Carin Crowe: A CEO's Journey From Finding Your Voice to Empowering Others

The journey from voiceless child to powerful advocate isn't linear, but for Carin Crowe, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Greater Salt Lake Area, it began with a petition at age eight. When she received a response from President Jimmy Carter telling her children like her would change the world, she discovered her voice – and decades later, leads an organization with deep connections to Carter's legacy.

In this illuminating conversation on the Elevate podcast from Women's Leadership Institute, Crowe reveals how growing up in an unstable home environment ultimately shaped her leadership philosophy centered on empathy and intentional listening. With adventure-seeking in her personal life (skydiving and bungee jumping among her hobbies), she brings that same boldness to breaking barriers in Utah's leadership landscape, where women executives remain underrepresented.

Habitat's work extends far beyond building homes. Through zero-percent interest mortgages calculated at 30% of family income, critical home repairs affecting health and safety, and distribution programs serving unsheltered community members, they're addressing housing insecurity at multiple levels. Crowe explains how homeownership creates paths to intergenerational wealth that historically have been less accessible to marginalized communities, particularly single mothers and people of color who make up the majority of their program applicants.

What makes their approach unique is the requirement for families to complete 225 hours of "sweat equity," literally picking up hammers to help build their own homes. This partnership model, combined with foundational values of equity and inclusion dating back to Habitat's origins in the racially integrated Koinonia Farm of the 1940s, creates what they call their "beloved community" – a term borrowed from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., with whom early Habitat founders collaborated.

For women aspiring to create change, especially in conservative environments, Crowe offers powerful advice: "Start where you are, use what you have, and don't ask for permission." Whether volunteering on a construction site, supporting their ReStore, or contributing financially, everyone can play a role in keeping "the nails and the hammers swinging" toward a more equitable housing future.

https://www.habitatsaltlake.org/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/carin-crowe-459b6291/

www.wliut.com
@utwomenleaders

Transcript

Welcome to Elevate: Meeting Corinne Crow

Speaker 1 0:05

Welcome to the Elevate podcast. Well, linda Gates has said, when women are in leadership, the whole world benefits. Today's conversation showcases the truth of that statement. Hello and welcome to another episode of Elevate, a Women's Leadership Institute podcast. It is always so delightful who we get to bring on and who we get to hear from. Today, I'm especially excited because we have a female CEO for you, a newly appointed. She's been there about a year. This is Corinne Crow. She is the CEO of Habitat for Humanity, the Greater Salt Lake Area. Welcome, did I get all that right? Yes, you did. Thank you so much. Okay. So, to start out, I would love I'm sure that you would do a much better job telling what you do and a little bit about your background. Okay, and we also we always like to throw in a flavor of like what do you love, what's the latest thing you've been binging on Netflix, or your favorite book, or what do you love to do in your free time?

Speaker 2 0:59

Okay, so, first, okay so first and foremost, a little tidbit about me is I'm kind of an adventure seeker. Okay, I like the little adrenaline rush. I skydive, I bungee jump, I whitewater raft, I'll do all the things, and so most of my vacations are centered around doing something high adrenaline and I love it and I think it's served me well in my career, to be quite honest over the years.

Speaker 1 1:30

So that's a little bit about me. I love it, and then a little bit about your background. Tell us who you are, okay.

Finding Her Voice: Corinne's Personal Journey

Speaker 2 1:36

So I'm going to be a little bit personal here and it kind of tells you a little bit more about how I became who I am. Tells you a little bit more about how I became who I am. So I was raised in a household that my father was. He was an abusive alcoholic and I don't talk much about that. But what that does kind of set the stage for is that I grew up in a chaotic, sometimes unsafe space and I learned at that time that I didn't have a voice or um, or I just wasn't heard. Nobody was listening because everyone was trying to survive, sure and um. There was at one point I came across it was a article in a magazine about a social issue. There was something that was not right and my father, interestingly enough, is the one that told me to go start a petition. So I started a petition.

Speaker 1 2:40

And how old are you?

Speaker 2 2:42

I was eight, you were eight. Oh, wow, I was eight. Okay, and he. I don't know if he was just trying to get me out of the house, but I started a petition and I got thousands of signatures. You, did.

Speaker 2 2:53

And he told me to send it to the president, and so that's what I did. And what ended up happening at the age of eight is I received a letter from the president of the United States telling me that it would be children like me at that time that would make a difference in the world, and that's when I learned that I had a voice. I also believe that our life runs in circles and you never know when one activity, one, one introduction, one thing that you do is going to come around later in life. So that president was president jimmy carter, and now I work for habitat for humanity, and so that all came full circle for me. But what that did was I learned that it's okay to have a voice, and I learned to use it more and more and more as I grew, and so that's a little bit about my background. I've never been quiet about things that I believed in or if somebody was being treated unfairly, and it started, I think, from that point.

Speaker 1 4:07

Wow, thank you so much for sharing that. That was really beautiful and vulnerable, thank you.

Speaker 2 4:12

Yeah, I've never actually shared that publicly.

Speaker 1 4:16

Well, it is our pleasure and delight that you would share it with us. I also love how you took it, and not only a thank you for a president who responds to an eight year old girl.

Speaker 1 4:29

So not only that you had a voice, but you were listened to, and how empowering that is. And now that it's come full circle, I am a big believer in those ripple effects. You just don't know, but when they come back to you, how amazing and magical they are. So you are the right woman for the right time. Right, this is, this is come back for you absolutely. Wow, okay, I'd love you to share for those who don't know what you do for your job.

Inside Habitat for Humanity's Mission

Speaker 2 4:57

Okay, yeah let's talk about that a little bit. So Habitat for Humanity is mostly known for the big juicy sexy piece where we build home.

Speaker 2 5:09

And that's what we do. We build homes. It's for individuals that are low income. They make 30 to 60 percent AMI, which is the area median income. They are hardworking, engaged families that just can't afford to purchase a home and build that intergenerational wealth. So that's what we're known for. Okay, we also do critical home repairs. Most people don't know about that, so we do critical home repairs and we'll do critical home repairs on about a hundred homes a year. We have substantial funding for that program, quite frankly.

Speaker 1 5:41

And you do that internally, like you run teams to do those repairs. Are you a partner?

Speaker 2 5:45

So we work with contractors because we're going into homes that are already, people are living in there and these are home owners and these are homes. These are repairs that affect the health and safety of the inhabitant, of the owner. So, whether it's roofs, or they need accessibility, a new bathroom, or there's mold, and then they need mold remediation things like that.

Speaker 2 6:07

Okay, so, um, and, and it truly improves the health and safety of the individual living there. So the average cost is about $30,000 for repair, and we do offer up to a $20,000 grant on that. So, um, that is one of our biggest programs, yeah. And then we also have our Restore, which is a home improvement thrift store, and with our Restore we have two programs. One is called Habitat Cares and the other one is the Second Chance Program, both of which serve our community in a different way. Okay, we have a great deal of supplies that come in that we don't sell, and so that's things like new underwear, socks, shoes, tents, blankets, things that basic survival gear for our unsheltered relatives that are out on the streets.

Speaker 2 6:58

Okay, and so we have distributed gosh. I think we're at over $7 million worth of product, and that's where we partner with 40 to 50 other local nonprofits.

Speaker 1 7:11

Yeah, oh. So, as you're speaking, I'm right in my head. My marketer brain goes to like the thread of this story here, and you talked about having an unsafe environment when you grew up and how beautiful it now is that you can help provide safety. Yes, right Through repairs for people to use that are unsheltered friends. Right, help them, even if it's a tent or something. And what a beautiful gift. That is Right.

Speaker 1 7:39

It's not just building a home, it's a protection, it's safety for all those involved. Building a home, it's a protection, it's safety for all those involved. You know, there's one layer of meaning, but then there's also the heart of it, which I feel really speaks to your mission too. So, okay, I know that we talked about a question about this, so let's dive into that. Your leadership has included 40 partnership with over 40 community organizations, with the programs you talked about, like Habitat, cares and Restore Second Chance. How do you intentionally embed equity and inclusion into strategic decisions with those partnerships? Absolutely, and how is your identity, which we've touched on a little bit already, shaped, the way you lead for systemic change?

Speaker 2 8:19

Yeah, so equity and inclusion, those aren't just boxes that we check. That is core to who Habitat is, that is how we lead, that is how we were started and I'm going to share just a little bit of history about that. Habitat for Humanity actually started from a small farm called Koinonia Farm, outside of Atlanta, georgia, in the 1940s outside of Atlanta, georgia in the 1940s so imagine deep south 1940s. It was an intentionally multiracial community and even back then they believed that everyone deserved a safe place to live, a safe place to call home. And we partnered often with Dr Martin Luther King Jr, and they were pacifists, quite frankly, but they that was how Habitat started, that was the concept of Habitat for Humanity was from way back then I didn't realize that.

Speaker 2 9:21

And most people don't. That was where equity and inclusion started From the very beginning, and that is core to who we are now. The Habitat for Humanity that we know now was officially founded in 1976. And diverse and beautiful in all the different perspectives and everything that it brought to the table for so long. So that is when we invite people to be part of our volunteer community. We invite them into our beloved community.

Speaker 1 10:01

I was just thinking of that from Dr. King, the beloved community.

Speaker 2 10:06

So then, programs like Habitat Cares and the Restore Second Chance program, those programs continue to feed that belief that everyone deserves a safe place to live but also deserves to be treated with equity and to be included. And, quite frankly, representation matters out there and a number of our volunteers will go out and help us distribute the product, but then also we go out and we will work with Unsheltered Utah or we donate to Switchpoint, the Other Side Academy in the Other Side.

Speaker 2 10:46

Village, so things like that, and so they are partners of ours that we've been partnered with for years.

Speaker 1 10:50

Okay, so you're all working together in this space.

Speaker 2 10:53

Yes, yeah, yes.

Speaker 1 10:55

And especially now and especially in Utah, housing is an issue for everyone, absolutely. You know, people coming into the state, people in our state, people who have homes, people who've lost their homes, like it's. It's really a big issue for many, many people.

Speaker 2 11:10

And one other thing. So part of your question was about leadership style. So, because I have been an individual that has struggled in my past yeah, struggled in my past, yeah, um, one of the things that I try to do is I try to lead with empathy, because everybody struggles, everybody does yeah, and and if they're not now, they will right and so it ebbs and flows, and so you never know what path somebody is walking at the time.

Speaker 2 11:42

Do you meet them? And so so, leading with that empathy, and then I also I try to be a listener, and that is helpful, and listening to where somebody is coming from at the time that you are serving them. So, whether it's through Habitat Cares or through Second Chance or through our home ownership program, everybody has a story of resilience and strength that we can help and support.

Speaker 1 12:10

I love that. So at the Women's Leadership Institute, we talk a lot about leadership, right, how to be a better leader, how to lean into your strengths, yes, and we're finding that those durable or those power skills of emotional IQ, of active listening, of meeting people where they're at Right they're not sexy, they don't show up on your MBA, but they really are the things that make great leaders. So I love that. You said that. Yeah, that matters, especially in a people in a service industry, right? Very much when you're meeting with people.

Speaker 2 12:44

Very much.

Equity and Inclusion at the Core

Speaker 1 12:45

Okay, I love it. Utah has historically had one of the lowest percentages of women in executive leadership roles. As a woman now leading a major housing nonprofit in the state, how do you navigate leadership in that space where female CEOs are still the exception, and what does representation in that space mean to you? Because you've talked about representation with the people that you help, but in the space of leadership where you are now as a CEO, what does that look like for you?

Speaker 2 13:14

Well, that's true, women in Utah do not typically have those leadership roles. Now, what brought me to Utah was I was in Houston and I was working for a railroad company. Okay, and there was a company here in Utah that purchased the company I was working for and so I was promoted to vice president of people development and they moved me here to Utah. Okay, that company had been around for 60 years.

Speaker 2 13:42

I was the first female vice president in that company, now a tremendous company great humans great people, but again, being the first or being a unique person sitting around those tables, and what's interesting is when I moved into this role as CEO at Habitat for Humanity, this role as CEO at Habitat for Humanity Greater Salt Lake Area, it feels like such a responsibility.

Speaker 2 14:12

I mean it's an honor for sure, but it's a responsibility not just to the organization. But how do we lead the way for future generations? How do we open those doors? How do we bring another chair, another seat to the table for the next generation? And, with the Women's Leadership Institute, how do we continue to mentor and grow the future leaders? And again I go back to representation matters. And there's a perspective and a voice and an intuition and a passion that women bring to the table, that Add so much to the conversation, and so I feel a responsibility, quite frankly, to not just sit at the table but to open the doors wider that was beautiful, um, okay, so I have two thoughts.

Speaker 1 15:12

the first one that I will share is we had jeanette bennett, who is an amazing human I'm now like a super fan. But she stepped into a role at colliers and it's kind of the same flavor of what she was saying is like I can do this and I can open the way for other females behind me right In this industry, in leadership. And of course that's not the totality of her story, but just that feeling of responsibility of I can pave the way here and I want to. Yeah, yeah, she and I just went to coffee last week.

Speaker 2 15:48

Oh, you did, we did, okay, perfect. And it was actually the first time I had met her and it was such a profound meeting. I was grateful. And what an amazing human she is. She sure is so what a leader she shows up with value every single time, every time.

Speaker 1 16:08

And then the second thing that I was thinking of is so in your company that had been around for a long time. One of the things we talk about in our Elevate Her Challenge is principles like do your women know how to get promoted? Do you have women on your boards? You know those kinds of things. Is there mentorship when you became vice president? Was that an easy road? Was that? Did you have a mentor who helped you get there? Was it just not? Sometimes it's just naturally like women like you have opportunity and the skills, and sometimes it's not. Tell me a little bit about that.

Speaker 2 16:37

So when I moved into that role, they needed somebody who was at the company that they had just acquired. And so it was important to have and I think they recognize that it was important to have that representation in their leadership.

Speaker 1 16:52

Some consistency.

Speaker 2 16:53

That's right, that's right, and because I was in a leadership role with that organization, I think that's really what led to that. But I didn't have a mentor and you know, you just kind of keep pushing through and and that's where those skills when I was a little girl come in handy, where I learned you have a voice, you just have to use it and sometimes, um, it's, it's. You don't want to sit in fear, right, because it's unfamiliar, or you're the only female at the table or will they actually listen to me and and you don't want to sit in fear.

Speaker 2 17:32

and what I did was I pulled out that inner little girl and and found my voice and it served me well and again, I I very much enjoyed the individuals that I worked with. They they were kind, they were caring, but I didn't really have a mentor, not a female mentor.

Speaker 1 17:53

Yeah yeah.

Speaker 2 17:57

You were paving the way, yeah, but I would say that that's not the case now and I see many women in leadership in that organization that they have and they have grown and blossomed and I'm so proud that I was a part of it at one time.

Speaker 1 18:11

Yeah, okay, I love it. Do you find that, now that you have the leadership role, the title, that you use your voice differently than you did before?

Speaker 2 18:24

Oh, that's an interesting question. I would say I think I'm a little more intentional. I'm intentional to try to be a mentor, even if it's not a programmed mentorship, sure, but but certainly we have. I have a lot of women on my, on my team, and and they are again, they are strong, powerful women. The poor, the poor men in my oh no, they are also strong.

Speaker 2 19:02

They're, they're also strong and wonderful they're, they're in kind, and everyone has this heart and this passion, but the women, they, they. My CEO is this woman who we. She's like a pit bull. She gets her teeth into something and she's just gonna, she's gonna dig in and find that success at the end. I just have some powerful women on my team, and so what I try to do is I want to continue to mentor that. So I try to be intentional with how I speak and how I share and how I lead, especially that I'm now in charge of the direction, of how this organization is going to go, and so I want to make sure that I'm doing that with an intentionality. That's a word.

Speaker 1 19:48

Yeah.

Speaker 2 19:49

That yeah.

Speaker 1 19:51

I love that, especially with the strategic, the strategy and the vision. And, if you didn't notice, but when she talked about her people, she just lit up, which tells me everything. Like you really did have a different energy about you, so I loved that. Thank you for sharing that.

Speaker 1 20:05

Yeah, it was just a one-off question, but I was interested. Okay, so let's talk about affordable housing. Okay, it's often a gendered issue affecting single mothers, women of color, caregivers disproportionately. How do you see gender dynamics influencing the housing crisis and how does Habitat's work address some of those profound inequalities?

Female Leadership in Male-Dominated Spaces

Speaker 2 20:27

Absolutely so. The housing crisis is absolutely a gendered issue and that is a very that's a very good way to put it. Our applicants are primarily single mothers, single moms, and it's single moms that are working hard and doing everything that they should be doing to be able to buy a home. Yeah, but they're working two and three jobs and they are, you know, managing child care and they're managing homework and then also self-care and extracurricular activities. What happens is there's it's single women, it's women of color, it's women that are marginalized, and they have these compounding issues and I don't even want to say issues challenges that affects them, and that's why our program is so important. The way our program is designed is that, as an organization, we believe that nobody should be paying more than 30% of their income on housing.

Speaker 1 21:33

I'm sure some people listening are like, well, I'm paying a whole lot more right now, that's right, that's right.

Speaker 2 21:39

And so what we do? When we select a family in our program, we use something called an affordability calculator. Okay, and what we do is we determine their mortgage payment based on what they are their income.

Speaker 1 21:56

And is that something just from you? Is that a state thing, a national thing? Where does this calculator come from?

Speaker 2 22:02

It comes from our international office. Okay, so that is something that, across the board, every Habitat for Humanity utilizes, and while they get a 30-year mortgage, it is at zero percent interest. What, really? Yeah, so we can make it affordable in a way that most lenders cannot, absolutely. But that's why donations are so important, so we can do that. So, but, that being said, because many of our partner families are led by single, single mothers, yeah, it's. What we're able to do is to help them build that equity and stability and that intergenerational wealth that they otherwise may not have been able to do. It's really a game changer.

Speaker 1 22:51

For those who might not know, will you just touch on intergenerational wealth and what housing and stability has to do with building that?

Speaker 2 22:58

Absolutely so historically, people have built wealth through the ownership of their home. It's through the equity that is built in their home.

Speaker 2 23:08

Yeah, because it's usually people's largest asset for most of us not everyone, and historically that has been a more difficult space for people of color to be able to qualify for loans, and so white individuals and white families have had more opportunities to build that intergenerational wealth. Oh, just over time, and that's just how history has been OK. So this is the opportunity that we are building where they have they can. It can be a game changer for their families that they purchase these homes. They're paying only principal, and when I say only, I mean it's still, you know, it's enough. It's still the cost of the home, but they're building equity. And so when the time comes, when they sell their home, let's say they have $300,000 in equity in their home.

Speaker 2 24:03

That's something that most people are not able to save for home. That's something that most people are not able to save for, and the reality is is that if we are managing their payment at 30% of their income, then they're able to save money in other ways too, or invest in their children, or we've had families that have been able to send their children to college for the first time, and so it's the first generation to go on and get a higher degree. It just affords so many opportunities, and that intergenerational wealth then goes to their children and to their children and to their children, those ripple effects like we talked about in the beginning, those ripple effects, the beautiful unintended consequences or intended consequences.

Speaker 2 24:49

I love that. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 24:51

Yeah, thank you for explaining that, sure, sure. Ok, let's see. I want to pivot to your time on boards and coalitions Right, because none of us does any of the work that we do alone. That's right. We, we do this together, men and women, no matter your socioeconomics, no matter where you live. Like, if we're going to make change, we have to do it together, is my belief. So you serve on boards and coalitions that address housing justice, like we just talked about, legal equity and human rights. For women in leadership who want to turn advocacy into real organizational impact, right. What advice would you give them about moving from intention to implementation, especially in male dominated or conservative environments like Utah? That's a big question.

Speaker 2 25:40

It is a big question, so I'm going to I'm going to take it really simple. That's my advice Okay, start exactly where you are going to take it really simple.

Speaker 1 25:49

Yeah, my advice. Okay, start exactly where you are. And what does that mean? Right, women like 20 things. They love all the things, they want to do, all the things.

Speaker 2 25:55

Start where you are, use what you have and don't ask for permission. That's my advice. That's my advice Use that inner power and step forward and and, and. If you want to advocate for something, I mean, gosh, I was an eight year old girl and that had an impact, yeah, and so I didn't have a title, I didn't have a career or education, but I had the gumption and I had the passion and I believed that something I did could make a change. Now put that into a grown human. Yeah, a strong woman that has been resilient over the years, that has gone through whatever challenges she has faced.

Speaker 1 26:47

Yeah, she's got some experience.

Speaker 2 26:49

And just come out the other side, start where you are, use the skills you have and I suggest that you move through boldly, unapologetically.

Speaker 1 27:04

Now what does that mean? Because sometimes that can get women into trouble unapologetically.

Speaker 2 27:10

Yeah, it means gosh, just be who you are. I mean, if you know what your beliefs are, you know your passion. Don't apologize for it. Don't be less for anybody. Be all that you are. And that means sometimes working through that fear and taking that next step forward. But it also means collaborating, finding your allies, finding the people that want to work alongside you, because you don't have to do it alone and and women are so good at collaborating that is, that is one of our strengths. What I've always found is is finding your allies and finding the people that you can work alongside um and go at it together. But that's how you're going to move forward.

Speaker 2 28:06

So here's an example I just got back from Washington DC. I traveled with two chambers of commerce, the Box Elder Chamber and Chamber West and literally I got back at one o'clock in the morning this morning. Oh morning, oh no. Well, thank you for being here. And and it was one of the absolute most um impactful trips that I have had to washington dc and I and I go fairly often. I go probably two, two times a year, because that's part of your it's part of what I do.

Speaker 2 28:39

It's advocacy yep it's part of what I do, it's advocacy, it's part of what we do, and we have the opportunity to meet with each one of our federal legislators, and so we we met with them as a group and sitting there, as a female, I was worried, you know, am I going to sound a certain way if I ask a question, or?

Housing as a Gendered Issue

Speaker 2 29:00

And so you're running through it and you just have to work through that fear, and I was sitting alongside another executive director for another Habitat for Humanity and we continued to lift each other up. So even if one of us was sitting in fear, we would lift each other up, and that's the collaborative effort that I'm talking about. Some of the other women that were also on that trip powerful, amazing, strong, intelligent women that were asking some bold questions and they were unapologetic for being strong, powerful women. It was an amazing trip. It was an amazing trip. We'll see how much impact it has in the future on legislation, but really it was an opportunity that I don't know that I would have had, you know, any other time. So really connecting with these chambers has been really important.

Speaker 1 29:57

Well, that's a shout out to chambers, who do amazing work.

Speaker 2 30:00

They do.

Speaker 1 30:00

WLI is part of the Salt Lake Chamber Chamber, who does an amazing lift in our community.

Speaker 2 30:05

Yes.

Speaker 1 30:06

And I also. You've used some really interesting words as you've described your leadership and your advocacy, and intentional is what comes to mind.

Speaker 2 30:15

Yeah.

Speaker 1 30:15

Right, you were bold and unapologetic. You felt your fear.

Speaker 2 30:20

Yeah.

Speaker 1 30:20

You were intentional. Nobody wants to, like you know, offend other people or, you know, call people out or any of that. But you can still be unapologetic and aligned with your own personal values, right, yeah, because advocacy really is like what are my values, what are your values, how can we work together? We might not agree on this issue, but we might be all in together on this issue. That's right. So, holding that space for people to be different and have different values, yes, and also aligning where you can, I think I think is something we inherently know. Maybe in this political climate, we tend to draw back on that because we're afraid sometimes, but I think that that is a really beautiful place to be and a lot of growth can happen there for people.

Speaker 2 31:08

I think it's really important to be able to have that dialogue. Yeah, that that's where the impact and the change really happens. It's the dialogue and the conversations that happen, that over time, it creates that systemic change. Systemic change just as it doesn't happen, just a snap sometimes, sometimes it does most of the time it doesn't but it's having those conversations that I think is so important, and that was something else.

Speaker 2 31:39

There were people that are set on differing sides of the political spectrum that were on this trip, yeah, and we were able to sit down and have very real conversations, and I appreciated that.

Speaker 1 31:49

Yeah, without finger pointing, which just makes for good policy. Yes, yeah, because you really do need those voices at the table, because I don't know this person's experience with it. I don't know this person's experience and what they need, but I can bring my experience and together we can hit more touch points, more pain points. Right, yes, help create a better thing.

Speaker 2 32:10

I agree, and it really does. If we're making decisions in an echo chamber, then it just we're not. We're not looking at all, we're not listening, and that's part of what I do.

Speaker 1 32:22

Yes, listen, absolutely, I want to hear.

Speaker 2 32:24

I want to see you, I want to understand, and then we can make some decisions and find some common ground. I think is super important yeah.

Speaker 1 32:33

Well, an active listening leads to feedback, right, if you really are an active listener, if you're, sometimes our ego gets in the way and people don't really take feedback or different things are happening in their life, but I think feedback is really an essential opportunity for leaders Right To take it in and say, well, I don't agree with this, but I do agree with this. What about this? You know, and continue those conversations. I love how you said that. Thank you, yeah, okay, advocacy, I'm so excited about that. Thank you, yeah, okay, advocacy, I'm so excited about that. What is something in this space that you don't, particularly in Utah, that people might not know, that you'd want them to know, especially in? So we have the women's leadership hits both politics and business. Yes, so if you were to ask a call for those women looking to run for office typically mayors women have a really great time, or an easier time, becoming mayors or people in the business community, who listen to?

Speaker 1 33:34

this podcast. What do you wish that they would know about the work that you do and the people you serve?

Speaker 2 33:40

It takes grit that you do and the people you serve. It takes grit, and not just to do the work, but the individuals to go through the program, the families to go through the program. It takes grit. These are individuals that are resilient, that have been through it, and part of our program is that they also have to do 225 hours of sweat equity and help build their home.

Speaker 1 34:06

And these are individuals.

Speaker 2 34:07

Okay, they have to pick up a hammer. They learn how to use a power saw.

Speaker 1 34:12

Is that for all the homes that you built? Yeah, that's what equity really? Yeah, okay, I didn't realize that it is imperative.

Speaker 2 34:17

They have to go out and swing a hammer and sometimes they're they're nervous and they're scared, and that's the other piece Work through that fear.

Speaker 1 34:29

Well, you're teaching them their own leadership principles. That's right, yeah, okay.

Speaker 2 34:33

And so it takes grit, it takes real grit, and sometimes it's hard and they have to find that child stubbornness to get through it, but that's what I would say, and watching women recently stand up and pursue political positions has been so empowering On my side, watching them stand up and take that risk, on my side, watching them stand up and take that risk. I've been to a number of kickoff events for women that are moving in that direction and I just appreciate that. I appreciate that because really, I mean there's the votes and the elections, like when you were in high school who's going to be?

Speaker 1 35:21

prom queen. Who's going to be the student council president?

Advocacy and Intentional Leadership

Speaker 2 35:25

this is on a whole nother level. Yeah, you know, when you're out there, you're really putting yourself out there for um people to take a look and um honor that or to throw some hits right. They're throwing punches sometimes and I appreciate these women are willing to be vulnerable in their strength and I appreciate that.

Speaker 1 35:49

I love that. It brings to mind one of my friends recently I think it was our third campaign, but she was there. She packed this room full of people and she went out and she asked for money. But she stood in it, she owned it and she held a jar and guess what? So many people came up money in the jar dollars, a hundred dollar bills and I literally just sat there crying because she, she believed in herself and she asked for money. And it was so beautiful because, whether or not I am a do-gooder myself, I believe in humanity, I'm optimistic, but a lot of things, most things, take money too, and so the ability for women, as we get into these positions, to be able to ask for money and expect it.

Speaker 2 36:40

That's right.

Speaker 1 36:41

Yeah, it's also a really powerful piece of this women's leadership.

Speaker 2 36:46

I love that. I love that so much yeah.

Speaker 1 36:50

What else do you want them to know? I feel like you. You've given us such a rich conversation. I have so many things in my head, but you're the expert here. What else would you like them to know?

Speaker 2 37:00

Well, first, I wanted to sit in that moment for just a second because really acknowledging what it is to work through that fear is important, I would say. I think it's important to recognize that we learn things all through our life and that we just have to remember to dig deep and define them. There are skills.

Speaker 1 37:31

Sometimes they're coping mechanisms, because we all have them Trauma, survival you know, but?

Speaker 2 37:40

but they are also skills, sure, that have helped us survive, but they also help us thrive, and we don't want to forget that. And so, digging deep and finding that along the way, not forgetting that we are here to lead the way for the next generation, for those that are coming behind us. Yeah, and I look at these, I look at the women that are coming behind us, and I feel so much pride and comfort because they don't take it.

Speaker 1 38:25

You're like it's going to be fine.

Speaker 2 38:27

They don't take it at all. I'm looking at these women that are leading marches and that are speaking their minds and standing up for what they believe in, and they're knowledgeable and intelligent and that gives that. That gives me hope. Yeah, it makes me hopeful. And that's also the children that are being raised in our Habitat family. Yeah, that, instead of going from apartment to apartment to apartment every time the rent increases, they have stability and safety, which matters so much, and it matters Mm-hmm, I see I would the last bunch of applications that we've received when applications were open for our homes.

Speaker 2 39:21

I would say 75% of them were people of color, and then of that we probably had 80% that were single moms and again, watching them reach out and step up and take that chance, it's pretty amazing. So we are getting ready to announce the end of this month. Okay, we have eight new families that have been. They're waiting for final approval from our board of directors and then we will notify. So there's a number of families that are out there just kind of sitting on the edge of their seats waiting.

Speaker 2 39:59

They've gone through the process, and so we'll be announcing that at the end of this month.

Speaker 1 40:04

Oh, that's exciting and we're very excited. Okay, so take me through the timeline. Do applications open once a year?

Speaker 2 40:09

Approximately once a year. It's how fast we can build. So we opened up our applications last fall, okay, and we have been going through that process. We go through just like they do for any other mortgage or loan. So we go through that. We look at credit scores debt to income and then we narrow that down, making sure that they fit between the 30 and 60 percent AMI. And then we go do family home visits and we actually go visit them in their home. We meet the children, we meet the family.

Speaker 2 40:44

We meet where they are Okay, and one of the things that we look at is are there safety issues? Is there something else? It's more than just numbers, it's more than just the numbers, and are they willing to partner with our organization? Are they willing to do the $225?

Speaker 2 40:57

You're going to have to pick up a hammer, and that is a partnership which we love. Yeah, and we do have, you know, two parent families as well, of course. But yeah, so we've just gone through this process and so here we are, and we don't as staff, we do not make that decision. The decision is made by a committee of community members that are diverse and are representative of the group that we are selecting, and there's a great deal of discussion that goes into it, and it's anonymous, so they don't know who it is, they just know the information and they make a selection and then they make a recommendation to our board and the board ultimately will confirm Okay, but we'll know at the end of the month, and that's always an exciting time when they come in and they're signing their documents and they know that they're moving towards that process.

Speaker 2 41:56

It does take anywhere from nine months to 18 months for families to finish up their hours.

Getting Involved with Habitat

Speaker 1 42:06

But still we're working in that direction. That's pretty short too, yeah. So one thing you were talking about when you go and you visit the families, one thing that is coming to the top more and more in discussions about the workplace is this idea of psychological safety? Yes, and it's interesting because sometimes we have this disconnect between families and the workforce. But, really, if you can get the future workforce to know what psychological safety is.

Speaker 1 42:34

Yes, stability is yes, right then you've just got to jumpstart on your leaders of the future. Absolutely yeah, they all like it's a whole pipeline, the whole life of that, and I also. It's interesting too that when you talk about grit and resilience and all those things, your dad, an unlikely person, gave you an opportunity.

Speaker 1 43:17

That's right my first time meeting you, but such a delight If people want to get involved with your organization, if they want to give a donation, if they want to like help with a hammer like what does that look like? How can they do that?

Speaker 2 43:29

Okay, so the easiest place to go is our website. That's where all the information lies. We have our gala coming up. If people just want to take a peek into who we are, they are more than welcome. We still have just a few tables left, okay, but we have our gala coming up on June 5th and we actually our speaker is an adult child of one of our homeowners oh, that'll be, and how she has grown up and how the home changed the trajectory of their family's life, and so she will be speaking. We have the amazing and infamous Nikki Walker who is going to be our emcee. Okay, perfect, yeah, so we have our gala.

Speaker 2 44:18

If they just want to take a peek and they can go to our website and purchase a table and participate. But if they want to come volunteer, we welcome the volunteers to come and pick up a hammer. We are so grateful for anybody who's able to do that. So we are always looking for volunteers to come work on our job site. We're doing our next groundbreaking in Tooele and we will be building four homes there. Our groundbreaking is on June 12th and then we'll start having volunteers out on our construction site. We are always seeking volunteers in our restore and then for a donation. Every little bit helps it sure does, and but this is me asking for people to just reach out, and we're in a political climate that is very fluid right now, and so is the funding that we receive, and so we are leaning heavily on individuals and private organizations and private foundations to really help us keep our doors open and the the nails and the hammer swinging.

Speaker 1 45:30

So that is a tagline right there. There we go.

Speaker 2 45:33

So please go to our website. It's wwwhabitatsaltlakeorg.

Speaker 1 45:40

Perfect, we'll put it in the show notes. We want people to find you. Thank you so much. Oh, thank you, it's been a pleasure.

Speaker 2 45:46

It's been a pleasure, thank you.