have to keep the stick to the fundamentals um is it right for you and your family um that's kind of what leads me and motivates me every day whether I was again in in my previous corporate environment life or career or now and um and that should be in my opinion kind of what just is your

[28:25]  initial uh you know igniter of of whatever you end up doing in life and um again you think you have things figured out I I sincerely never thought that I would end up in the naer profit world and in the current role that I'm in now um but I but I look back now and it was definitely a stair step and everything that I did along my my journey definitely had had something to do with where I'm at today now and um I feel very fortunate and um and the idea is you never you always got to be open to learning and new ideas and um and keeping a work life balance a work a work and personal life balance um and uh to me that that's how I've been able to keep things going for myself do you have a a tough time with the skillet of

[29:15]  Delegation no I I kind of like delegating um and a true fun story is that um people around here probably are tired of me saying this often but uh I'm I'm very proud that I I coach uh girls fastfit softball competitive softball travel ball um for about 12 years um starting with my own daughters and I coach several young ladies some that that have gone on to play division one high level softball which makes me so proud not nothing don't don't shy away from that moment tell us where you've got that starting picture today man don't come on yeah no I I out of courtesy and and respect for confidentiality I won't mention names but I do have a young lady that plays in one of the top programs across the country right now that most people will probably see in the College World Series

[30:02]  uh this next season but but no my own daughter got to play college softball and uh for me what I would tell the the the girls they were girls not young ladies at the time they're they're more worried about the competitors and especially when we traveled across the country like oh my if that's that club or that organization they're amazing and what I tell what I told them then and what I tell my staff now you know pretty educated and intelligent people grown today um and it probably drives them nuts is that you can't worry about the competition and you can't control the competition you control what you can control and and uh we're good at many things around here and we need to stay focused on doing these things right continue to do them right and get better and whatever the other group does I mean

[30:49]  that that's up to them and uh you know we'll continue to grow and get better if we just focus on ourselves and and so I take I take that that Mantra or that philosophy that I used uh with 12 and undergirl softball players um and used it with adults nowadays that involve big strong men too not just women and um and I think it works I think when you put it in that perspective it works everybody who uh grew up like myself you know living on the diamond or in between the chalk understands that especially in softball and the MLB as an example to get to the Hall of Fame you fail seven out of 10 times being a 300 hitter is world renown how do you kind of think about the relationship with failure and

[31:37]  failing forward oh boy that's that's something that's uh absolutely I mean I I agree with that context that um you're going to fail probably many more times it seems like than than the successes we have in life but I think that's where we grow right I think we know that that that's where um you fall you get up and and you learn and you try not to make the same if it was a mistake you try not to do that over again um and uh yeah I always tell my own I have three daughters I always tell them I guess you have two choices um you can choose to quit and give up or get back up and continue to move forward and fight battle through it um and and um you know I grew up in a family that was very supportive and uh and was told we got to

[32:26]  keep moving forward and uh and if you if you have that mindset uh I guess I guess in a very humble way I'm a Living Testament that um that that does happen um you will have more the successes will overshadow those failures for sure but you got to keep grinding and moving forward there's a sense of personal accountability there you know I think in our previous conversation I talked about one of the biggest realizations I've had as I've gotten into my late 20s and early 30s is the respon responsibility to continue trying to be the best version of myself because the men and women who came before me in my family lineage didn't have the opportunities that I have my great-grandfather was a sharecropper in Arkansas my grandfather was born in the 1930s and was discriminated against for the color of

[33:13]  his skin my father was the first entrepreneur and now I have the ability to sit across the table from great leaders like you and so I have to make the most of these moments do you kind of ever find yourself reflecting on that responsibility to continue to push your lineage forward and set a precedence for your as well oh no doubt without a doubt uh that's that's a a big motivator for me has been my whole life um and absolutely uh my wife and I are first generation college graduates um and that doesn't that in and of itself doesn't guarantee anything um our daughters have grown up with many more resources and opportunities than my wife and I ever did and um it's always been important for us to uh tecknowledge that and have our our own daughters but any any young person that that we interact with have them understand that um you definitely

[34:02]  have to work hard for everything you you earn and or you have and and definitely learn from your your predecessors your ancestors uh my grandfather was an immigrant as well my father actually was an immigrant technically born in Mexico and uh they they taught us to persevere work hard uh never give up uh work for what you want and uh and you know that that's what's helped us to continue to be successful in our careers for my wife and I and uh We've passed that on to our own daughters and never take anything for granted learn from the past um no excuses you got to work you got to earn it so no doubt 100 plus years as an organization an amazing accomplishment

[34:50]  now one of the things I recognize is what got you guys here is not going to get you to year 200 as an example how are you thinking about the idea of experimentation to continue to meet the needs of the community I was talking to a amazing leader yesterday who was talking about the difference between encouraging his team to make decisions and encouraging his team to take experiments on are two very different things experiments mean we're going to try this out and see what happens decisions seem like they come with more weight what do you think about the difference there yeah I know um I think we talked about that the last time you and I connected that um uh when I when I came on board into my role uh one of the things that I I shared with the uh search committee that ended up hiring me as well as their consultant uh after a

[35:39]  national search was that you know with me um you weren't going to get a traditional type non for-profit person um that would sit around and write proposals to to requests grants and funding for me it was important um to try different things um we will never deviate from our mission and our core values but the way you you execute and you implement them can be different and we were never going to deviate and uh just try new new things just to try them we were going to enhance existing programs and services that we've provided for years and simply enhance them and what we're doing is adding more entrepreneurial perspectives to generate Revenue um and uh we we for example

[36:29]  produce a half a million meals every year to feed our own schools our own students our own adult uh senior programs um and then we picked up 30 thirdparty contracts with other schools and other senior programs uh across the Kansas City area um and and that's one way that we generate Revenue we have our own custodial Department inhouse that first and foremost services our own properties and our own buildings uh the highest level of quality and that's being used as a we're being used as third party contractors as well for other corporate and non-for-profits um so we we are doing things that um not Reinventing anything or starting anything fresh we're just enhancing existing services and programs that we've offered for many years um and

[37:18]  I think you have to be creative nowadays um you know after Co it taught you co taught all of us that whether you're in the non for-profit world or in the corpor corate environment um if you don't reinvent yourself and um try new things new approaches um you're probably not going to have as much success and uh if the need is still there for us impacting humans uh we're going to try everything we can to to meet that need one thing I recognize is leaders like yourself have to constantly think out of the box we have to be creative and curious like everything we've talked about here and the custodial services and the catering services are an amazing way to continue to drive Revenue but also serve your own which I feel like is beautiful it's a self fulfilling prophecy how are you thinking about things like artificial intelligence and

[38:07]  all this other technology Buzz that's out here are those things that you're thinking about that can help you fulfill the mission and create efficiencies well I'm a wannabe techie um I wouldn't consider myself very techn technological Advanced or creative but but I'm I'm realistic I know that that's here uh AI is not going anywhere um in every aspect of society uh in in any in any sector um and so uh it's something that we have to be very open-minded to um and uh proceed with caution um I know it's not all completely refined at this point um but I don't think it's going backwards they're not going to take that off the table um and so yeah yeah you have to be prepared for that and uh in the non for-profit world I know it's being used

[38:54]  somewhat uh but probably not it's probably heading down a path where uh like in any other sector it's probably going to be a key part of how we operate and conduct business for sure yeah I just don't know how we're going to be able to ignore these gigantic moves of technology I had a great guest on the podcast his name was Chris gillet and he used the example of Technology increases at an exponential rate but Society does not exponentially increase at the same time so we almost get like at these rubber band moments where we get shot forward so quickly and I think it's just really important for us to keep our toes to the ground and look at what other people are doing and let people set examples and then try and you know build upon that momentum to be able to meet people where they are because distribution of information about

[39:41]  Services referrals what you guys do in the community like that's the role that that service and that technology plays instead of a replacement because we can never replace the human Element no absolutely not I I tell people that um especially younger younger staff that that work in our in our organization when I first got started in in in sales in commercial real estate I have I think I had five pieces of equipment that now you find in one device uh your smartphone uh when I was out there um doing real estate brokerage um you know the pager you know a giant phone bag um and uh I had a voice recorder because I was in real estate I had to remind myself where what I did and where I went that certain day um so so yeah the world you better be ready

[40:29]  for technology for sure because it's going to keep evolving and um and so God knows what we're going we'll probably have a phone chipped in our hand down the road or something I don't know we're moving in that direction man you know there's some really interesting stories about um elon's company um that's putting microchips in people's heads that are helping them you know from a disabilities perspective just be able to interact with the world around them which I think is amazing neurolink is the name of that company but that stuff is coming got very influential people pushing that stuff down the road um it's it's a beautiful time I want to give you an opportunity to cast a vision for the future Mr Lopez when we think about where we're going to be in the next five years underneath your Helm and the continued progress and implementation and everything you guys are doing in the community what are we thinking what's

[41:16]  the vision look like yeah I mean I I think uh as we've stated in this in this conversation uh society's going to continue to evolve and uh and that's that's the real question are we going to be prepared for that and are we going to be open-minded enough for these changes um previous generations probably went through the same line of questions uh you know the different decades you know here the last 100 years probably uh during all the Industrial Revolution and Technology Revolution and all that um it's going to continue to evolve and um so the question is uh as individuals as manag maners As Leaders um are you willing to do so you know and if not it's going to be a tough road um and so

[42:04]  here here within our environment um you know we're going to continue to meet the needs of of the community excuse me that's something flying around my eye um and um we'll keep evolving uh trying creative ways um to provide more resources for the clients that we serve the humans that we serve every day I think education will continue to be something that we'll focus on um we are the we're I'll correct myself I said we're the largest Charter School in in Missouri we're the charter the largest Charter School prek through High School in Kansas City but I see I Envision Guadalupe centers being the largest charter school in the state of Missouri um and so um um I think we're positioning ourselves with the right structure and being strategic that uh in in right now we're this December we'll

[42:54]  probably be close to about a $50 million in Revenue organization uh we'll probably double that in the next five years and that's not just growth for growth sake that's growth to meet the needs of humans and Society um so that they can be functional and and and be a positive impact have a positive impact uh in this local community and hopefully in we want to other parts of the country to to be posit have a positive impact but U yeah uh we're going to evolve and um let's let's get AI going going uh we're ready as part of our tradition here we'd like to end our episodes with a question from another guest now this is a leader from a CEO from a organization in Oklahoma um and he wants to ask the

[43:43]  question when you think of Dei do you think of people with disabilities like autism or ADHD or any type of invisible disabilities that they might have not just people with physical ailments or disabilities yeah I mean I I think in general um that has not been part of the discussion people with disabilities or other challenges um but I I do believe that should be part of the discussion uh Dei should not just be you know race or color of your skin uh socioeconomic um there are many people there are people that have many different challenges and disadvantages um and I think um as Leaders especially in the areas that we serve in the non for-profit world or anybody in any in any industry in any

[44:32]  sector need to be open-minded to that absolutely well for everybody who's been tuning in today this has been another amazing episode of the heart and hustle podcast with my amazing guests who's sitting across this table from me leading an amazing organization and having such a huge impact in not only the generations that are here right now but the future as well so Mr Lopez I just want to say thanks for coming on the show man a huge honor to be able to do this with you Keenan thank you for your interest and and uh we're wanting to listen to my story and our organization story and uh happy to do so and I applaud you for your efforts and what you're doing um in in across the country and so um I appreciate you as well thank you