Latest / AccessCo Leaders Career Conversations / Expanding Community Leadership
Transcript
- speaker-0: Hello and welcome back to Access Co-Leaders Career Conversation. I'm Eileen. get to host this session with our incredible students, a whole class from MOTEP, Career Exploration Class, or all ninth graders. And they're excited to meet our guest, Todd Harrison, who is the manager of Community Education Jefferson Health Plans right there in Philadelphia. Welcome back, Todd. It's to see you. speaker-1: Thank you for having me. speaker-0: All right, we're going to spend the first two or three minutes just getting to know you so our students can get that information and start asking their questions. So Todd, tell us, what do you do in like one or two sentences? What do you guys do at Jefferson Health Plans? And what does it mean for you as the manager of community education? speaker-1: Yeah, so being a manager with Jefferson Health Plan with the community, somet I have an office. Some o with Philadelphia youth Ba center. That's I have a a community wellness and I get to interact wit have classes for adults and parents that come through that center also. But my job is really building relationships in the community and, you know, making sure that Jefferson Health plans are showing up for, you know, our members or the communities that our members live in. speaker-0: Okay, so for our students, so they understand what is Jefferson Health Path? What is it that you... speaker-1: So Jefferson Health Plans, we're a managed care organization. So we manage the insurance of individuals that receive their insurance through the state. So if you or your parents receive, have health partners plans or Jefferson Health Plans, we manage that care. So we contract with different doctors and with different providers to make sure that they are providing the care that individuals deserve and need that receive state-run insurance. speaker-0: Awesome. So you come alongside the hospitals, right? So the families that get this benefit of having this health insurance, you come alongside to say, hey, this is all the things that you can do with this benefit and get right in there in the community, making sure that they have access to their appointments and all of that. That is wonderful. Now, Todd, tell us rewind. Did you wake up one day when you're a little boy thinking, this is what I want to do? Tell us a little bit of what kept you busy. ⁓ in middle school and high school and how did you land here at Jefferson Health Plans? speaker-1: So in middle school and high school, to be honest with you, I just spoke with some young people ⁓ about a week ago and I told them that, you know, ⁓ that some systems are set up ⁓ that actually ⁓ they know how many beds they may need in a prison due to fourth grade reading levels. And I said, for sure, I was probably one of those beds that was set up. ⁓ Because in middle school and also ⁓ I kind of got it together in high school. I wasn't necessarily the ideal student. ⁓ I wasn't necessarily the, you know, the age student and ⁓ probably not the ideal ⁓ student in school. But, you know, I had caring parents. I also had a caring community. And one of those communities was my Little League football team. I played football, I love football, I coach football now, and I also mentor young people now. But if I could go back and think about some of the things that I did in my younger years, ⁓ every time I talk to young people, ⁓ one thing that I always say, and you probably heard me say this before, is ⁓ my mom used to tell me, you show me your friends, I'll show you your future. So I was hanging around people that I probably shouldn't have been hanging around. ⁓ I was probably doing some things that I probably shouldn't have been doing. But ⁓ one thing that I had was a community around me that was able to ⁓ assist and get me on track to do some things that. speaker-0: love that. So you grew up with a strong support from within your family and then the community. And that's what you get to do now with Jefferson Health Plans. And speaking of all the work that you do in mentoring, I'm not going to take any longer. Let's pass it over to the students and have them start asking their questions. ⁓ All right. All right. So what's the first question from MOTEP? Remember to state your name so Todd knows who you are and ask your question. speaker-2: My name is Brian and my question is how do you balance leadership, work responsibility, and professional life? speaker-0: your personal speaker-1: I'm sorry repeat that one repeat that real quick. speaker-2: How do you balance leadership, work responsibility, and your personal life? speaker-1: Man, that's a great question. And thank you for that question. You know, one thing that ⁓ people shy away from, especially in professional settings, is talking about ⁓ having a spiritual foundation. So a spiritual foundation is also something that helps me out professionally. It helps me out with my family. It helps me out with being a leader. ⁓ One thing when we talk about leadership, a lot of people look at leaders as someone that people follow. But one thing a leader always have to do is be a follower of something else to make sure that, you know, ⁓ you are pretty much ⁓ leading in the correct way. So the balance comes ⁓ with me, a spiritual foundation, one. ⁓ because if I didn't have a spiritual foundation, I couldn't be a good father. I couldn't be a good employee. I couldn't be a good husband. ⁓ you know, and I couldn't be a good community person. So, I know a whole lot about. And I know that you all are getting a great foundation there, ⁓ cultural, a cultural foundation, which is extremely important also. ⁓ but. For me, that spiritual foundation is a major part of me as a leader, as a community person, and that's how I keep that balance, if that helped out any. speaker-0: Yeah, great answer. Great response, Todd. Just that anchor, that foundation of when everything else is going crazy, you still have that one thing you go to and that's spiritual foundation. love that. All right, who has the next question from Emotap? My name is Inayra and... ⁓ speaker-2: My name is Anira and I want to know what skills are most important for health care leadership. speaker-1: ⁓ man. One is, and people might not look at this as a professional skill, but this is one of the most important professional skills that you can have, especially in the healthcare field. Kindness. Kindness costs nothing. ⁓ Kindness is something that can take you a very long way also. ⁓ Relationship building is another, ⁓ great skill to have and to build on. And you can start building on those skills now. Being a good friend, making sure people can count on you. ⁓ Being a person that your yes is your yes and your no is your no. That's extremely important also. But one thing that I always tell my kids, I have a daughter that's graduating from a high school this year that will be going to Millsville. And I have a son that's at Penn State right now and is finishing up his third year. And I always stress to them that, you know, you can be smart. You can be really charismatic. You can be, you know, nice looking because they my kids. So they're going to come out nice looking. But one thing that I always stretch is make sure that you are kind to people. Make sure that you are kind to people. if I, you know, that's just one thing that I would really stress. And all of the other stuff that you'll learn throughout life will just really build on that kindness and ⁓ will really be able to help you out professionally. speaker-0: God, you are certainly the people person. Kindness and integrity, those solid foundation there. Awesome. All right, who's got the next question at MOTEP? speaker-2: My name is Dionne Whittington. As a black male leader, which challenges do you face and how do you overcome them? speaker-1: ⁓ That is an awesome, awesome, awesome question. ⁓ You know, outside of Jefferson Health Plans, I also, I'm building back up an organization that's been around for 50 years now. It's called Concerned Black Men. And I assumed the role as president of Concerned Black Men and building that organization back up to where it used to be. And there are some challenges of being a leader. ⁓ as a black man, because especially in today's, ⁓ and today's environment, you know, ⁓ with the leadership that, you know, is running the country, I'm not going to get too political on here, but, ⁓ you know, right now, We are somewhat looked at as major threats ⁓ to the establishment of what's trying to be created in the world that we're living in now. So it's a strong challenge. It's a strong challenge. And as a mentor and as a football coach, ⁓ I have the opportunity to pour into young men ⁓ on a daily condom. And one thing that I stress is that rules are different for a young black man and their counterparts that might be another color or come from another background. But one thing that we can't do is allow that to stop us from achieving any goals that we have or stop that from being the people that we are. And like I said, I know about M.O.T.E.P. and I know the foundation that they teach at M.O.T.E.P. and how they want you all to be strong, independent, cultured young people. So one thing, like I said, it is a challenge being a leader. as a black man, but it never stops me from always being myself, always trying to achieve goals ⁓ and showing my leadership skills to others. ⁓ One thing that I always consider myself as an advocate for others also, ⁓ and that's a really good question that I really want to answer. speaker-0: We can have a whole episode in responding to that one. speaker-1: We can and thank you for that question. That's a very important. speaker-2: Okay. speaker-0: And looks like we're buffering or hopefully we don't lose Todd. But so for the class, that was a wonderful question. think Todd did a great job of saying, like it is a challenge to be any kind of leader, right? But specifically as a black man in a leadership role in many different sectors, not just his job, but like he's already shared, he's a coach. He's standing up or revitalizing a whole organization. ⁓ Remind me who asked that question. Stand up. what is your name again? Dionne Willington. are you? Dionne, okay. It looks like we lost Todd here, but Dionne, what are you involved in and are you in leadership positions now? speaker-2: You in Winington. Eon Whittington. speaker-0: You play basketball. What position are you playing? Are you the captain? us about that. speaker-2: I'm the captain. I am the captain. What position? Oh, I'm a shooter girl. speaker-0: Shooting guard, okay. And so you're in the ninth grade, you're the captain of your basketball team. Have you felt, ⁓ first of all, that's super impressive that they've selected you as the captain. What challenges have you found being a leader on a sports team? speaker-2: Me getting injured was a big effect because everybody was relying on me this season and when I got injured it took control on everybody and it kind of changed the dynamics on us. speaker-0: Okay, well, what lessons did you learn in that season that you were injured? ⁓ speaker-2: What lessons did you learn during that time? I learned more about my mental. I learned that mental is a very, you have to have a very strong mental in order to get through the injury I went through and to also help everybody around me. speaker-0: Excellent. So you didn't waste the time on the bench being injured. You went ahead and continued to lead from the sidelines. That's amazing. So Todd, welcome back. Dion, Dion, you asked the question. speaker-1: I had to jump on my iPad now. was on my phone then and I was sitting in my car and it said it got overheated. speaker-0: ⁓ man. All right, well we got you back. So we're ⁓ gonna squeeze all the time that we can get at you. But Dion asked the question and he also shared that he is the, he's a ninth grader and the captain of the baseball team. Deon's a girl. I'm so sorry, Deon. can't see you. ⁓ Captain of the basketball team had an injury and continued to lead in that season of injury. So that's amazing. Thank you for asking that question, Todd, for your vulnerability and ⁓ authentic response there to that. Who's got the next question at Immotap? Let's keep this moving. speaker-2: Okay, my name is Siani. What legacy do you hope to leave through your work in community leadership? speaker-1: Great question. And one thing you know, the saying is, it's not what you know, it's who you know. But I want to go a little deeper with that one. It's not what you know, it's not who you know, but it's who know you and what they know you for. So that was an awesome question that you just asked because regardless of what you know and who you know, your character, What people know you for is what's gonna last. So I want people to know me, to remember me. I want my legacy, one, to be one of the greatest fathers that anyone ever knew. Also as someone who loved his family to the utmost, as someone who loved his community. ⁓ Really, and that might sound cliche-ish, that might sound like, ⁓ you're trying to sound like a perfect person or something like that. But no, honestly, I mean, I absolutely, absolutely love my kids. ⁓ I talk about them all the time. I love my wife. I talk about her all the time. My wife is Deputy Chief of Staff at Community College of Philadelphia. So I know that MOTEP has the dual enrollment program with community college. So if any of y'all could get in there. please do that is such a great program and I pump community all the time because of her. And I love my community. mean, I coach football, mentor young people and that's what I want. I want my legacy just to be known for just a good solid sturdy dude that really loves family and love. speaker-0: What I'm hearing Todd is that, and that was a great question about legacy, that you are just wired to do this. Regardless if you're working for Jefferson Health Plans, of the nonprofit organizations, whether you're coaching on the field, you are always going to be that guy who is family first, love well, and being kind to people. That is amazing. Love hearing that. Next question. speaker-2: Amen. ⁓ Hi, my name is. What was the. So can like to get where you are today and what did it have on those around you. speaker-0: Nina and I asked the most important stuff. speaker-1: ⁓ Great question. I think one of the most important steps that I took was leaning into ⁓ accepting help because in all right, so in middle school, I went to Leeds Middle School. It's now it's like a military school or something, but right up on Mount Pleasant. And then for high school, My parents knew that it was nothing wrong with King. My brother went to King and was successful there. But my parents knew that I couldn't go to King. It just wouldn't have been right if I would have went to King. Things probably wouldn't have turned out the way that it turned out, to be honest with you. So I went to Bishop McDevitt. I went to a Catholic school in ⁓ Glenside. But it was because that football coach saw me play Little League football and wanted me to come over there and play football. So I played for ⁓ Bishop McDevitt. But when I went over there, it was like a culture shock because I always went to school with just all black kids. then going over to Bishop McDevitt, it was a little more diverse and had white kids, black kids, all type kids. And I kind of shut down a little bit, ⁓ but I actually accepted. the help from a player's father who talked to me about like, loosen up, like, you know, take in what's, what's over here. It's, you can really benefit from some things because you're not like everybody else. You know I'm saying? And ⁓ so I kind of took help, but that led to a college scholarship to play football. ⁓ That led to, and everyone's path is not college, but I think one of the best decisions for me was going to college. And, you know, and also, you know, remaining on a team. ⁓ So I think that's one of the best decisions. But, you know, like I said, everyone passed, may not be college, but for me, I think college was a great decision for me and it kind of set the foundation. And I went to HBCU, my wife went to HBCU. We thought our kids both were gonna go to HBCUs, but because of paths that they took, my son was a really good lacrosse player and he ⁓ got a full academic scholarship to Penn State, but he plays on the Penn State ⁓ club lacrosse team. And my daughter is a competitive cheerleader and she's gonna be chairing at ⁓ Millersville University. on their cheer team, which is a competitive cheer team also. So, you know, we thought we was going to be a all HBCU family, but things kind of changed. But yeah, college was the decision which led to, source for our kids to get to college at. speaker-0: That's excellent. So what hear is that your family helped you make a decision by guiding you to a certain school, but you took advantage of that opportunity and didn't let it slide. And here you are now again and leaving that legacy. I love that. Love it. All right. Next question. speaker-2: Go ahead. speaker-1: Cool. speaker-0: I'll write your book. I got you. Me and chat GPT. All right. Who's next? speaker-2: My name is Samaya and my question is in your opinion what are the biggest health care issues affecting communities today? speaker-1: ⁓ The lack of education ⁓ that not necessarily that's provided, I think that our, I'm gonna speak to our community. I'm gonna speak to our community because I am in community education and ⁓ community health. ⁓ I think one of the biggest. speaker-2: Thank speaker-1: issues within our community and healthcare is one trust. We don't trust the healthcare system for a very good reason. For very good, and I'm not saying that we should just automatically just blanket trust the healthcare system. No, healthcare system is not necessarily the best, especially for African-American women. And it hasn't always been good for African-American men. hasn't always been good, haven't always been good for our community. Period. So one is trust, but the other is making sure we seek the education for our individual health situations. Okay. So some people may have, you know, folk in your family that may experience like complications with diabetes, but there's so many, much, so much. ⁓ with, especially with medical technology, ⁓ but also it's so much information out there that we can get pretty much on our own ⁓ regarding, you know, how we can deal with complications with diabetes or, ⁓ you know, how we can deal with ⁓ complications with obesity, things of that sort. So I think it's one of the major issues is trust one. But the other is I think the lack of obtaining our own education on whatever health issues or anything like that that we may be experiencing. speaker-0: Great question and Todd, again, this is gonna be another episode. We can have a whole conversation just on that one question, but we're gonna keep it moving for the next question. speaker-2: My name is Riley and the question I have is what are some misconceptions students may have about careers in healthcare? So what are some misconceptions that students may have about careers in healthcare? speaker-0: conception. speaker-1: Okay, we're all not doctors. I'll tell you that. I don't make no money like a doctor. That's a misconception. We're all not doctors. And one of the major misconceptions is that only job you can get within healthcare is something within a hospital. That's the furthest from the truth. I just met with the head of technology for Jefferson. And I mean, and he, like, He's the furthest thing from a healthcare person. He's all about technology. know, so whatever kind of interest you may have professionally, it may, probably will fit within the healthcare. Tomorrow, tomorrow we're doing physicals for student athletes in the Philadelphia school district. And it's an organist and this stemmed from a gentleman that just had a love for sports. And he turned that into a whole organization within Jefferson called the Jefferson Athletic Health Organization. So yes, he was a doctor, but it was still an interest that he had that, you know, that spirit into something else that really was like a health care career. So whatever you want, whatever you're interested in can kind of turn into something else care. But One of the misconceptions is that the only thing you can do is draw blood or, ⁓ you know, save lives. There's so many other fields within healthcare that you can dive into. speaker-0: Todd, you just basically said it a better way than I do when I say, there's more to hospitals and doctors and nurses. So thank you for hitting that point. Let's get to the next question from MIMOTEP. speaker-2: Hi, my name is Dior. How can young black children become strong leaders in schools and speaker-1: Connect with, that's a great question also, and because I'm connected to different community organizations, I will answer it this way. Connect with great, connect with community organizations and always, always note, all right, I still have a mental. Find someone within, find someone that you think is a good leader and fall up under them. Learn from them. ⁓ That's the only way. That's the way. Make sure you connect with positive people that ⁓ can take you to higher places, pretty much. speaker-0: Let's go. This is why we exist as Access Co-leaders to give all of our students access to not just the career conversations, but conversations about where people have come from, elevate you guys as students, and then connect you in all of these different, like Todd said, organizations, professionals. So I'm so glad that you guys are part of this conversation. And that was a great question. Who's next? speaker-2: So did we get that that was speaker-1: question is how can healthcare workers advocate for No, I got it. I got it. That is a great question. ⁓ That's a great question. And ⁓ what I would say is... ⁓ I'll speak personally. ⁓ I care for the black community. ⁓ That's something that I wake up and take into work every day is how I can make a difference in the black community and be honest with you. And if you have that in the front of your mind while you're working and ⁓ And, and, and, and, and, and, know, being the professional that you are, ⁓ I think it will come naturally. It will come organically how you advocate. One thing advocating for others is a strong part of what I do. So always advocating to make sure that, ⁓ you know, our community is being looked out for. Another way is if there's resources that you have access to. Hey. Let's get those resources in the communities that you care about. ⁓ My office is at PYB, Philadelphia Youth Basketball, because we developed this strong relationship there. We saw a need. My very close friend that I grew up with from five years old to, we're close friends now, he's a chief mission officer over there. We had certain resources within Jefferson that was able to help out. Philadelphia youth basketball, but not necessarily just Philadelphia youth basketball. We're able to help out the community of North Philadelphia, which it lies in. So ⁓ it was like a win-win. know, Jefferson had the resources. ⁓ PYB had the facility, which is trusted in that community. The community had a need. So, you know. making sure that you're always advocating for, making sure that you're, ⁓ you know, making sure that you, ⁓ if you have resources that can help out. ⁓ And was there another part to that question? speaker-0: I think you hit that. But again, you were just such a display of being unapologetically passionate and specifically with the Black community. And what I'm hearing again, and I want the students to know this, to not be anything less than who you are. So if you're passionate about it, go for it. Go all the way for it. So thank you, Todd, for continuing to show that, tell us, and living that out. speaker-1: And another thing ⁓ for the young person who asked the question, black male person, one thing, you gotta have some non-negotiables. One thing that's a non-negotiable for me is my family always comes first. That's a non-negotiable. But also, I'm not gonna fold because of ⁓ you know, ⁓ may not like me or someone may think I should be someone that I'm not cut out to be. You know, I can only be me. You know, so there's some non-negotiables and only being me is definitely a non-negotiable. speaker-0: That's great. Period. Drop that mic. Let's go. You can't be anybody else but Todd Harrison. ⁓ That's good. Next question. speaker-2: If you could change one thing about the health care system, what would it be and why? speaker-1: Yeah. One thing about the healthcare system that I would change and why. ⁓ That's a good question. ⁓ Don't know if I'm really that was super prepared to answer that one, but you know, I'll try. ⁓ We talked about some ⁓ biases that's within the healthcare system with certain ⁓ demographics. ⁓ And if everyone could be treated fairly within the healthcare system, and if it didn't cost so much, ⁓ that would be something that would change. Just make sure that everyone is treated on an equal playing field. And if it didn't cost so much, if we didn't have to pay so much into healthcare, that would be ⁓ something that would change. speaker-0: That's good. That's good, Todd. all want that. We have about five minutes left. I know we have a couple more questions, so let's keep pushing. Who's got the next question? speaker-2: What advice would you give students who may not believe they can become leaders? speaker-1: We all have leadership skills within us. You might not see it now, ⁓ but my advice is just to, if you don't think you can become a leader, if you think you can see someone that is a leader, like I said earlier, go up under them and try to learn some stuff from them. ⁓ If you don't see it in yourself, you might see it in somebody else. You know, ⁓ and if you can see it in them, then you can go and learn something from them. ⁓ One thing, you know, we're lifelong learners. ⁓ And one thing that I always stress is never hesitate to ask for help. ⁓ Asking for help is stronger than someone that sits back and not asks for help. So. That's just the only advice that I could give. speaker-0: People who don't ask for help are tied to their pride. So ⁓ that's a good reminder. Let's do one more question and then I'm gonna let Todd close it out for us. So who's got the final question from Emotep? One more question. speaker-2: He pretty much answered EVERYONE. There's Fanny! He hit on answering other questions when he was answering some of the ones he was asked. speaker-0: FIT Okay. speaker-1: But look at my speaker-2: Alright, we got one. We got one. speaker-0: All right, here we go. speaker-2: Number two, go, go, go. What does a typical day in your life look like? speaker-1: ⁓ typical day, ⁓ five o'clock in the morning when my wife goes to the gym every morning at five o'clock in the morning. ⁓ When I'm ⁓ disciplined enough to get up with her, I hit them five in the morning. ⁓ But you know, I go into the office every day now. I don't have to and I don't even have to. I don't have to, but because my office is at Philadelphia Youth Basketball and I love everything that's going on over there, ⁓ and I'm able to have ⁓ influence on, like, people don't even know that there's a whole high school that operates within Philadelphia, PYB, within Philadelphia Youth Basketball. And I'm able to interact with young people there. I'm able to interact with the adults that come to our classes. I'm able to go out into the community and build relationships in the community to benefit Jefferson Health plans. And then, you know, able to come home and be a family guy and, you know, hang out with my brother, hang out with my boys and ⁓ watch basketball right now. That's, even though the six is not in it anymore, you know, we still. speaker-0: Lakers. there you go. speaker-1: basketball. Yeah, I mean, but you know, other than being a professional and going to work and doing my work duties other than that, I just try to, you know, have fun and enjoy life. Enjoy life. speaker-0: We love that. And Todd, and you still prioritize, again, integrating, speaking to young people, mentoring, however you can, and all of it, whether it's in your office, on the field, at home, on the phone, even with us, you're mentoring our team here at Access Co-Leaders. Todd, we want to honor your time. Let's give you the last 60 seconds. speaker-1: Hey, I had 60 seconds. I just want to give some major shout outs. Like I said, I love Imhotep. I know a lot of the guys that play on football team. But also, I know some of the students that's there in your STEM program. Paja, I believe Paja is in like 10th grade. In Malaysia, Malaysia is in the 10th grade also. These are two young people. Malaysia goes to church. I know our whole family and I you know, you know grow up but M hotel mr. Quincy y'all know Quincy Q Mr. Quincy he's like I'm seeing Yeah, mr. Quincy. That's my guy And yeah, I just love everything about M hotel Yeah, it's a great school. Just shout out to all of y'all and I love All of the teach all of the y'all call teacher something else. I forget what it was speaker-0: but speaker-1: what it is. But you know, all of them. I love them. speaker-2: Some brothers. speaker-0: We love you too. Yeah. Papa, mama's sister, brothers. love it. Well, Todd, we love you and we were definitely happy. speaker-1: Is Mama Toni still, does she still work within the school? Shaka Toni mom? speaker-2: She actually just retired. That's mama Debbie Toni Moore. She just retired. ⁓ speaker-0: You'll get Todd. God, you are family. That is amazing. Well, just want to express we love you. I appreciate you personally so much. We're definitely going to have to have you back because this is the end of the school year and there's going some new students. Imhotep looks like y'all have to get to your next class. Best of luck on all your tests. Todd, wherever you're going, please drive safely. speaker-1: I'm my daughter's school. She's being right on speaker-0: ⁓ God, I'm glad you made it. Good, good, good. Family first. We'll definitely get there safely. We will be back in touch. Thanks all. All right. I end a. speaker-1: I'm sorry. speaker-2: Thanks, I'm thanks. you so much for hanging in here with us. speaker-0: That was really great. Yes, let's we'll definitely I need to stop recording this. ⁓ We'll definitely get back together. Let's let's see how we can make this happen. I know we could do it. ⁓ I thought the students were really excellent.