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Series 1/Episode 2 - Purpose Doesn't Need Permission
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Jennifer Perez has spent twenty years inside some of the most demanding cause organisations in America. The American Heart Association. St. Jude. MADD. The American Red Cross. Now the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas.
Each move was a different cause. A different kind of human need. A different argument for why this deserves to be funded above everything else competing for the same dollar. She has made every one of those arguments land.
What never changed across any of it was who she was inside it.
She grew up in New York City knowing that no room was too big, no table too full, and no seat already taken. That conviction didn't come from confidence. It came from a childhood that taught her the most powerful thing you can bring into any room is an authentic relationship with the person across from you. That lesson became her career.
In 2018 she moved her family from New York to Texas and built a community from scratch. She is a Girl Scout troop leader. A PTA board member. A monthly donor to the organisation that gave her a professional home when she first arrived in Dallas.
She is now raising her children with the same conviction she carried into every room, reminding them to be exactly who they are. Because that is the only version of themselves worth bringing into the world.
Her story is at the heart of our series "Transition is a Frame of mind."
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Transcript
Intro
Introduction to Carpe Disruption Podcast
00:01:19
Jeremy Sholl
Welcome to Carpe Disruption and our series one called Transitioning as a Frame of Mind. I'm Jeremy Sholl Alaina Schnipke. Hey, Alaina
00:01:28
Alaina Schnipke
Hey, Jeremy.
00:01:29
Jeremy Sholl
So, Alaina before we get our guest online,
Is Making a Compelling Case a Learned Skill?
00:01:32
Jeremy Sholl
When I think about our guests and I think about transitioning as a frame of mind, I think there are people who are best at making a case for something.
00:01:41
Jeremy Sholl
the ones who can really walk into a room and make a corporation, make a company, or make a a board, sign over millions, or even just sign off on a project or initiative, a cause.
Navigating Professional Transitions
00:01:51
Jeremy Sholl
Do you think they know consciously how they're doing that or how they actually get that to unfold?
00:01:58
Alaina Schnipke
Oh man, I think the first couple times, no. But I think once you get good out of it, you kind of get the recipe of it. And maybe you do, right? Maybe you know you just have that knack that you can walk in and you're like, I got this.
00:02:09
Alaina Schnipke
I will. You know the same, you can sell ice to an Eskimo. I don't like that type thing.
00:02:14
Jeremy Sholl
Yeah.
00:02:14
Alaina Schnipke
Some people just know they can do that. But I think there are some people that learn it as they go and then perfect what someone call a science into an art. And I don't think that art component can be taught.
Embracing Risk in Transitions
00:02:27
Jeremy Sholl
Agree. I think some of it's natural. And I'm goingnna nerd out here every single episode. going to go back to my geology days as as it always is. So when I think of geology, and that that there's a geological term called transition zone.
00:02:39
Jeremy Sholl
It's basically, in layman's terms, a layer where one rock formation transitions to another, right? But there you you never find a clean line. If you look through, it's not like you see in the, we're taught in schools that actually in real life, it's all over the place. And it's the pressure, it's the compression, it's it's years of force kind of ah accumulating, right? And I think of what we just talked about there with just having that natural ability reminds me of this.
00:03:03
Jeremy Sholl
and And I think there's people in the professional space, the professional world that do these transitions. And the ones that do really well aren't the ones who've moved through clearly, or clearly and cleanly,
Jennifer Perez's Career Journey
00:03:13
Jeremy Sholl
They're the ones who really understand what was being compressed and and didn't look away. They just dove right in.
00:03:24
Jeremy Sholl
Yeah. Exactly.
00:03:27
Alaina Schnipke
They want to have the whole path visible. And 99% of the time, you just have to get comfortable with the risk. You have to get comfortable with the unknown. You have to know that, hey, the road may fork and I have to make a decision.
00:03:39
Alaina Schnipke
And i have to be okay with that.
00:03:41
Alaina Schnipke
And the people that do that well, man, they do it well.
00:03:45
Jeremy Sholl
Which is, yeah it's never easy, right? It's always hard. and And that's why I'm so excited about our guest. She's absolutely brilliant. I do know her personally, but I have played words with friends with her and I feel like she's she's so wickedly smart that she toys with me.
00:03:58
Jeremy Sholl
I swear she just like, all let Jeremy play for a little bit.
00:04:01
Jeremy Sholl
He'll get a word here, word there, and then boom, the 500 point word, crazy. crushed. She's just wicked smart. She spent you know so many years, 20 years in rooms making other people's causes so compelling. She's so good at it.
00:04:15
Jeremy Sholl
And really getting people to buy into it. American Heart Association, American Red Cross, St. Jude's, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which are all a lot of U.S.-based organizations. And and now at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas in the U.S., where she is leads corporate partnerships
00:04:32
Jeremy Sholl
And she didn't start a nonprofit, which I think is cool. That transition is what we're excited to talk to her about is She started selling Jose Cuervo and really worked for a brand marketing agency in New York,
00:04:42
Jeremy Sholl
So it's super exciting and it's it's such a crazy transition. Don't you agree?
00:04:46
Alaina Schnipke
It is. and like, listen, I'm going to say 99% of our listeners would not expect that, but the sharpest nonprofit executives that I know started in for-profit.
00:04:58
Alaina Schnipke
And I think there's something in that.
00:05:01
Jeremy Sholl
Ooh, I can't wait to dive into that.
Casual Weather Conversations
00:05:04
Jeremy Sholl
So excited. We'll get into that later. But first foremost, our honored guest, Jennifer Perez, welcome to Carpe Disruption.
00:05:11
Jennifer
Hey, good morning. How are you?
00:05:14
Jeremy Sholl
Good, good afternoon to here and in Luxembourg in Europe. good Good morning to both of you.
00:05:19
Jennifer
yeah well, morning for me, you know, um bright and early here in Frisco, Texas. I'm, you know, really enjoying it's beautiful weather. It's finally starting feel like summer, summer spring, as we say here in Dallas.
00:05:31
Jeremy Sholl
And so the weather in Dallas, what what is the weather right now?
00:05:36
Jennifer
Um, it's probably starting off in the high seventies, eighties, which to me is, is perfect spring weather. You know, um, I really do appreciate being able to get out to the pool, you know, in the middle of May and over the past couple of weeks, it's been rainy and for me cold, you know, my kids say that 65 degrees is not cold, but you know, in my book, it's, it certainly is.
00:06:00
Jeremy Sholl
Oh, living in Florida, oh my God. Like it goes below 70 and you just, the winter parkas come out, the boots, oh my God.
00:06:06
Jennifer
Yeah. Yeah.
00:06:07
Jeremy Sholl
It's literally like in a different world.
Connecting Human Stories of Transition
00:06:10
Jeremy Sholl
and thank you, Jennifer, first of all, for coming on and being a part of this,
The Role of Relationship-Building in Career Success
00:06:25
Jeremy Sholl
And we're like, you know, there's more stories and more stories for people to connect with.
00:06:25
Jennifer
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:06:27
Jennifer
Mm-hmm.
00:06:29
Jeremy Sholl
And that's the purpose of this series is helping individuals feel a human connection with somebody's story, their transition. Because as you know, everybody in this world right now is going through insane transitions, whether you're starting a business, whether you're being laid off, which has happened to me.
00:06:44
Jeremy Sholl
And so it's it's going through that or just the uncertainty of your job field with AI.
00:06:50
Jeremy Sholl
And it's a lot of uncertainty, a lot of fear in lot of people's eyes. So human stories, I feel, connect and help us move along, continue to to battle through and have perseverance through anything that we handle. So we want to tell yours.
00:07:03
Jeremy Sholl
But Jennifer, if you just start us from maybe a real quick intro of of like the transition, what what made you decide to make the change?
00:07:10
Jeremy Sholl
You know, maybe give us a little bit about about the for-profit element, but What made you make the change? And then talk us through that.
00:07:18
Jennifer
Well, I mean, I think there's what like let's start with a framework right I think that you know you both alluded to in your intro something about like oh people have plans and then the plans and plans and plans and I think I've, what I've grown to appreciate about myself is that I don't think I ever really had a ah plan in place.
00:07:42
Jennifer
You know, it just was not raised that way. my parents are immigrants, both are factory workers who like came to this country looking for something better without really identifying what that better was.
00:07:57
Jennifer
Um, and I think there was always like a overview of where Like my mom wanted me to go, but having not even graduated high school herself, not having the words to say, oh this is you do this and then you go to college.
00:08:15
Jennifer
And then after college, you go to this and dah, dah, dah, dah. So for me, i as I look back at my career in transition and where I wanted to go next, you know I really just followed opportunity.
00:08:28
Jennifer
And I think that that's something that I've been really good at identifying is where is the opportunity for myself, for others? And in following that opportunity, never maybe being delusional and never saying, hey, that's not for me. You know, I think that that is a very, very big piece, especially as I look at a younger generation, you know, that over analyzes that there's, there's a lot of just thinking about it so much instead of just the doing,
00:09:00
Jennifer
where people get sort of tripped up. So for me, it wasn't really, I'm going to follow this plan and I'm going to finish this. And then I'm going to do this. I think the thrilling has always been the relationship building.
00:09:10
Jeremy Sholl
Thank you.
00:09:10
Jennifer
I've always been, you know, my sisters will, will attest to the fact that I would be in the playground and I would come up and be like, Hey, here's my five new friends. Right.
00:09:21
Jennifer
and I think that no matter where my career has taken me, right. Because, I've been in the for-profit and in the nonprofit, but all of it has been about relationship building.
00:09:33
Jennifer
And we'll get a little bit more into this in the future, you know in our conversation today, you know when we're talking about AI and you know how it replaces and how all these pieces, but that relationship building is what will be key, I think, to the development and the continuation of us
00:09:42
Jeremy Sholl
Yeah.
00:09:52
Jennifer
as a workforce, you know, is being able to build those, to be in the room and to also be willing to be, to make the relationships, not only with the key people leaders, but also with everybody else in that room, because that's incredibly important too.
00:10:06
Jennifer
Um, I, I think you asked me a little bit about my background and how I got to where I am. And I guessed,
00:10:14
Jennifer
The real response there has been a very intentional um seeking of opportunity and in some ways power.
00:10:36
Jennifer
this is really, you know, power and the manifestation thereof really is incredibly important in order to be able to say that you are succeeding.
00:10:48
Alaina Schnipke
Jennifer, I'm curious because similar to you, didn't set out with a plan post-grad. I just kind of, you know, it was like, yeah, you're going to graduate high school, then you're going to go to college. And then, opportunities presented themselves and I just kind of took them.
00:11:02
Jennifer
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:11:02
Alaina Schnipke
And then it was conversations that led to the next opportunity.
00:11:23
Jeremy Sholl
Thank
00:11:48
Jennifer
I do. i think that that is a big part of it um it's It's also being willing to take the risks. um I do think that there's a big part of, being at the right place at the right time, but there's also a big part of really ensuring that you've got a champion in in in in your, I guess, in your back, not in your back pocket, but in in your environment.
00:12:12
Jennifer
And that, again, only comes from building those relationships. Right.
00:12:18
Jennifer
Right. Because you can trust your gut all day long, but a big part of it is also who's advocating for you.
00:12:18
Alaina Schnipke
Mm-hmm.
00:12:25
Jeremy Sholl
Yeah.
00:12:25
Jennifer
Yourself, but also the people that are around you are incredibly important to really be able to to advance into
Motivation for Moving to Nonprofit Work
00:12:34
Jennifer
other spaces. And I can clearly identify in my career who those people have been. Um, especially in spaces that are predominantly white, um, where really having an advocate, you know, is incredibly important to, to be able to get you to the, to the next level.
00:12:53
Jeremy Sholl
Agree, is there anybody that stands out
00:12:53
Alaina Schnipke
It's
00:12:55
Jeremy Sholl
An advocate that surprised you before?
00:12:58
Jennifer
No, I don't think that it's been surprising. i really do think, again, that relationship building is is so incredibly important.
00:13:01
Jeremy Sholl
Okay.
00:13:07
Jennifer
You know, I can point to people that I can, that I can, that I still have relationships with and say, hey, you know, thank you. And I can thank them, you know, but I don't think it's surprising because again, you know, That is something that I've taken, you know, from the relationships that I have, like with my dad, for example.
00:13:26
Jennifer
He was always known as like the mayor of, you know, wherever we were because he was so good at that. And it's part of, him just being who he was, right?
00:13:32
Alaina Schnipke
Thank you.
00:13:35
Jennifer
So I think it's just... you gotta be willing to make those relationships and, and, and real ones, you know, we're, we're living in such a surface level time. um and, and I think that that's, that's the piece that, that is, that is so incredibly important, especially as I see new generations come up, really
00:13:55
Jeremy Sholl
I couldn't agree more. I think that's really gonna be the separation piece from what jobs get replaced and what don't, in a sense. I try to look at not as as jobs getting replaced, its more about tasks and actions and roles that get replaced versus jobs.
00:14:09
Jeremy Sholl
and so that that feeling, i want to kind of dive back into just a moment and go more to the service layer on this. Your transition, when you decided to move from for-profit to nonprofit, what made you think of doing that?
00:14:24
Jennifer
I may have told you the story, Jeremy, but I'll tell you Alaina So I have three three daughters. My eldest now is about to turn 22. And when she was around four or five, um someone asked her hey, what does your dad do?
00:14:40
Jennifer
And, you know, my husband by trade, you know, is like an art director, you know, graphic designer, all the things, agency work, but also paint and plays guitar, you know, like, Oh, my daddy, he's an artist, you know, and I'm like, well, what does your mom do?
00:14:55
Jennifer
Oh, well, she works on a computer. I'm like, oh, okay.
00:15:06
Jeremy Sholl
Okay.
00:15:09
Jennifer
child, my, you know, my, my future view me, and I knew I was doing work, you know, yeah, hey, this would be really cool if you drink this, you know, liquor or, you know, use this camera. Wow. You know, um so I became her, a Girl Scout troop leader.
00:15:27
Jennifer
yeah I hear about these families are like, oh yeah, we all volunteered and this was always a great thing. Like my, you know, my, my parents were always operating in, you know, in like, in in, let's say like crisis mode, right? Like always about work, always about, you know, all those things. So I don't think I was really worried.
00:15:45
Jennifer
raised that way. But I immediately thought like, wow, this is an opportunity for my child to see me, not only as something more than just working on a computer, but also an opportunity for me to become a leader for her and have her see me in a different light.
00:16:04
Jennifer
And that really helped me transition into if volunteering is this meaningful what if my day to day was this meaningful? really had me asking, that really tough question is like, what is the impact that you are making in the world?
The Appeal and Impact of Nonprofit Work
00:16:20
Jeremy Sholl
Yeah. Yep.
00:16:21
Jennifer
And if you're gonna be putting in long hours, and really giving your life away to a job what is the end result?
00:16:30
Jennifer
What are you saying about what that result is? And so at the time, the American Heart Association was a relationship that I had at work through again, building relationships. And there was an opportunity and I was like, well, that'd be great for me to apply my relationship building skills to nonprofit work.
00:16:53
Jennifer
You know, and it's not not a lot of people jump into giant nonprofits first. um I think a lot of people start small, but it just happened to be an opportunity. And this whole thing with Go Red for Women, really, there there was a question on whether or not, well I could fundraise, because that wasn't my initial job at the American Heart Association.
00:17:16
Jennifer
It really was a cross- between programmatic and fundraising, helping fundraising understand how programs work, helping programs understand how fundraising work, and then what was that intersection so that we could get more support.
00:17:35
Jennifer
but really that concept of legacy building, that concept of leaving a mark, of being really conscious of having someone external
00:17:40
Alaina Schnipke
Thank you.
00:17:48
Jennifer
And and then willing to change that based on you know that external feedback.
00:17:55
Alaina Schnipke
So funny you say that because I can, I like the second you said, my daughter said, she works at a computer. I thought of my niece. I don't have children of my own, but I have 10 nieces and nephews. And, I was back in Ohio and Stella at the time, she, my gosh, she was maybe four and I was working and she looked at me and she goes, Lena. And I said, Hey, Stella. And she goes, going to be on your computer all day.
00:18:17
Alaina Schnipke
and I was like, Oh my God, i was like, this child thinks that I am my computer. And you know it was one of those like moments where i was like, ooh, how do i even explain to her what I'm doing?
00:18:21
Jennifer
mm-hmm
00:18:26
Alaina Schnipke
How do i how do i even tell my four-year-old niece? oh, I'm giving people jobs. Like, at least I you love to do that part.
00:18:32
Jeremy Sholl
Yeah.
00:18:33
Alaina Schnipke
But how do I tell my four-year-old niece? yeah, I have to be on this computer all day. But it's so interesting that that was kind of like that trigger. And then some of the organizations you've worked for are, I mean, they're they're incredibly well known. And like you said, not everyone starts big, nationwide nonprofits. A lot of them do start small.
00:18:53
Alaina Schnipke
um Once you started into nonprofit, did you know immediately like, yes, this is it, right? Like, this is where I want to be. This is where I want to stay. Was there a moment where you were like, ooh, for profit, like corporate world for profit is quote unquote easier? Like, did you ever have that moment after you transitioned where you were like, maybe I go back to corporate?
00:19:14
Jennifer
No, because I think that there's something so meaningful about making meaning.
00:19:18
Jennifer
You know, you really, ah about after a year after, i started working at the American Heart Association, so like Sophia could then say like, my mom works saving lives, still on, I was still on my computer, but for her, it was so much easier for her to be able to identify,
00:19:35
Jeremy Sholl
Yeah.
00:19:35
Jennifer
the meaning behind it.
00:19:52
Jennifer
I don't think about going to for profit because I've been there. And if I'm going to, again, give my time and my energy
00:19:55
Alaina Schnipke
Mm-hmm.
00:20:00
Jennifer
You know, i think even even now in in the world that we're living in, it just has to be more meaningful for me personally. I just feel like I want to be contributing to something
00:20:09
Jeremy Sholl
Mm-hmm.
Skills and Challenges in Nonprofit Work
00:20:42
Jennifer
And I think that that's the challenge that I enjoy is having companies, the for-profit, understand how important it is to continue to elevate those kinds of things, not only in our communities, but to their own employees.
00:21:00
Jeremy Sholl
I love that. And I want to go back a second. You said with the the transition and you mentioned the sales piece.
00:21:09
Jeremy Sholl
I want to look back when you first made the transition, What was maybe that one or two things that you realized this working in for-profit gave you a competitive advantage in the job to be to be really good at it?
00:21:22
Jennifer
I think, um I think ThruLine has always just been, i don't know if it's given me the competitive advantage, but I think understanding how companies work.
00:21:35
Jeremy Sholl
Yeah. Yeah.
00:21:35
Jennifer
you know, having had a little bit of inside scoop to for-profit, something that if' that's given me an advantage definitely has been the marketing side, it's easier to talk to an F&B brand to try to support a nonprofit like the center when I've been on the other side of the KPIs, right?
00:21:44
Alaina Schnipke
Thank you.
00:21:55
Jennifer
When I can speak that language. So I think those elements have always been very, very helpful to me. but that all plays off on itself, right?
00:22:05
Jeremy Sholl
Right. Okay.
00:22:05
Jeremy Sholl
Mm-hmm.
00:22:06
Jennifer
ultimately those pieces, you know, don't matter if you don't use them to your advantage.
00:22:13
Jennifer
You know, it's not like I said, okay I'm leaving the for-profit world. Let's just throw, throw it all into a safe and throw it into the ocean. no, that all of that really shapes and develops, the the person that you become and,
00:22:24
Jennifer
um There is a certain level of dynamicism that comes with being able to pivot from, you know, i was you know born in New York city grew up in the Heights, went to boarding school, in in in Massachusetts, then came back, then went into corporate, then went into nonprofit.
00:22:44
Jennifer
like All of those things are almost like layers that build upon themselves. And I will tell you, i was when i've when i went into the American Heart Association, I was still like rough around the edges, scrappy and still ah being in rooms and...
00:23:00
Jeremy Sholl
Okay.
00:23:04
Jennifer
um really needing to learn how to elevate at a national level, and, and understanding, what it was to be a professional, you know, i remember even before that being, we were talking, you you mentioned Jose Cuervo and and and being, presenting something and, ah but someone in the room being like, I can read the slides. And, you know, all of these things really
00:23:39
Jeremy Sholl
Yeah.
00:23:56
Jennifer
right you You don't come out of the womb ready. You've got to be able to develop those pieces and then be willing to take that feedback and to understand that those are the elements that will help you get ahead while also seeking the opportunities, opening the doors, building the relationships, and at the same time, looking back and bringing people with you.
Overcoming Fear and Embracing Risks
00:24:22
Jeremy Sholl
Yeah. Did you ever have a moment where you were afraid maybe a little bit of small piece of imposter syndrome or where you were like, oh, can I do this?
00:24:31
Jennifer
No, um i I think I've, i've um
00:24:32
Jeremy Sholl
Okay.
00:24:36
Jennifer
maybe it's delusion. I've always sort of been fearless about it. i I think one of the positive pieces is because I think my my parents were,
00:24:51
Jennifer
maybe didn't know about corporate world, right?
00:24:54
Jeremy Sholl
Okay. Love.
00:24:55
Jennifer
I don't think that they ever assumed that it wasn't for me. I think that that is a very big narrative of women, of, you know black and brown women, of like, of, well, you know,
00:25:08
Jennifer
take your seat at the table because it's there for you. And I'm like, I never assumed it wasn't,
00:25:13
Jennifer
um And maybe people in the room thought that, but I just, I don't think I've ever played into it. But that question of fear also is one that you know, I look at,
00:25:26
Jennifer
my, uh, my eldest daughter, as she's building a business. And, and I think it's, it's very much, you, you, you fake it until you make it.
00:25:37
Jennifer
Even if you do have that fear, like that, that's a very natural thing.
00:25:37
Jeremy Sholl
right.
00:25:42
Jennifer
I think, you know, we have also, made fear into such an unnatural thing. it's good for you to be afraid because that is a very natural response to something that is an unknown, but whether or not that's defined me and held me back is, is, is the bigger question. And I don't think it ever has.
00:26:03
Alaina Schnipke
I'm a huge advocate of recognizing that one emotion essentially is the same like chemical reaction in your brain as another. It's just triggered by something different. like Fear and excitement are very similar.
00:26:17
Alaina Schnipke
it's just It's then how you like wire your brain in your response. But I agree with you. There's a certain amount of fear that's healthy and it's it's a survival mechanism. I am terrified of snakes.
00:26:29
Alaina Schnipke
Even the little gardener snakes, they can be completely harmless.
00:26:29
Jennifer
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:26:32
Alaina Schnipke
I see a snake and I immediately go into like life preservation. But I also hike a lot. And I know that here in the mountains of South Carolina, especially during baby snake season, that is it incredibly dangerous because there are some very, poisonous or venomous snakes.
00:26:45
Jeremy Sholl
Yeah.
00:26:49
Alaina Schnipke
And so to me, I'm like, okay, I'm hiking. I'm i'm going to be like head on a swivel looking for snakes on the path. in the water around me, you know, everywhere. And I consider that part of my self-preservation mechanism because I know how dangerous they can be, but I also have to remind myself the snake that's in my backyard, that little like black snake, that's eating the ticks and mosquitoes. It's fine. But it's recognizing, i think something you talked about at the beginning that I'm a huge advocate of, and Jeremy and I were just messaging about this this morning.
00:27:19
Alaina Schnipke
There's nothing in life that's zero risk. but you can do risk mitigation and having people in your corner, setting like security mechanisms up for yourself allows your appetite for risk to become a little bit stronger and to say, if this doesn't work out, okay, like I'll pivot.
00:27:26
Jeremy Sholl
Yeah.
00:27:39
Alaina Schnipke
And I I can't tell you at what point I got into my life where I like developed some level of risk appetite. But it sounds like you've kind of always had that, maybe defined or not. Do you think that, is that fair for me to say you've always had a little bit, like you've always had a little bit more risk tolerance than those around you?
00:28:01
Jennifer
No, I think that that's absolutely correct. And I can think of of of a time in my in relation to my career where I took a risk. And it's it's been a pivotal point in my career where i was like, hmm, it didn't work out.
00:28:16
Jennifer
I wonder if I should have taken it. And it makes me assess more.
00:28:20
Jennifer
you know Maybe I shouldn't have taken that risk. Maybe I should have you know stayed here versus go here. But that risk, no matter what that point was, did allow me to grow in so many other ways that I've now been able to understand that, well, I guess it was necessary for me to be to where I am now.
00:28:33
Alaina Schnipke
Yep. Yep.
00:28:38
Jennifer
Right. But I think a a lot of that comes with, with just maturity, you know, it's just an opportunity.
00:28:43
Jeremy Sholl
Yeah.
00:28:45
Jennifer
I think when, when we're younger, we're just doing all the things that come our
Framing and Perspective in Nonprofit Work
00:28:49
Jennifer
way. and now it's, it's a lot more methodical in terms of,
00:28:54
Jennifer
where is this risk going to take me? Because now, as I'm nearing a point where I can see retirement, that's insane.
00:29:05
Jennifer
Right? In theory, in theory, in theory, it's a lot closer than what it used to be, where that sounded like
00:29:08
Alaina Schnipke
Yes.
00:29:14
Jennifer
what? Retiring? now, i think I feel like now I have more of a plan in place. I'm like, okay, this is where i want to go. This is where I want to be. This is the things that I want to do But, but it never stops from, from, from wanting to to sort of position yourself as someone who's willing to take the risk and, and, and and open themselves to opportunity to.
00:29:34
Alaina Schnipke
Yeah. Intentional risk-taking, think is something that I've become much more, like, i think I actually seek it out more.
00:29:37
Jennifer
Mm-hmm.
00:29:42
Alaina Schnipke
I'm like, okay, if I do this, one, what's the worst thing that could happen?
00:29:43
Jennifer
Mm-hmm.
00:29:47
Alaina Schnipke
And then what do I have that could mitigate it But immediately following that, I'm like, but what's the best thing that could happen? And I could tell you five years ago, i would have hyper fixated on what's the worst thing that could happen to the point that I may or may not have done it.
00:29:59
Jennifer
Mm-hmm.
00:30:00
Alaina Schnipke
Who I am today, I'm like, oh, but it could be great. And I think there's something freeing about that.
00:30:04
Jennifer
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:30:07
Alaina Schnipke
And I think there's also something freeing to your point, right? Like,
00:30:10
Alaina Schnipke
The worst that could happen did and I'm okay. And I think it increases the risk appetite. And I think especially in nonprofit world, um there's, you know, it's it's harder, right? the The margins aren't there that allow for problems.
00:30:30
Alaina Schnipke
risk taking. so you have to be strategic about it, but there's not always a ah huge room for error,
00:30:33
Jeremy Sholl
Thank
00:30:36
Alaina Schnipke
Um, and I don't know if Jeremy told you, I've, I've had the privilege of serving on two nonprofit boards, over the past six or seven years now. Uh, and it's one of my favorite things, right?
00:30:48
Alaina Schnipke
I haven't quite transitioned fully into nonprofit yet. But for right now, i take my for-profit skills and i I give them to nonprofit land through that board service volunteerism.
00:30:59
Alaina Schnipke
And I look at some of the the decisions we've had to make or help our executive directors make or in the absence of an executive director, we've had to fill in and lead.
00:31:02
Jennifer
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:31:11
Alaina Schnipke
And i think to some extent, you know I look at it and I'm like, okay, as I become more risk averse, I feel like I've been able to more confidently guide the nonprofit side where maybe they don't have resources upon resources at their disposal to say, okay, what should we do? How do we handle this? What's our, what is our margin for error? And I'd be curious, you know, when you think about your time in a variety of nonprofits,
00:31:35
Alaina Schnipke
how has that like fearlessness, that appetite for risk served you and the nonprofits that you've led and supported?
00:31:44
Alaina Schnipke
Because I think, you know, What's something people to't understand about nonprofits is like, you kind of have to be a little bit fearless when you walk into those rooms and say, hey, I want this money and here's what I'm going to use it for.
00:31:56
Jennifer
Mm-hmm.
00:31:57
Alaina Schnipke
And you also have to be a little bit fearless to say, what's next for this nonprofit? Because sometimes you do put crazy ideas out there. of So I'd just be curious, like how has that served you?
00:32:08
Alaina Schnipke
do you think it was always kind of like leading you in that direction to be in that space?
00:32:10
Jennifer
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I think, I think a lot of it has been framing, how are we approaching this problem, and being willing to look at it from different perspectives.
00:32:25
Jennifer
You know, we are living in a world where we are currently having a conversation about how under resourced organizations that are solving the world's problems are.
00:32:36
Jennifer
It's like teachers, and why are they being paid less than like a for-profit executive, right?
00:32:43
Jennifer
And They're right there is, are you willing to take the risk of saying this is more important than your for-profit venture, right? you okay with being loud about how much more important it is for you to make an investment in the long-term future of whatever XYZ is. And I think that that at the at a very base level is is probably like the the first place, right? is Is willing to be able to say and to and to stand in the truth of,
00:33:23
Jennifer
guys, our priorities are wrong. We really need to start to prioritizing these things that are making a difference. And and then you know also remember that I didn't start in the most under-resourced organizations. These are organizations that that function the like corporations. They're so large and have been around for so long. and have such far reach, but then that also is a detriment, right? Because then people are like, yeah they got all the money in the world,
00:33:57
Jennifer
it's It's how do you identify that piece that will resonate with whoever that audience is at that moment in time.
Perception of Nonprofit Funding
00:34:08
Jennifer
And to be able to, I guess, framing in the terms of risk is how do you present that internally as an opportunity to create you know a different story, to create a different narrative,
00:34:31
Jeremy Sholl
Okay.
00:34:36
Jennifer
You know, then I said, oh you know, the Red Cross. She's like, oh yeah, La Cruz Roja. Yeah, that's great. That's great. And then when I said Al-Sac St. Jude, she's like, oh my goodness, here, take all my money, you know. So being able to to to understand framing and perspective, from that point of view really helped me to bring a lot of those elements into just the day-to-day of you have to be willing to take the risk of saying what you see, and then saying, i want to help, I, I, ah address this challenge, mothers against drunk driving, know,
00:35:09
Alaina Schnipke
Mm-hmm.
00:35:19
Jennifer
you know was an opportunity one for me to work at the national level of a national nonprofit. that's one That's the reason, you know, we love New York City, all those pieces, but that's never where I was gonna be able to work for a national nonprofit because New York was a big market.
00:35:39
Alaina Schnipke
Mm-hmm.
00:35:39
Jennifer
but wasn't where everybody had their headquarters. So really saw this move to MAD as an opportunity to to get in at the top level of a national nonprofit, And you know talking about risk, framing it as not what's the worst that could happen, what's the best that could happen.
00:36:00
Jennifer
Telling my husband, if we don't do this, we're gonna be asking ourselves, you know what? well, what would have happened if I, you know, if I would have taken that job and moved my family halfway across the country, right? So in answer to your question, I think the risk taking, you know, from a nonprofit perspective is is to be willing to go out there
00:36:24
Jennifer
with a different perspective on what the product is to be able to address the audience, but also to be able to address, the internal stakeholders in being able to solve whatever that problem is and being willing to to be the one in the room to to say, hey,
00:36:43
Jennifer
this, this isn't working, how can we, how can we, change this and what can we do to contribute to help address the challenge?
00:36:51
Alaina Schnipke
It's, It's, yeah, I think there's so much that you're talking about that just, it resonates with me.
00:37:28
Alaina Schnipke
you can't rely on other people to donate that dollar, especially if it is a big nonprofit, right? Like they, American Heart Association or St. Jude's, if we all rely on someone else to donate that dollar, the dollar never happens.
00:37:43
Alaina Schnipke
And so whether it is local, whether it is national, whether it is international, whether you donate $100,000 or a dollar in that way in that moment in time, nonprofits can stretch that a very long way.
00:37:56
Alaina Schnipke
like nonprofit land is exceptionally good at stretching a single dollar into a lot more
00:38:02
Alaina Schnipke
um I heard something about a year and a half ago that really resonated with me. like And I think it came from ah a big leader of a nonprofit health care system where essentially they said, don't mistake nonprofit for not needing money because if there's no money, there's no mission.
00:38:17
Jennifer
Yeah.
00:38:20
Alaina Schnipke
And it's this framing that you put out into the world. Right. And I think some people get it. Some people don't. But I appreciated that you called out this like perception, right? oh, someone else will, or they already have money.
00:38:33
Alaina Schnipke
And right now it's really hard. there's a lot of lost funding and people are really strapped. And I think if there's one thing outside of like, obviously this transition conversation that we're talking about in your journey, that I want people to understand is' like that dollar
Societal Impact of Nonprofit Work
00:38:47
Alaina Schnipke
matters.
00:38:48
Jennifer
Mm-hmm.
00:38:49
Jeremy Sholl
Mm-hmm.
00:38:51
Alaina Schnipke
And I'd be curious, from your perspective, um you know,
00:38:55
Alaina Schnipke
Like, how does that resonate with you? How have you framed that just throughout your career to folks?
00:39:02
Jennifer
I think that the the one thing that I say and I say often is everybody has money.
00:39:08
Alaina Schnipke
Mm-hmm.
00:39:08
Jennifer
There's money out there. i think that there's this perception of, well, there's just not enough money, to to go around. And I'm like, that's not true, right?
00:39:18
Jennifer
Because we hear it all the time. It is just at what point do we as humans look internally and realize that we all need a guiding light.
00:39:31
Jennifer
We need something, we need to give back, we need to give back.
00:39:36
Alaina Schnipke
Thank you.
00:39:37
Jennifer
And I think that that piece is something that we have lost in sense of community and sense we all read the stats on, you know, everybody's on their phone, loneliness epidemic,
00:40:01
Jeremy Sholl
Amen.
00:40:11
Jennifer
we need to start to rebuild what it is to give a piece of ourselves to make sure that someone else can thrive.
00:40:32
Alaina Schnipke
Thank
00:40:36
Jennifer
So that concept of there not being enough is one where I just, I i call BS on it. know, there there is enough for for us to be able to to have all these organizations continue to grow and and to still provide services that are so incredibly necessary.
00:40:56
Jennifer
The fact that there's an organization that is dedicated to literacy to literacy, which should be a basic human function, need already, something that shouldn't
00:41:08
Jeremy Sholl
Mm-hmm.
00:41:09
Jennifer
like we shouldn't be addressing the lack of literacy.
00:41:09
Alaina Schnipke
have to.
00:41:12
Alaina Schnipke
And it's adult.
00:41:14
Jennifer
Yeah, that, that, like that.
00:41:14
Alaina Schnipke
It's adult literacy, which is even easier. Yeah.
00:41:17
Jennifer
Yeah, that's, those are the types of things where, hum it makes all the more reason why I wouldn't go back to, to corporate, it's, it's these, these basic human tenants of what,
00:41:36
Jennifer
have there are being so many people who have so much and that there isn't something in the middle that says I've got to give back in order to help help other people thrive is just, you know, frustrating, you know, Jeremy.
Lighthearted Conversations
00:41:52
Jeremy Sholl
I couldn't agree more. but I've been loving this whole dialogue because i was told by my grandfather a long time ago that the purpose of a successful life, was you made one person's life better by being here, present.
00:42:07
Jeremy Sholl
And to your point i mean let's take a step back not not even literacy clean water why do we have programs for clean water water is essential for life and yet we need programs to ensure human beings have clean water just makes me feel like something's broken in our society as the foundations of society and it's also about willingness to
00:42:13
Jennifer
Mm-hmm.
00:42:29
Jeremy Sholl
yourre your pet your part around the legacy piece? Like, what do we want to be known for? Do you want to look back at your life and think, did I did i do a really good job? Did I enjoy my life? Did I you know did i make it better for somebody else?
00:42:40
Jeremy Sholl
ask yourself that question now, not then, now. and And what are you going to do to accomplish that?
00:42:46
Jeremy Sholl
And what is one small step you can take, one small action, even a small donation, because you can always sit here and question of where the money goes, who's raising it, who's the person sitting at the top, right? But at the end of the day,
00:42:58
Jeremy Sholl
The number of people that are not the uber wealthy outnumbers the uber wealthy. So if we all collectively come together as human beings to focus on these basic elements, we can definitely make a better life for all of us. Thank you, I feel like I could listen to the two of you talk for like hours about nonprofit and how important it is.
00:43:29
Jeremy Sholl
um pull out of the heavy emotion filled discussion we just had into more of a relaxed and and conversational piece.
00:43:37
Jeremy Sholl
So are you ready, Jennifer?
00:43:39
Jennifer
Yes. Sure.
00:43:40
Jeremy Sholl
For the lightning round. Okay, so you'll get questions from me and then we're take a hard left turn and go to Alaina and she's going to make you go what?
00:43:51
Jeremy Sholl
um With the question. So first question and remember, they don't have to long wind answer. Don't think too much, hopefully not too much. What is the best career advice you've ignored?
00:44:05
Jennifer
not supposed to think about it right. Um, best career advice I've ignored, um change who I am.
00:44:14
Alaina Schnipke
Oh, someone gave you that.
00:44:14
Jeremy Sholl
It sounds like there's a sunset. Somebody told you that?
00:44:17
Jennifer
Pretty much.
00:44:18
Jeremy Sholl
Well, yeah.
00:44:18
Jennifer
I mean, yeah, there was,
00:44:20
Alaina Schnipke
Yeah.
00:44:21
Jeremy Sholl
yeah.
00:44:22
Jennifer
but Basically framed as she can't do this, and, and I think that that's been, Like, yes, I can. and i and I think being willing to sort of stand in my truth and be who I am to bring that to the table.
00:44:37
Jeremy Sholl
Okay.
00:44:41
Jeremy Sholl
Love it. Love it.
00:44:42
Alaina Schnipke
Mm-hmm.
00:44:42
Jeremy Sholl
Yes, please. And everyone listening, do the same. Don't ever.
00:44:47
Jennifer
I mean, I'm sure there's certain things that, you know, it took me a minute, but so.
00:44:50
Jeremy Sholl
Oh, yeah, of course. course. We can always put that tangent, of course. What part of adulthood feels like a scam?
00:44:58
Jennifer
that it's boring.
00:45:00
Jeremy Sholl
Ooh.
00:45:01
Jennifer
know, I, you got to still approach things with joy. i think that that's a piece that people start to like, miss out on joy and laughter. you're supposed to be like all serious. And that's not me if you haven't figured that out. And, and I think that that's something that you you you can still approach things in in in happy and joyful light and still be an adult.
00:45:27
Jeremy Sholl
I love that. I agree. Adults need to, you can still be kids inside. And honestly, it's a mental framework.
00:45:31
Jennifer
Mm-hmm.
00:45:32
Jeremy Sholl
It's a mental model of how you how you live your life.
00:45:32
Jennifer
Mm-hmm.
00:45:35
Jeremy Sholl
And I think it's really important to look back sometimes. I always remember, this is thing I talk to my friends all the time about, is just watch a little kid discover something new for the first time.
00:45:46
Jeremy Sholl
And you sit there and go, is my life that complex? literally discovering to walk. And I'm just like, i don't even, because I can't, I don't like getting on the couch. And this kid is so excited to get out to walk.
00:45:58
Jeremy Sholl
Hey, like but what, what, what do we not find joy in our lives anymore? Like, come on.
00:46:02
Jennifer
Yeah,
00:46:02
Jeremy Sholl
right. what'd you say?
00:46:03
Jennifer
Well, there's also that element of like stress. Like, yeah, it's not that serious. You're good.
00:46:09
Alaina Schnipke
It's not.
00:46:09
Jeremy Sholl
No.
00:46:10
Jennifer
Yeah. Yeah.
00:46:11
Alaina Schnipke
It's truly not.
00:46:11
Jeremy Sholl
Life's not serious. You'll never get out alive.
00:46:13
Jeremy Sholl
Yeah.
00:46:15
Jeremy Sholl
who in your life gives you the most honest feedback, and do you actually listen to them?
00:46:21
Jennifer
Ugh, my kids. 100%. No, no. one hundred Like, I mean, there is nothing more humbly. And then, Alaina my kids are very far apart in age.
00:46:29
Jeremy Sholl
true.
00:46:33
Alaina Schnipke
Okay. Yeah.
00:46:33
Jennifer
So I have, nine-year-old, 14-year-old, and a 22-year-old. And so the they are very humbling in different ways.
00:46:45
Jennifer
um for the simple fact is like one boy you know i' well I guess you know i did it to myself right I've always had my children sort of speak their truth and really you know be honest and up front and they really uh they really are are honest and up front you know with me so
00:47:22
Alaina Schnipke
Yeah.
00:47:25
Jennifer
um being a parent, but it is also such an important part of who I am, because there's such a different set of skills that you learn, on that side of the house that really, I think, make me ah ah not only a better, you know, worker, but a better human being.
00:47:41
Jeremy Sholl
I
00:47:48
Jeremy Sholl
love it. And I would agree so, so much
00:47:51
Jeremy Sholl
All
Personal Growth and Generational Challenges
00:47:52
Jeremy Sholl
right, number five. It's a finish the sentence question.
00:47:56
Jennifer
Okay.
00:47:56
Jeremy Sholl
The version of me from 10 years ago would be confused by what?
00:48:02
Jennifer
probably having better mental health.
00:48:05
Jennifer
I think that that is something that is so key that they probably wouldn't recognize me.
00:48:05
Jeremy Sholl
What's that?
00:48:09
Jeremy Sholl
Yeah.
00:48:13
Jennifer
Although it's not that far off. I think maybe the 20 year version of me, the 30 year version of me.
00:48:31
Alaina Schnipke
Thank you.
00:48:34
Jennifer
because there's something again about having a family that sort of makes you walk the straight and narrow because you now have so many people sort of scrutinizing your day to day that I don't see as much of a difference.
00:48:49
Jennifer
Well, I think 10 years ago would have been like, you're living in Texas, you know, probably would have been that piece.
00:48:54
Jeremy Sholl
There you go. That's the answer. Texas?
00:48:57
Jennifer
Texas? um I think also the beginning career question, like when you started your career, what do you think that person would say to where you are now?
00:49:10
Jennifer
And I think that that that chao that chaos that I've been able to channel and manifest into hooting into a career is incredibly important too.
00:49:21
Jeremy Sholl
But it's, that's one thing I've always been amazed by the the Latin culture. Like doesn't matter what country you're from. it's and and there's parts of this in every culture it's not just latin culture but the family feel the community is just i remember when i moved to fiammy and friends i met who were from colombia from venezuela didn't matter where they're from the sense of community is is the the old feeling that i do miss about when ah my family back home well years and years ago and then i think it stemmed from maybe my grand my grandparents generation that they created that they manifested that
00:49:56
Jeremy Sholl
And I feel like it's missing. So i yeah, it's it's awesome. So amiable. My last question is actually, and and maybe we can tweak it a little bit, is is what version of yourself do you occasionally miss?
00:50:09
Jennifer
What version of myself do I occasionally miss?
00:50:11
Jeremy Sholl
Like thinking back maybe in your twenty s or
00:50:11
Jennifer
um Yeah, I mean, i think I think everybody looks back and is just sort like, wow, I wish I would have maximized that time.
00:50:20
Jeremy Sholl
Well, no, maybe your personality.
00:50:20
Jennifer
There's, well, no, I think that that that's that is the the piece of maturing and growing older, all those things is is saying, wow, if in my twenty s
00:50:21
Jeremy Sholl
Like...
00:50:35
Jennifer
you know, before I had kids, you know, before, you know, you know, being in ah in a long-term relationship, we've now been together 25 years, right? Before that, right, is, you know, I wish I would have known to take more advantage of like my freedom,
00:50:55
Jeremy Sholl
Yeah.
00:50:55
Jennifer
And not that I'm not free, it's just it's just a different type of freedom.
00:50:55
Jeremy Sholl
Choice. Mm-hmm.
00:50:58
Jennifer
Like I wish I had traveled the world more. I wish I had been more focused, and not so chaotic, but all all all of that comes, that's all hindsight,
00:51:08
Jennifer
And I was not thinking about that at that time, because that's not where I was in life. So I think I miss it only because of what I know now.
00:51:18
Jennifer
but what I do is like then tell my kids like, hey, use this time, enjoy it, you know, don't grow up so fast. you Use this time to do all of these things, that you're not thinking about now because you're do all these things, and and live a fulfilling life, because that will, help you so much more.
00:51:38
Jennifer
But I think that's the advantage though of what these this generation has. In my 20s, I wasn't like, I've got to focus on, I've got to go to my fitness class and I have to protect my mental space.
00:51:50
Jennifer
I wasn't thinking about any of that. ah it's it's so It's so incredible to me the foundation that these kids are putting down for themselves and being able to already say like, you know what?
00:52:04
Jennifer
corporate life isn't for me. I'm not going to sit in an office all day. I'm going to create something for myself. You know, like, wow. Like we had to like work through it and be like, okay, maybe not this, maybe not that, and just being able to make that decision right up front and know,
00:52:24
Jennifer
to pick and choose like what what is right and what isn't. To me, it's it's it's so and incredible to to be able to leverage where we are now to be able to make those decisions way sooner than what I was able to do.
00:53:03
Jeremy Sholl
I'd love having these conversations about the newest generation and
00:53:06
Jennifer
I think there's also a reframing of what is important.
00:53:09
Jennifer
what what's important to us? Is it important to them? it they they don't identify themselves with a company as their identity, because that that is That is something that is no longer, important. And and then we have to be okay with with that.
00:53:28
Alaina Schnipke
Mm-hmm.
00:53:28
Jennifer
you know, that's the age old piece, right? Where it's the older generation is always looking back im like, well, I used to do it, it used to be like this.
00:53:31
Jeremy Sholl
Yeah. Okay.
00:53:35
Jennifer
But it it's just, it changes so much faster. Like we don't have the the time to be able to sit with it and be okay with It it just continues to evolve so quickly, that that perspective also has to change quickly.
00:53:51
Jeremy Sholl
And I really appreciate that insight. And with that change, we're going to take a hard left turn to our crazy, crazy mind that is Alaina and let her bestow some interesting questions.
00:54:05
Jeremy Sholl
One question specifically for you. It's your stage, Alaina Go for it.
00:54:09
Alaina Schnipke
Awesome. I have to say, The version of myself that I occasionally miss is the one that could sleep for like four hours after being out all night and then just like pop up fresh as a daisy and do it like four days in a row.
00:54:18
Jennifer
Yeah. Mm hmm. Mm hmm.
00:54:22
Alaina Schnipke
And it was never on the internet.
00:54:23
Jennifer
yeah
00:54:25
Alaina Schnipke
That version of me, I could go for days, weeks, months in that. i Man, you know, one bottle of water was like the elixir of life.
00:54:34
Alaina Schnipke
Now I'm like, I don't get my like, many, many ounces of water. I feel like I'm like a cactus in the desert. And it's the version that could just like thrive on nothing.
00:54:42
Alaina Schnipke
um But to your point, like I look at this generation that's coming, that's young right now. My niece just turned 11. And I'm so grateful that she, it's like normalized for her to wear s SPF every day.
00:54:54
Jennifer
Mm-hmm.
00:54:55
Alaina Schnipke
me as a kid just was like free to run outside all day, every day. Didn't even think about it. I'm like, gosh, she's going to great skin someday when she's older. Like she's going to have to go through what I went through to like try and undo that damage. So, you know, they learn from us, but also not be held back by us is kind of my, my approach to that group. But Yeah, so I always love to ask a question that really isn't career centric or, you know, anything like that. And this one popped into my mind. i don't come in prepared with these most of the time. Something that popped into my mind, and you talked about watching a movie you recently, is
Favorite Movies and Personal Insights
00:55:30
Alaina Schnipke
if you had to watch one movie or a TV show every single year for the rest of your life, like you could not skip it, you had to watch it.
00:55:39
Alaina Schnipke
what would that movie or TV show be and why?
00:55:43
Jennifer
So one that I actually do watch every year. All
00:55:48
Alaina Schnipke
think we all have them.
00:55:49
Jeremy Sholl
Love it.
00:55:49
Jennifer
right. and and and and And bear with me. It's a movie from when I was a kid. Maybe that's why there's a bit of a nostalgia attached to it. But I also always cite it as my favorite movie is The NeverEnding Story.
00:56:04
Alaina Schnipke
okay
00:56:11
Jennifer
There's a child like dealing with grief, and that grief is translated into a whole other parallel world.
00:56:21
Jennifer
We're not going to say it's a fantasy world because this world is in existence in parallel to this world that he's trying to escape. And then in that world, you have another person going through their own journey of evolution.
00:56:45
Alaina Schnipke
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
00:57:01
Jennifer
thrive.
00:57:02
Jennifer
And it is all within us, Because a lot of that is, the reader's journey in coming to the realization of the level and amount of power that he has to ensure that this parallel world thrives, you know, while also having the character in that parallel world also,
00:57:24
Jennifer
be able to like fight the demons to help that world thrive as well. i think there there's so much to that to that movie. And, now you look at the special effects, like sort of hokey and all of that. But it really is just a movie that I could just watch on repeat.
00:57:41
Alaina Schnipke
Yeah.
00:57:42
Alaina Schnipke
Yeah. Yeah.
00:57:45
Jennifer
that are just so interesting and so much more deep than I think people, give it credit for. so yeah, that would be that.
00:57:56
Jeremy Sholl
I think it's one of those movies that will transcend time. It will continue.
00:58:00
Jeremy Sholl
They will still go back to it.
00:58:00
Jennifer
I think so.
00:58:01
Jeremy Sholl
I couldn't agree more. Love it.
00:58:03
Jennifer
think so too.
00:58:04
Jeremy Sholl
Thank you for that insight.
00:58:04
Alaina Schnipke
And my hope is that they don't remaster those movies, right?
00:58:07
Jeremy Sholl
Yes.
00:58:07
Alaina Schnipke
I don't care if the special effects are hokey. I don't care if they're like pure something out of like the eighties, nineties, maybe even early two thousands. Like there's something about the lack of overdoing the special effects in those movies.
00:58:23
Jeremy Sholl
Amen.
00:58:23
Alaina Schnipke
Like I just love it. When I was during COVID, my husband and I went on this like rabbit hole journey of watching all of Disney's animated theatrical releases. in order of release.
00:58:32
Jennifer
Mm-hmm.
00:58:34
Alaina Schnipke
And I would share like three random facts about it on my Instagram story after watching it. And it, people like got really into this journey with me. And then all of a sudden, we realized like we watched animation of evolve. We watched effects evolve. We saw different pieces of each movie from when we were kids and movies that we'd never even seen before. But I think there's something incredibly powerful that you can watch every single year And know that when you sit down to watch it, it's going to either bring you joy.
00:59:02
Alaina Schnipke
You're going to feel it in a different way. You're going see it in a different way. There's going to be a different piece that resonates with you. And it sounds like that's what that movie is. And I don't know I'm just a huge advocate of like having that anchor.
00:59:14
Alaina Schnipke
And even if everything in the world is like, ha ha, crazy, you can turn that movie on or that TV show and just feel like like almost anchored back into yourself.
00:59:16
Jennifer
Mm-hmm.
00:59:25
Alaina Schnipke
Um, so it's something that i love to know from people. And I always get a, like a callback to something I haven't seen in a very long time. And I'm like, should give that another watch.
00:59:32
Jennifer
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:59:36
Jeremy Sholl
I agree. and And thank
Exploring Human Stories and Life's Purpose
00:59:38
Jeremy Sholl
you for that. And thank you for going through our our lightning round in our left, hard left turn with Alaina I know it wasn't simple and and revealing a little bit about yourself. And we'd love, love again, another piece of that humanizing and and connecting to human stories and human events because people can relate. And that's what the purpose of humans are is to interact and for the the discussion the conversation going deep with us and helping us understand your journey uh hope the audience had a chance to really connect with you and got a lot of sense of purpose and i cause and and looking back on your life as people go through these different transitions
01:00:12
Jeremy Sholl
latching yourself to foundations that are important such as having a cause to to put yourself towards so you feel great about your life let alone work and it becomes more than work so there's a lot that you added and beyond that i i'm not going to summarize it in one sentence but thank you again
01:00:26
Jeremy Sholl
So now, I do want to make sure as we close out here, we we give it back to you for a moment to to tell our audience Where can they find you? where can they And we'll we'll be sharing out this information as well and links that we send out with the episode on on our YouTube channel. But just give us, all the audience listening now, where they can find you, where to look up your information, and and the organizations and the that causes you support.
Non-Traditional Paths to Success
01:00:51
Jennifer
So definitely LinkedIn is my preferred platform of choice. i am a little bit old school in that I don't constantly post on the regular socials. I really use socials as a tool for career and for amplification.
01:01:08
Jeremy Sholl
Okay. Okay.
01:01:09
Jennifer
and it's OG, like I think it's backslash Jennifer M.
01:01:12
Jennifer
Perez. I'm one of the few people, and like people like, how did you get your name on Gmail? like, god was the first one to get Gmail.
01:01:29
Jennifer
And it's After Cancer is Good. You know, I am a cancer survivor. that was a little bit of a hiccup a couple of years ago. got to approach things with joy and like sort of like smile through it all in order to get through it.
01:01:40
Jennifer
But really, it'll be LinkedIn. I'm excited. I want to thank you both for having me on. I think these conversations are incredibly important because we've got to demystify success.
01:01:55
Jennifer
success comes in so many different ways, shapes, and forms. And i think the non-traditional route is one that is often more common than not. And I think people really have to understand that it's not it is not a a one and done formula. you know It is often more a beautiful mind type, you know with a board of all of this works, if this doesn't work, let people understand that it is okay if where you end up is not the degree that you have.
01:02:33
Jeremy Sholl
Andrew.
01:02:45
Jennifer
It is a trajectory. It is a you know, it is a a bell curve.
Defining Personal Success and Fulfillment
01:02:50
Jennifer
you know?
01:02:51
Jennifer
So I do i do feel that, you know, it's probably my parting word is You know, success takes many different shapes and trajectories and and it is understanding what success means to you that will be the point of inflection for yourself.
01:03:14
Jennifer
That is where you need to be happy. Not the success that someone else says. It is the success that you feel good with that will be the most important.
01:03:26
Jeremy Sholl
And I love that. I think it will help a lot of people who are afraid of that, taking that step. Because a lot of us are, we're afraid of that.
01:03:32
Jeremy Sholl
I know myself, fear sets in of the unknown, the the non-traditional path we're afraid of.
01:03:36
Alaina Schnipke
Mm-hmm.
01:03:38
Jeremy Sholl
And so following and listening to people like yourselves, people who have gone through it, who are there to give you some advice, some some things that help you build up the confidence so that you can start to transition away from external validation to internal validation for your own career and your own life. I think is really important, but it takes those little, to your point, those relationships, those pieces. And a relationship can be as simple as someone you follow on a blog or podcast or anything of that nature. So thank you for helping give this give each individual listening a chance to follow you and and help them build towards that.
01:04:11
Alaina Schnipke
We find your own joy, man. Sometimes I like, I feel weird because sometimes I like yell at my team, like find the joy.
01:04:20
Jennifer
you
01:04:22
Alaina Schnipke
And I'm like, why am I being so aggressive about this? But I'm just like, no, we have to find joy. Like it's not that serious.
01:04:27
Jeremy Sholl
Yeah.
01:04:29
Alaina Schnipke
And I think some of that joy comes in defining your own you're a metric of success and saying, this is what fulfills me. This is what, gives me peace. This is what makes me feel like I'm doing the work that I was put here to do. and then, being okay with that and not caring that it's not what someone next to you thinks is success or whatever that is.
01:04:46
Jennifer
Mm-hmm.
01:04:50
Alaina Schnipke
So, um, I don't know. And I think some of that also comes with like, that maturity we were talking about, right? Like at some point you just realize like, this is my success.
01:05:00
Alaina Schnipke
Like I'm i'm good. Like this brings me joy.
01:05:02
Jeremy Sholl
Amen.
01:05:03
Alaina Schnipke
i feel fulfilled. And sometimes it takes hearing other people who are maybe a little more seasoned than you say it out loud, right?
01:05:12
Jeremy Sholl
Amen.
01:05:14
Alaina Schnipke
Like people like the three of us have to be comfortable saying, saying it out loud and letting other people hear it and then letting it sit with them until they can come to that, that
01:05:20
Jeremy Sholl
Great.
Appreciating Nonprofit Work and Arts Culture
01:05:25
Alaina Schnipke
recognition.
01:05:32
Jennifer
Thank you.
01:05:33
Alaina Schnipke
it it's exceptional. Nonprofit leaders are some of my favorite humans on this planet. People don't understand how hard the work is, but how fulfilling it is. And it's just incredible. And I love that you're supporting arts and culture right now.
01:05:47
Alaina Schnipke
We need that. A world without music is not a world I choose to live in.
01:05:48
Jeremy Sholl
Couldn't agree.
01:05:50
Alaina Schnipke
Thank you, but no thank you.
01:05:53
Jeremy Sholl
Completely agree. I cannot do without my Pearl Jam.
Embracing the Unknown and Learning
01:05:55
Jeremy Sholl
Just any expression of creativity. And
01:05:59
Jeremy Sholl
if you don't know, any listeners listening right now, if you don't know, you don't have the answers to these questions, that's okay. Discovering it is part of the best its best part. But just admitting that you don't know is okay. That's hard for us, for many people, including myself, to admit. So just admit you don't know and and figure it out.
01:06:15
Jeremy Sholl
Connect, relationships, learn, listen, read, but just ways to figure out what joy, what success looks like for you. And it's okay if you don't have that figured out. But I think I'll close it out right now with our tagline as as always. And what we want to leave you with every time you you stop listening to us for one of the episodes is the only constant in this world is change.
01:06:38
Jeremy Sholl
So be curious about how to seize it for yourself. Thank you. Again, this is Carpe Disruption.
01:06:44
Jeremy Sholl
We thank you, everybody, and we'll see you on the flip side.