Nonprofit CEO Discusses Why Representation Matters in Literacy | Adeola Whitney

[0:00]  [music] Welcome back to another heart and hustle podcast. We're going to start off on plants, Adiola, because we were just having a whole conversation before we even get started like for 5 10 minutes talking about plants.

[0:25]  Why is plants? What do you feel to me? I I love to see them life. You talk about how sometime we find one and it's you you got to put them in a new pod. You got to love them. It's like life. It's like the things that we do with our young kids. What does plants mean to you and what what got you started into them?

[0:41]  Yeah. I don't I don't even know what got me started. I mean, I think what they mean to me and I was just talking to my mother about this this morning. There's something very zen, calming, cathartic, meditative. Like after my kids leave the house, like my youngest son goes off to middle school. Yeah.

[1:00]  This morning, like I like to clean the counter. I like to look at my plants. I like to check them out. I like to see, you know, does one need to be soiled? Does one need extra soil? Does one need to be watered? I have really big plants like the one behind me and really itty bitty ones like the ones over to my right on my bookshelf. So, I guess what do they mean to me? I think there's something really beautiful about watching something grow. And I think that plants to me are like the most nature's art form. Like they're structural. We were talking earlier even about pots, right? Like you I mean I feel like some of your art comes in your in in your pots. A lot of my pots are just like plain matte and then I'll have the most colorful plant inside of it cuz I just I think Yeah. I think they're art. They're beautiful.

[1:48]  And then the idea I mean it's also healthy like the zezy plant. It's so healthy to have plants in your room when you're sleeping. It's good to talk to them. They react to music. I just read on something. So,

[2:00]  I don't know. They're they're calming. They're a work of art. It they are they're inspiring because you get to see them grow. Similar to kids when you're teaching them how to read. Um yeah, that's that's what I think.

[2:12]  I love that. If you mentioned I think when people talk about plants, people just always laugh at me when I talk about these plants because I talk about it as life. Like they're all different types of humans when you think about it, right? They all need certain amount of water. Some of them need more than others. Some of them need more sun than others. Some need a bigger pot. Uh and you can really tell when they're not doing well, you know. It's just like a human. You can tell when your significant other is probably not doing well. You automatically realize like what's going on. Same thing with our plants, you know. So, yeah. I I I love I actually had this one plant that um

[2:42]  it was gone. Like when I say it was gone, like it wasn't growing no leaves, but I kept it. What I did is I I just repotted in a new pot, new soil. And that plant today, and this was four years ago, this plant today has gone and came back multiple times. And it and it really allowed me to, you know, to to know to see that it doesn't matter where you are today. It's about your environment. So you took that pot, that plant, put them in a new environment, a little bit bigger. It started to grow bigger. That's right.

[3:09]  Right. And it's like us humans, sometimes we just need to new friends, right? We need that new circle.

[3:14]  Sometimes we outgrow our surroundings, right? Not just the people, but to the point of you taking it, putting like our homes, we outrow them. We need to we need a change of scenery.

[3:24]  I love it. I love that we can talk about plants all day, but Adola, I really want to talk about who you are. Something so special, right? You plan to be a doctor. You started tutoring students who couldn't read. And in that moment, you decided, wait, reading is actually more than a skill. It's a it's a door you deserve to walk through. Could we talk about that moment that got you started into the journey that's now so many years into? Yeah, I'd love to. So, went to Oberlin College in the '9s, mid 90s. And um I was an African-American studies major and also an English major. And um one of my first classes um at Oberlin was this class called practicum and tutoring. It was taught by this incredible civil rights activist and professor, uh Booker Peak. And um part of the class like all of the upper classmen who were also African-American studies majors would talk about Booker Peak in this class and how you had to take it. And um my now husband and I at the time um were assigned to the same school in the same classroom and I was assigned to support a young student, a fourth a fourth grader actually uh and teaching her um to read. And I didn't know anything about teaching anybody how to read and I didn't know that much about tutoring and I didn't and I'd be lying if I say something like yes and back then I knew and it was that spark and I knew all of a sudden you know I knew that in 30 years or in 20 years I become a CEO of an No, not at all. I mean I think what what it did for me I I think teaching someone something especially an adult teaching something to a child is absolutely transformative and I don't just mean for the child I mean for the adult I think the way in which the gratitude that I had for her and what I was learning about her and what she was teaching me about myself um for me just laid the ground for this um curiosity interest, um, passion to just continue doing things with young people, to continue educating, teaching, spending time with them. And then, you know, that just continue to kind of snowball into other opportunities where I got to work with young people. Um, and I think through that, but I knew too that it wasn't teaching that I wanted to do. Like, I knew I didn't want to become a teacher because I saw that job as actually really, really hard. And um but I knew I wanted to do something that I would get to impact uh kids and where they got to impact me. Um and I think a lot of my career just my my journey um over the and it's it's it's just in the middle. I'm not at all at the end nor am I at the very beginning. But I think there's this throughine of my career journey that that at the center of it are young people, our children. um the power of of of being impacted by them and getting to impact them. Um yeah.

[6:17]  So really to kind of bring this back, a seed was planted,

[6:21]  right? It was watered. It's still growing. He's talking about you're in the middle of it. You still got so much to go. Yeah.

[6:26]  Like how cool is that? And then to even kind of piece all this together, you're a woman of color in this space,

[6:33]  right?

[6:33]  Like even more important because representation matters, right? you've carried all these things that you now you're a CEO of reading partners. How how how has that really um solidified the work that you're doing in this space? Becoming the CEO.

[6:48]  Yeah.

[6:49]  Woman of color in this space.

[6:50]  What say the last part of your question again?

[6:52]  Just you know becoming a CEO a woman of color. I tell you what, I've spoken to over 200 CEOs and there's probably less than 5% that look like you. Representation matters. I can imagine you being in the space, it really mattered to you more than ever.

[7:07]  It absolutely matters. Um, I wasn't fortunate enough in my nonprofit journey up to this role. Um, I was fortunate enough to have some incredible CEOs that I got to work with. Um, but none of them were ever folks of color, nor were they women of color. Um, and I've worked with women CEOs and I've worked men's bright, but none of them were women of color CEOs. I never saw someone who looked like me in an organization in in a role like mine in a role like this in an organization I had previously worked in. But I knew that um I think just in in when I was um an executive director for um a local executive director for a national nonprofit called Playworks, I knew then that the CEO role that my role was just really a small microcosm for what a CEO does. And I got to spend time back then with the CEO of Playworks a lot and got and learned a lot from her and I was like I can do this like I want this job one day. I don't know where but I think this is a job that I want. Uh because it was elements of inspiring people right and also being inspired by other people and believing so much in a mission that you can convince someone to invest in that mission and whether that was coming into the organization to work to volunteer or to donate money and donate their time. And there's something about that that just drove me like, "Oh, okay. This person doesn't think they're going to be interested in XYZ. Okay, I'm gonna spend an hour with them. I'm gonna take them to lunch. I'm gonna take a walk with them. I'm going to get them excited." So, I think that was some of my passion. And I mean, what does it mean to me? It means everything. And I think I I am lucky enough to have an incredibly diverse staff and um group of Americanore members who work with us. And when I first came on board, I you know, I um had an opportunity over the first 90 days to have conversations with every single person in the organization. Some small groups, some one-on-one, some like midsize groups. And I could see, especially from the women of color, what it meant for me to be in this seat. And I knew then that like as people asked, could they spend time with me? can I have a conversation with them about fill in the blank? I always defaulted to yes. Always. Always. Um and I still do. And so, um I think that's important. Like I I believe that the future CEO of Reading Partners is probably at Reading Partners right now. And I think that's the way it should be. And if there's something that I could be doing to inspiring the folks who work in within the organization, people who look like me, who may go off somewhere else and do something like this, that that matters to me. That matters a lot. Um, and that's yeah, I mean, I think that's one of the reasons I wanted to be in a role like this. And I don't think I would have led with that, you know, when I first Okay,

[9:55]  I love this. And I'm I'm I'm going ask you another question. A lot of people want this,

[9:59]  but they cannot authentically they don't show up as themselves. you, as I mentioned the first time, authentically yourself. Was that always the case? Did you know that this was important to be yourself? Because I feel at times when uh you talk to men and women of color, it's almost like they got to turn on and turn off. Not so many times you see a leader authentically show up as themselves. And that's what I loved about you is that when you showed up that first time, I'm like, "Oh, this is her. This is her off camera, on camera." How important was that for you to show up authentically yourself? And how important is for other leaders than you tell them to show up authentically themselves? It is extraordinarily important to me. I mean it to me it boils down to respect like the respect I have for me to be authentically me and the respect that I have for the people around me to ensure that I show them what they're getting. And so that like I mean ultimately that's that's that's what it's about. So um and I mean I feel like I also learned from my parents. My mother was a cashier in like a really big grocery store. My father was a journalist. And I remember my mom saying it and my mom and my father saying, "It doesn't matter if you're talking to a janitor in a store or in a corporate building or if you're talking to the CEO, you treat them all with the same level of respect because at the end of the day, they're all human. So that's just what I do. That's what I do. It's how I go into my board meetings. Like I'll play around and joke around a little bit, but I also do that with my girlfriends and I also do that with Americanore members. Like I just I am and I and I think this notion of authenticity and professionalism, not being able to live in the same place is a fallacy. Like yes, they can. I think the most professional thing you can do is be authentically you. And being authentically you doesn't mean it has to lack professionalism. Doesn't mean it has to be, you know, like it doesn't mean it has to sound like something. I think um yeah, I just I I think I I think in some ways I mean I think about when I when I took my first job in the um late 90s after college um there was a way that we had to be professional and so there were clothes that we had to wear and there were things that we had to say but I was like I got to bring me to this like I'm gonna I'm gonna abide by what it is to work what it means to work here but I'm going to bring my authentic self to that and I think that only made me that much better in my job. That only made me that much more successful and especially because the the job was about getting a community excited about this afterchool tutoring program uh that I worked for and getting them interested and wanting to become members. Like I can't do that talking like this. I mean I have to be I had to be me. And I had a passion for the work and an excitement to work with families and help their kids read at grade level and support them with math and writing. etc. So, yeah, it just I I I think um especially for young people who are kind of navigating their career, you should absolutely be authentically and 100% you. It doesn't mean everybody needs to know your business.

[12:56]  Yep.

[12:56]  It doesn't mean everybody's your friend. It doesn't mean you need to overshare, but it means the most the most brilliant part of who you are is what you need to bring to work every single day.

[13:06]  Come on now. Which is what led you to be such a good leader at Reading Partners. I mean, you guys are doing so many different things. Um, if we can kind of talk to the the three levelers that you guys have, the volunteers, the mirror corpse, uh, the partner supports, how does this all play together and what's the glue with this all? I mean, from a great leader like yourself, I can imagine this took some work, but you guys are doing phenomenal work in the communities as well.

[13:28]  Thank you so much. I mean, it is I I believe we are part of an ecosystem. We we get the privilege of working in communities every single day who have invited us into those communities. And that's hard to say. I think far too often in the nonprofit especially national nonprofits that are wellunded or wellestablished let's because we are looking for money but who are wellestablished I think sometimes go into communities in a very pseudo like pseudo missionary driven way and I'm not suggesting missionaries can't be great I'm saying like in a in a really inauthentic way where you believe what you have is better than what that community has. Where you see the community for all its faults and not for its assets. Where you don't think there's an exchange, but rather there's something you're dumping there.

[14:27]  And like there's an answer to a problem and you got the answer. You are the answer and you're going in and fixing it. And it can't be that. Like instead, it's about recognizing we're not doing this to a community or for a community. We're doing it with the community. and and we're only doing it with if they're inviting us in to do it because if you do it the other way, it's not going to last. It's not going to be authentic. Um and it's not going to be communitydriven. And I think the best ideas are, you know, have a piece of of community in them. So, um for us, that's our volunteers. You know, I mean, we if you believe that one person giving one hour a week has the power to change the life of a young person, come on over here to Reading Partners. give us an hour of your time. Let us train you on how to be an incredible tutor to a young person in a way that most people are blown away that they have the power to make that type of impact. Because what what we don't say is you must have kids, you must have spent time in elementary school, you must have a degree in this, you must have No, we're saying if you believe in the potential of every young person and in our organization over 90% of the kids are black and brown. So you believe in their potential. You believe in their limitless potential in the same way you would any child in your life. If you believe in that long as you don't have a criminal background record and uh you know how to read, we can make you an incredible teacher or an incredible sorry an incredible tutor for a young person. So that's the community part. That's the volunteerism. And then our Americanore members. These are folks who are giving a year, two, three, some four years of their lives and saying,"I want to make a difference in my community. I'm going to give back. I'm going to do this year of service." So they are not it is not a job. It is um a service year. So they're not paid a salary. They're given a stipend. They're also given um a stipen. They're given an ed award to put towards college or student loans or some type of post-secary aspiration. Wow.

[16:30]  Um, and they do well over a thousand hours a year, uh, supporting our programs that we stand up in schools and communities. And without them, like they are the glue. They are the face of our organization in so many communities across the country and have been for years. And then um the last part are I mean the people the staff who work here they are the ones who support and manage our Americanore members and ensure that they have the resources they need to be able to support the communities that we're in. So I mean we are so dependent upon so many people to do this work. I I am privileged to be in the seat of CEO but it is not I am not the magic. I am not the glue. It is the America members, our volunteers, our staff, our partners, our school uh school uh leaders and nonprofit community leaders who want to partner with us.

[17:21]  I mean, I like that you're so I like that you're so humble and you don't want to take the credit. But if this not for a good leader that an organization also don't run the same, right? Like don't don't forget as a leader is you showing up as yourself that allows everybody else to show up as themselves and and trickle down cuz we've seen it where good leaders are up top or even bad leaders and what that actually looks like the energy coming down. You have high energy and you can tell by everybody that works for you, right? So no yo give yourself those kudos cuz I've seen organizations that fail to have good leadership,

[17:50]  great mission,

[17:52]  but you know what the mission doesn't mean anything if you don't have a great leader at the helm of it all.

[17:55]  And I agree. I mean I I believe I am the leader for this organization in this time. Um I have certainly had my share of learning moments and challenges. Uh but I think every challenge brings growth. But I also believe that the best leaders listen,

[18:13]  right? Like if I am if the majority of the organization is like I'm hoping that we could do X and I'm over here doing Y all by myself, it's lonely over there, right? And so I just think with great privilege comes great responsibility. I can be the organization I can be one of the biggest assets or I could become the organization's biggest liability. I don't ever want to do that. Right? So I think it's it's important to listen to people. It's important to hire people around me who have skills that I don't possess that just make this incredible kind of Avengers team. Um and I think it's important to be able to inspire people so that they can also reach their full potential, whatever that is. And my hope is that we continue to do that.

[18:55]  You mentioned you don't show up to communities unless invi uh invited, right? Like what does that look like? Like how does a comm an organization or community know like this is we need reading partners so that those that may be watching can understand a little bit of it.

[19:08]  Yeah. And so and let me say this too because I'd be lying if I'm like I just wait for an invitation to come via email before we go anywhere. It's not it's not that. I mean there I think it's a little bit of art and science. So, you know, we one of our values is that data drives decisions. And so, of course, we look at data, right? We want to go into a community where we recognize that literacy, the literacy rates may not be where that community wants it to be or maybe lower than the national average or lower than that district's, you know, that the state average, etc. So we, you know, we look at numbers, we look at data, and then we we will go and have conversations with people and understand what currently exists within that ecosystem. What's working right now? Like where you're seeing success, tell us where that is, what is working, how are you seeing that success. Um let's let's learn more from the people where you're seeing, you know, where where they're experiencing success in literacy or in a different aspect of what's happening with the school. Um, and then we talk a little bit about who we are and what we do. And, um, if we're not invited in, I think, you know, a big we can't, it's not enough for us to say we're going here.

[20:20]  Yeah.

[20:21]  And it's not enough for a fun to give us money to go to said place. The school, the teachers, the principles, nonprofit leaders need to also want us and they have to vote with their wallets or their budget. So I mean I think it's that like they have to invite us in and they they have to believe that we are part of that we are piece of the solution not the panacea but we're a piece of the solution. So there's a series of conversations we have. We've done everything from engage families in a community um to talk to young people to talk to um funders to talk to community leaders to talk to educators. So, we just we try to really um cast a wide net and have a number of conversations with a number of people and and again, there are times where a fun is like, "Hey, we really want you to come here because we're hearing from the community. They need X and we believe y'all have it." And so, we're like, "Great. Let's go in and have some conversations. Let's let's take a look and see what's working and what's not. Let's share with you what we can offer and let's understand from you if what we're offering is exactly what y'all are looking for. And if it's not, how can we tweak our offerings?

[21:30]  Yeah.

[21:30]  Or how can we potentially recommend somebody else

[21:32]  if it's not us?

[21:33]  I love that. And you're kind of um leading in uncertain times, right? Literacy transcends politics. How do you stay anchored in mission when external pressures are really kind of pulling strong in a sense, right? Like this this is not the easiest times of it all. Uh, one of the biggest things that I've seen as well, and I don't know how you guys are navigating this, is that at least here in Central Florida, one of the biggest districts in Florida is having to close down elementary schools, right? Having because people rather take their kids and put them in charter schools or stay at home with their kids.

[22:07]  What is that all looking like in this world? Mhm. I mean, so to the point of like literacy isn't political. It, you're right, it should not be. And it's a civil right. Every child in this country has the right to have the resources and adults in their lives to teach them how to read. And in a world that is so incredibly polarizing right now and then a country that's at the helm of that kind of polarization I think in some ways right

[22:41]  um it is it's hard as a nonprofit leader navigating this space and the work that we do is more necessary now than ever before. So I remain steadfast in my commitment to our work and figuring out how to work across difference, how to work with people who may think differently than I do.

[23:08]  Yeah.

[23:08]  Um but who fundamentally believe that young people deserve the resources and the opportunities to learn to read. And so I mean I think I I don't know everything about what's happening in Central Florida, but I think all over the country, schools are closing, micro schools are po uh popping up. Folks are going from, you know, district schools to charter schools. Some are going to private schools. I think what is the same regardless of where in this country folks are raising their kids is that every single parent, every caregiver of a child just ultimately wants the very best for their child.

[23:45]  They want the very best education. They want that child to reach their full potential. They want them to be a great citizen and um be in a country where there's a democracy, where they can vote, where they can make decisions for themselves and their, you know, and their future family and just, you know, reach their full potential. I think everybody wants that.

[24:08]  How we go about getting that looks different depending upon who you're talking to. And I think the more that we lead with love, which is what one of our founders, Molly McCroy, who is still alive living in Menllo Park, she's 94 years old. I get to see her about once a year. And one of my first conversations with her when I took on this role at Friend, she was like, I said, "Tell me, you know, tell me why and how you started this when you did, you know, back in the late 90s." And she said, "Ola, you know, I just chose to lead with love." And I believed every tutor coming into this reading center needed to love the kids, like needed to just have this innate this this this this belief that they are here to spread love and to do really good work to support a young person. And I think that still remains true. And my hope is that there are enough of us, regardless of how we voted and who we believe in and who we do not believe in, that ultimately believe in the fundamental right that every child deserves a great education. Every child deserves an opportunity to reach their full potential. And it's our job as adults to clear the way for every young child. And I think one of those ways can be through literacy, through creating tutoring opportunities for young children, and then as a result, reading partners, right? We just want to do our part. So, it is hard. I mean, because federal funding has been cut from so many nonprofits.

[25:37]  Yep.

[25:37]  Um, and some of them have had to fold and some of them have had to merge. And so I feel really really privileged to still be able to be to exist to still have funding from the government to be able to do this work and have Americaore members etc. Um because they're friends of mine who haven't been as lucky. Hey, real quick. Have you enjoying the podcast? We first want to say thank you and we also just want to give you a little insight of what we're up to at Francis. Some don't even realize that we're working with organizations to help them use AI to create that real human communication experiences. Whether that's actually supporting your your families, those patients or the entire community, we're actually creating tech that connects. Check it out. Francis.ai.

[26:28]  And it's very very um special to you to be in this space. I mean, you have kids of your own, right? Like that's important. It it all starts at home, but it also how we continue to give back. Um, I tell you what, my wife has for the last five years committed to stay home and teach the kids, right? Just understanding the um where we at as as a whole, the country and and good schools and are we teaching them and educating the way that we should and I don't know that we've seen that at least in our community. So, we've had to do what we had to do best for kids. And as we kind of mentioned, it's happening. It's happening. And we have to remember it's not about us. It's about the next generation.

[27:06]  That's right.

[27:07]  Right. Like truly, I got back into the my old high school because I realized it wasn't about me.

[27:12]  That's right.

[27:13]  I I realized that life happened to me for me to be a testimony for others to continue to, you know, move the needle. Right. Everything that we learn, we can't die with. We got to continue to pour in. And what are you doing to pour back in? And in your case, you're making sure that literacy is at the forefront of it all. Uh, and you also have some great things that you're also launching. You launch an innovation lab for community-ledd design. Can we talk a little bit about that because you're doing some amazing things.

[27:37]  Yeah, thank you so much. It's it's it is scary and it's exciting and it's exhilarating and it's like, oh my goodness, are we doing we're doing a lot. Um, so we have the our model our uh program a program model that's been in existence now for over 25 26 years. It's like a brickandmortar model. We partner with schools. We set up shop there. We have a reading center. An Americanore member leads that reading center. Volunteers come. They're scheduled and we we work with them to tutor young people in reading. That's like our direct impact. And then we have a collective impact model where we extend that beyond the walls of schools, beyond the, you know, 8 to 3:00 p.m. time. And we look at afterchool time um by partnering with organizations like Boys and Girls Club uh partnering with other nonprofit organizations and community-led organizations where we train their staff to lead a reading partners like program using our curriculum. So that's another uh program that we do. And then um in addition to that, you know, our our goal isn't just to grow the number of students that we're serving and impacting, but to exponentially scale. And so to do that, it cannot be about us and it can't just be us doing it. We have to find new ways. So some so this idea of this innovation innovation lab that we're going to be launching this year that's going to be led it's going to be led by a chief innovation and technology officer. I'm hiring for that role right now. And the idea is that first and foremost, everybody at Reading Partners is an innovator. When we were in the middle of the pandemic and we were unable to go into classrooms with kids because it was unsafe. They couldn't be at school. We couldn't be there with them. We had to launch Reading Partners Connects and it was our first online model of our program. Um, and over time we only made that better. That's a transformative bet, right? We take this big idea and we make a change and it is innovative and it's a response to what's needed. So it's not innovation for innovation's sake like let's innovate because there are funders who are giving money for innovation. It's like no what is the need? Can we solve that through innovation?

[29:54]  Let's do that. Let's explore. Let's talk to families. Let's talk to educators. Let's talk to young people. Let's understand that the way that kids learn now is shifted. It's it's shifted from what it was years ago. it shifted from what it was even five years ago. So then we also need to shift. We have to remain nimble which I think sometimes is hard for nonprofits. Um so the the whole idea of the innovation lab is we want to create um various models for around literacy to support young people. We want to create tools and products for families, for communities, for students to help them to help young people on their literacy journey. So, one of those models is our direct service model. Another one is our collective impact model. And our question is, how can we make this better? How can we uh get resources out to more and more families? And how can our innovation lab pilot ideas um utilizing the the the knowledge, skills, and mindsets of our Americanore members, our staff, and our communities to help us drive innovation. So, that's yes, that's a little bit of that. We're excited for what's to come. It's brand new and yeah I I

[31:03]  And you guys are also publishing books so people can see themselves in it like you guys are doing a lot. Let's talk about that.

[31:10]  Yeah. So that was a transformative bet by two people on my team. Well more than two people but really led by two people. So our vice president of national program her name is Jen Joyce and um our uh director of um instruction specifically around uh these books. Um her name is Angela Padron and they both uh Angela was hired to work alongside um incredible um illustrators of color and authors of color uh to help us author books that reflect the students that we serve that also help to teach them how to read because they're what we refer to as decodable texts. oftent times uh decodable textbooks to teach kids how to read those type of books often do not have humans in them. I think 80% of them have inanimate objects and the 20% that have humans are oftent times one-dimensional and that like they're just one race maybe just white children white humans in the books and while there's nothing wrong with those books it's important to also diversify them. It's important for our young people to also, given that 90% of the kids that we serve are black and brown, it's important that they also see themselves as protagonists in books. It's important that white children see black and brown kids as protagonists in books because I think that what that teaches the world is a different narrative, right? and that all of us, regardless of the color of our skin, have the potential to to demonstrate and shine light on our brilliance to be protagonists and be heroes and be um superheroes in books and not technically superheroes, but you get what I'm saying. Yeah. So, we created this series of books called Cover to Cover. Um and you have a girl walking in a Filipino market with her grandmother. You have um a young boy in a multi-racial family. you have a girl who's different ability. I mean, we essentially want to be able to bring story, everyday stories that we know that the students that we serve see that we want to bring those stories to light.

[33:14]  I love that. And literacy is just isn't optional, right? Why should everyone listening believe that regardless of the background, the school district, the zip code?

[33:22]  Why should they believe that literacy isn't an isn't optional?

[33:26]  Correct? Because if we if if we were just to think about, let's just use you or me, right? Like let's think about from the time you wake up in the morning until you go to sleep, how reliant are you upon written words, how much of what you do in a day is dictated by utilizing this skill and the privilege that you have to read.

[33:52]  I mean, I'm reading all day,

[33:53]  right?

[33:54]  That's right. Same. Right. And so, um, reading unlocks so many doors. STEM is really popular. And I believe STEM is so important, but there is no STEM without the R. There's no STEM if we're not teaching kids how to read. They can't do word problems. They can't do engineering. They can't I there's so many things. It's hard to be able to dance if you can't read, right? So, I mean, I could give me an activity and I could tie it to why reading is so powerful and so important. And so, um, that's why it's not an option. And a really good quality education isn't an option. And regardless of what a child wants to be or if they don't know what they want to be, it's important that we give kids choices whether they choose college or not, or they choose a post-secary um, option or not, whether they choose to become an entrepreneur at 17 or not. I was just talking to a friend who has two kids in college and she said they started a moving company like their freshman or sophomore year and it's doing extraordinarily well made $15,000 in one weekend. Massive. Woo,

[34:58]  right? Like imagine if they could [laughter] not read

[35:02]  and do that job, right? They couldn't read the contracts, etc. So I Yeah, I mean it just I I cannot think of um I cannot think of a day where I'd be navigating the world without being able to read if I'm traveling and I need to know where I'm going, right? Like just Yeah, I can go on and on.

[35:22]  Yeah. Um I love this. How people think that a lot of times they have to just donate dollars, but if people wanted to volunteer or donate or even partner with reading partners in a big or small way, how can people do so? Is it just a website? Can they reach out directly to someone?

[35:39]  That's such a great question. So, I would not be a great nonprofit leader if I did not say we love dollars. We also love time. We love brilliance. So, if anything that I've said has struck a chord with anybody, if they're interested or curious to learn more, just visit our website, www.readingpartners.org, to learn how they can get involved.

[36:05]  Um, yes, they can become a volunteer tutor. There's um, you know, continuous long-term opportunities for a school year. There also one-day opportunities folks can get their companies involved. Um there are ways to do, excuse me, virtual tutoring. Um and then people can donate. There's a young person in the Midwest who um decided to do a um I believe he was selling lemonade, a lemonade stand in in the state of Indiana. And um he sold lemonade and um he had the bright idea to donate some of the money. And so I think his parents helped him do some research and he found reading partners and he sent us this beautiful letter in the mail and donated. So you know donating you don't have to be any age. It's just it's a way for you to vote with your dollars. It's a way for you to say I believe in this cause and I want to invest in it. Every dollar every you know any investment matters. Uh whether that is monetary or if it's voluntary.

[37:08]  I love it. I'll leave you this blind question as we wrap it up. Yeah. You've led in adversity and hope, but what's one moment you questioned your path and what really pulled you back, renewed your resolve, and made you double down on the work that you're doing today?

[37:22]  Um, my path my path has been questioned multiple times. I'd be lying if I said it hadn't. Um there was a moment in about 2008 2009 where I was in a series of jobs that like lasted less than a year um two or three of them um where I recognized I hadn't found my calling where the work that I was doing and the impact of it directly impacted young people but it didn't feel right. So in one case I was working um in a school building as an administrator um and there was just a lot of divisiveness in this us versus them mentality of charter schools versus non-charter schools and that just I just believe in every kid and I think a parent is entitled to send their child to a charter school.

[38:19]  Yeah.

[38:19]  Homeschool them to send them to a private school if they have the means or get scholarships etc. or send them to a public school. Like who am I to judge what that is? And if I'm in a school building, I want the best for every single one of those kids. And that wasn't the way that every other adult not not there were other adults who also believe that in that building, but there were some who did not. And I remember the moment that I decided that this wasn't where I needed to be. And I sat at my desk crying because I needed to write a letter um to my boss to say that I'm leaving. Like I I up and left that day. Got my plant. had a plant that my best friend had bought me um and my laptop and you know my coat and all these things that the students had made for me. And it was one of the hardest decisions I made in my life because I recognized I was the only administrator in the school that um that had a similar demograph a similar background to the kids that I was serving. I was one of the first administrators to do home visits in that school. And I and that was my community. Like I you know I I I struggled a ton in making the decision to say I had to walk away. Um and it's still I don't regret that I did it because I've learned a lot. I I don't regret that I walked away but it was really hard and I really questioned what I should be doing and I was like I thought you wanted to do something in schools and you finally have an opportunity to and you're walking away. Um so it was hard. It was hard. I questioned myself. I questioned, you know, whether or not it was the right decision, but it was.

[39:55]  There's a whole message there, though, right? Just walking away. Sometimes you walk away because something greater is on the horizon. And

[40:01]  because you're walking towards something else,

[40:03]  right?

[40:05]  Yeah. There's there's a lot of times that um I've had to encounter that. For any of the leaders that are watching, any of our young leaders that are watching that want to get into space, sometimes you're going to have to walk away.

[40:14]  That's right.

[40:15]  Um and it's because it's not because you don't love it anymore. is because as you mentioned there's another door greater that's going to open and you're going to be in in rooms that you never imagined making more impact than you ever imagined at the school level. Just imagine the impact that you're making today but if you would have stayed the impact that you're making it wasn't as broad it wasn't as big as it is today. Sometimes we don't see that.

[40:34]  That's right.

[40:35]  Um but it is the unknown is always scary. The unknown is a scary place to be. But when you believe in something, you love something the way that you have so much Adola for all these years, like you'll be blessed. And here we are CEO of an organization that is throughout our country. How many locations are you guys at now?

[40:55]  So we are in about 14 15 metro 14 different communities. 14 15 communities. 14. I'm going to say 14.

[41:05]  I hope that's right. But I think we're in about 14 communities. But that's a combination of direct impact where we have staff on the ground as well as partnering with communities. Um like in Louisiana, that's a new place that we're going to be doing some work this year. Detroit has been a place where we've been lucky enough to partner with an incredible organization called Brilliant Detroit. Um and then in places like Seattle, we've had direct impact work, but now we're doing it through partnerships um of schools in different communities. So, yes, 14 or 15. And I'm sure one of my staff will correct me if I'm wrong. It literally is growing every day.

[41:43]  I about to say it'll continue to grow in reality. So, you know what I'm saying? That number doesn't mean much. We'll continue to scale that. Well, we thank you so much for your time, Adola, for who you are, for just showing up as yourself and for the work that you do in our community. Understanding that it's not about us, it's about the next generation of individuals that look like us and even those that don't look like us. Right? Reading is fundamental for every single person. It really allows us to be in rooms that we've just never imagined as we mentioned. So, we thank you for your time, Adyola. I can't wait to see this do this again next time we talk about 30 different locations because that's just how big this is going to be.

[42:12]  We're going to talk about this innovation lab and all the things that we piloted and tested.

[42:17]  Yes. Yes. All the books that are coming out as well for representation.

[42:20]  That's right. And then the plants. I'm going to have 50 more plants the next time we talk. You'll probably have 200 more. [laughter]

[42:26]  Oh, Lord Jesus. I don't know how that gonna happen. I I do plan to actually get a greenhouse to start growing vegetables and fruits and

[42:33]  Oh, you have a green house now, too?

[42:35]  I'm going that's what I'm working on now. It's I've realized that I have 50 plants like when am I going to start and especially with kids, right? We feed them all these vegetables and fruits and that ain't cheap. So, it's like wait a minute, I got to start growing this at my own house cuz going to Publix and going to Walmart, especially Walmart got good stuff, but Publix is just expensive in general. So, it's uh yeah, we got to make it happen. But, thank you so much for your time, guys. If you guys are still watching, make sure you guys do go ahead and like, subscribe, and comment. Check out Ayola and the work that they're doing as well. You can check them on the website or even on any socials and it's a pleasure. We'll see you on the next one.

[43:03]  Same.