Host Erik Fleming interviews Cheryl Ann Wadlington, founder of Evoluer House, about her two-decade fight to heal and prepare Black and brown teen girls for college and life — and Kristen Torres, a Mississippi-born public policy strategist who explains how nonprofits and local governments can navigate Congress and federal agencies.
The episode mixes uplifting success stories, policy insights on advocacy and lobbying, and practical ways to support community-led programs, with news highlights and calls to action from the host.
00:00:00 --> 00:00:06 Welcome. I'm Erik Fleming, host of A Moment with Erik Fleming, the podcast of our time.
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00:01:56 --> 00:02:01 Hello, and welcome to another moment with Erik Fleming. I am your host, Erik Fleming.
00:02:02 --> 00:02:09 And today, I've got two guests who are different stages of their work,
00:02:10 --> 00:02:16 but they have a lifetime of commitment, which is very similar.
00:02:17 --> 00:02:26 I have a young lady on who has established this organization to help young women,
00:02:26 --> 00:02:28 especially young black women,
00:02:29 --> 00:02:37 achieve and to get out of, to break the generational curses or cycle,
00:02:37 --> 00:02:38 however you want to say it.
00:02:38 --> 00:02:42 And she's been doing this work for a couple of decades.
00:02:43 --> 00:02:48 And if you hadn't heard of it before, you will get a chance to hear about it today.
00:02:49 --> 00:02:52 It's incredible what she's doing.
00:02:53 --> 00:03:00 And then the other young lady I have kind of have a bond because of the Mississippi connection.
00:03:00 --> 00:03:04 But she is a lobbyist in Washington.
00:03:04 --> 00:03:08 But she is prior to being a lobbyist.
00:03:08 --> 00:03:14 She has been, you know, on Capitol Hill working with members of Congress and all that.
00:03:14 --> 00:03:21 And so we want to talk about, you know, kind of like when we had my friend Glenn Rushing on.
00:03:22 --> 00:03:27 Just kind of talk about what the atmosphere is like lobbying and,
00:03:27 --> 00:03:31 you know, to kind of tell y'all, y'all, y'all, if you need some help,
00:03:32 --> 00:03:33 why you need to get a lobbyist.
00:03:34 --> 00:03:38 Especially to navigate what's going on now.
00:03:39 --> 00:03:44 So I'm real excited for you all to hear this.
00:03:44 --> 00:03:49 And as always, we need your help so we can continue this.
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00:04:21 --> 00:04:25 long way for us to continue to do what we're doing.
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00:04:38 --> 00:04:44 Independent podcasters, especially as we deal with the political subjects that are going on.
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00:04:57 --> 00:05:02 And that way you can catch up on some episodes. You can learn a little bit about me.
00:05:02 --> 00:05:07 You can see all the guests that I've had on the show. I literally had somebody
00:05:07 --> 00:05:09 ask me, she's like, well, who have you had on the show?
00:05:10 --> 00:05:16 And, you know, I dropped some names, but I also directed her to the website so you could see.
00:05:16 --> 00:05:23 So everybody that has been on the show as a guest, you can see that.
00:05:23 --> 00:05:25 You got their bios and all that stuff.
00:05:25 --> 00:05:29 And then, you know, there's some episodes where it was just me talking,
00:05:29 --> 00:05:31 especially the early days, right?
00:05:32 --> 00:05:34 And, you know, but you can have
00:05:34 --> 00:05:38 access to all of that. Every episode I've ever done is on that website.
00:05:39 --> 00:05:46 So, you know, if you're a first-time person or you've been listening but you came in like, you know,
00:05:47 --> 00:05:52 couple years in or whatever the case may be, you can catch up with everything on there.
00:05:53 --> 00:05:57 So please, please check out the website if you want to leave a review, all that stuff.
00:05:57 --> 00:06:04 All the stuff I said at the beginning, I'm saying it again, but just,
00:06:04 --> 00:06:05 you know, whatever support.
00:06:06 --> 00:06:09 But the most important thing is that you're listening to this podcast,
00:06:09 --> 00:06:15 and I am greatly appreciative of that, and I am humbled that you're doing that.
00:06:17 --> 00:06:21 So, now that we've got the housekeeping out of the way, it's time to go ahead
00:06:21 --> 00:06:23 and kick this program off.
00:06:23 --> 00:06:27 And as always, we kick it off with a moment of news with Grace G.
00:06:35 --> 00:06:39 Thanks, Erik. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal regarding the
00:06:39 --> 00:06:44 legality of President Trump's executive order that restricts birthright citizenship.
00:06:44 --> 00:06:49 The Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal concerning a Texas county's removal
00:06:49 --> 00:06:55 of 17 books, including those about race and LGBT identity, from public libraries.
00:06:55 --> 00:07:00 The city of San Diego agreed to pay a $30 million settlement to the family of
00:07:00 --> 00:07:04 16-year-old Konoa Wilson, who was fatally shot by a police officer while fleeing
00:07:04 --> 00:07:07 another teenager who had fired a gun at him.
00:07:07 --> 00:07:11 The Trump administration threatened to withhold federal food assistance from
00:07:11 --> 00:07:16 21 Democratic-led states that had refused to comply with a data request for
00:07:16 --> 00:07:19 SNAP recipients' names and immigration statuses.
00:07:19 --> 00:07:24 A Florida federal judge authorized the Justice Department to release grand jury
00:07:24 --> 00:07:28 transcripts from the sex trafficking case against Jeffrey Epstein.
00:07:28 --> 00:07:33 Alina Habba, former acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey, resigned after a federal
00:07:33 --> 00:07:36 appeals court ruled her appointment was unlawful.
00:07:36 --> 00:07:41 Twelve former FBI agents filed a lawsuit against senior FBI and Justice Department
00:07:41 --> 00:07:46 leaders, claiming they were unlawfully fired after taking a knee during racial
00:07:46 --> 00:07:50 justice protests spurred by the police killing of George Floyd.
00:07:50 --> 00:07:55 U.S. vaccine advisors revoked the long-standing 1991 recommendation for universal
00:07:55 --> 00:07:59 hepatitis B vaccination for all American newborns.
00:07:59 --> 00:08:05 Democrat Eileen Higgins won the Miami mayoral runoff to become the city's first female mayor.
00:08:05 --> 00:08:09 Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett officially launched her U.S.
00:08:10 --> 00:08:14 Senate campaign, shaking up the highly contested race in a state Democrats have
00:08:14 --> 00:08:16 not won statewide since 1994.
00:08:17 --> 00:08:22 Former Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes has officially entered the
00:08:22 --> 00:08:27 state's crowded gubernatorial race to succeed retiring Democrat at Tony Evers.
00:08:27 --> 00:08:31 And Roderick Page, the first African-American U.S.
00:08:32 --> 00:08:35 Department of Education secretary, died at the age of 92.
00:08:36 --> 00:08:40 I am Grace G., and this has been a Moment of News.
00:08:47 --> 00:08:49 All right. Thank you, Grace, for
00:08:49 --> 00:08:54 that moment of news. Now it's time for my guest, Cheryl Ann Wadlington.
00:08:54 --> 00:08:59 Cheryl Ann Wadlington is a global change agent and leading consultant in the
00:08:59 --> 00:09:00 field of personal growth.
00:09:01 --> 00:09:06 Recognized by the White House as a 2016 champion of change, Wadlington was honored
00:09:06 --> 00:09:12 for her leadership and work in developing extracurricular enrichment for marginalized girls.
00:09:12 --> 00:09:17 The National Fashion and Beauty Journalist founded and became Chief Executive
00:09:17 --> 00:09:22 Officer in 2004 at a Philadelphia-based Evoluer House.
00:09:22 --> 00:09:27 Under Wadlington's leadership, the organization has delivered award-winning
00:09:27 --> 00:09:33 empowerment programs over the past 21 years to more than 10 teen girls of color,
00:09:33 --> 00:09:39 experiencing unique social and emotional challenges and barriers to success.
00:09:39 --> 00:09:43 The Evoluer House works to equip the most underserved and hardest-to-reach girls
00:09:43 --> 00:09:48 in Philadelphia with essential tools to become college-bound and career-ready,
00:09:49 --> 00:09:51 thus breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty.
00:09:52 --> 00:10:00 As a testament to its success, 100% of Evoluer program graduates attend four-year
00:10:00 --> 00:10:02 colleges and other institutes of higher learning.
00:10:03 --> 00:10:06 Wallington is an accomplished writer, television personality,
00:10:06 --> 00:10:11 and sought-after motivational speaker who has reached millions of people through
00:10:11 --> 00:10:13 such outlets as Vogue, Elle,
00:10:13 --> 00:10:20 Self, Life and Style, Lucky, C-SPAN, NBC's iVillage Live, and NPR,
00:10:20 --> 00:10:22 with their advice and perspective published.
00:10:23 --> 00:10:28 Wadlington is co-author and contributing editor of Soul Style.
00:10:29 --> 00:10:33 Black Women Redefining the Color of Fashion, which drew much-needed attention
00:10:33 --> 00:10:38 to Black America's female style leaders from Pam Greer to Diana Ross.
00:10:39 --> 00:10:44 In 2013, she authored the critically acclaimed The Diva Girl's Guide to Style
00:10:44 --> 00:10:50 and Self-Respect to inspire girls throughout the nation to take a bold leap toward success.
00:10:51 --> 00:10:55 Wadlington served as a spokeswoman for Procter & Gamble on his hair and skin
00:10:55 --> 00:11:00 lines, and she was a national publicity director for Ambi Products.
00:11:00 --> 00:11:05 An accredited member of the press corps for New York City's annual Fashion Week,
00:11:05 --> 00:11:12 she's featured in The Tint, a 2011 documentary chronicling the ready-to-wear
00:11:12 --> 00:11:15 collections and some of fashion's biggest names.
00:11:15 --> 00:11:21 Wadlington founded Evoluer Image Consultants. For her clients at Evoluer Image
00:11:21 --> 00:11:25 Consultants, she assembled an all-star glam squad who have worked with the likes
00:11:25 --> 00:11:28 of Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, and Mary J.
00:11:28 --> 00:11:32 Blige. She also taught fashion journalism at Temple University,
00:11:32 --> 00:11:36 where she orchestrated internship opportunities for her students at some of
00:11:36 --> 00:11:40 the top fashion houses and publications in the world, including Gucci,
00:11:41 --> 00:11:45 BCBG Max Azaria, and InStyle Magazine.
00:11:45 --> 00:11:52 Wadlington is a Philadelphia native and alumnae of the New York's Fashion Institute of Technology.
00:11:52 --> 00:11:56 With countless proclamations for her contributions to youth development from
00:11:56 --> 00:12:00 such dignitaries as the governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and New
00:12:00 --> 00:12:06 Jersey State Senate and General Assembly, she has had an impact that transcends borders.
00:12:07 --> 00:12:10 Bermuda's former Minister of Education, Dame Jennifer Smith,
00:12:10 --> 00:12:15 applauded Evoluer's House exemplary program for moving girls toward greatness.
00:12:16 --> 00:12:21 The London-based NGO A Safe World for Women recognized the organization for
00:12:21 --> 00:12:24 its efforts in nurturing at-risk girls.
00:12:25 --> 00:12:30 Wadlington has also partnered with government officials in Kenya and the Kambu
00:12:30 --> 00:12:35 County Justice and Legal Committee to empower girls in the East African nation.
00:12:36 --> 00:12:39 One year before Wellington was named a White House champion of change,
00:12:40 --> 00:12:46 President Barack Obama recognized the Evoluer House for 11 years of service to young urban girls.
00:12:47 --> 00:12:52 In 2020, she was one of 10 women in a nation selected by the world's number
00:12:52 --> 00:12:56 one beauty brand, L'Oreal Paris, as a woman of worth.
00:12:56 --> 00:13:02 And in 2022, she was appointed to the Fashion Institute of Technology's inaugural
00:13:02 --> 00:13:05 Alumni Advisory Council.
00:13:06 --> 00:13:10 Ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct honor and privilege to have as a guest
00:13:10 --> 00:13:14 on this podcast, Cheryl Ann Wadlington.
00:13:26 --> 00:13:30 All right. Cheryl Ann Wadlington. How are you doing, sister? You doing good?
00:13:31 --> 00:13:35 I'm doing great. Thank you for having me on your program, your podcast.
00:13:36 --> 00:13:39 Well, I am honored to have you and happy holidays to you.
00:13:40 --> 00:13:44 Same to you. I know you're, well, if you're in the United States, you're cold.
00:13:44 --> 00:13:49 I think there's only like maybe a couple of places where it's not cold this winter.
00:13:50 --> 00:13:52 Yeah, it's cold. Yeah.
00:13:53 --> 00:13:57 So what I want to do is start off the podcast like I normally do,
00:13:57 --> 00:14:03 is that the first thing I do is offer the guest a quote to respond to.
00:14:03 --> 00:14:09 So your quote is, you're a has-been and you haven't helped nobody.
00:14:09 --> 00:14:11 What does that quote mean to you?
00:14:12 --> 00:14:16 Yeah that was a quote that my brother said who
00:14:16 --> 00:14:19 passed away so he said that
00:14:19 --> 00:14:23 after I had my first
00:14:23 --> 00:14:27 career was to be a dancer on Broadway so you know my goal was to get like four
00:14:27 --> 00:14:34 Tony Awards before I was 27 so I fell off stage when I was traveling in the
00:14:34 --> 00:14:39 circus and Ringling Brother's Circus as a showgirl and dancer and tore my knee
00:14:39 --> 00:14:41 up, and that was the end of my career.
00:14:42 --> 00:14:46 So my brother, who was a minister, he was wonderful.
00:14:46 --> 00:14:50 He said, what are you going to do with your life? You're a has-been and you haven't
00:14:50 --> 00:14:53 even made it yet. So that's where that phrase comes from.
00:14:54 --> 00:14:58 Yeah, yeah. I thought that was some tough love when I heard that in my research,
00:14:58 --> 00:15:02 But but you seem to have taken that challenge and run with it.
00:15:03 --> 00:15:07 And so my next icebreaker is what we call 20 questions.
00:15:08 --> 00:15:11 So I need you to give me a number between one and 20.
00:15:13 --> 00:15:20 15. All right. When you think about the challenges our country faces, what gives you hope?
00:15:20 --> 00:15:29 I'm going to say God, number one, but also the people who came before me. And they had it worse.
00:15:29 --> 00:15:32 They survived, so why can't I?
00:15:33 --> 00:15:38 Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's pretty succinct, but that's very accurate.
00:15:38 --> 00:15:43 I always used to tell people that, you know, whatever I achieved politically,
00:15:43 --> 00:15:45 I was standing on the shoulders of others.
00:15:45 --> 00:15:51 And so, yeah, that's that's that's pretty accurate as far as black folks are concerned.
00:15:52 --> 00:15:57 Outside of your brother's tough love, how did your family kind of influence
00:15:57 --> 00:15:59 you to be the person you are now?
00:15:59 --> 00:16:04 Well, I come from a religious family, like pretty much like a preacher's kid,
00:16:04 --> 00:16:07 fourth generation of ministers, bishops and all of that kind of thing.
00:16:07 --> 00:16:09 I mean, bishops that go way, way, way back.
00:16:10 --> 00:16:16 So they were strict. And I come from the kind of family that you just didn't
00:16:16 --> 00:16:19 do certain things. If you did, you would get a little whipping. So...
00:16:21 --> 00:16:27 My mother, mainly, she raised six kids alone. My father passed when I was in sixth grade.
00:16:28 --> 00:16:33 And then I had two brothers that were ministers, and they really did do tough love.
00:16:33 --> 00:16:39 So they made sure that I grew up to be a lady because I was a tomboy.
00:16:39 --> 00:16:42 I was an absolute tomboy. I was rough.
00:16:42 --> 00:16:45 I used to play with the boys all the time and tackle football,
00:16:45 --> 00:16:49 and I would tackle the guys to the ground. and my mother, you know,
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 wanted to save her little daughter.
00:16:52 --> 00:16:57 So she, you know, wanted to make sure I turned out to be something and somebody.
00:16:57 --> 00:17:02 So she quickly put me in etiquette schools, finishing schools,
00:17:02 --> 00:17:08 dance classes, performing arts schools, modeling schools, put me in beauty pageants.
00:17:08 --> 00:17:13 She did everything to make sure I turned out okay, you know.
00:17:14 --> 00:17:18 And it's so interesting now that I'm at this age, I always say,
00:17:18 --> 00:17:21 well, you know, that like little rough side still lives in me,
00:17:21 --> 00:17:27 but then I know how to show up, you know, when it's time to get on stage or on TV or whatever,
00:17:27 --> 00:17:31 you know, I, it just is automatic, everything that my mother taught me and all
00:17:31 --> 00:17:38 of those, that grooming that she did immediately comes to play. Yeah. Yeah.
00:17:39 --> 00:17:44 And so people who, who may not be familiar with you.
00:17:45 --> 00:17:53 You are like, or you have been, I think you still are, one of the more iconic
00:17:53 --> 00:17:56 stylists in the fashion industry.
00:17:56 --> 00:18:03 I think you've like styled people for like Vogue, like Patrick Kelly was your contemporary.
00:18:04 --> 00:18:13 How did you make the transition from being in that world to being involved in
00:18:13 --> 00:18:16 the genesis of the Evoluer house? How do we get to this point?
00:18:17 --> 00:18:23 Yeah, well, when you live in a household with two ministers and the Bible is
00:18:23 --> 00:18:29 in the house and the preaching and when you were young and you go to church every day of the week,
00:18:30 --> 00:18:35 you know, in those revival tent type churches, foot clapping,
00:18:35 --> 00:18:39 hands stomping, you just know better.
00:18:39 --> 00:18:44 And it's because I knew when I went to New York and I was around like all the
00:18:44 --> 00:18:45 famous people and going to the parties.
00:18:45 --> 00:18:51 And at that time, it was real partying type of situation in New York.
00:18:51 --> 00:18:53 Like they partied hard.
00:18:54 --> 00:18:58 So I always knew that there were certain things when it was time to exit.
00:18:59 --> 00:19:02 You know, like you hear today, a lot of things that's going on.
00:19:03 --> 00:19:07 I knew that if I got involved in certain things, my mother and the women in
00:19:07 --> 00:19:12 the church, the women who wear white would come up wherever I was and kick my butt.
00:19:13 --> 00:19:17 So it's like I had to fear God. That's why I knew better.
00:19:19 --> 00:19:25 Yeah, yeah. And so when you say party hard, that was like the studio 54 days,
00:19:25 --> 00:19:27 is that what? Yeah, yeah.
00:19:29 --> 00:19:33 You know, and see, we had access to all of that. Yeah. You know,
00:19:33 --> 00:19:37 by going to school at the Fashion Institute in Newark, you get access to everything.
00:19:37 --> 00:19:39 So we had that privilege.
00:19:40 --> 00:19:45 Yeah. So how do how do we create the Evoluer house?
00:19:45 --> 00:19:50 Because that's the that was the thing that attracted me to ask you to come on
00:19:50 --> 00:19:54 your work that you've been doing with the Evoluer house.
00:19:54 --> 00:19:57 So kind of explain what the what the.
00:19:58 --> 00:20:05 The Evoluer House is, how it got started, and what kind of programs or courses
00:20:05 --> 00:20:07 do you offer at this place?
00:20:08 --> 00:20:13 Yeah, so it's so interesting because I know what it means when you say all roads lead home.
00:20:13 --> 00:20:17 You know, I started in the church and got in the world of glamour,
00:20:17 --> 00:20:21 and then all roads lead home, I wind up getting right back to where my foundation
00:20:21 --> 00:20:24 was, helping people, giving back.
00:20:24 --> 00:20:28 So that is who I am, and that is instilled in me, you know, from the family.
00:20:28 --> 00:20:32 So the other little house got started was right after my brother said like,
00:20:32 --> 00:20:34 okay, you're a has-been.
00:20:35 --> 00:20:38 You haven't even made it. What are you going to do? And he said,
00:20:38 --> 00:20:41 why don't you help somebody? And that just stuck in me.
00:20:41 --> 00:20:45 And it was just a natural transition kind of to go from the world of glamour
00:20:45 --> 00:20:51 to helping young girls because I had all of that opportunity and I could have
00:20:51 --> 00:20:58 easily wound up maybe in prison or somewhere else because I had to go to reform school, you know?
00:20:58 --> 00:21:06 So, but yet I turned out to achieve all of my dreams and do everything I wanted
00:21:06 --> 00:21:08 to do and reach the top of my field.
00:21:08 --> 00:21:13 So I said, if I can do that with the way I was as a young girl,
00:21:13 --> 00:21:16 I think anybody can do it.
00:21:16 --> 00:21:23 So I decided to help girls who look like me to strive for excellence.
00:21:24 --> 00:21:27 And see, and I also knew a lot was missing, you know, in this society,
00:21:27 --> 00:21:31 because like I told you earlier, my mother and them, they didn't stand for certain things.
00:21:31 --> 00:21:35 You know, and I know I've seen, because I taught school for a minute,
00:21:35 --> 00:21:41 and I see that they tolerate a lot from today's generation, and they're afraid to say something.
00:21:41 --> 00:21:44 Well, I knew I'm not. I'm not afraid.
00:21:44 --> 00:21:48 So the type of programming that we have at the Evoluer House,
00:21:48 --> 00:21:51 which means grow and change, is the French term for grow and change,
00:21:52 --> 00:21:59 I decided to implement program, but set the bar high and have a level of standard of excellence.
00:22:00 --> 00:22:04 We serve girls from underserved communities ages 13 to 18.
00:22:04 --> 00:22:09 The programs that we provide and our target audience is girls of color,
00:22:09 --> 00:22:11 the girls who need help the most.
00:22:12 --> 00:22:17 We have youth workforce development program. We have a personal development program.
00:22:17 --> 00:22:23 We have a podcast where girls learn how to monetize their own podcasts or have a podcast business.
00:22:23 --> 00:22:29 And we have an e-news letter, which is full of job opportunities,
00:22:30 --> 00:22:33 scholarships, great stories that interest teen girls.
00:22:33 --> 00:22:36 But that's circulated to over 4 girls across the United States.
00:22:37 --> 00:22:43 We went nationwide after the pandemic. But we're here because of the need.
00:22:43 --> 00:22:47 We're not just here doing some girl program like a lot of other organizations.
00:22:48 --> 00:22:53 We provide evidence-based programming, you know, some of the issues.
00:22:53 --> 00:22:59 People do not know how much black and brown teen girls are suffering in our community.
00:23:00 --> 00:23:02 You know, for a time, they thought it was just men and boys.
00:23:03 --> 00:23:08 But some women went to President Obama years ago and told him and said,
00:23:09 --> 00:23:11 hey, you know, you got the program My Brother's Keeper.
00:23:12 --> 00:23:15 But what about our girls and how they were suffering? You know,
00:23:15 --> 00:23:19 the fact that they were being pushed out of school, the school to prison pipeline. line.
00:23:19 --> 00:23:23 And a lot of people don't know that Villanova University did a study,
00:23:24 --> 00:23:29 and it said, if you are dark-skinned, you, a girl, you're still three times
00:23:29 --> 00:23:32 more likely to get suspended from school.
00:23:32 --> 00:23:39 There's a consensus among teachers. It's kind of unspoken, but it's in another report that what,
00:23:40 --> 00:23:45 white teachers, and majority of the teachers are white, what they think of Black girls.
00:23:45 --> 00:23:50 Some of them think that they're over sex and that they don't know how to stay in their place.
00:23:51 --> 00:23:54 That kind of mentality reminds me of slavery.
00:23:55 --> 00:24:00 So, you know, that also says when a girl, a Black girl, say,
00:24:00 --> 00:24:04 for example, may walk into a classroom, she doesn't stand a chance because she's
00:24:04 --> 00:24:06 judged differently. She looks upon differently.
00:24:06 --> 00:24:12 So we do know that our girls are traumatized from just basic discrimination
00:24:12 --> 00:24:15 and the barriers that they face.
00:24:15 --> 00:24:21 So I said, well, I want to do what I can to see to it that black and brown girls thrive.
00:24:22 --> 00:24:26 I don't mean just graduate high school. Our goal is to make sure they graduate
00:24:26 --> 00:24:29 high school on time, go to a four-year college,
00:24:29 --> 00:24:34 not to say that college is kind of getting unnecessary now, but to go to attend
00:24:34 --> 00:24:39 a four-year college because I believe it still provides theory for young girls.
00:24:39 --> 00:24:42 And also it teaches you how to count your money, which is a big problem when
00:24:42 --> 00:24:45 even if you're young and then all of a sudden you make a million dollars,
00:24:45 --> 00:24:48 you know, you hear time and time again of people losing their money.
00:24:48 --> 00:24:51 So financial literacy is very important for us.
00:24:51 --> 00:24:57 So to attend a four-year college and to help break that cycle of intergenerational
00:24:57 --> 00:25:03 poverty because Philadelphia was number one of metropolitan cities with high poverty.
00:25:03 --> 00:25:10 So to me, it doesn't make sense for a child to go hungry and for her not to
00:25:10 --> 00:25:16 have an opportunity to be her best and to reach her dreams, no matter what zip code she comes from.
00:25:17 --> 00:25:24 And so what our approach to developing, raising powerful girls is to,
00:25:24 --> 00:25:28 and before you educate, you have to heal her.
00:25:28 --> 00:25:32 So that's our whole concept that we use at the Evoluer House.
00:25:32 --> 00:25:39 So do you think that the discrimination piece, what these young girls face in
00:25:39 --> 00:25:42 school, is the biggest challenge they face?
00:25:42 --> 00:25:49 Well, racial trauma, racial trauma. It's not just the kids. It's like our mothers, grandmothers.
00:25:49 --> 00:25:53 We all suffer from racial trauma, and most of us have not healed.
00:25:53 --> 00:25:55 We didn't even know that it existed.
00:25:58 --> 00:26:01 But no no but now we see you
00:26:01 --> 00:26:06 know and I'm just thankful that I was able to think critically about the approach
00:26:06 --> 00:26:13 that I think is good to use to reach these girls and our outcomes have been
00:26:13 --> 00:26:17 great because of course you have this system the system didn't work it did not
00:26:17 --> 00:26:20 work for girls of color. This is what I'm seeing.
00:26:20 --> 00:26:27 So we're seeing great outcomes. Our outcomes are 100% graduate and go to college,
00:26:28 --> 00:26:31 you know, and you might've read them, or some form of higher education,
00:26:31 --> 00:26:36 51% go on full-ride scholarships, 51% come out of college debt-free.
00:26:37 --> 00:26:42 So, but even on the more darker side, you know, like I remember at graduation,
00:26:42 --> 00:26:48 we heard one of the young girls, She said, you know, if there had been programs like the Evoluer House,
00:26:48 --> 00:26:52 I wouldn't have even thought about killing myself.
00:26:52 --> 00:26:54 So, you know, the suicide rate
00:26:54 --> 00:26:57 for teen girls of color, it is through the roof. It's really a crisis.
00:26:58 --> 00:27:02 And it went up to something like 182% of years ago.
00:27:02 --> 00:27:10 And it hasn't gotten any better. So you have young girls who are, you know,
00:27:10 --> 00:27:18 taking themselves out at alarming rates because of whether it's bullying or
00:27:18 --> 00:27:20 anything, you know, that they just feel hopeless.
00:27:21 --> 00:27:27 So how does the house help deal with that trauma, help with the.
00:27:28 --> 00:27:30 Because when you're dealing, when you're talking about suicide and all this
00:27:30 --> 00:27:35 stuff, you're talking about self-esteem and public pressure.
00:27:35 --> 00:27:37 And like you said, the racial trauma.
00:27:37 --> 00:27:40 How does the house help those young girls?
00:27:40 --> 00:27:48 Is it because you've got them in an environment where everybody has an opportunity to thrive?
00:27:49 --> 00:27:51 I mean, kind of like what's the secret sauce, in your opinion?
00:27:52 --> 00:27:55 How that works? Yeah, well, what we do, we just show them that we love them,
00:27:55 --> 00:27:59 which is what they're missing in school. So our teachers, number one,
00:27:59 --> 00:28:03 we're very careful about who we hire because of the research.
00:28:03 --> 00:28:06 You know, teachers don't care. And it doesn't matter, actually,
00:28:06 --> 00:28:08 from what I'm seeing, if they're black or white.
00:28:08 --> 00:28:14 If you're working in an educational system where you know you don't have to
00:28:14 --> 00:28:19 do certain things to teach kids, I mean, they just don't do it.
00:28:19 --> 00:28:24 So our educators, we have educators and they're at, we've been lucky because
00:28:24 --> 00:28:27 we've been around 21 years. I want to mention that.
00:28:28 --> 00:28:32 They're at the master degree level, first of all. We've had some PhDs as teachers,
00:28:33 --> 00:28:35 but what I found, they didn't work out right.
00:28:35 --> 00:28:38 Sometimes they're too systematic and the girls didn't like them.
00:28:38 --> 00:28:41 They didn't like that. And so we listened to our girls.
00:28:42 --> 00:28:47 So we have a lot of classes that deal with mental health. And one thing we do,
00:28:48 --> 00:28:52 we make sure we hire teachers who have a certain level of compassion,
00:28:53 --> 00:28:59 which is missing. Things that happen in communities of color, it are like no other.
00:28:59 --> 00:29:04 And it's hard for white people to understand that, you know,
00:29:04 --> 00:29:07 whatever's going on in the household.
00:29:07 --> 00:29:11 So that's one thing we really, really vet our teachers.
00:29:11 --> 00:29:16 We also have a lot of classes that deal with mental health. We have an identity
00:29:16 --> 00:29:20 class because we have a large number of students coming in saying they don't
00:29:20 --> 00:29:22 know if they're gay or straight, you know, they're questioning.
00:29:22 --> 00:29:26 So that's something brand new. You know, I know they got all of these rules
00:29:26 --> 00:29:30 and really they were kind of recent to deal with the LGBT community.
00:29:30 --> 00:29:32 But I remember one year we had like
00:29:32 --> 00:29:36 75% of the girls said they were gay or questioning or something like that.
00:29:37 --> 00:29:40 So that is something you have to know how to deal with.
00:29:41 --> 00:29:44 Some of the classes we have are identity, who do you think you are,
00:29:44 --> 00:29:48 the sisterhood, how to get along with your sisters. That's a real big problem.
00:29:48 --> 00:29:52 You know, really, that's a real big problem among particularly Black women.
00:29:53 --> 00:29:57 They have a class called intersectionality. We have a class called Title IX.
00:29:57 --> 00:29:58 They have some heavy classes.
00:29:59 --> 00:30:03 Title IX are girls' rights in education to know your rights because girls are
00:30:03 --> 00:30:06 being treated like crap in school. So we've.
00:30:07 --> 00:30:12 How to protect yourself and how to deal with situations. If you're getting suspended,
00:30:12 --> 00:30:15 these are your legal rights and this is what you can do.
00:30:15 --> 00:30:18 So you just can't get kicked out of the school.
00:30:19 --> 00:30:23 Of course, they have the other classes, financial literacy, resume writing,
00:30:23 --> 00:30:26 but we let the girls know that this is their house.
00:30:27 --> 00:30:31 It's the classes are interactive, it's minds on, hands on.
00:30:31 --> 00:30:38 The girls talk to us. We make them talk to us. So it's a different kind of classroom.
00:30:38 --> 00:30:42 I was just talking to a big organization today who wanted to come in and work with us.
00:30:42 --> 00:30:46 And so I asked them, I said, well, how do you, what do your workshops look like?
00:30:46 --> 00:30:49 You know, and they really couldn't tell me. I mean, they were saying,
00:30:49 --> 00:30:53 oh, we use the PowerPoint and this is what we, how we teach the girls.
00:30:54 --> 00:31:01 And so you can't do that online with students. You can't just put in a PowerPoint and lecture to a child.
00:31:01 --> 00:31:06 We don't allow anybody to come in our classrooms and lecture to the girls for over 10 minutes.
00:31:07 --> 00:31:11 After that, it has to be an interactive experience.
00:31:12 --> 00:31:19 Yeah. So my mom established the first teen clinic in the city of Chicago.
00:31:19 --> 00:31:20 She worked for the Department of Health.
00:31:22 --> 00:31:26 And, you know, that was groundbreaking. But, you know, because she was a health
00:31:26 --> 00:31:30 educator, it was more focused on dealing with sexually transmitted diseases
00:31:30 --> 00:31:32 and pregnancy and all that.
00:31:32 --> 00:31:34 But she would try to kind of get into...
00:31:35 --> 00:31:40 What they were thinking and all that stuff, but your class, what you just laid out,
00:31:40 --> 00:31:46 if, if those young ladies that, you know, were, were exposed to that,
00:31:46 --> 00:31:51 I think my mom's job would have been a lot easier because, you know,
00:31:52 --> 00:31:56 cause there's a whole lot of components that lead to certain activities.
00:31:56 --> 00:32:02 Yeah. And it sounds like that, that, you know, you over this,
00:32:02 --> 00:32:07 these 21 years and figured out, all right, we need to address this. We need to go after that.
00:32:07 --> 00:32:12 And you seem to be very, very flexible in doing that. That's pretty awesome.
00:32:13 --> 00:32:19 You're definitely steps above the public education system as we know it in the
00:32:19 --> 00:32:21 United States now, in my opinion.
00:32:23 --> 00:32:28 Yeah. Well, another thing is we ask the girls when we have to update the classes,
00:32:28 --> 00:32:29 you know, what do you want to learn?
00:32:29 --> 00:32:33 Now, of course, we can't take everything in that they say. But say,
00:32:33 --> 00:32:37 for example, with our podcast, we may have girls who are on the spectrum.
00:32:37 --> 00:32:43 So they decided that they wanted to do a podcast about what it's like to be
00:32:43 --> 00:32:47 Black, queer, and on the spectrum.
00:32:47 --> 00:32:49 Now, you don't hear that conversation coming out of girls' mouths.
00:32:50 --> 00:32:54 So we want their voices to be heard all throughout the world.
00:32:54 --> 00:32:59 Because when you think about it, the young girl of color, particularly the black
00:32:59 --> 00:33:02 girl, has historically been invisible.
00:33:03 --> 00:33:06 Everybody thinks she's okay, but she's not okay.
00:33:07 --> 00:33:12 So we allow our girls to, you know, we encourage them to use their voice and
00:33:12 --> 00:33:16 show them that their voice matters and can make a difference.
00:33:17 --> 00:33:22 How has the current political climate impacted your nonprofit work?
00:33:22 --> 00:33:28 Has it had an effect on the students? Has it had an effect on you raising money?
00:33:28 --> 00:33:32 Has it had no effect at all as far as what you're trying to do?
00:33:32 --> 00:33:36 Yeah, I guess I would say, am I going to let it impact us?
00:33:36 --> 00:33:42 You know, again, I draw on those indigenous things that we did in the past that
00:33:42 --> 00:33:45 made us come over and get through it.
00:33:45 --> 00:33:48 So we're not going to let it.
00:33:49 --> 00:33:53 I always talked about federal funds for years. I said, you know,
00:33:53 --> 00:33:59 you got to think twice if you want to take federal funds because people can control your work.
00:33:59 --> 00:34:02 So we were lucky where we minimized that
00:34:02 --> 00:34:05 the impact I think the impact for
00:34:05 --> 00:34:13 us is the ability to take certain books is out of the libraries out of schools
00:34:13 --> 00:34:20 uh that sort of thing minimizing our black history I think that's traumatizing
00:34:20 --> 00:34:23 to black Americans across the board whether you're young or old.
00:34:24 --> 00:34:30 And it's almost like you can't listen to everything. I think all Black people
00:34:30 --> 00:34:32 need a therapist, you know, these days.
00:34:33 --> 00:34:40 Self-care is big at Evoluer House for the girls as well as our instructors
00:34:40 --> 00:34:43 because some of the things that we deal with is very heavy.
00:34:43 --> 00:34:45 It is absolutely heavy.
00:34:46 --> 00:34:50 So we have to make sure that we take care of ourselves because,
00:34:50 --> 00:34:52 you know, like we're hearing, like what you said in the political client,
00:34:53 --> 00:34:57 you're actually hearing that people don't like you because of your color of
00:34:57 --> 00:35:00 the skin, like that something's wrong with you.
00:35:00 --> 00:35:06 So you got to make sure that you, you know, that you're doing things to feel good.
00:35:06 --> 00:35:12 You're, you have a circle of friends, you have a network that is supportive. It's so important.
00:35:12 --> 00:35:17 And self-care is something that we're, Not only do we have rules at Evoluer House
00:35:17 --> 00:35:23 for staff, we also instill that with the girls. You've got to do self-care.
00:35:24 --> 00:35:29 For Black women, it's a must. Yeah. So since you mentioned government,
00:35:30 --> 00:35:35 the concept of the Evoluer House manifested from work that you were doing with
00:35:35 --> 00:35:39 the city governments in Camden, New Jersey, and in Philadelphia.
00:35:40 --> 00:35:45 What would you like to see other local governments do to help empower underserved
00:35:45 --> 00:35:47 girls throughout this country?
00:35:49 --> 00:35:53 Other cities, right? Yes, ma'am. you
00:35:53 --> 00:35:56 know that's that's really deep because every city has
00:35:56 --> 00:35:59 their own government that's going to take a lot
00:35:59 --> 00:36:04 of work and then you know some cities have corrupt governments I'm just being
00:36:04 --> 00:36:10 honest you know because I've seen it I had to experience you know getting money
00:36:10 --> 00:36:14 from wherever it came from federal or whatever and next thing you know the money's
00:36:14 --> 00:36:17 stolen by by a government system,
00:36:18 --> 00:36:25 And so the program, just children have to suffer because the program has to end because of that.
00:36:25 --> 00:36:32 So you were saying, what did you say you asked me about how does government impact?
00:36:33 --> 00:36:37 Well, what would you like to see other cities do?
00:36:37 --> 00:36:42 But based on that little short answer you gave, it sounds like it'd be better
00:36:42 --> 00:36:48 that it's a nonprofit organization outside of local government rather than being
00:36:48 --> 00:36:49 connected with government.
00:36:49 --> 00:36:54 I think sometimes you got to watch it. Yeah, you do. And I'm being honest.
00:36:55 --> 00:36:56 And this is my experience.
00:36:56 --> 00:37:02 I know locally, I was just shocked at the way government would treat children
00:37:02 --> 00:37:06 of color and what they thought was acceptable.
00:37:07 --> 00:37:11 So, you know, again, it's this mindset that we don't have to do anything or
00:37:11 --> 00:37:16 we don't have to do much or, you know, you can throw crumbs to the poor little
00:37:16 --> 00:37:19 black and brown kids. Yeah.
00:37:20 --> 00:37:24 Well, as somebody that's been an elected official and has had to fight those
00:37:24 --> 00:37:28 battles inside of the Capitol or inside of halls of government,
00:37:28 --> 00:37:30 I definitely understand what you're saying.
00:37:31 --> 00:37:38 And I am not just trying to say, oh, well, you got to have government to do it.
00:37:39 --> 00:37:44 But, you know, I just I just wanted to kind of get your your opinion about that,
00:37:44 --> 00:37:47 because there's a lot of people that feel that way, that it's like,
00:37:47 --> 00:37:51 you know, I don't trust the government to do this and all that.
00:37:51 --> 00:37:55 It don't matter if I got some good people in government that I trust and they'll
00:37:55 --> 00:37:56 fight for us and all that.
00:37:56 --> 00:38:02 It's just the system is so messed up that we've got to do what we need to do.
00:38:02 --> 00:38:05 We need to be self-sufficient to deal with our children.
00:38:06 --> 00:38:12 Yeah. So that's why I do what I do the way I do, because the system has failed us. Yeah.
00:38:13 --> 00:38:19 Mm-hmm. So COVID kind of forced the Evoluer House to go virtual.
00:38:20 --> 00:38:26 Was that a blessing in disguise for you? It was. It really was because that's how we went national.
00:38:27 --> 00:38:30 The minute we put the word out there that registration was open,
00:38:30 --> 00:38:33 girls came from Atlanta, Texas, Arizona.
00:38:33 --> 00:38:37 And then we got our first international student from Liberia.
00:38:37 --> 00:38:43 I don't know how she found us, but social media is the World Wide Web.
00:38:43 --> 00:38:46 So, yeah, it was actually a blessing.
00:38:46 --> 00:38:50 Now, the unfortunate thing, we have parents that died. A lot of parents died.
00:38:51 --> 00:38:54 The kids had to go out and work to support the family. Then they got sick.
00:38:55 --> 00:39:00 And I think the impact that it had, particularly on the Black community,
00:39:00 --> 00:39:02 that it's not talked about much.
00:39:02 --> 00:39:05 It was a terrible impact. and even
00:39:05 --> 00:39:08 I had caught COVID and I do everything I
00:39:08 --> 00:39:11 can now not to catch it again because a
00:39:11 --> 00:39:14 lot of times you can we have a succession plan in
00:39:14 --> 00:39:17 place but a lot of times when the leader
00:39:17 --> 00:39:21 you know dies the dream dies
00:39:21 --> 00:39:24 so you know people are always asking me
00:39:24 --> 00:39:28 and I think it's out of their pure ignorance when are you going to go back in
00:39:28 --> 00:39:33 person I want to see you in person in person sounds good but they just got like
00:39:33 --> 00:39:38 little peaks of COVID popping up and we're just not ready to go back because
00:39:38 --> 00:39:42 also your employees, if they catch COVID, they can sue you.
00:39:42 --> 00:39:45 So we're not ready yet.
00:39:45 --> 00:39:51 And the fact that if we can get our outcomes and do powerful sessions online,
00:39:52 --> 00:39:54 I mean, our outcomes are amazing.
00:39:55 --> 00:40:01 Why do we have to really rush to get back in person, which is somebody else's wishes?
00:40:01 --> 00:40:07 So, you know, a lot of times people aren't really doing great work in person,
00:40:07 --> 00:40:16 but, you know, we've managed to be able to really serve our girls well and with quality programming.
00:40:17 --> 00:40:24 Yeah. So the challenge of, like you said, it's like it's it started off in-house.
00:40:24 --> 00:40:27 You've branched out now through through through the Internet,
00:40:28 --> 00:40:32 but you're still getting the same outcomes as you were getting when you had
00:40:32 --> 00:40:35 the girls like in your in your physical presence.
00:40:35 --> 00:40:41 So I mean, if you're getting the same result, why why mess with it?
00:40:41 --> 00:40:44 Just just consider it an opportunity to continue to grow.
00:40:44 --> 00:40:49 So speaking about growing, let's close this out by, since this is the holiday
00:40:49 --> 00:40:56 season and people like to give during the holiday season, how can people support
00:40:56 --> 00:40:58 the work that you're doing at the Evoluer House?
00:40:58 --> 00:41:05 And how can people get in touch with you if they want to get some ideas about
00:41:05 --> 00:41:11 how to do something similar or just, you know, how you get through the day, whatever?
00:41:11 --> 00:41:15 How can people reach out to you and do and support the Evoluer House?
00:41:15 --> 00:41:22 Yes, so they can contact us through our website, which is EvoluerHouse.org.
00:41:22 --> 00:41:26 And they can follow us on social media to get an idea of some of the things
00:41:26 --> 00:41:29 that we're doing on social media, on Instagram.
00:41:29 --> 00:41:34 And it is the Evoluer House on Facebook and Twitter.
00:41:34 --> 00:41:36 It is Evoluer House.
00:41:37 --> 00:41:42 So we welcome you to come and connect with us. But I'm easy to get in touch with.
00:41:42 --> 00:41:48 I just ask that you call with, we like to talk about how can we help our girls.
00:41:49 --> 00:41:53 So if the conversation isn't about helping our girls or giving us money,
00:41:54 --> 00:41:56 you know, you might not want to call.
00:41:59 --> 00:42:04 I also want to say right now we have an online auction going on, but this is on Monday.
00:42:04 --> 00:42:08 It's going to end this week. But you can always give to, you can donate on our website.
00:42:08 --> 00:42:11 We're always looking for grants and money.
00:42:12 --> 00:42:17 You know, it takes a lot of money. It costs more than $1 per girl to educate
00:42:17 --> 00:42:20 our girls. And we get out there and have to raise that money.
00:42:20 --> 00:42:23 So we could always look for support.
00:42:24 --> 00:42:28 Well, Cheryl Ann Wadlington, let me just say this to you.
00:42:28 --> 00:42:33 I think that not only did you accept your brother's challenge,
00:42:33 --> 00:42:36 but you've gone above and beyond.
00:42:37 --> 00:42:41 I think it's one of the most incredible success stories that's out there.
00:42:41 --> 00:42:45 I'm glad that you have been recognized for the work that you're doing.
00:42:46 --> 00:42:55 But I still think that you and others that are trying to help our children, need to be uplifted.
00:42:55 --> 00:42:58 So that's why I offered the invitation for you to come on.
00:42:59 --> 00:43:02 And I am greatly honored that you accept it.
00:43:02 --> 00:43:08 And I hope you continue to have great success because I have a selfless interest.
00:43:09 --> 00:43:15 You know, I want Black children, male and female, to survive and thrive and
00:43:15 --> 00:43:16 live abundantly in this country.
00:43:16 --> 00:43:20 So I definitely want you to continue to succeed. So thank you again for coming
00:43:20 --> 00:43:24 on, and thank you again for the work that you're doing.
00:43:24 --> 00:43:26 Thank you so much. It's been a pleasure.
00:43:27 --> 00:43:29 All right, guys, and we're going to catch y'all on the other side.
00:43:50 --> 00:43:55 So now it is time for my next guest, Kristen Torres.
00:43:57 --> 00:44:03 Kristen Torres. She is a public policy strategist with more than a decade of
00:44:03 --> 00:44:06 experience at the intersection of advocacy and legislative strategy.
00:44:07 --> 00:44:13 She is the founder of Torres Consulting LLC, where she leads federal advocacy
00:44:13 --> 00:44:18 efforts that elevate nonprofits, local governments, and mission-driven organizations on Capitol Hill.
00:44:18 --> 00:44:24 Her work includes connecting clients directly with decision makers in Congress and federal agencies.
00:44:25 --> 00:44:30 Previously, Kristen served as a senior legislative assistant in the U.S.
00:44:30 --> 00:44:34 House of Representatives, advising on immigration, labor protections,
00:44:34 --> 00:44:37 voting rights, early childhood and child welfare.
00:44:37 --> 00:44:41 She has advanced legislation, secured community project funding,
00:44:41 --> 00:44:47 and led initiatives to expand health care equity, mental health and public safety,
00:44:47 --> 00:44:48 and worker protections.
00:44:49 --> 00:44:54 She also served as senior policy director at First Focus Campaign for Children,
00:44:55 --> 00:45:01 where she managed the national coalition and led successful campaigns to expand
00:45:01 --> 00:45:04 Medicaid access for youth formally in foster care.
00:45:04 --> 00:45:10 An HRSA grant recipient and policy fellow in Washington, D.C.,
00:45:10 --> 00:45:16 Kristen holds a BSW from Mississippi College and an MSW from the University of Alabama.
00:45:17 --> 00:45:23 As a single co-parent of two teenagers, she brings a lived commitment to making
00:45:23 --> 00:45:28 public policy accessible and ensuring that communities most impacted by federal
00:45:28 --> 00:45:31 decisions have a voice in shaping them.
00:45:31 --> 00:45:36 Ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct honor and privilege to have as a guest
00:45:36 --> 00:45:39 on this podcast, Kristen Torres.
00:45:52 --> 00:45:56 Torres. How are you doing? I'm well, I'm well. I'm excited to be here.
00:45:56 --> 00:45:58 Well, I'm honored to have you on.
00:45:59 --> 00:46:06 I noticed something about you and I said, yeah, I need to have her on.
00:46:06 --> 00:46:16 I usually try to get people that are doing things and they may not get all the headlines.
00:46:17 --> 00:46:22 And in your profession, you more than likely don't want to be in the headlines,
00:46:22 --> 00:46:25 being a lobbyist on Capitol Hill.
00:46:25 --> 00:46:31 But I wanted you to come on because I had a classmate of mine who was a lobbyist
00:46:31 --> 00:46:36 for a long time, and he's been on the show, and he's from Mississippi.
00:46:37 --> 00:46:41 And so I wanted to, because I knew that you had that Mississippi background,
00:46:41 --> 00:46:48 I wanted to get your perspective on what's going on because he went to like a firm,
00:46:48 --> 00:46:56 after he was a staffer for a long time, and you kind of have the same path,
00:46:57 --> 00:47:01 same background, although you were a staffer more recently than him,
00:47:01 --> 00:47:05 so I definitely wanted to pick your brain a little bit about what's going on.
00:47:05 --> 00:47:14 Absolutely. So you're familiar with the show, so the first thing I'm going to do is offer you a quote.
00:47:14 --> 00:47:20 And your quote is, advocacy is not just about influencing policy.
00:47:20 --> 00:47:26 It's about improving people's lives and opening doors for communities that are
00:47:26 --> 00:47:28 often left out of the conversation.
00:47:28 --> 00:47:29 What does that quote mean to you?
00:47:31 --> 00:47:36 Yeah, I think it's been sort of the platform for my newly started firm that
00:47:36 --> 00:47:40 I've been working on this past year, but also my advocacy work on the Hill.
00:47:40 --> 00:47:44 A lot of trying to make sure that's not only the big pharmaceutical companies,
00:47:45 --> 00:47:49 the large corporations that are getting a say in policy, although they do.
00:47:49 --> 00:47:53 I mean, it's clear they get a lot of folks on the Hill.
00:47:53 --> 00:47:58 But where some of my work, specifically, I sort of cut my teeth in policy in
00:47:58 --> 00:47:59 the child welfare space.
00:47:59 --> 00:48:03 And so a lot of organizations that work in the foster care industry,
00:48:03 --> 00:48:06 keeping families together, preventing child abuse and neglect.
00:48:06 --> 00:48:11 Those are very small firms, very small organizations with limited capacity to
00:48:11 --> 00:48:13 sort of get their stories to Capitol Hill.
00:48:13 --> 00:48:19 And so as a staffer, I would be on one hand, I handled those sorts of organizations,
00:48:20 --> 00:48:23 economic policies, etc. But I also had a defense portfolio.
00:48:24 --> 00:48:27 I know on the House side, you tend to have a lot of portfolios at once.
00:48:28 --> 00:48:33 But it was just very, very, very apparent that when the defense lobbyists would
00:48:33 --> 00:48:38 come in, they didn't have to give me a lot of stories. They didn't have to try to win me over.
00:48:38 --> 00:48:41 All they would do is say, we wrote this bill for you, put it in front of your
00:48:41 --> 00:48:43 boss, see if she says yes or no.
00:48:43 --> 00:48:48 Versus the nonprofit, the small organizations, they have to do so much work
00:48:48 --> 00:48:54 to try to get, you know, members of Congress to even understand why their issues are so important.
00:48:54 --> 00:48:58 And so I think that's been a big part of my work. I am a social worker by trade,
00:48:58 --> 00:49:00 which I know you have a lot of social workers on the podcast.
00:49:00 --> 00:49:04 And so this has sort of been sort of an extension of that work that I do.
00:49:05 --> 00:49:08 Social workers rule the world, right? We do.
00:49:09 --> 00:49:15 All right. So now the next icebreaker is 20 questions. So I need you to give
00:49:15 --> 00:49:16 me a number between one and 20.
00:49:17 --> 00:49:20 I'm going to go right down the middle, 10. All right.
00:49:21 --> 00:49:29 What one fact do you wish people who voted differently than you in the last election knew?
00:49:30 --> 00:49:35 Do I wish they knew? Sorry, could you repeat that? What one fact do you wish
00:49:35 --> 00:49:41 people who voted differently than you in the last election knew,
00:49:41 --> 00:49:44 I guess, about you? That's interesting.
00:49:46 --> 00:49:49 You know, I think there's been a little bit, I am, you know,
00:49:49 --> 00:49:54 coming from a very red state and working more on the progressive policy side.
00:49:54 --> 00:49:59 There's always this just sort of misconception or this idea that,
00:49:59 --> 00:50:05 you know, I've been indoctrinated or infiltrated by, you know, some foreign alien.
00:50:05 --> 00:50:11 But I think it's because of my growing up where I did and coming out of,
00:50:11 --> 00:50:17 you know, very rural areas of Mississippi with policies that are just not great
00:50:17 --> 00:50:19 for the people that live there and for the state in itself.
00:50:19 --> 00:50:24 I think that is sort of pushed some of my current political ideology.
00:50:24 --> 00:50:28 Anyway, all that to say, I think I wish people knew that I do understand and
00:50:28 --> 00:50:31 I understand sometimes the arguments that come from both sides.
00:50:31 --> 00:50:34 And I still choose where I am today. Yeah.
00:50:35 --> 00:50:40 Yeah. Well, that's good. So how did a girl from central Mississippi become a
00:50:40 --> 00:50:42 lobbyist on Capitol Hill?
00:50:43 --> 00:50:47 It's a great question, one in which I will selfishly plug.
00:50:47 --> 00:50:51 I'm hopefully writing a—I have started a draft of a book to try to answer that
00:50:51 --> 00:50:57 question. I think it's not rooted in anything just like, bam, this one huge event.
00:50:57 --> 00:51:01 I think my life is sort of scattered of a lot of different occurrences along
00:51:01 --> 00:51:07 my journey that sort of chipped away at some of my— I came from a very religious,
00:51:07 --> 00:51:15 fundamental Christianity community, which obviously impacted or influenced my political beliefs.
00:51:16 --> 00:51:19 And so throughout my life, I've sort of been trying to untangle those two and
00:51:19 --> 00:51:20 see what that looks like.
00:51:20 --> 00:51:25 But I will just say it has been a series of small personal instances throughout
00:51:25 --> 00:51:29 my journey, meeting with folks who did not believe or grow up the same way that
00:51:29 --> 00:51:33 I did, hearing and listening to stories of others whose journey was just very different.
00:51:33 --> 00:51:38 Even as a child growing up in Mississippi, I grew up, as I'm sure you know,
00:51:38 --> 00:51:41 it's still, regardless if government-sanctioned or not, it's still very segregated,
00:51:42 --> 00:51:44 churches, schools, communities.
00:51:44 --> 00:51:48 And so my journey growing up in Mississippi was very different from some of
00:51:48 --> 00:51:53 my Black classmates and other colleagues that I've met throughout my, you know, growing up.
00:51:53 --> 00:51:57 And so I think a lot of it's just been a lot of story, a lot of listening to
00:51:57 --> 00:52:02 other stories, a lot of empathy, a lot of, hey, you know, maybe this makes sense
00:52:02 --> 00:52:06 to you, but let me show you another reason why this doesn't make sense. Yeah.
00:52:07 --> 00:52:11 Yeah. It's a long path. Well, I understand. So where in Mississippi did you
00:52:11 --> 00:52:15 grow up? So I went to high school in Lawrence County, so in Monticello, Mississippi.
00:52:15 --> 00:52:22 But my parents, we lived in a small community called New Hebron near Prentice. And yeah.
00:52:23 --> 00:52:28 And then my grandparents lived in Leak County, so Carthage, Mississippi. Okay. Yeah.
00:52:29 --> 00:52:32 That's Central Mississippi. There's no doubt about that. And you ended up going
00:52:32 --> 00:52:34 to Mississippi College.
00:52:35 --> 00:52:37 Well, so yeah, I guess I didn't really fully answer your question.
00:52:37 --> 00:52:40 So, I originally, I grew up as a preacher's kid.
00:52:40 --> 00:52:44 My dad's a pastor, very charismatic and very admired pastor.
00:52:44 --> 00:52:46 He still is in Raymond, Mississippi now.
00:52:46 --> 00:52:49 And that was something that I always kind of looked up to. And I thought,
00:52:50 --> 00:52:53 you know, I want to do something similar, modeled after that.
00:52:53 --> 00:52:56 For women, there are not a lot of options for that. And so, I originally went
00:52:56 --> 00:53:01 to the theological school, theology school, wow, that's tongue twister,
00:53:02 --> 00:53:07 to study Christian counseling. And it was, you know, sort of my version of what my dad was doing.
00:53:07 --> 00:53:10 That was around a time where I started being introduced to different cultures
00:53:10 --> 00:53:14 and different, you know, political stances and just life, right?
00:53:14 --> 00:53:17 I was 19 years old. There was a lot of transitioning happening.
00:53:17 --> 00:53:20 And from there, I was introduced to the field of social work.
00:53:21 --> 00:53:25 Counseling, helping with a little bit of a twist, right? And so from there,
00:53:26 --> 00:53:30 I decided after I went back to school for my master's, the University of Alabama
00:53:30 --> 00:53:33 has a program where you can go to D.C. for a fellowship.
00:53:34 --> 00:53:38 And that was around 2015, which, as you know, there was a lot happening in the country.
00:53:39 --> 00:53:43 And I just made the decision there that I wanted to start speaking out on some
00:53:43 --> 00:53:45 of these broader issues. Yeah. Okay.
00:53:46 --> 00:53:49 Yeah. So my deskmate who ended up being Speaker of the House,
00:53:49 --> 00:53:52 Philip Gunn. That's his alma mater.
00:53:52 --> 00:53:56 So, and then I represented part of Clinton.
00:53:56 --> 00:54:01 So my district didn't go all the way to the campus, but I was like right there
00:54:01 --> 00:54:06 because the campus is like downtown for those of y'all who are not from Mississippi.
00:54:06 --> 00:54:08 Downtown to the highway is what they say.
00:54:10 --> 00:54:15 So what is the McDonald's? That's right.
00:54:15 --> 00:54:21 That's right. What is the most glaring difference you see now as compared to
00:54:21 --> 00:54:23 when you worked as a staffer?
00:54:24 --> 00:54:29 That's interesting. I've only been off the hill for a year. I celebrated my
00:54:29 --> 00:54:31 one-year anniversary this summer.
00:54:32 --> 00:54:39 And I think on a personal note, as a staffer, I'll just say people are constantly coming to you,
00:54:39 --> 00:54:43 giving you information, giving you things, and you sort of sort through it,
00:54:43 --> 00:54:48 But you never are like seeking out information and just on a very logistical
00:54:48 --> 00:54:50 level now being off the hill.
00:54:50 --> 00:54:54 I am the one now looking and saying, hey, can you get me information on X, Y and Z?
00:54:55 --> 00:54:59 Or, you know, how can I find out what really is happening based off of this
00:54:59 --> 00:55:00 news article that I just sent?
00:55:00 --> 00:55:03 So that's been one just on the logistical side.
00:55:03 --> 00:55:09 I think the other thing is because I am no longer sort of tied to a specific
00:55:09 --> 00:55:14 member of Congress or district, I have a little more ability to work.
00:55:16 --> 00:55:20 I will say bipartisanly, I do a lot of bipartisan work, but it does give me
00:55:20 --> 00:55:24 just a little more breadth on who I'm able to reach out to and talk to versus
00:55:24 --> 00:55:28 I was sort of working with a certain group of members when I was a staffer.
00:55:29 --> 00:55:35 I guess the other question I want to ask is how did they, how did somebody from
00:55:35 --> 00:55:38 Mississippi end up working for a representative from California?
00:55:39 --> 00:55:43 Yeah, a lot of people ask, and I'm sure, you know, it's the same,
00:55:43 --> 00:55:49 maybe, I don't know, the same on the state level, but when hiring assistants,
00:55:49 --> 00:55:54 they're looking for both policy expertise in the areas in which the member has
00:55:54 --> 00:55:56 to focus on and wants to focus on,
00:55:56 --> 00:56:00 as well as familiarity with the district and or state that they are from.
00:56:00 --> 00:56:03 So for me, the particular office
00:56:03 --> 00:56:06 had a very specific policy ask that they were looking for in their...
00:56:07 --> 00:56:11 Child welfare, child care, human services, as well as their civil rights and immigration.
00:56:11 --> 00:56:14 So it's hard. Usually folks don't do the intersection of those two.
00:56:14 --> 00:56:16 And I happen to have that experience.
00:56:16 --> 00:56:19 My family, my dad, my grandmother is Native Hawaiian.
00:56:20 --> 00:56:24 His family lived both in Hawaii and in Southern California. So I do have a lot
00:56:24 --> 00:56:26 of families still out in Southern California.
00:56:27 --> 00:56:33 Yeah, because usually the Congress people try to get people,
00:56:33 --> 00:56:38 you know, definitely for there's in their, in their districts,
00:56:38 --> 00:56:42 they pick people from within the state, but in Washington,
00:56:42 --> 00:56:47 a lot of people pick people from their state because they, they don't trust anybody.
00:56:49 --> 00:56:54 They want to have, they want to have a connection to home.
00:56:55 --> 00:57:02 And so that's why they'll, they'll bring people up. So it gives people from respective States.
00:57:02 --> 00:57:05 It doesn't matter if it's Mississippi Georgia Idaho Wyoming
00:57:05 --> 00:57:11 it gives people from those those places an opportunity to to start a career
00:57:11 --> 00:57:15 in dc if they want to if they if that's actually another point that I I should
00:57:15 --> 00:57:22 have not I I I do have you know my political views are very progressive and democratic and so,
00:57:23 --> 00:57:28 they're not you know from Mississippi we got the one member of congress that
00:57:28 --> 00:57:29 I have the option to work for.
00:57:29 --> 00:57:32 And at the time I did get to meet him and speak with him. And he was like,
00:57:33 --> 00:57:35 I've got a student from every school currently.
00:57:36 --> 00:57:39 So yeah, we do have to kind of get creative in who we reach out to.
00:57:39 --> 00:57:42 Yeah. Well, at least he got to meet you because you, you, you,
00:57:42 --> 00:57:46 you were, you were a student in his district. So that, that, that's important.
00:57:46 --> 00:57:51 But like you said, when you only have one option, you kind of,
00:57:51 --> 00:57:53 you kind of limited on what they could do.
00:57:54 --> 00:58:00 How much of a challenge has the current political climate been to your work as a lobbyist?
00:58:01 --> 00:58:06 And I understand it's only been a year, but, you know, how has that been?
00:58:07 --> 00:58:13 Because you said you have a bipartisan clientele. So how is that working out?
00:58:14 --> 00:58:17 Yeah, I think it goes to your point of that trust.
00:58:17 --> 00:58:24 There's a lot of mistrust of people across the aisle. And that's gotten much
00:58:24 --> 00:58:28 more inflamed over the last few years since this last election, I would even say.
00:58:28 --> 00:58:33 And so because I have worked for a member, a Democratic member,
00:58:33 --> 00:58:37 sometimes that immediately shuts a lot of doors for me in a current administration
00:58:37 --> 00:58:42 that is on the opposite side. And so I think that's been something that's been
00:58:42 --> 00:58:43 really hard to deal with.
00:58:43 --> 00:58:47 I am very, you know, being from the South is something that,
00:58:47 --> 00:58:50 you know, we talk SEC, right?
00:58:51 --> 00:58:55 We talk all things football and farming, and there's a lot of camaraderie amongst
00:58:55 --> 00:59:00 the members. but I've seen that less and less over the past year or two.
00:59:00 --> 00:59:03 A lot of things that used to sort of bring us together where we could agree
00:59:03 --> 00:59:09 on, I think folks are a lot less willing to sort of be in the same room with other folks.
00:59:09 --> 00:59:12 I mean, there's just so much distrust. Are you recording me?
00:59:12 --> 00:59:15 Are you going to, you know, put this in the papers?
00:59:16 --> 00:59:19 So that's been challenging, especially when part of my job is to introduce clients
00:59:19 --> 00:59:21 to administrative agencies.
00:59:22 --> 00:59:25 So that's been something that I have really really struggled
00:59:25 --> 00:59:29 with in this first year when I initially left in July I'll
00:59:29 --> 00:59:32 be honest I I kind of thought we were going to be having a Harris administration
00:59:32 --> 00:59:38 and so I had a lot of friends in the Biden administration and on a business level
00:59:38 --> 00:59:42 it sounded like a good idea but it's definitely been something I've been working
00:59:42 --> 00:59:46 on this past year yeah yeah I know in politics you got to kind of hedge your
00:59:46 --> 00:59:48 bets a little bit never forget when um,
00:59:49 --> 00:59:53 The last time I ran for the U.S. Senate, that was in 2008.
00:59:54 --> 01:00:00 And, you know, in Mississippi, it's a hard nut to crack to be a Democrat running statewide.
01:00:01 --> 01:00:06 But it was so funny, like around starting in August of that year,
01:00:06 --> 01:00:09 people started sending me resume.
01:00:09 --> 01:00:14 And I thought that was, you know, I was like, I think I could win this thing.
01:00:14 --> 01:00:16 I mean, people were said to be resumes.
01:00:16 --> 01:00:19 They were like, look, because, of course, Obama was running that same year.
01:00:19 --> 01:00:24 And so people were like, well, you know, he's a black guy. Obama's a black guy.
01:00:24 --> 01:00:27 It might happen, especially in Mississippi. Right.
01:00:28 --> 01:00:33 So, yeah. And so I definitely know about hedging bets. And I was just flattered
01:00:33 --> 01:00:35 that that people were doing that.
01:00:35 --> 01:00:42 And I do, by the way, that state run race, you know, in such a state like Mississippi is a feat in itself.
01:00:42 --> 01:00:45 Well yeah yeah but it
01:00:45 --> 01:00:48 you know 2006 fell kind of
01:00:48 --> 01:00:50 in that but it was a different vibe then too because it
01:00:50 --> 01:00:54 was right after Katrina and and so
01:00:54 --> 01:00:58 a lot of people said that you know I should have saved all my eggs for that
01:00:58 --> 01:01:02 one big shot but if I didn't run an 06 I wouldn't have been a better candidate
01:01:02 --> 01:01:09 in 08 right and and you know to have the opportunity to do that twice and and
01:01:09 --> 01:01:11 you know a A lot of people say, well, it was Mississippi.
01:01:11 --> 01:01:14 You probably was unopposed. I said, no, I literally had like,
01:01:15 --> 01:01:18 in the span of those two primaries, like five or six opponents.
01:01:19 --> 01:01:24 So I had to actually run in a primary contested and then get in there.
01:01:25 --> 01:01:31 But yeah, it's just a different vibe, but, you know, it's doable.
01:01:32 --> 01:01:40 I guess people could say it's courageous now, but I never looked at it as being courageous.
01:01:40 --> 01:01:48 I think that, you know, good people should run no matter how imperfect you are as far as like life.
01:01:49 --> 01:01:53 If your heart's in the right place, then then you should.
01:01:53 --> 01:01:58 If you want to run for public office, you should run. I always Jesse Jackson
01:01:58 --> 01:02:00 said, I'm not a perfect servant. I'm a public servant. Right.
01:02:01 --> 01:02:06 So I just yeah, I never looked at it as being courageous, but I appreciate your kind words on that.
01:02:06 --> 01:02:12 So how has your background in social work helped you being,
01:02:13 --> 01:02:18 you kind of talked about the specifics dealing with child welfare,
01:02:18 --> 01:02:25 but is there a skill set in social work that helps you become a better lobbyist?
01:02:26 --> 01:02:31 Absolutely. And I speak to, I still work with students from the University of
01:02:31 --> 01:02:35 Alabama and other social work schools across the country who are looking to
01:02:35 --> 01:02:38 get more of their students into the public policy world.
01:02:38 --> 01:02:42 And that is because, yes, we absolutely, there's a skill set. One.
01:02:43 --> 01:02:45 Originally, in your clinical teachings, you're taught empathy,
01:02:45 --> 01:02:50 you're taught the ability to listen, to engage your clients where they are.
01:02:50 --> 01:02:53 And that was a huge skill for me on the Hill.
01:02:53 --> 01:02:58 My member of Congress was a psychologist, so she also had a very similar approach
01:02:58 --> 01:03:01 to listening to constituents and dealing with constituents.
01:03:01 --> 01:03:05 And I felt I was very lucky to have someone to sort of mirror that after.
01:03:06 --> 01:03:09 And I felt a lot of the folks that came into our room appreciate it.
01:03:09 --> 01:03:13 Whether it was something we agreed on or not on the policy, I do think there's
01:03:13 --> 01:03:19 always that level of listening and understanding that I was taught during my undergrad degree.
01:03:19 --> 01:03:23 The other thing is, you know, realizing unintended consequences.
01:03:23 --> 01:03:28 So I think that's something that as a social worker, you're taught on both the
01:03:28 --> 01:03:34 macro and micro levels, that taking something on its face doesn't mean that's
01:03:34 --> 01:03:37 how it's implemented or how it actually turns out in real life.
01:03:37 --> 01:03:40 You know giving a family I don't
01:03:40 --> 01:03:43 want to get into specifics I guess but I think you know
01:03:43 --> 01:03:46 what may seem like a good idea for a
01:03:46 --> 01:03:49 moment and helping to empower a family may actually not
01:03:49 --> 01:03:54 be something that empowers them in the end and so in policy development having
01:03:54 --> 01:03:59 to look at that a lot and it sort of distinguished me from my colleagues who
01:03:59 --> 01:04:02 had a law degree and other degrees because they are taught very much to look
01:04:02 --> 01:04:06 directly at the letter of the law and I think my skill set came in and saying,
01:04:07 --> 01:04:10 I see that, but I want to kind of like talk to you about what might be,
01:04:10 --> 01:04:14 you know, some hidden biases here or some things that may actually show up that
01:04:14 --> 01:04:16 disproportionately impact certain communities.
01:04:17 --> 01:04:21 And I feel like I absolutely attribute that to my social work background.
01:04:21 --> 01:04:30 Yeah. And so, you develop a skill set where you can build trust too,
01:04:30 --> 01:04:35 because in order to be able to help a client, you have to have the trust of that client.
01:04:36 --> 01:04:41 And that kind of goes back to something that you said in answering the last question.
01:04:42 --> 01:04:45 Which you distracted me because you flattered me. What I wanted to bring up
01:04:45 --> 01:04:51 was that, you know, when I was in the legislature, I remember the lobbyists
01:04:51 --> 01:04:56 would come and say, hey, look, you know, I want to have a dinner with the committee.
01:04:56 --> 01:05:01 They go to the committee chair, and it didn't matter, Democrat,
01:05:01 --> 01:05:03 Republican, dog, cat, we all showed up, right?
01:05:04 --> 01:05:08 And that kind of helped me as a legislator get to know my colleagues because
01:05:08 --> 01:05:09 it was an informal setting.
01:05:09 --> 01:05:15 But, you know, I've heard reports at the state level and to some degree at the
01:05:15 --> 01:05:21 federal level that now the lobbyists just pick a side.
01:05:21 --> 01:05:26 Right. That it's like, since the Republicans are in charge, then we'll just
01:05:26 --> 01:05:31 entertain the Republicans and not worry about the Democrats because,
01:05:31 --> 01:05:36 you know, we figure they're probably not going to either vote our way or they don't influence.
01:05:37 --> 01:05:41 They don't have the influence to get something through. So why waste our time?
01:05:42 --> 01:05:46 And I just I just thought that was insane. I said, you know,
01:05:46 --> 01:05:54 if I was when I was a lobbyist, I was trying to get every member to vote for what I was pushing.
01:05:54 --> 01:05:58 You know what I'm saying? I wanted to be able to go to my boss and say, look, 122 to nothing.
01:05:59 --> 01:06:03 You know, that's yeah, that's the goal to me. But now it was just like,
01:06:03 --> 01:06:05 well, you know, we get all the Republicans we're in.
01:06:05 --> 01:06:10 I mean, how is how is it like working in that vibe?
01:06:11 --> 01:06:15 Just as you think it might be. It is discouraging.
01:06:15 --> 01:06:19 I have several mentors that have been, you know, worked in Congress decades
01:06:19 --> 01:06:23 ago and even, you know, five, 10 years ago who have talked to me,
01:06:23 --> 01:06:26 you know, this is how it used to be, very much similar to what you just described.
01:06:27 --> 01:06:31 And Congress is very different these days. You know, a lot of folks will,
01:06:31 --> 01:06:34 they call it broken, but I think one of the things is, you know,
01:06:34 --> 01:06:37 it has become such a partisan divide and because we are so,
01:06:37 --> 01:06:41 it's 50, you know, we're what, two votes off in the House? You know,
01:06:41 --> 01:06:43 it's a very slim majority.
01:06:43 --> 01:06:48 And so trying to think of strategy to push something forward,
01:06:48 --> 01:06:53 you do have to sort of focus on, okay, let me tailor my messaging towards one
01:06:53 --> 01:06:59 party and let me talk about my client's needs in a way that they will understand
01:06:59 --> 01:07:01 and that they might be sympathetic.
01:07:02 --> 01:07:05 And then you sort of pivot and turn to another party and say,
01:07:05 --> 01:07:08 okay, I want to talk about the same issue, but I want to put it in words that
01:07:08 --> 01:07:10 maybe you maybe appreciate a little more.
01:07:11 --> 01:07:15 So there's not really, there are not really options where you have everyone in the same room.
01:07:15 --> 01:07:19 But I do know there's, you know, an increasingly number of folks that are looking
01:07:19 --> 01:07:23 to, you know, stay at the net bipartisan margin. Yeah.
01:07:24 --> 01:07:32 Yeah. I have a classmate from high school and she stayed in Chicago and and.
01:07:34 --> 01:07:39 She had a niche because, you know, Chicago is a heavily Democratic city,
01:07:39 --> 01:07:42 but people run as Republicans from time to time.
01:07:42 --> 01:07:49 And so she basically would, she had built a business where it's like,
01:07:50 --> 01:07:52 all right, you Republican candidates, you want to win in Chicago?
01:07:53 --> 01:07:59 Let me do your messaging for you, right? So you can relate to these people that
01:07:59 --> 01:08:01 you're trying to get to break a tradition.
01:08:01 --> 01:08:08 So I think it's a very important skill set that you have to be able to go up
01:08:08 --> 01:08:12 to somebody from, I don't know, I'm going to pick a Wyoming,
01:08:12 --> 01:08:16 the representative from Wyoming who's a Republican and ask her, hey, look,
01:08:16 --> 01:08:23 I need to look at this and turn right around and go grab somebody from New York
01:08:23 --> 01:08:29 State and address the same issue, but put it where they can understand.
01:08:29 --> 01:08:32 Man, that's a very special skill set you have to have.
01:08:33 --> 01:08:38 Yeah, and I think it's only our current, you know, our current situation has only inflamed that.
01:08:38 --> 01:08:42 I think there used to be, you know, there were ways that you would talk about
01:08:42 --> 01:08:47 things that, you know, you would try to think, oh, gosh, you know,
01:08:47 --> 01:08:50 sort of tailor, you know, how you talked about a certain topic.
01:08:50 --> 01:08:53 But now there are words on both sides that you can't use. You can't use certain
01:08:53 --> 01:08:57 words or they immediately block you out because, you know, the media,
01:08:57 --> 01:09:00 social media has sort of said this means this.
01:09:00 --> 01:09:05 And so, yeah, it's a very fine line. It takes a lot of just sort of just listening.
01:09:06 --> 01:09:10 Why do you think there's a negative connotation associated to lobbying?
01:09:11 --> 01:09:17 Lobbying. I think partly what I mentioned up front is that historically access
01:09:17 --> 01:09:20 to lobbying has been big money.
01:09:20 --> 01:09:27 Large corporations, large, you know, big pharma, et cetera. And I think that,
01:09:28 --> 01:09:32 And I won't say it's just a theory. You know, I would say even in practice,
01:09:32 --> 01:09:37 they, you know, those are generally the ones that get their voices heard by
01:09:37 --> 01:09:40 a member of Congress over a large portion of their constituents.
01:09:41 --> 01:09:47 And so I think that rightfully so has sort of followed through with the term.
01:09:47 --> 01:09:53 I do think there is an effort to sort of expand who has access to lending their
01:09:53 --> 01:09:57 voice to members of Congress and to the agencies and to the administration.
01:09:59 --> 01:10:02 It's a David and Goliath fight for sure. Yeah, yeah.
01:10:04 --> 01:10:08 Lobbyists used to get mad at me when I was in the legislature because I would
01:10:08 --> 01:10:10 introduce like 150 bills a year.
01:10:10 --> 01:10:13 And they'd say, there's no way you could pay attention to all that.
01:10:13 --> 01:10:17 And I said, if I came up with the bill, I'd probably have a good sense of what I was pushing.
01:10:19 --> 01:10:23 They said, why do you do that? And I said, well, obviously you don't want to
01:10:23 --> 01:10:28 work because if I didn't introduce this bill, we wouldn't have a conversation,
01:10:28 --> 01:10:30 right? And they just kind of like nod their head at it.
01:10:30 --> 01:10:36 I mean, it's a vital part of the process.
01:10:36 --> 01:10:43 Which leads me to my next question. Why should people in organizations hire a lobbyist? Hmm.
01:10:44 --> 01:10:48 I think the same reason that big corporations do. I think there is just such
01:10:48 --> 01:10:53 a large misunderstanding of the process, and maybe purposely so.
01:10:53 --> 01:10:56 It's just so wonky in the weeds.
01:10:56 --> 01:11:02 There are a lot of processes and things that, unless you do it on a daily basis,
01:11:02 --> 01:11:03 it just doesn't make sense.
01:11:04 --> 01:11:07 And so having someone to navigate that for you is really important.
01:11:08 --> 01:11:12 It's not just enough to tell your stories, unfortunately, to come before Congress.
01:11:13 --> 01:11:17 It is part of the process. And as I talk to social work students and other students
01:11:17 --> 01:11:22 across the country, I'm always, always, you know, making sure that they are
01:11:22 --> 01:11:23 out there telling their story.
01:11:24 --> 01:11:27 But sometimes when you're coming, for instance, when I was a staffer and I would
01:11:27 --> 01:11:32 have organizations come to me with their stories, I would feel a lot of empathy.
01:11:32 --> 01:11:36 I would want to do something, but I didn't know what to do because they didn't
01:11:36 --> 01:11:40 have the training to give me a result or give a result that they would like to see.
01:11:41 --> 01:11:44 Or, you know, they just came to me to fix the problem.
01:11:44 --> 01:11:50 And unfortunately, I did not have my wasn't didn't have the ability to fix their problem.
01:11:51 --> 01:11:55 And so sometimes a lot, you know, if you have a lobbyist, the lobbyist is able
01:11:55 --> 01:11:58 to look at what are the things Congress is focused on?
01:11:58 --> 01:12:02 What are the committees looking at? What are their jurisdictions? What do they care about?
01:12:03 --> 01:12:07 Are members, is there an appetite to move such? And, you know,
01:12:07 --> 01:12:10 I think a lot of this helps to navigate a lot of that.
01:12:11 --> 01:12:16 In addition to some of the logistics, like, hey, this is how you set up a meeting,
01:12:16 --> 01:12:17 you know, with your member of Congress.
01:12:18 --> 01:12:21 This is how you go in. And this is, you know, if you want to get to the member,
01:12:21 --> 01:12:26 you got to bring a constituent. If you want to, you know, educate this 21-year-old
01:12:26 --> 01:12:29 staffer, you know, don't throw a report at them.
01:12:29 --> 01:12:31 Let's give them a bullet page, you know, a one-pager.
01:12:31 --> 01:12:36 So a lot of things like that I think is really important and really important in moving something.
01:12:37 --> 01:12:40 And so if they think that's the goal of your organization is to move legislation,
01:12:40 --> 01:12:43 I really think it's important to have someone to help you navigate it.
01:12:44 --> 01:12:47 So I'm going to say this, and it may come across as negative,
01:12:48 --> 01:12:52 and that's fine. I'm used to getting blasted every now and then.
01:12:52 --> 01:13:00 But I think a lot of people that have causes, you know, have egos attached to the causes, right?
01:13:00 --> 01:13:04 So it's like it may be something that you're really passionate about in your
01:13:04 --> 01:13:09 home state or, you know, wherever you're based, you know, if you're nationally based or whatever.
01:13:09 --> 01:13:16 You can persuade the people in your organization. You can preach to the choir.
01:13:16 --> 01:13:22 But when you go up to the United States Congress or even your state legislature,
01:13:23 --> 01:13:27 right, these people are not easily persuaded.
01:13:28 --> 01:13:32 They got elected because they could persuade people.
01:13:32 --> 01:13:39 Really? And so, you know, the way that you can rouse a crowd or get people to
01:13:39 --> 01:13:42 show up to a meeting and all that might not...
01:13:43 --> 01:13:48 Speak the language of the people that you're trying to get to vote for something
01:13:48 --> 01:13:50 that will have a positive impact for you.
01:13:50 --> 01:13:56 Absolutely. So you need to have somebody that's familiar with the old phrase
01:13:56 --> 01:13:58 is know where the bathrooms are. Right.
01:13:58 --> 01:14:03 To be able to speak the language, go in, do what needs to be done, blah, blah.
01:14:03 --> 01:14:07 And even if you even if your role is just to say, OK,
01:14:07 --> 01:14:11 you need to your assignment is to talk to this representative,
01:14:11 --> 01:14:13 this representative, that representative,
01:14:13 --> 01:14:18 all that, that that's invaluable compared to just showing up.
01:14:18 --> 01:14:21 You know, it's not like Mr. Smith goes to Washington.
01:14:21 --> 01:14:24 It's like you just show up and it's like, I have a great idea and I'm going
01:14:24 --> 01:14:26 to convince Congress to vote for it.
01:14:27 --> 01:14:31 It's not Pollyannaish like that. But, yeah. Yeah.
01:14:31 --> 01:14:34 And in a world of, you know, new technology as well, you know,
01:14:35 --> 01:14:39 as in the 10 years ago, staffers didn't have laptops.
01:14:39 --> 01:14:44 Only post-COVID have they now, each staffer has a laptop so they can now like
01:14:44 --> 01:14:45 work from home and things.
01:14:46 --> 01:14:50 Auto calls, you know, different organizations and grassroots have these,
01:14:50 --> 01:14:55 you know, automatic calls or sign on, send this letter to your member of Congress.
01:14:55 --> 01:14:59 And so our daily intake of things has increased as a staffer.
01:14:59 --> 01:15:03 And so if you're competing against, you know, other very important,
01:15:03 --> 01:15:07 you know, priorities, things that might be making national headlines,
01:15:08 --> 01:15:12 you need that little extra edge to kind of make sure that you are getting into the right spots.
01:15:13 --> 01:15:17 Yeah. What was the most complex issue that you had to navigate on Capitol Hill,
01:15:17 --> 01:15:21 either as a staffer or currently as a lobbyist?
01:15:21 --> 01:15:26 As a staffer, so I worked under Congresswoman Judy Chu during the time of the
01:15:26 --> 01:15:28 mass shooting in Monterey Park in California.
01:15:30 --> 01:15:34 And that there was a lot to understand and unwrap.
01:15:35 --> 01:15:38 I mean, most of the people these days have at least been in a jurisdiction or
01:15:38 --> 01:15:41 a community that has been impacted by mass gun violence.
01:15:41 --> 01:15:47 This particular community, a large immigration, large immigrant community,
01:15:48 --> 01:15:54 a lot of different things impacting the way that they reacted to the mass shooting.
01:15:54 --> 01:15:59 So, for instance, there was a business in some other jurisdictions where...
01:16:00 --> 01:16:04 It helped to raise awareness. They helped to bring, you know,
01:16:04 --> 01:16:10 memorials to the site to make sure to memorialize those that had lost their lives.
01:16:10 --> 01:16:16 But in this particular community, the site became a negative thing.
01:16:16 --> 01:16:19 They didn't want memories of that negative thing that had happened.
01:16:19 --> 01:16:22 It had negative thoughts and negative things connected to it.
01:16:22 --> 01:16:26 The businesses sort of lost, you know, there were some closures,
01:16:26 --> 01:16:30 they lost a lot of business, and it really impacted the community broadly.
01:16:30 --> 01:16:36 Additionally, there were things like getting assistance to the victims and victims' families.
01:16:36 --> 01:16:40 These particular families who were U.S.
01:16:40 --> 01:16:44 Citizens, but because of their immigrant background and immigrant-connected
01:16:44 --> 01:16:48 families, did not want to accept assistance from the state of California,
01:16:48 --> 01:16:52 any sort of federal assistance that came, because they did not trust.
01:16:52 --> 01:16:56 You know, if you're giving me this, what do I have to do in return?
01:16:56 --> 01:17:00 Or what does that open up? You know, are you going to look at my visa and does
01:17:00 --> 01:17:03 that open me up to suspicion for such things?
01:17:03 --> 01:17:07 Then there was the added mental health issue that was on top.
01:17:07 --> 01:17:12 We have a lot of new policies around the country about mental health and gun violence.
01:17:12 --> 01:17:17 And unfortunately, what we learned in this process was they're largely in English,
01:17:17 --> 01:17:21 which understandably a large portion of our population does speak English.
01:17:21 --> 01:17:25 But for those in communities which are called limited English proficiency,
01:17:25 --> 01:17:28 a lot of these materials and things are just not available.
01:17:28 --> 01:17:32 So understanding some of the things they might have been able to do,
01:17:32 --> 01:17:36 reporting the issues surrounding the shooter, etc.
01:17:36 --> 01:17:42 There were a lot of things that we felt in the aftermath could be improved.
01:17:42 --> 01:17:47 And so that was, it was an interesting take on being in a very specific community
01:17:47 --> 01:17:49 to have very specific needs.
01:17:49 --> 01:17:54 And so that, I think that was one of the biggest pieces of my work during Capitol Hill.
01:17:55 --> 01:17:59 Currently, most recently, I represent the county of Los Angeles.
01:17:59 --> 01:18:01 So I work on their health and human services portfolio.
01:18:03 --> 01:18:07 The issue of SNAP benefits has been a huge, both on the national level,
01:18:07 --> 01:18:08 but also at a county level.
01:18:08 --> 01:18:12 We are one of the largest, the largest county in the country.
01:18:12 --> 01:18:16 And so the impact to the number of people and families and residents that that's
01:18:16 --> 01:18:19 had has been extremely difficult to try to mitigate.
01:18:19 --> 01:18:26 Yeah. And, you know, that's a fact that's lost on a lot of people that Los Angeles
01:18:26 --> 01:18:31 County is the largest county. because what about New York?
01:18:31 --> 01:18:33 That's in New York, the boroughs are counties.
01:18:34 --> 01:18:38 So it's like the New York City is represented in five different counties.
01:18:40 --> 01:18:43 Yeah. When you break it down in county government and folks are like,
01:18:43 --> 01:18:47 oh, okay, I didn't realize that. Yeah, there's a reason why they do stuff.
01:18:47 --> 01:18:51 Yeah, so I can imagine that that's a heck of an undertaking,
01:18:52 --> 01:18:54 especially with the Olympics coming up and all that stuff.
01:18:55 --> 01:19:01 That's a good lick to have that contract I'd like to be with Los Angeles County.
01:19:02 --> 01:19:08 Last question. What advice would you give someone who wants to become a lobbyist?
01:19:10 --> 01:19:11 All right. That's a good one.
01:19:13 --> 01:19:17 So, you know, choose your portfolio and areas in which you're passionate about.
01:19:17 --> 01:19:23 I think it does take a lot of passion to get through some of the hoops that
01:19:23 --> 01:19:24 you have to jump through.
01:19:24 --> 01:19:28 But I think if you're passionate about getting your client in front of whoever
01:19:28 --> 01:19:31 they need in front of, you know, I think that helps a lot.
01:19:33 --> 01:19:37 I would say hone in facial expressions. I
01:19:37 --> 01:19:42 have had I have struggled over the last year to have a poker face and even as
01:19:42 --> 01:19:45 this dapper in some of my when I would be on meetings some of the committee
01:19:45 --> 01:19:48 meetings there's a camera and you know if I'm sitting right behind the member
01:19:48 --> 01:19:53 I would have to sort of hide my face sometimes when I'm hearing other people
01:19:53 --> 01:19:56 speak so I'm working on that one but I highly it's a great skill to hone in,
01:19:57 --> 01:20:02 and but I think you know and then being on top of your the news and what's going
01:20:02 --> 01:20:06 on and what's happening, because I think that only helps if you don't know exactly,
01:20:06 --> 01:20:09 you know, if you aren't on top of current events, you can't really help your
01:20:09 --> 01:20:11 client in the best way possible.
01:20:11 --> 01:20:14 And so, you know, finding out, hey, this is moving, there's something happening
01:20:14 --> 01:20:18 here, maybe we can get you attached to that. So, yeah.
01:20:19 --> 01:20:26 Yeah, I think it's important. And one of the things I like about about how you
01:20:26 --> 01:20:30 do your thing is your website.
01:20:31 --> 01:20:37 So I want people to, I want you to tell people how to, how to reach out to you on that.
01:20:38 --> 01:20:46 But the one thing that I like is your blog, because you, you explain things very, very well.
01:20:46 --> 01:20:48 I read the blog and I was like.
01:20:49 --> 01:20:53 Yeah, she could have had a career like on CNN or Wall Street Journal or something
01:20:53 --> 01:20:59 like that. Because you can't really tell what side of the issue you're on.
01:20:59 --> 01:21:06 You just basically give the facts. And in this day and age, that is so important.
01:21:06 --> 01:21:13 And you don't write often, but when you do write, it's very, very detailed.
01:21:13 --> 01:21:19 Thank you. And very on point. Right. So for for other people to enjoy that website
01:21:19 --> 01:21:23 and that blog like I did, how can people reach out to you?
01:21:23 --> 01:21:29 How can people if they want to hire you or they want you to kind of explain
01:21:29 --> 01:21:32 how the process works, go ahead and make it.
01:21:32 --> 01:21:35 Totally. I mean, I'll put my Venmo in the chat.
01:21:38 --> 01:21:45 So my firm is called Torres Consulting, and my website is torresdcconsulting.com.
01:21:45 --> 01:21:47 And yes, there's a contact button there.
01:21:47 --> 01:21:52 Feel free to reach out to me via email. I'm always trying to just pull out cards
01:21:52 --> 01:21:57 and anybody that's interested, both in learning about a career and lobbying
01:21:57 --> 01:22:01 and policy and or if they're interested in looking for a lobbyist for their agency.
01:22:02 --> 01:22:07 Well, Kristen Torres, I greatly appreciate that you've stuck your toe in the
01:22:07 --> 01:22:08 water and you're out there doing that,
01:22:09 --> 01:22:13 that you're taking your expertise and trying to help people,
01:22:13 --> 01:22:17 you know, navigate their way through this political process.
01:22:18 --> 01:22:22 Like we've stated in the interview, it's needed.
01:22:22 --> 01:22:29 And you may not think it, but if you want to be successful, you've got to have some help.
01:22:29 --> 01:22:34 So I appreciate that you've taken the time to do that. And I appreciate you coming on the podcast.
01:22:35 --> 01:22:38 I appreciate so much the opportunity. It's been great to catch up with someone
01:22:38 --> 01:22:44 and have some Mississippi background, as well as state legislature experience. So thank you.
01:22:44 --> 01:22:48 Yeah, yeah. Amen on the Mississippi part. So happy holidays to you.
01:22:49 --> 01:22:51 And again, thanks for doing this.
01:22:51 --> 01:22:54 Thanks so much. All right, guys, and we're going to catch y'all on the other side.
01:23:09 --> 01:23:16 So I want to thank Cheryl Ann Wadlington and Kristen Torres for coming on the program.
01:23:18 --> 01:23:23 Ms. Wadlington, as you can tell, has been around the block a little bit.
01:23:25 --> 01:23:34 And she is really, really passionate about helping these young women achieve
01:23:34 --> 01:23:39 an 100% success rate. right?
01:23:40 --> 01:23:44 You know, getting young women into college to go through a program,
01:23:44 --> 01:23:49 and she's had at least 10 girls go through this program.
01:23:50 --> 01:23:52 That's incredible, right?
01:23:53 --> 01:23:56 That's what we need.
01:23:56 --> 01:24:04 We need people that have the ability, the resources, the fortitude to help.
01:24:04 --> 01:24:09 And although government resources are welcome,
01:24:11 --> 01:24:15 You know, as Wallington has proven that self-sufficiency could be the key.
01:24:16 --> 01:24:22 And, you know, that's one thing I've always wanted to make clear as somebody
01:24:22 --> 01:24:27 that's been an elected official, somebody that's been in the process,
01:24:27 --> 01:24:29 and somebody that's been lobbying,
01:24:30 --> 01:24:31 right? Been an activist.
01:24:32 --> 01:24:39 You know, sometimes we got to handle our own business, especially those of us
01:24:39 --> 01:24:45 in the black community. you know, and then let others come in once they see
01:24:45 --> 01:24:46 the work that we're doing.
01:24:46 --> 01:24:50 And hopefully they're coming in to help and not try to stop us, right?
01:24:51 --> 01:24:58 So, Ms. Wadlington, I have the utmost respect for you and the work that you're doing.
01:24:59 --> 01:25:02 And I'm really, really sincere about that. I just,
01:25:02 --> 01:25:08 you know, I was telling her about Piney Woods Country Life School and,
01:25:08 --> 01:25:11 you know, just my brief time there,
01:25:11 --> 01:25:16 just to say that I was a part of that, you know, when I actually saw young men
01:25:16 --> 01:25:21 and women graduate and get accepted to college or, you know,
01:25:21 --> 01:25:26 enlist in the military to see them win 4-H events.
01:25:27 --> 01:25:31 You know, even a basketball state championship, right?
01:25:32 --> 01:25:37 I mean, it was just a magical moment to just be a part of that history.
01:25:38 --> 01:25:42 You know, to meet Cathy Hughes and knowing that her grandfather was the reason
01:25:42 --> 01:25:47 why that started. It's just incredible, right?
01:25:48 --> 01:25:57 And, you know, but those are the stories. Those are the things that are happening that some people—,
01:25:58 --> 01:26:04 either don't want you to hear about it or don't believe that it exists because
01:26:04 --> 01:26:09 they have this preconceived notion about how black folks in America are,
01:26:10 --> 01:26:13 how African Americans really operate, right?
01:26:14 --> 01:26:16 And this is nothing new.
01:26:16 --> 01:26:21 We have had to do this in our whole existence here.
01:26:21 --> 01:26:26 And when the federal government or the state governments can help out, it's been a blessing.
01:26:26 --> 01:26:32 But self-sufficiency and being creative in our self-sufficiency has always been
01:26:32 --> 01:26:38 our go-to because a lot of times we felt that nobody was on our side but us,
01:26:39 --> 01:26:41 right? And there's a lot of us that still feel that way.
01:26:43 --> 01:26:50 So my goal with this podcast is not only to talk about politics as,
01:26:50 --> 01:26:57 you know, who's winning elections and positions on policies and shenanigans
01:26:57 --> 01:27:03 and all that stuff, but also to talk about an uplift to people who are doing the work.
01:27:04 --> 01:27:08 And to let folks know that in the black community, there's a balance between
01:27:08 --> 01:27:12 government and taking care of ourselves.
01:27:12 --> 01:27:14 We're not looking for handouts.
01:27:15 --> 01:27:20 Let me repeat that. We're not looking for handouts. Either you're going to help
01:27:20 --> 01:27:24 us or you just get out of our way and let us do what we got to do.
01:27:25 --> 01:27:29 That's the mindset of black folks in America. That's where we are.
01:27:31 --> 01:27:35 And then I want to thank again, Kristen Torres for coming on.
01:27:35 --> 01:27:40 Ms. Kristen is, you know, we got a Mississippi connection.
01:27:41 --> 01:27:50 And again, regardless of your race, Mississippi is a state where either you're
01:27:50 --> 01:27:55 going to help us or you need to get out of our way so we can do what we got to do, you know.
01:27:56 --> 01:28:05 And especially, you know, in these post-slavery times.
01:28:05 --> 01:28:09 Because Mississippi, when they were, when it was the antebellum of Mississippi,
01:28:10 --> 01:28:12 was one of the richest states in America.
01:28:13 --> 01:28:18 Then after the Civil War, after slavery ended, Mississippi descended into being
01:28:18 --> 01:28:19 one of the poorest states.
01:28:19 --> 01:28:23 But the people have managed to keep things going.
01:28:25 --> 01:28:32 And the people that leave Mississippi or, you know, make it to the spotlight,
01:28:32 --> 01:28:36 you see what kind of resourceful people they are.
01:28:36 --> 01:28:40 You see what kind of hardworking people they are. You see what kind of committed
01:28:40 --> 01:28:44 people they are, whether it's through their faith or through their job or through
01:28:44 --> 01:28:45 their politics, whatever.
01:28:46 --> 01:28:48 Mississippi is a very unique place.
01:28:49 --> 01:28:56 And the only thing I regret about Mississippi is that people that don't get
01:28:56 --> 01:29:00 the big picture get some of the big prizes down here.
01:29:01 --> 01:29:07 And those who do get the big picture of Mississippi tend to leave because when
01:29:07 --> 01:29:11 they make decisions about where we're going to work and how am I going to take
01:29:11 --> 01:29:13 care of myself or my family,
01:29:14 --> 01:29:20 a struggle to do it in Mississippi because the powers that be don't get the big picture.
01:29:23 --> 01:29:27 And I'm not trying to be disparaging to those people.
01:29:27 --> 01:29:32 What I tried to do when I was elected, what my successor tried to do,
01:29:32 --> 01:29:37 my predecessor tried to do, just in our little old District 72, too,
01:29:38 --> 01:29:44 was to try to enlighten people and say, hey, look, you got an opportunity here.
01:29:44 --> 01:29:49 We can, you can make this a blank canvas and turn Mississippi into the most
01:29:49 --> 01:29:57 unique state in the nation and the most prosperous, but you got to let us paint on the canvas, too.
01:29:57 --> 01:30:01 You got to let us put our input, our stamp on it, right?
01:30:02 --> 01:30:09 So, you know, I just, that was always kind of my frustration.
01:30:09 --> 01:30:14 And that's why I pursued public office there. That's why I was,
01:30:14 --> 01:30:17 you know, I stayed and was a lobbyist there.
01:30:18 --> 01:30:21 And, you know, because Mississippi is a good spot for people.
01:30:22 --> 01:30:26 Of course, I have a vested interest because of family, right?
01:30:26 --> 01:30:33 Part of my origin story is Mississippi, right? That's when my dad was born.
01:30:33 --> 01:30:39 And so, you know, I care about Mississippi. I have family there.
01:30:39 --> 01:30:44 You know, I care about Mississippi. I got family here in Georgia.
01:30:46 --> 01:30:51 And I care, right? So I want to see Georgia do well, right?
01:30:51 --> 01:30:58 I was born in Illinois. I want to see Illinois do well, especially Chicago, right?
01:30:59 --> 01:31:05 But I have a vested interest in the country because I'm a citizen and I care.
01:31:06 --> 01:31:11 So, you know, I, I, I do what I do because I care.
01:31:11 --> 01:31:16 And this sister, Kristen Torres does what she does because she cares.
01:31:16 --> 01:31:23 And so if you need a lobbyist, especially, you know, you're trying to work something
01:31:23 --> 01:31:27 up at the Capitol Hill, you need to reach out to her. Right.
01:31:27 --> 01:31:34 And, you know, She's, you know, just, you know, there's a way to get in touch
01:31:34 --> 01:31:35 with her, just like you can get with Ms.
01:31:36 --> 01:31:38 Wadlington if you want to donate to her cause, too.
01:31:40 --> 01:31:47 Just, you know, there are people that care, and they're not all just black people.
01:31:47 --> 01:31:50 There are good people here in this country.
01:31:50 --> 01:31:56 Despite the image that's being projected on your television screen or throughout
01:31:56 --> 01:32:00 the world, the majority of people in this country care.
01:32:00 --> 01:32:06 And they believe in doing things well. And they believe in people living abundantly.
01:32:07 --> 01:32:10 They don't really want to see other people suffer.
01:32:10 --> 01:32:14 But they do have a selfish interest to make sure that they're not suffering
01:32:14 --> 01:32:18 too. And we have to respect that. And we have to balance that.
01:32:19 --> 01:32:24 And when people, because we encourage folks for self-care, right?
01:32:24 --> 01:32:26 I've had numbers of guests that
01:32:26 --> 01:32:29 advocate that. You've got to take care of yourself to take care of others.
01:32:30 --> 01:32:40 So we get that. But we also have to never lose our empathy, which I think is
01:32:40 --> 01:32:43 where we're at politically now.
01:32:43 --> 01:32:49 I think there are people who think it is fashionable to not have empathy.
01:32:49 --> 01:32:56 I think there are people now who think that is fashionable to be callous.
01:32:58 --> 01:33:04 And so every election, especially from this point forward, we have to remind
01:33:04 --> 01:33:07 them that empathy is okay.
01:33:08 --> 01:33:12 Giving a damn about your fellow citizen is really the objective.
01:33:14 --> 01:33:19 The preamble of the Constitution says that we're supposed to promote the general welfare.
01:33:20 --> 01:33:23 You can't promote the general welfare if you don't give a damn about your fellow
01:33:23 --> 01:33:25 citizen. You can't do that.
01:33:26 --> 01:33:32 You know, we want everybody to have the individual liberty to believe and practice
01:33:32 --> 01:33:34 their faith and love who they want to love and all that stuff.
01:33:35 --> 01:33:41 But you have to be reminded that we're in a society together and we do have
01:33:41 --> 01:33:43 to look out for one another.
01:33:43 --> 01:33:48 We do have to be our brother's and sister's keeper. We do have to do that.
01:33:49 --> 01:33:54 Because that's the only way that we can continue to move forward.
01:33:55 --> 01:34:01 You know, a lot of people, I shouldn't say a lot, a number of people don't get
01:34:01 --> 01:34:08 that, you know, or they get too selfish, right?
01:34:08 --> 01:34:12 You know, because there's a moment where we have to take care of ourselves,
01:34:12 --> 01:34:16 but sometimes we just, we have tunnel vision.
01:34:18 --> 01:34:24 And what may be great for you may be terrible for your neighborhood. Case in point.
01:34:25 --> 01:34:29 So I don't know if you've heard this story before about the deer,
01:34:29 --> 01:34:35 but there was a young lady who had a deer show up in her yard.
01:34:37 --> 01:34:42 And I think it was somewhat injured or whatever. So she kind of nursed that
01:34:42 --> 01:34:43 deer and then the deer didn't want to leave.
01:34:44 --> 01:34:50 Deer felt safe. So she reached out to the city leaders and they kind of told
01:34:50 --> 01:34:54 her, well, hey, you know, state law doesn't allow you to have a deer as a pet.
01:34:54 --> 01:35:01 So she got with her local legislators and asked them to introduce a bill.
01:35:02 --> 01:35:08 And the bill had traction and she got media attention.
01:35:09 --> 01:35:14 And so now we are literally voting on a bill to allow her or anybody else in
01:35:14 --> 01:35:18 the state of Mississippi to have wildlife as pets.
01:35:20 --> 01:35:24 And you could tell that the tide was kind of like, well, if we vote on it here,
01:35:24 --> 01:35:27 then the other side is going to pass, you know, kill it or whatever.
01:35:28 --> 01:35:29 And I wasn't chancing that.
01:35:30 --> 01:35:35 And so I, along with a couple other folks, got up there and railed on the idea.
01:35:35 --> 01:35:41 And I reminded people that while it is good that she has this good heart and
01:35:41 --> 01:35:46 she wants to take care of this animal, her neighbors could contract Lyme disease.
01:35:47 --> 01:35:52 It could be an epidemic. And it's not the fault of the deer.
01:35:52 --> 01:35:55 It's just the way nature works, you know.
01:35:57 --> 01:36:00 And, you know, the neighbor gets bit by a tick.
01:36:01 --> 01:36:05 The neighbor gets bit by a tick, and all of a sudden we've got an epidemic.
01:36:05 --> 01:36:11 And so even though her heart was in the right place, and it seems like a good
01:36:11 --> 01:36:17 thing, it would not be beneficial to the welfare of her neighborhood for her to have that deer.
01:36:19 --> 01:36:24 And fortunately, you know, the bill died, and it never came back up.
01:36:25 --> 01:36:32 And it wasn't that it was out of anger that I opposed it, but it was out of
01:36:32 --> 01:36:37 a general concern that sometimes we can see things and think,
01:36:38 --> 01:36:45 oh, this is great for me, but how is that hurting other folks?
01:36:46 --> 01:36:49 You say, Erik, where are you going with this deer story and blah,
01:36:49 --> 01:36:52 blah, and this, the other? So let's talk about tariffs.
01:36:53 --> 01:36:57 So the President of the United States believes that tariffs are the way to go.
01:36:58 --> 01:37:03 There's an old school of thought going all the way back to the Gilded Age of
01:37:03 --> 01:37:09 America, like the turn of the century, like the 19th to the 20th century, right?
01:37:10 --> 01:37:13 You know, they felt that in order
01:37:13 --> 01:37:19 for America to succeed in production and industry, economics, whatever.
01:37:21 --> 01:37:27 You know, and minimize competition, you got to tariff the hell out of imported goods.
01:37:28 --> 01:37:36 Well, it's a strategic tool. You know, if you see that the steel market,
01:37:36 --> 01:37:40 for example, is the American steel market is being undercut, right?
01:37:41 --> 01:37:48 So you put a tariff on the country that's undercutting American steel to raise that price up.
01:37:48 --> 01:37:52 So our steel would be competitive here.
01:37:53 --> 01:37:59 We've got to make a choice. Well, if I'm going to pay $20 for steel here and
01:37:59 --> 01:38:04 1950 with the tariff with steel from, say, Japan,
01:38:04 --> 01:38:08 I might as well go with the American. It's 50 cents, right?
01:38:09 --> 01:38:13 If you didn't have the tariff, the steel from Japan might be $10 or $9.
01:38:14 --> 01:38:15 But you put the tariff on it.
01:38:17 --> 01:38:22 Okay, able to go over that, right? And then especially if you are trying to
01:38:22 --> 01:38:29 build an industry up and you're trying to buy some time for that industry to
01:38:29 --> 01:38:30 get into the marketplace,
01:38:30 --> 01:38:35 you might want to put a tariff on the country that producing the product that
01:38:35 --> 01:38:38 this industry is developing, right?
01:38:40 --> 01:38:43 And for argument's sake.
01:38:46 --> 01:38:51 You might think, well, a blanket tariff policy on every nation in the world,
01:38:51 --> 01:38:55 including nations that don't even trade with us, nations that don't even have
01:38:55 --> 01:38:57 people. They just have penguins.
01:38:57 --> 01:38:59 You want to put a tariff on everybody.
01:39:00 --> 01:39:05 You're thinking and you're trying to sell it as if, oh, we're going to generate
01:39:05 --> 01:39:10 all this money, going to be able to knock down some of the national debt.
01:39:10 --> 01:39:15 We're going to be able to fund some things that we need to fund in the government.
01:39:16 --> 01:39:21 And we're trying to convince people to buy American stuff, right?
01:39:21 --> 01:39:30 All that sounds great, but what you're really doing by doing it this way is hurting everybody.
01:39:31 --> 01:39:36 You're not only hurting the Americans who are consumers, who are trying to buy
01:39:36 --> 01:39:39 something for Christmas, or trying to buy something for graduation,
01:39:39 --> 01:39:42 or trying to buy something for somebody's birthday, They're just trying to buy
01:39:42 --> 01:39:48 something because I got this new job and I need this suit or I need this dress. I need these shoes.
01:39:49 --> 01:39:55 You're hurting these people because now they have to adjust their budget to
01:39:55 --> 01:39:57 say, well, can I get what I want?
01:39:58 --> 01:40:00 I just got to get what I can.
01:40:01 --> 01:40:07 Along with dealing with the groceries and the utility bills.
01:40:08 --> 01:40:11 Right? And I'll get to utilities in a second.
01:40:12 --> 01:40:18 But you're putting a burden on folk, and then you're putting a burden on some
01:40:18 --> 01:40:21 of the people you call yourself trying to help, like farmers.
01:40:22 --> 01:40:29 Because you've put this tariff on soybeans, folks are going to other countries to buy the soybeans.
01:40:30 --> 01:40:34 They're bypassing us, and we're one of the largest, if not the largest,
01:40:34 --> 01:40:36 soybean producer in the world.
01:40:37 --> 01:40:41 Are bypassing us because of tariffs, right?
01:40:42 --> 01:40:46 And so now you're going around saying, well, hey, I'm going to take some of
01:40:46 --> 01:40:50 that tariff money and bail some of y'all farmers out.
01:40:51 --> 01:40:55 Somebody put it very succinctly and said, that's like an arsonist setting a fire.
01:40:55 --> 01:41:00 And then he goes, gets on the fire truck and come put the fire out.
01:41:01 --> 01:41:05 If you never set the fire in the first place, there's no need for you to get the fire truck.
01:41:06 --> 01:41:12 If you didn't do the tariffs, there wouldn't be need for a bailout, right?
01:41:12 --> 01:41:16 And so for all these people that's paying the tariffs, including the farmer,
01:41:16 --> 01:41:20 for whatever equipment they got to get, so they're being bailed out with their
01:41:20 --> 01:41:25 own money, which, you know, that's what government does. That's why we pay taxes.
01:41:26 --> 01:41:30 But just think about that. If we didn't have the tariffs in the first place,
01:41:30 --> 01:41:32 they wouldn't need to be bailed out.
01:41:34 --> 01:41:37 So we're talking about this AI stuff, right?
01:41:37 --> 01:41:44 And, you know, everybody's tried to chat GBT or Google Gemini or whatever AI
01:41:44 --> 01:41:52 thing you use to help you write sentences or papers or come up with ideas about things,
01:41:52 --> 01:41:56 you know, to help your social media presence be better.
01:41:56 --> 01:42:00 Come up with some cool pictures, whatever you want to do, right?
01:42:00 --> 01:42:04 But then, you know, artificial intelligence is used in an industrial sense.
01:42:04 --> 01:42:07 It's also used in law enforcement.
01:42:08 --> 01:42:16 AI is prevalent everywhere now, right? And so, you know, the technology, yeah, we're advancing.
01:42:16 --> 01:42:19 That's a good thing, right? It may be good for some people.
01:42:20 --> 01:42:25 But remember those utility bills I was talking about? To generate the power,
01:42:25 --> 01:42:30 to generate the computers, to do the AI stuff,
01:42:30 --> 01:42:35 water and electricity are needed,
01:42:35 --> 01:42:43 especially as we have these hydro plants powering these electric turbines so
01:42:43 --> 01:42:46 we can get the juice to run all this AI stuff.
01:42:48 --> 01:42:53 And it's like, you know, everybody's like, oh, well, we got to build our capacity and all that stuff.
01:42:53 --> 01:43:02 So that means more water resources needed, more electricity being used, rates are going to go up.
01:43:03 --> 01:43:07 Going to go up for water usage, weight rates are going to go up for electric usage.
01:43:09 --> 01:43:12 Because not only do you have to make sure that those are powered,
01:43:13 --> 01:43:16 but you've got to distribute the electricity to the grid.
01:43:17 --> 01:43:22 So everybody has their juice. So when it's cold, they don't have natural gas.
01:43:22 --> 01:43:23 They use electric heating.
01:43:23 --> 01:43:26 They can stay warm. In the summertime, all those air conditioners,
01:43:27 --> 01:43:29 98% of the air conditioners are electric.
01:43:30 --> 01:43:33 And there's some parts of the United States where if you don't have air conditioning,
01:43:34 --> 01:43:35 people would not be living there.
01:43:35 --> 01:43:39 That's why the air conditioner is considered one of the greatest inventions
01:43:39 --> 01:43:40 in the history of mankind.
01:43:41 --> 01:43:46 Right? But it takes electricity. Your electric bill goes up.
01:43:46 --> 01:43:50 If you don't have budget billing, your electric bill goes up in the summer and
01:43:50 --> 01:43:53 goes down in the winter for most people.
01:43:54 --> 01:43:58 Right? Now, AI, like we said, great thing.
01:43:59 --> 01:44:06 But if you do too much of it, you get down a rabbit hole and have tunnel vision.
01:44:06 --> 01:44:13 There's an environmental and economic impact that's hitting everybody else.
01:44:13 --> 01:44:18 That's why you can't be too selfish. You have to have a balance.
01:44:18 --> 01:44:21 You have to care what other people think.
01:44:22 --> 01:44:28 But when we have a political climate where it's like, I want y'all to be loyal to me.
01:44:28 --> 01:44:31 I don't give a damn about you. I could care less about you.
01:44:32 --> 01:44:37 And that example is being displayed from the White House.
01:44:38 --> 01:44:43 That doesn't set a positive role model for the rest of us.
01:44:43 --> 01:44:50 There's literally a generation of human beings that all they've known is this
01:44:50 --> 01:44:57 one man being the president of the United States with somebody that served four years in between.
01:44:59 --> 01:45:06 Right? I have lived through and seen a Reagan generation, a Clinton generation,
01:45:07 --> 01:45:08 and an Obama generation.
01:45:09 --> 01:45:16 My parents lived through a Roosevelt generation and a Kennedy generation, right?
01:45:16 --> 01:45:19 So now there's people that's going through a Trump generation.
01:45:20 --> 01:45:26 And so if the leader of the free world, the most powerful man,
01:45:26 --> 01:45:32 quote-unquote, on the planet, shows no care, shows no empathy,
01:45:33 --> 01:45:39 shows no loyalty to just the very country that he represents on the world stage.
01:45:41 --> 01:45:47 To have an impact on people, children growing up in this world,
01:45:47 --> 01:45:53 people that are becoming young adults, becoming politically active.
01:45:55 --> 01:46:03 And so when we lift that kind of behavior up or tolerate it even, it's not good.
01:46:04 --> 01:46:12 But we have to be a nation in order to fulfill our destiny, fulfill our creed,
01:46:12 --> 01:46:18 fulfill our objective to be the city on the hill.
01:46:19 --> 01:46:21 We have to care about each other.
01:46:22 --> 01:46:26 You ain't got to like me. I ain't got to like you. But if you're struggling
01:46:26 --> 01:46:29 and I can help, I'm going to do that.
01:46:30 --> 01:46:32 And I hope you would do that for me.
01:46:33 --> 01:46:39 And that's the country I want to live in. That's the country I believe that I do exist in.
01:46:39 --> 01:46:44 It's just that we have these moments where we get caught up in our pain and
01:46:44 --> 01:46:50 our anger and we forget our empathy and we allow people that don't give a damn
01:46:50 --> 01:46:54 about us to make decisions about our well-being.
01:46:55 --> 01:47:03 So I'm just asking you all, So, please, please focus in on the good.
01:47:03 --> 01:47:09 Take care of yourself, but make sure that once you are solid.
01:47:10 --> 01:47:15 Do your part to make sure other folks are solid too. Because that's what the
01:47:15 --> 01:47:17 real meaning of being an American is.
01:47:18 --> 01:47:23 Not some tough guy that can order somebody to fly a drone and blow up a boat.
01:47:23 --> 01:47:30 Not some guy that thinks it's all right to lie to an elected official or cuss
01:47:30 --> 01:47:34 out a reporter or to own somebody, right?
01:47:35 --> 01:47:39 I thought we got the memo that owning people is not cool in the United States.
01:47:39 --> 01:47:44 They literally fought a war about owning people, right?
01:47:45 --> 01:47:54 Let's get out of that mindset. We can compete for things, but we can't be destructive in our competition.
01:47:55 --> 01:48:00 We can challenge authority, but we don't want to substitute authority for anarchy
01:48:00 --> 01:48:06 or collective authority for a monarch.
01:48:07 --> 01:48:13 Focus. We need to care. We need to be empathetic.
01:48:13 --> 01:48:19 It's not weak to give a damn about your fellow human being. It's actually the opposite.
01:48:20 --> 01:48:28 Weakness is being selfish. Because if you're willing to give your life,
01:48:28 --> 01:48:34 if you're willing to sacrifice a part of yourself, if you're willing to share your knowledge.
01:48:35 --> 01:48:42 That is strength. That is confidence that I can contribute to something positively.
01:48:43 --> 01:48:50 Weakness is keeping all the knowledge, all the money to yourself because you
01:48:50 --> 01:48:57 don't think that you can share with anybody or else that makes you less than. That's weakness.
01:48:58 --> 01:49:04 So anyway, a politics has to be about helping our politics has to be about empathy
01:49:04 --> 01:49:10 our politics has to be about giving a damn and I'm hoping from this point forward.
01:49:11 --> 01:49:19 That's what we'll strive every day to do alright thank y'all for listening until next time music.