Latest / ChangeMakers with Katie Goar / Episode 110 | Part Two: Tyrone Roderick Williams, CEO, Fresno Housing

Transcript

Episode 110 | Part Two: Tyrone Roderick Williams, CEO, Fresno Housing · ChangeMakers with Katie Goar

0:05
Speaker 1: This is change Makers with Katie Gore finding the right
0:09
Speaker 1: solutions for the affordable housing community.
0:13
Speaker 2: We're back with change Maker Tyrone Roderick Williams, CEO the
0:17
Speaker 2: Presno Housing Authority. We've been discussing his fascinating transition from
0:21
Speaker 2: architect to housing innovator and his work transforming affordable housing
0:26
Speaker 2: across California's Central Valley. Tyrone, let's explore the innovative tools
0:32
Speaker 2: and resources at your disposal. I understand your organization is
0:36
Speaker 2: leveraging technology to enhance housing solutions. Can you share some
0:40
Speaker 2: of your best practices and tell us about the specific
0:44
Speaker 2: technologies you're implementing.
0:46
Speaker 3: One of the things that we are looking at in
0:49
Speaker 3: technology is because we are a real estate developer. That's
0:55
Speaker 3: one of the things that attracted me to Fresdol is
1:00
Speaker 3: we have our own real estate development department and so
1:04
Speaker 3: we are are not in need of having outside developers
1:10
Speaker 3: come and help us develop our developments. So one of that,
1:14
Speaker 3: we're looking at standardization through the use of design. Everything's
1:19
Speaker 3: automated now on the architecture side, the drafting tables are
1:24
Speaker 3: now have all been shipped to the Smithsonian and everything
1:27
Speaker 3: is done through the computer. So we're looking at auto
1:34
Speaker 3: standardization of our designs and the uses of our products
1:41
Speaker 3: and materials so that we can be able to minimize
1:46
Speaker 3: our costs for maintenance as well. But the other side
1:50
Speaker 3: of that that we're using technology AUDI is really here
1:54
Speaker 3: in our agency. We have a phenomenal IT team and
2:01
Speaker 3: we since I've come, we've really been focused on automation,
2:05
Speaker 3: from our billing to our internet, to how we have
2:13
Speaker 3: our cafe portal for making rental payments online, to looking
2:20
Speaker 3: at training opportunities online and incorporating new technologies into everything
2:29
Speaker 3: that we have. We've gotten rid of our handheld phones
2:33
Speaker 3: and we shipped them off to the Smithsonian as well,
2:37
Speaker 3: and now everything is done by way. I answered my
2:41
Speaker 3: phone on my computer. And so technology is something that
2:46
Speaker 3: we are embracing, particularly as it relates to securing to
2:51
Speaker 3: securing our networks, because we have so much vital personal
2:58
Speaker 3: information on residents that are in files that having our
3:05
Speaker 3: firewalls and securities for our networks in place is absolute
3:12
Speaker 3: paramount for us, and we're constantly looking at ways of
3:17
Speaker 3: strengthening our defenses and looking at how to identify areas
3:25
Speaker 3: where we may be vulnerable.
3:28
Speaker 2: I'm glad you brought that up because I noticed that
3:30
Speaker 2: you have been on a board for the California State
3:33
Speaker 2: University Cybersecurity Advisory Foundation. What is going on in that
3:40
Speaker 2: domain and is that a current position or are you
3:44
Speaker 2: going to just reflect maybe on your time there.
3:46
Speaker 3: I'm no longer on the service on the advisory committee,
3:50
Speaker 3: but it was a great opportunity for me as a
3:54
Speaker 3: CEO to understand one the complexities of cyber security. Number two,
4:01
Speaker 3: the absolute necessity to be proactive and not just reactive,
4:08
Speaker 3: and putting those protective firewalls, processes and procedures in place,
4:14
Speaker 3: and the importance of training your staff to be aware
4:19
Speaker 3: of the tricks and scams and schemes that are constantly
4:28
Speaker 3: being bombarded at our agencies. In fact, even with all
4:33
Speaker 3: of our efforts, last week there was an email that
4:37
Speaker 3: somebody sent out requesting our accounting department to pay nine
4:43
Speaker 3: thousand dollars bill and the email came supposedly from me.
4:48
Speaker 3: But the great news is we caught it. Our training
4:52
Speaker 3: paid off. We were not hoodwe bamboozled or caught off guard,
4:58
Speaker 3: and we were able to address it. But the attacks
5:02
Speaker 3: and are never ending, and we should never let our
5:05
Speaker 3: guard down. And I was really educated and made aware
5:11
Speaker 3: of at different level by serving on that advisory council.
5:16
Speaker 2: I'm glad that you mentioned that, because it's not just
5:19
Speaker 2: a tax on the organization that are happening, but it's
5:22
Speaker 2: a tax on applicants and residents, and to me, that
5:26
Speaker 2: is just the ultiman ultimate societal No.
5:31
Speaker 3: No.
5:31
Speaker 2: As far as to prey on people in their time
5:34
Speaker 2: of need, have you seen any of that or how
5:37
Speaker 2: do you guys combat some of that, because I know
5:40
Speaker 2: a lot of agencies are struggling to get in front
5:43
Speaker 2: of that component.
5:45
Speaker 3: At this point, that's not been something that we are
5:50
Speaker 3: have been aware that there's been a breach, but maybe
5:55
Speaker 3: that's to the fact, you know, of all of the
5:59
Speaker 3: training and systems that we've put in place. But we
6:03
Speaker 3: are are not delusional in the fact that in thinking
6:07
Speaker 3: that it can't and maybe even it won't happen, even
6:11
Speaker 3: with our best efforts to try to protect our residents
6:15
Speaker 3: and our staff as well.
6:18
Speaker 2: Well. Shout out to YARDI rent Cafe the system that
6:21
Speaker 2: you guys use. We've partnered with you guys before on
6:24
Speaker 2: that system, so it's really locked down and you guys
6:28
Speaker 2: are staying ahead of that. So let's just let's just
6:32
Speaker 2: close that up and keep up the vigilance on that,
6:34
Speaker 2: won't we Yes? So I have a couple of other questions,
6:38
Speaker 2: and this really talks to some of the intro how
6:43
Speaker 2: you got started, and you know, sounds like you had
6:45
Speaker 2: amazing career advice and mentorship. In fact, I'd love to
6:50
Speaker 2: find another word for mentorship because mentorship seems so flat.
6:54
Speaker 2: It really is like the it was kind of like
6:57
Speaker 2: the life changing Jedi moment here more than a mentor.
7:01
Speaker 2: But I noticed that you guys are also doing several
7:05
Speaker 2: things for well being and successive college students, and I'm
7:12
Speaker 2: wondering how you view housing as part of that success,
7:18
Speaker 2: particularly for the clients that you're serving, Like, do you
7:22
Speaker 2: want to talk about that, especially given your early involvement
7:27
Speaker 2: in your early education footing.
7:29
Speaker 3: Sure, throughout my career there's always been two components. There's
7:34
Speaker 3: been the physical environment and there's been the people who
7:38
Speaker 3: actually live in that environment. So for us and for me,
7:44
Speaker 3: my goal and my perspective has always been to help
7:51
Speaker 3: those who want to move to the next level. And
7:57
Speaker 3: in in my time starting against incremental and now here
8:01
Speaker 3: in Fresnoe, they understand that there are numerous countless residents
8:06
Speaker 3: who find themselves in cycles of poverty and are not
8:12
Speaker 3: happy with being locked into poverty, but really aren't clear
8:18
Speaker 3: on how to make a change, how to do things differently.
8:24
Speaker 3: Even though they may not be happy where they are,
8:27
Speaker 3: they need some help to getting where they say they
8:30
Speaker 3: want to be. And I've always been very adamant not
8:36
Speaker 3: all only opening up doors of opportunity, but ensuring that
8:42
Speaker 3: others continue to move through that door as well. So
8:46
Speaker 3: here in Fresdoe, we have, since I arrived, have really
8:51
Speaker 3: expanded and focused not only on building incredible housing developers
8:57
Speaker 3: that don't look like public housing, uh, but also creating
9:02
Speaker 3: doors of opportunity for our residence. And so part of
9:07
Speaker 3: that has been our focus on expanding our scholarship program.
9:14
Speaker 3: I think there are really two ways to break the
9:17
Speaker 3: cycles of poverty. They all start with a mentality that
9:21
Speaker 3: says I want more and I want something different and better,
9:26
Speaker 3: and part of that can start with education. And so
9:30
Speaker 3: my desire and my mantra is that every resident who
9:37
Speaker 3: choose this to move forward with their academic pursuits, we
9:41
Speaker 3: want to have a hand in helping them financially. So
9:46
Speaker 3: we are moving in that direction. I can't say that
9:49
Speaker 3: at this port every resident, but there will be a
9:52
Speaker 3: day and we're looking for opportunities to fund every resident,
9:57
Speaker 3: whether you want to go back and get your g
10:00
Speaker 3: ged are all the way to your PhD. If you
10:04
Speaker 3: are a resident of presdent public housing or a housing
10:08
Speaker 3: choice voucher, we want aid you in making those educational advancements.
10:15
Speaker 3: And so so far this year we were able to
10:17
Speaker 3: help sixty two of our residents with scholarships that are
10:24
Speaker 3: helping them in their educational pursuits, whether that's going to
10:29
Speaker 3: a two year community college starting off or a four
10:34
Speaker 3: year college institution as well. And we even fund the
10:40
Speaker 3: fees for getting GEDs, so that because for so many
10:45
Speaker 3: of our residents that's the first step. And and so
10:51
Speaker 3: in addition to that, we've created a foundation called Beyond
10:58
Speaker 3: Housing Foundation, which is our philanthropic effort to raise money
11:06
Speaker 3: to provide ongoing support for resident services. You know, HUD
11:12
Speaker 3: is moving further and further away from funding resident services
11:17
Speaker 3: up you know programs, but I have to say that's
11:21
Speaker 3: where breaking the cycle of poverty happens. We can continue
11:25
Speaker 3: to house h those that are low income, butan if
11:31
Speaker 3: we ever are going to change cycles and break generational
11:36
Speaker 3: poverty it's got to start with resident services and helping
11:41
Speaker 3: people navigate the systems and the processes that can elevate
11:47
Speaker 3: not only them, but their family and the generations that
11:51
Speaker 3: come behind them. And so are Beyond the Housing Foundation
11:55
Speaker 3: really focuses on two areas. Primarily, one is education and
12:01
Speaker 3: so we're starting from pre natal all the way to
12:06
Speaker 3: a college and career. And the other is workforce develop it.
12:12
Speaker 3: We have a lot of people that we've found who
12:14
Speaker 3: really do want to go into the workforce, but they're
12:19
Speaker 3: apprehensive about making that leap of faith. For so many
12:23
Speaker 3: of them that they need some guidance, they need some encouragement,
12:30
Speaker 3: They need someone who will be there to help them
12:33
Speaker 3: through the tough times and the difficult situations and say
12:37
Speaker 3: yes you can and yes you're will, and we're not
12:40
Speaker 3: going to abandon you in your endeavors are pursuits, and
12:44
Speaker 3: so that's what Beyond Housing Foundation. So it's eight months old,
12:50
Speaker 3: we've already got over a million dollars and assets. But
12:54
Speaker 3: as I said, my vision, my goal in the coming
12:57
Speaker 3: years is that every single person, oh fifty thousand, the
13:04
Speaker 3: folks that we served, if any of them decide they
13:08
Speaker 3: want better academically, we want to be there to assist
13:12
Speaker 3: them in making that adjustment or if they decide, you know,
13:16
Speaker 3: I want to go back into the workforce. We've got
13:19
Speaker 3: partners and strategies in place that can help them overcome
13:23
Speaker 3: the insecurities, prepare them with skills that are marketable, and
13:28
Speaker 3: I'll provide the case management that will stand side by
13:31
Speaker 3: side with them doing that transition.
13:35
Speaker 2: I applaud you in this foundation because this is such
13:38
Speaker 2: a way to really deliver economic mobility and address some
13:42
Speaker 2: equity issues, isn't it?
13:44
Speaker 3: Yes? And you know, everything that we do we look
13:48
Speaker 3: at through an equity lens. That's just the perspective that
13:54
Speaker 3: I bring to the agency, and that so we are
13:57
Speaker 3: always looking at how do we balance the scales and
14:04
Speaker 3: create the opportunities Katie. For me, so many people over
14:10
Speaker 3: my career have opened up doors that they didn't have
14:14
Speaker 3: to open for me, have gone out of their way
14:18
Speaker 3: to give me guidance and counsel, and I am one
14:22
Speaker 3: grateful dude. And so paying it back or paying it
14:27
Speaker 3: forward is not just a theory or a way of
14:32
Speaker 3: It's a way of living for me. And I've been
14:36
Speaker 3: the first in a whole lot of places, and first
14:40
Speaker 3: on sometimes sounds wonderful. Oh, you're the first to ever
14:43
Speaker 3: do this, and you're well, sometimes being the first means
14:46
Speaker 3: you've got to you've got to chart the way. You've
14:50
Speaker 3: got to, you know, create a path in the wilderness
14:54
Speaker 3: or through the desert. And so for me, when I
14:58
Speaker 3: walk through a door that others like me have not
15:01
Speaker 3: walked through, my goal is not just to open the door.
15:05
Speaker 3: It's to take the door off the hinges, so that
15:10
Speaker 3: nobody else will be hindered from coming and following in
15:14
Speaker 3: my footsteps and creating bigger and better paths that transform lives.
15:21
Speaker 2: That is beautiful. It's one of the things that I
15:23
Speaker 2: think that many of us who have struggled and achieved
15:30
Speaker 2: that we now have to look at ourselves and say, okay,
15:34
Speaker 2: not just what is our legacy, but we have to
15:36
Speaker 2: sit there and say, now, how do we have that
15:38
Speaker 2: path for the next person who's coming up behind me?
15:43
Speaker 2: And you really have through this foundation and what you're
15:47
Speaker 2: doing there in Presno, you really have created that path
15:50
Speaker 2: to allow not just the sixty two residents we're talking about,
15:55
Speaker 2: but the potential for six thousand residents to come. What
15:59
Speaker 2: a vision in there.
16:00
Speaker 3: And I'm glad to be leading that charge. But you know,
16:05
Speaker 3: our work here at the agency is not just me.
16:09
Speaker 3: I have an incredible team that I've assembled since I arrived.
16:14
Speaker 3: You can't do great things without a great team. No,
16:18
Speaker 3: you know, you can go fast by yourself, but you
16:22
Speaker 3: can go further with others helping you. And I am
16:27
Speaker 3: honored and grateful for those that we've been able to
16:31
Speaker 3: attract this agency and to this region. But I keep
16:35
Speaker 3: your people realiking anybody go don't want to leave where
16:38
Speaker 3: they are to come to Friensno, well, I've found this.
16:41
Speaker 3: People are looking for incredible organizations to be a part,
16:46
Speaker 3: and great leaders are attracted to other leaders. And we've
16:51
Speaker 3: been able to attract some incredible leadership here since I've arrived,
16:55
Speaker 3: and we are moving forward, rowing and going in the.
16:59
Speaker 4: Same What were some of your teammates? What were words
17:04
Speaker 4: would they describe you if they were also sitting here
17:08
Speaker 4: on the microphone with us, How would they describe you
17:11
Speaker 4: as a leader?
17:12
Speaker 3: Visionary and passionate?
17:15
Speaker 2: Excellent, We'll take it. And then how would you describe.
17:17
Speaker 3: Them visionary and passionate? Oh? Yes, it did. Because we're
17:25
Speaker 3: going we're doing things that other that don't before, and
17:30
Speaker 3: you know, so we are all Sometimes yes, we're building
17:34
Speaker 3: their plane while we're flying it, but we are working together.
17:39
Speaker 3: And the great thing is we all compliment each other.
17:42
Speaker 3: We are not identical carbon copies. We're all unique. We
17:46
Speaker 3: all have our attributes, and I believe in leading from strengths.
17:52
Speaker 3: We've all taken this clipped and Strengths assessment and understand
18:00
Speaker 3: the values that we automatically bring at our perspectives that
18:05
Speaker 3: we bring to the work and the activities that we're
18:09
Speaker 3: engaged in, and it is really a compliment that allows
18:13
Speaker 3: us to really have significant impacts.
18:16
Speaker 2: I just had a conversation with one of my staff
18:19
Speaker 2: a couple of weeks ago, and we were talking about
18:21
Speaker 2: this word pioneer, and I said, you know, everybody thinks
18:23
Speaker 2: it's this innovative leader. You're a pioneer, I go, but
18:27
Speaker 2: not everybody realizes, you know, the blisters on your feet
18:30
Speaker 2: and the blisters on your hands because you know you
18:33
Speaker 2: had to do the work, learn the hard way to
18:36
Speaker 2: be that pioneer. They don't talk about those types of
18:39
Speaker 2: things enough as well.
18:41
Speaker 3: Well. I always when I get a chance to talk
18:43
Speaker 3: to emerging leaders or college students, even anybody who listen,
18:49
Speaker 3: even the elementary of middle school kids. I ought to
18:52
Speaker 3: share that nothing worthy of doing is easy. People who
19:00
Speaker 3: are successful are successful because they did hard things. Well,
19:07
Speaker 3: there is no easy path, but you have to be committed.
19:12
Speaker 3: And that's kind of the story of my life. That's
19:15
Speaker 3: why when you first opened up and said, tell me
19:17
Speaker 3: about yourself, then I took the scenic route. Oh, I've
19:22
Speaker 3: got the blisters, the bruises. I am a proud not
19:25
Speaker 3: only a proud graduate of Preview A and M University
19:29
Speaker 3: at MIT, I'm a proud graduate of the School of
19:33
Speaker 3: Hard Knocks.
19:34
Speaker 2: I hear you. I think I was in that school
19:37
Speaker 2: right along with you too. It actually leads me to
19:41
Speaker 2: my last question here. I want to hear about this
19:45
Speaker 2: book that you wrote called Igniting the Power to Succeed.
19:50
Speaker 2: Tell us what was a message and what inspired you?
19:53
Speaker 2: Just tell us as we get ready to wrap up here,
19:56
Speaker 2: I have to hear more about that.
19:58
Speaker 3: Well, I'm going to give you their brief versions. Earlier
20:02
Speaker 3: in my career, when I became a leader, I really
20:04
Speaker 3: realized the importance of following success principles, one, understanding them
20:11
Speaker 3: and then implementing them in my life. And at what
20:15
Speaker 3: point in my career I got asked to speak to
20:18
Speaker 3: a group of leaders, and after that got asked to
20:22
Speaker 3: do workshop with them, and then they told two friends,
20:27
Speaker 3: who told you friends, And before I knew it, I
20:29
Speaker 3: was speaking at national conferences and doing workshops on leadership,
20:34
Speaker 3: and somebody asked me, Tyrone, have you put what you're
20:37
Speaker 3: teaching in these workshops into a book so those who
20:41
Speaker 3: can attend or can really benefit from all that your teaching.
20:46
Speaker 3: And at that point I didn't even thought about that aspect.
20:50
Speaker 3: But through a series of events, I started writing the book,
20:57
Speaker 3: Igniting the Power to Succeed. And the title is based
21:01
Speaker 3: on the fact that I do believe that every individual
21:04
Speaker 3: has the power to succeed. It needs a spark, though,
21:09
Speaker 3: It needs something that takes you from just being dormant
21:14
Speaker 3: to being active, and that's why I titled it Ignited
21:18
Speaker 3: that Power to Succeed. Practical Principles for phenomenal performance. And
21:25
Speaker 3: the book had done well. I wrote it in two thousand,
21:29
Speaker 3: two thousand and two thousand and one. I think the
21:31
Speaker 3: second printing was two thousand and two. But it really
21:37
Speaker 3: capitalized all of the principles that I have used and
21:41
Speaker 3: others like me and who have done even greater things
21:45
Speaker 3: than I've done to really condense it into a form
21:49
Speaker 3: where even high school students can use it as a
21:55
Speaker 3: tool for charting their course and their pathway to where
22:00
Speaker 3: they say they want to be. And it is. It's
22:04
Speaker 3: one of the greatest things that I've done, and it
22:09
Speaker 3: impacted thousands. You got great reviews and break book sales,
22:15
Speaker 3: and there's just a few copies left on Amazon. And
22:19
Speaker 3: at some point in my career I may go back
22:22
Speaker 3: and rig does that opportunity to share What.
22:26
Speaker 2: A powerful way to feed into people that you interact
22:30
Speaker 2: with and just really share wisdom, because I think sometimes
22:33
Speaker 2: people just hold their wisdom to their vest too close.
22:37
Speaker 2: But I'm glad that you have made this available to
22:41
Speaker 2: more people and allowing people to be able to succeed.
22:44
Speaker 2: I mean, what a gift that is.
22:46
Speaker 3: Oh what was really You know, anytime an author writes
22:50
Speaker 3: a book, you're always interested or concerned about how it's
22:53
Speaker 3: going to be received. But the hundreds and hundreds of
22:57
Speaker 3: emails and letters and comments that I received from people, well,
23:03
Speaker 3: first of all, it's ninety seven pages, so I wanted
23:06
Speaker 3: to write a book that people who don't normally read
23:09
Speaker 3: would not be intimidated by reading. But the comments about
23:14
Speaker 3: what a difference it has made in the lives of
23:18
Speaker 3: those who've read and followed the guide. That has just
23:23
Speaker 3: been heartwarming. It is one of my greatest besides my
23:28
Speaker 3: two daughters. It is one of my greatest legacies that
23:32
Speaker 3: I will lead in the earth for Raim when I transition.
23:36
Speaker 2: Well, I'm headed to Amazon because I'm going to get
23:37
Speaker 2: me a copy of that. I love to hear different methodologies.
23:42
Speaker 2: It's also one of the reasons, you know, I like
23:44
Speaker 2: to do this podcast because I think that we as
23:46
Speaker 2: an industry should be sharing what is working and how
23:50
Speaker 2: we're learning at such a bigger level instead of just
23:55
Speaker 2: once or twice a year at a conference.
23:57
Speaker 3: Well, leadership development is is one of my passions. I
24:04
Speaker 3: love sharing strategies and helping people avoid unnecessary pitfalls. So
24:13
Speaker 3: anytime I can speak to some leaders, share some practical principles,
24:18
Speaker 3: provide some perspectives that will allow people to avoid unnecessary
24:24
Speaker 3: challenges and be much more effective and impactful. Oh, I
24:30
Speaker 3: jump at the opportunity to do that.
24:32
Speaker 2: Well, I appreciate you sharing. Today again, I've been talking
24:36
Speaker 2: with Tyrone Roderick Williams, the chief executive officer of Presno Housing.
24:41
Speaker 2: Tyrone It's been a pleasure to have you here, Katie.
24:45
Speaker 3: Thank you for giving not only me but all of
24:50
Speaker 3: the team at FRESNOE Housing an opportunity to share the
24:55
Speaker 3: work and the way we work here in California Central
25:00
Speaker 3: and FRESDA.
25:01
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to change Makers with Katie Gore. To
25:05
Speaker 1: find out more about Katie, go to quadel dot com.
25:08
Speaker 1: That's qu A d e l dot com. This has
25:13
Speaker 1: been a production of Forbes Books Radio