Latest / Elevate Podcast: Powered by Braden / Elevate Ep 49: Indiana Youth Group CEO Chris Paulsen, & Joseph Myers, Chief of Staff

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Elevate Ep 49: Indiana Youth Group CEO Chris Paulsen, & Joseph Myers, Chief of Staff · Elevate Podcast: Powered by Braden

• 0:02
  Welcome to the Elevate podcast where
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  every leader has a story.
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  We bring you conversations with
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  influential leaders who are shaping our
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  local communities.
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  Hear about their path to leadership
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  and experiences that define them.
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  And how they're driving meaningful
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  impact today.
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  Hey everybody, Jason Ohm here with
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  another episode of the Elevate Hour by
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  Braden podcast. And as you can see,
• 0:24
  things are a little bit different.
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  Instead of just myself talking to a
• 0:27
  friend, I'm actually talking to two
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  friends today. Which is really cool.
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  Great opportunity to be able to share
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  the stories of not only a great local
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  nonprofit, but also a couple of great
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  individuals. A couple of people that
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  I've had a chance to talk to now over
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  the last couple of months. But Chris and
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  Joseph, welcome to the show.
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  >> Thank you.
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  >> Thanks for having us.
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  >> All right. So obviously we're going to
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  talk about IYG, but we're not there in
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  either parts of your story, right? So we
• 0:51
  need we need to figure out where we are
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  there. But before we get started, IYG,
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  maybe let's just give you guys' roles in
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  the organization. So Joseph, you first.
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  >> Yeah, I'm chief of staff at IYG.
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  >> Perfect. And Chris?
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  >> And I am the CEO um through the end of
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  this year.
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  >> Through the end of this year. That's
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  awesome by the way. All right. Okay. So
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  we know IYG is nonprofit located here in
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  Indiana, but it's not where either of
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  you two started. So Chris, let's start
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  with you. Where's your genesis? Where
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  are you from originally?
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  >> Um I was born and raised in the San
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  Francisco Bay Area, moved to um
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  Louisville um
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  for high school, and then went to uh
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  Hanover College uh for my undergrad.
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  >> All right. So San Francisco to
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  Louisville, then go to Hanover. That's a
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  pretty big change.
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  >> It is. San Francisco to Louisville.
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  >> All right. So in Hanover, what were you
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  going to study in Hanover?
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  >> Um my Hanover's a liberal arts school,
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  so I have a liberal arts degree with a
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  uh
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  concentration in business and
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  psychology.
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  >> Okay. Business and psychology. All
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  right, Joseph, the same question. Where
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  are you from originally?
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  >> So originally born in Ohio. I don't
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  typically plan on it cuz I moved to
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  Indianapolis when I was five.
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  >> Okay.
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  >> So you're you're
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  Which who who are pretty much your old
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  very uh
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  >> but grew up here. Went to Aver Buff for
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  high school,
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  Manchester University for my undergrad,
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  and then studied English
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  with a writing
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  concentration, Spanish minor, and then
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  went on to get an MFA in creative
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  non-fiction writing from Spalding in
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  Louisville.
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  >> Oh, cool.
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  >> And then also got a degree and masters
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  in clinical mental health counseling
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  from Northwestern after that.
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  >> So, a little bit of school.
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  >> A little bit like one or maybe one more
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  degree.
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  >> Basically, we'll just see what happens.
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  Let's see what
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  >> Play with time a little bit.
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  >> It's good to hear that you're a Hoosier
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  and not claim to be a Buckeye.
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  >> Understood.
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  >> Terrific to hear. Okay, so coming out of
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  of school, Chris, what did you think you
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  were going to do? What was your What was
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  kind of the goal coming out of Hanover?
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  >> Um
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  to get into business somehow, and I
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  started um
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  with a company called Taylor Homes. Um
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  we built um scattered site custom homes
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  in six states. Um started handling
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  warranty service, and um grew through
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  that. Um
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  ended up as vice president of sales and
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  construction um after 23 years.
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  >> Oh, no kidding.
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  >> Somewhere in there got a MBA from IU. Um
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  and then I just decided that uh
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  it didn't feed my soul anymore. So, I I
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  came home and said to my wife, "I think
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  I'm going to quit my job." And she was
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  like,
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  "That's a decision."
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  >> Okay.
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  >> [laughter]
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  >> That's one.
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  >> Yeah.
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  >> All right, that's one you could make.
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  There's others you could make as well.
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  Like, Hey, let's let's eat pizza.
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  Decision.
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  >> And I was like, "Oh my god." So,
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  >> 23
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  >> 23 years, and it just um
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  I mean, I was well compensated, the work
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  was fine. It just didn't feed my soul.
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  And so, I thought, "What can I do that
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  would actually help people?"
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  >> Really. Okay, all right. So, I want to
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  go back to that in just a minute. But,
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  Joseph, when you were coming out of
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  school, so from Manchester originally,
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  right? What was your What was your goal?
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  Where were you going to go? What was
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  that first role?
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  >> So, I had no idea, honestly. I wanted to
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  I had an English degree. I loved
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  writing. I know there's always like the
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  pipe dream of like I'm going to be a
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  writer and those things are going to
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  happen. Uh but that I quickly learned
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  that takes time and, you know,
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  connections and diligence and things
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  like that. Um but I always loved the
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  idea of teaching. And so, I actually did
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  Teach for America in South Dakota.
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  >> Oh, wow.
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  >> And I taught on the Rosebud Sioux
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  Reservation.
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  >> Okay.
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  >> With the Lakota tribe. And taught high
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  school and college English.
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  And then also ended up being a
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  cheerleading coach somehow while I was
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  out there. It was just because I was a
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  singer and dancer in college and they
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  were like, "Oh, it's the same thing. You
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  could probably do that." You could
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  probably do that. My cheer squad and I
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  had an amazing assistant coach. Uh we
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  were both of the co-head coaches and we
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  ended up winning two championships with
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  our team, which was awesome.
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  >> Okay.
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  >> But did not expect that to be doing
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  that. So, I had a career in education.
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  Um teacher teacher coach principal like
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  high liaison stuff like that. And then
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  the pandemic is real where I started the
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  shift when I was teaching online. Okay.
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  I was like, "This is just
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  >> This isn't It that's not filling your
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  cup, right?
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  >> my cup. And I when I got my MFA, I also
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  wanted to be a professor and teach
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  college level. But I finished the MFA in
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  December of 2019. And so, right before
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  the world kind of paused
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  >> Heller.
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  >> uh extended period of time and then I
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  was teaching online pretty much all of
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  2020. I was like, "I don't think this is
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  going to be
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  the forever." And at that point we just
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  really didn't know.
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  >> Yeah, sure.
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  >> What was going to happen.
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  >> What was going to happen? All right.
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  What were you What's going to go back to
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  the the new normal?
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  >> It's uh all those types of things. So,
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  >> But the Teach for America, that's where
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  you put in and they kind of send you
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  wherever or they happen to be. So, you
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  going in, do you get to pick?
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  >> So, yeah, I was able to put 10 options
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  and um
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  I my mom and I had had a conversation
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  when I was applying for it. She was
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  like, "I think it would be really cool
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  if you did that working like on a
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  reservation or with like
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  indigenous folks. I think you'd be
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  really good for that." And like somebody
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  I never really thought about.
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  >> Yeah, sure.
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  >> But I was definitely open to it and
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  there were only two sites that served
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  indigenous populations. So I chose South
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  Dakota on one and Seattle was the other
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  option. And they all the other areas
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  were predominantly black areas. So I
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  figured like I'm I'll be happy no matter
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  what. I kind of made sure that I'm in
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  front of minority groups and yeah, see
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  other folks like them who have like
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  understand where they're coming from and
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  things like that. So I should have known
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  putting South Dakota as an option, I
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  would be there clearly one of the that
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  was very low rates to deliver folks cuz
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  I mean they're
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  I cannot express enough that how rural
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  >> Yeah, it's amazing.
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  >> It is beautiful.
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  >> It's so beautiful. So beautiful. I've
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  never seen that much land in my life.
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  >> Yeah,
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  >> [clears throat]
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  >> it's just not as many people covering it
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  as
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  >> There was more cows in the state than
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  there are.
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  >> I believe that's true by the way. And uh
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  there was an important lesson in there
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  also. People out there, listen to your
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  mom. Right? So your your mom's always uh
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  s-
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  >> Mom's always been correct.
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  >> Always been correct. We actually heard
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  that on another episode earlier uh this
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  year of somebody who took advice from
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  their mom. Always a great idea.
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  So Chris, back to you.
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  23 years, same job, doing well.
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  VP of sales, running stuff. Come home.
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  Not saying, "Hey, let's get pizza."
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  Going to quit my job. All right. So one
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  of the things that that's interesting
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  about that is
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  you know,
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  you mentioned you spoke to your wife.
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  And so I'm curious what that what that
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  reaction was like, right? And then also
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  what were you thinking, you know, you
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  were going to do? Was it to get into a
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  nonprofit space? Well, what was that
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  thought process like? Because I'm sure
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  there are people today
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  who are out there um doing something,
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  but maybe they feel like there's
• 7:43
  something else they could do. Maybe
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  their cup isn't being full, like you
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  said. And, uh, maybe they need to make a
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  step, right? So, that journey that you
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  went through could be interesting for
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  somebody to learn kind of what you did
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  and how you navigated it.
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  >> Yeah.
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  Um,
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  >> [clears throat]
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  >> yeah, my wife's reaction was like, okay.
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  Like, we'll figure it out.
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  >> Wow.
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  >> Yeah, which is, um, she's always been
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  very supportive of whatever I do and in
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  the role I have now, obviously has to be
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  very supportive because I'm
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  you know, a lot of evenings, a lot of
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  weekends and Sure.
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  >> Sure.
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  >> um, lot of calls late at night and
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  things like that. But, um, yeah, so I
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  just, um, we own a couple small
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  construction companies, so I was like,
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  I'll just do some projects and, uh,
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  I
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  a month into that, uh, Freedom Indiana
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  called and said, "Hey, we hear you're
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  not working. Um, will you run our, um,
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  campaign to, um,
• 8:32
  get a non-discrim passed in the state?"
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  And I was like, "I can." They're like,
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  "It'll be like 4 months." And I'm like,
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  "Sure, I can do that for 4 months." So,
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  I, uh, went and, uh, became the, uh,
• 8:41
  campaign manager, uh, Freedom Indiana.
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  Worked a lot at the State House. Um,
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  ended up being there about 19 months.
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  >> Okay.
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  >> Um,
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  and, uh, in that time, IYGI called and
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  said, um, you know, "Hey, we're running
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  a capital campaign." This was back in 7
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  2017.
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  >> Okay.
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  >> And, uh, "Would you help us with it
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  because you know construction and you
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  know some people, people know your face
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  a little bit." So, I was like, "Sure.
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  Um, I'll help with that." And then
• 9:09
  during that campaign, um, the executive
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  director left and, uh, IYGI was like,
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  "Hey, are you looking for a job?" I was
• 9:16
  like, "No, still not looking for a job."
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  Um, but they're like, "Just, you know,
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  apply just for a couple years." And I
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  was like, "Okay." And, um,
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  so 9 years later, I'm still here.
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  Obviously, I'm not go good with time.
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  >> Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
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  >> Um, so 9 years, I'm still here and, um,
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  it's been, um, the hardest and the most
• 9:34
  rewarding job I've ever had.
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  >> No kidding.
• 9:36
  >> Right, yeah.
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  >> That's awesome, by the way. And here
• 9:38
  part of that story, you were open to
• 9:41
  others saying, "Hey, we need some help.
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  Will you be willing?"
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  >> Mhm.
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  >> Right? [clears throat] And the answer
• 9:45
  was yes. I'm sure you could I could do
• 9:47
  this for a little while. I could do this
• 9:48
  for a couple years. Nine years later, of
• 9:50
  course, like you said, with time. All
• 9:52
  right, so now that takes you up to IYG.
• 9:55
  You're teaching.
• 9:56
  >> Yep.
• 9:56
  >> Right? And you get to the pandemic, and
• 9:59
  now we're doing things online. Things
• 10:01
  are changing for you. How do you get
• 10:03
  from there to IYG?
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  >> Yeah, so during the pandemic, like I
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  said, I graduated with my MFA in 2019 in
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  December, and I as a teacher, I was
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  always I mean, I think this is the
• 10:17
  English teacher trope, but you're the
• 10:19
  classroom that everybody goes to, the
• 10:20
  teacher everybody goes to, like we're on
• 10:23
  receiving all of students' biggest wins
• 10:25
  and also the the hardest moments.
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  And so I felt like I was already in that
• 10:29
  counseling space, and I was always
• 10:31
  referring people out. And so
• 10:34
  uh
• 10:35
  January of 2020, after finishing one
• 10:37
  master's, I said, "What if I was a
• 10:38
  therapist? Like what if I decided to
• 10:41
  just go that route instead?" I tried and
• 10:43
  applied
• 10:44
  to Northwestern in January of 2020, not
• 10:46
  knowing like the world's going to shut
• 10:48
  down in 2 months. Um got admitted,
• 10:50
  accepted, started the program in June of
• 10:52
  2020. So the entirety of the pandemic, I
• 10:54
  was doing grad school online to become a
• 10:57
  therapist.
• 10:57
  >> Okay.
• 10:58
  >> So
• 10:59
  um
• 11:00
  in that process, I was also on the IYG
• 11:03
  board. It's uh I met Chris. I I started
• 11:06
  on the board in 2019.
• 11:08
  And so Chris was very well aware that I
• 11:10
  was in the mental health program, and I
• 11:12
  think probably had long I since learned
• 11:15
  about Chris's they always have a
• 11:16
  long-term plan. They always have
• 11:18
  somebody that they're looking at,
• 11:19
  somebody that foresee.
• 11:21
  And so I cannot express how hilarious it
• 11:24
  was like month one after graduation.
• 11:28
  Chris was like, "So, you got your
• 11:29
  degree.
• 11:30
  IYG started a therapy program. Do you
• 11:32
  want to come work for us? And I was
• 11:34
  like, I know they started the program. I
• 11:35
  voted on it as a board member.
• 11:38
  I
• 11:38
  Not right now. I had just finished my
• 11:41
  internship and I was at a private
• 11:44
  practice in public. I wanted to kind of
• 11:46
  do private practice for a few months.
• 11:48
  Sure.
• 11:49
  Um
• 11:50
  One thing about private practice is so
• 11:51
  so rewarding, but it is so challenging
• 11:54
  to to build. Right. Of course. Yeah. So,
• 11:57
  um at the time I had just actually gone
• 11:59
  through a pretty pretty tough breakup. I
• 12:01
  was on single income at that point. And
• 12:03
  I was just like, this is a lot of
• 12:05
  stress. And I got into the therapy world
• 12:07
  to do work that felt good and felt
• 12:10
  rewarding.
• 12:10
  >> Yeah.
• 12:11
  >> And I started looking at people as
• 12:12
  numbers and not as opportunities for
• 12:15
  growth and development. So, I was like,
• 12:17
  Thaddeus, you have 25 clients so I could
• 12:19
  pay all these bills and
• 12:21
  it just was not the vibe that I was
• 12:23
  looking for.
• 12:24
  >> Sure.
• 12:24
  >> Went back to Chris and I was like, hey,
• 12:26
  so I know 3 months ago I said I'm not
• 12:28
  interested. Um I thought more about it.
• 12:31
  I thought more about the opportunity to
• 12:32
  be a therapist at IYG and also thought
• 12:34
  about like little Joseph who would have
• 12:36
  loved to know about IYG growing up. It
• 12:38
  would have made my coming out journey so
• 12:40
  much easier.
• 12:41
  And I was like, actually, yeah, that's
• 12:43
  that's what I want to do. I want to
• 12:45
  be able to be a black queer therapist in
• 12:49
  a space where folks could so benefit
• 12:52
  from seeing that um and thinking about
• 12:54
  kids like me who would need that.
• 12:56
  >> Yeah.
• 12:56
  >> Um I also had a unique kind of approach
• 12:58
  to therapy because I was a video game
• 13:01
  therapist. And so, I would I've been
• 13:03
  playing video games like a little
• 13:04
  controller.
• 13:05
  >> Um
• 13:05
  >> Okay. I love video games and I remember
• 13:09
  always feeling like I couldn't make that
• 13:11
  a career. And then when I was in my
• 13:12
  therapy program, I started looking at
• 13:14
  the gamification of mental health and
• 13:16
  how you can
• 13:18
  use video games in a therapeutic
• 13:20
  setting. I was like, oh, I want to do
• 13:21
  that. Oh, that's That's the seal. That
• 13:23
  is kind of the
• 13:25
  the lens that I brought to therapy and
• 13:27
  with Chris's encouragement to
• 13:31
  consider rolling off the board and
• 13:33
  rolling onto IYG staff. Yeah, I did that
• 13:35
  and started at IYG July of 2023.
• 13:39
  >> Okay, all right. So, I love the stories
• 13:41
  how they little bit intertwine of, you
• 13:43
  know, your cups not being full.
• 13:45
  Right? You mentioned, you know, 23 years
• 13:47
  in a row, but your cup wasn't being full
• 13:49
  and you wanted to go out and help
• 13:50
  people. And you were teaching, but now
• 13:53
  kind of doing that online and then one
• 13:56
  of you you were doing a lot of therapy
• 13:58
  work anyways. Kids were coming in to
• 14:00
  talk to you. Seemed like maybe you might
• 14:01
  be one of those people that could do
• 14:02
  that. But then, you know, doing it and
• 14:05
  saying I need 25 clients to pay the
• 14:07
  bills.
• 14:08
  >> Yeah.
• 14:08
  >> That that changes the spirit of why you
• 14:10
  did it. And so, also by the way, when
• 14:13
  you mentioned early on when Chris said,
• 14:15
  "So." You nailed her so.
• 14:17
  >> Yes.
• 14:17
  >> Right? That's uh make sure we said it a
• 14:19
  lot of times.
• 14:21
  Just want to make sure you heard that
• 14:22
  before. So, that
• 14:24
  you nailed it. By the way, that was
• 14:25
  very, very good. All right. So, now
• 14:27
  you're both at IYG, you're right? Chief
• 14:29
  of Staff, CEO. This is probably a great
• 14:32
  opportunity to tell the community a
• 14:34
  little bit more about IYG cuz I I've
• 14:37
  driven by the building, been down there
• 14:38
  a million times, for example. I didn't
• 14:40
  know an awful lot about the
• 14:42
  organization. And it was great to to
• 14:44
  learn. I was able to you when we chatted
• 14:46
  the first time around. But it'd be great
• 14:47
  to share if you guys would share more
• 14:49
  about who you're serving, a little bit
• 14:51
  more about the organization, what you'd
• 14:52
  want the community to know.
• 14:54
  >> You want to take it?
• 14:55
  >> Yeah, sure. Um so, high level, IYG
• 14:59
  serves LGBTQ young people ages 12 to 24
• 15:02
  and their straight ally friends. Um we
• 15:04
  do that by providing a safer space um
• 15:07
  for young people to be themselves. Um no
• 15:11
  space is safe for queer people in this
• 15:15
  state, so we say a safer space. Um but
• 15:18
  we do that by by
• 15:20
  um a fun place to hang out, um, meals, a
• 15:24
  hot meal every night we're open. We have
• 15:25
  a food pantry,
• 15:27
  um, clothing, showers, laundry,
• 15:30
  um, mental health services. Um,
• 15:32
  obviously Joseph was a big part of
• 15:33
  building that program.
• 15:36
  Um, and just a place where young people
• 15:38
  can decompress and figure out who they
• 15:41
  are.
• 15:42
  >> Yeah.
• 15:42
  >> Um, a lot of the clients we serve are
• 15:44
  experiencing homelessness or housing
• 15:46
  insecurity.
• 15:47
  >> Total candy.
• 15:48
  >> So, um, we do a lot of work around that,
• 15:50
  too, with our young adult population.
• 15:52
  >> Wow. And I know the facility is down off
• 15:54
  Meridian, right? The one that I went to,
• 15:56
  but I think there are other facilities
• 15:57
  around the state. Is that correct?
• 15:58
  >> Yes. So, we have four locations outside
• 16:01
  of Indianapolis. Um, and that lot of
• 16:03
  that expansion effort was led via a crib
• 16:06
  some kind of division that they had for
• 16:08
  IYG to extend beyond Indianapolis. And
• 16:11
  so,
• 16:12
  um, IYG, I mean, even back to its
• 16:14
  origins, we've been operating for 39
• 16:17
  years now. 40 years is next year.
• 16:19
  >> Oh, wow.
• 16:20
  >> Um, so, long security operating LGBTQ+
• 16:23
  organization and our youth center in the
• 16:25
  country.
• 16:25
  >> Old kitty in the country, 40 years.
• 16:27
  That's terrific.
• 16:28
  >> And so, you know, our founders, Chris
• 16:30
  Gonzalez
• 16:31
  >> [clears throat]
• 16:32
  >> and, um,
• 16:33
  person Jeff, um,
• 16:37
  they wanted it to be a safe space, a
• 16:39
  safer space like Chris is saying.
• 16:41
  >> Mhm.
• 16:41
  >> And, you know, back in 1987, that was so
• 16:45
  necessary.
• 16:45
  >> Yeah.
• 16:46
  >> Um,
• 16:47
  that wasn't It wasn't safe to be queer
• 16:50
  out loud. It isn't safe now. It
• 16:52
  definitely wasn't safe then. Yeah, the
• 16:54
  height of the, you know, AIDS epidemic
• 16:55
  and all those things. And so, uh, I know
• 16:58
  that IYG at one point was Indianapolis
• 17:01
  youth group and then eventually changed
• 17:04
  to Indiana youth group when I was like,
• 17:06
  "We want to serve more than just
• 17:07
  Indianapolis." And so, Chris kind of
• 17:09
  carried the vision of our founders even
• 17:12
  farther to say, "What if we expanded
• 17:14
  even beyond Indianapolis?" And so, now
• 17:17
  we have our first center was in
• 17:18
  Crawfordsville.
• 17:19
  >> Yep.
• 17:19
  >> Then it expanded to Columbus, and then
• 17:22
  Evansville, and then Northwest Indiana
• 17:24
  in the Crown Point area. And so, we now
• 17:26
  have, you know, five locations total.
• 17:29
  The ultimate goal being we want all
• 17:32
  LGBTQ+ youth and their allies to be
• 17:35
  within an hour's drive of a safe first
• 17:36
  space. So, wanting IYG to kind of fill
• 17:39
  that gap. So, no matter where you are in
• 17:41
  the state,
• 17:42
  you can the car, you know, get
• 17:44
  transportation there, whatever it may
• 17:45
  be, and you have a safe space where you
• 17:47
  know you can get a hot meal, you can,
• 17:49
  you know, try to get some laundry
• 17:50
  services, showers, programming,
• 17:52
  connections, community, all of that.
• 17:55
  >> Yeah, it it's tripping. I mean, at the
• 17:56
  end of the day, providing a safe safer
• 17:59
  space, community, a hot meal, just
• 18:01
  knowing that they're cared for. Yeah. I
• 18:03
  mean, that that to me is what we all
• 18:05
  ultimately want. And we all we all want
• 18:07
  to have a community, we all want to be
• 18:08
  cared for. I like the the the allies. I
• 18:11
  like the term allies, by the way. That
• 18:13
  that's something Um there's a lot of
• 18:15
  different words you could choose for
• 18:17
  those individuals that come alongside
• 18:18
  folks, but I love the term allies and
• 18:20
  what you guys are doing.
• 18:22
  So, IYG, yeah, obviously we understand
• 18:24
  what you're doing and kind of who you're
• 18:26
  serving. How can the community get
• 18:28
  involved? Are there ways that the
• 18:29
  community get involved and be able to
• 18:31
  help and support in different ways?
• 18:32
  >> Um we have our volunteers who are uh in
• 18:35
  our center every night we're open do um
• 18:38
  show the kids what a successful adult
• 18:40
  looks like. Like, you can become this
• 18:42
  person. Life might be rough right now,
• 18:45
  but look at this 35-year-old who has
• 18:48
  made it, and they came from the same
• 18:49
  place you did.
• 18:50
  >> Yeah.
• 18:51
  >> Um
• 18:52
  we have um we always can take donations.
• 18:55
  We go through Kids eat a ton of food, so
• 18:58
  we go through through a ton of food,
• 19:00
  both um hot meals and pantry food. Um we
• 19:03
  have an art auction, the our 26th annual
• 19:06
  auction coming up, which is um August
• 19:08
  22nd. Tickets are available online at
• 19:11
  iyg.org.
• 19:12
  >> All right. And is the is the art
• 19:13
  produced by the kiddos?
• 19:14
  >> Um there is there is some produced by
• 19:17
  the kiddos, but a lot of it is uh
• 19:18
  community donations.
• 19:19
  >> Oh, wow.
• 19:20
  >> Yeah. So, and there's some really nice
• 19:22
  pieces that uh people donate. So, that's
• 19:25
  cool. Yeah, it's it's a fun night.
• 19:27
  >> All right.
• 19:27
  >> So, yeah. And that's in August, correct?
• 19:29
  >> August 22nd.
• 19:30
  >> August 22nd. And is it located at the
• 19:32
  facility or do you guys
• 19:33
  >> No, it's um going to be uh downtown uh
• 19:36
  right close to Lucas Oil Stadium.
• 19:37
  >> Oh, wow.
• 19:38
  >> So, yeah. It's um a uh venue there.
• 19:41
  >> Cool with that. All right, love that.
• 19:42
  All right, so obviously we're sitting in
• 19:44
  Braden Business Systems our headquarters
• 19:46
  here in Fishers and we're a technology
• 19:47
  company. Yeah. And one of the things
• 19:49
  that we like to ask our Indiana leaders
• 19:51
  and actually Illinois leaders as well is
• 19:53
  we like to talk a little bit about the
• 19:54
  evolution of technology
• 19:56
  and it really in their space, right? So,
• 19:58
  as a nonprofit uh serving now going
• 20:00
  almost on 40 years, I'm imagining the
• 20:03
  technology's changed a lot over those 40
• 20:05
  years. And but also if you think a
• 20:07
  little bit about maybe the near future,
• 20:10
  is tech going to evolve in your space a
• 20:11
  little bit more and how do you guys use
• 20:13
  it? So, tell me a little bit about that.
• 20:15
  >> I think it definitely will and I think
• 20:18
  it it already has. I mean, if you think
• 20:19
  about iid's origins, I mean, the very
• 20:21
  first iteration was calling. Like just
• 20:24
  to call in and to say like, "Hey, here's
• 20:26
  the support I need. Let's have some like
• 20:28
  small group time." And it's all arranged
• 20:30
  via phone calls and word of mouth.
• 20:33
  >> Oh, wow.
• 20:33
  >> And then now,
• 20:36
  you know, there's a moment kind of
• 20:37
  before the pandemic where we had like
• 20:39
  social media and like that was more of
• 20:41
  the tech that we were using is making
• 20:42
  sure that we had obviously, you know,
• 20:44
  laptops and things like that, but using
• 20:47
  more social media and those things to
• 20:49
  spread the message. Sure. And then the
• 20:50
  pandemic hits and all of a sudden we
• 20:52
  can't gather. And iid's bread and butter
• 20:55
  bread and butter has always been bread
• 20:56
  and bread and butter and have gathering
• 20:58
  spaces. So, how do we
• 21:00
  meet this need? We know that just
• 21:02
  because we can't be in person, it
• 21:03
  doesn't mean the need is gone. It
• 21:06
  doesn't mean it it means need is
• 21:07
  probably even greater. And so, then
• 21:09
  during the pandemic our idea was able to
• 21:12
  get Zoom rooms set up so we could do
• 21:15
  video conferencing with youth and young
• 21:18
  adults and have programming virtually
• 21:20
  and online so that way
• 21:23
  obviously we didn't have a hot meal
• 21:24
  every night and things of that nature,
• 21:26
  but we still had the food pantry for the
• 21:27
  folks who could get there, but we did
• 21:30
  have those online spaces set up so we
• 21:32
  could create more community in that way.
• 21:36
  And then even the last few years, um
• 21:38
  when I brought video game therapy to the
• 21:40
  center, um that was we had so many
• 21:43
  people donate like gaming laptops,
• 21:45
  gaming computers, um the NBA was a huge
• 21:48
  supporter of us back in 2024 for the
• 21:50
  All-Star Weekend and they bought us uh
• 21:53
  two Switches and a PS5 and
• 21:56
  uh I think one of they replaced one of
• 21:58
  the TVs, chairs, gaming chairs, and all
• 22:01
  sorts of stuff to just kind of beef up
• 22:02
  like the tech in that room. Yeah, sure.
• 22:05
  And so, I think that kind of building is
• 22:07
  going to continue. It was how we
• 22:09
  you know that the the world is getting
• 22:12
  more tech
• 22:13
  um savvy and tech dependent uh as we go
• 22:17
  on and so we need to be able to to meet
• 22:18
  those needs and so thinking about how we
• 22:20
  can use technology in a way that is uh
• 22:23
  impactful and helpful for our clients
• 22:25
  while also being conscious of the impact
• 22:28
  that technology will have on the
• 22:29
  environment and the and the world around
• 22:30
  us. So, I think AI is starting to be a
• 22:33
  part of that conversation on how people
• 22:35
  utilizing AI, um how we can make sure
• 22:38
  that people we have uh you know, we hire
• 22:41
  people for their smarts and not for what
• 22:44
  the AI can do, but how do we make sure
• 22:46
  it's a
• 22:47
  a
• 22:49
  I know that it's in every sector. It's
• 22:51
  permeating everywhere.
• 22:52
  >> It is, yeah.
• 22:53
  >> And so, trying to figure out how we can
• 22:54
  utilize that in a way that is respectful
• 22:57
  to our clients' needs and our
• 22:58
  environmental needs. Um so, I think
• 23:00
  that'll be a big conversation and has
• 23:02
  been a conversation, but I think every
• 23:04
  kind of
• 23:06
  decade or so, I think there's a fake
• 23:08
  technology jump and and shift and push.
• 23:11
  And now I do trying to continue to keep
• 23:13
  up with that.
• 23:14
  >> Yeah, it it's terrific, but the part
• 23:16
  that I want to pull out of it, right?
• 23:17
  The technology and the evolution. By
• 23:20
  having the technology available, you're
• 23:22
  able to meet people where they are.
• 23:23
  Let's let's be honest, kids are playing
• 23:25
  games, right? They're on social media,
• 23:27
  they're they're in those areas, but
• 23:29
  that's a community, right? And we can
• 23:31
  reach that community, bring them in to
• 23:33
  the facility, and give them ultimately
• 23:35
  that kind of that community hug that
• 23:38
  everybody wants, right? What a great
• 23:39
  idea to be able to leverage it. AI
• 23:42
  obviously will continue to be able to
• 23:44
  help and support and if I'm hearing kind
• 23:46
  of leadership styles from both of you,
• 23:49
  like you said, you hire people for their
• 23:50
  individual talents, but leveraging AI
• 23:53
  can help them do a little bit more,
• 23:55
  right? So, the more that we can do, the
• 23:57
  more that we can do that human
• 23:58
  interaction, right? If I can leverage AI
• 24:01
  to do some of this stuff over here, but
• 24:03
  I can be in front of a kiddo right now
• 24:05
  and be with them, that's probably the
• 24:06
  most important thing. It's just great to
• 24:08
  hear those thoughts on that.
• 24:09
  >> Yeah, and I think especially with the AI
• 24:11
  thing, we have a lot of folks, and
• 24:13
  myself included, who see like some of
• 24:15
  the the the hard side of AI and like the
• 24:18
  horrors of that, yep, but I also think
• 24:20
  about like in a doctor's office, like my
• 24:23
  doctors have been more present because
• 24:24
  the AI is
• 24:26
  >> That's right.
• 24:26
  >> doing the notes for them, and then
• 24:28
  they're just talking to me, and they're
• 24:29
  just narrating out loud what's
• 24:31
  happening, but then I don't have a
• 24:33
  doctor who's sitting on a computer
• 24:34
  screen during the whole visit, making
• 24:36
  sure every time they say something or
• 24:37
  typing it, too. So, I feel like I'm
• 24:40
  meeting with a doctor, but the doctor's
• 24:41
  staring at the computer except for
• 24:43
  >> Yeah.
• 24:43
  >> except for doing my test. And so, trying
• 24:45
  to make that a reality, oh yeah, knowing
• 24:47
  that there are some some really, really
• 24:50
  bad ways people are using AI AI AI,
• 24:54
  um, and making sure that we are trying
• 24:56
  not to contribute to that while also
• 24:59
  that feeling of when your doctor could
• 25:01
  be more present for you, like how do we
• 25:03
  make that a reality?
• 25:04
  >> That's right. We call it human
• 25:05
  intelligence, right? They're those
• 25:07
  things of being where you are with the
• 25:09
  people that you're with and building
• 25:11
  that human interaction. If AI can give
• 25:14
  me more time to do that, then I feel
• 25:15
  like I've got a win.
• 25:17
  It's terrific to hear that. So, the
• 25:18
  other question we ask when we're talking
• 25:19
  about community.
• 25:21
  You guys are talking about community all
• 25:22
  over your stories. Both start with you,
• 25:23
  Chris. So, when you think about
• 25:25
  community, what's community mean to you?
• 25:29
  >> Um I think community means people who um
• 25:33
  are supportive and um
• 25:36
  supportive in every aspect of life. So,
• 25:38
  I think um
• 25:39
  you know, that's people who um
• 25:44
  are queer and are straight that are
• 25:47
  supportive of the queer community. Um
• 25:49
  and I think Indianapolis has a large
• 25:51
  population um
• 25:53
  of of those people. Um but I think to
• 25:56
  me, that's where I feel safest is when
• 25:59
  someone
• 26:00
  um
• 26:01
  is supportive of all of me and not just
• 26:04
  um you know, doesn't just want to hang
• 26:06
  out because I'm the CEO of an of an
• 26:08
  organization. Like they get why we do
• 26:10
  this work. And we do the work for the
• 26:13
  kids, not for ourselves.
• 26:15
  >> Yeah, I think that's a great answer, by
• 26:16
  the way. Supportive of all of you. Thank
• 26:19
  all encompassing but same question to
• 26:20
  you, Joseph. What's community mean to
• 26:22
  you?
• 26:22
  >> I think community means
• 26:25
  uh community means showing up and being
• 26:28
  able to
• 26:29
  lock arms, figure out how we tackle
• 26:31
  these hard things together. I I don't
• 26:33
  think anything gets done in silos. I
• 26:35
  think it's you know, done alone. Cities
• 26:38
  weren't built by one person. We need
• 26:40
  each other to do these things and I
• 26:42
  think often times
• 26:44
  we forget that because the world was
• 26:47
  like, you know, thinking about
• 26:48
  technology, like sometimes it does
• 26:50
  isolate people. You know, people get
• 26:52
  caught up in like their phone and what
• 26:53
  they're doing and not focusing on the
• 26:55
  present moment around them. Um and that
• 26:58
  has created this impact where like
• 27:02
  we are in a more hyper-individualistic
• 27:04
  society that
• 27:06
  um
• 27:07
  we the whole neighborhood feeling of
• 27:10
  knowing who your neighbors are and
• 27:12
  showing up with them. The other day I
• 27:13
  think about um my one of my neighbors
• 27:16
  across the street, lovingly Miss
• 27:17
  Francis, who will text me and be like,
• 27:19
  "You left your garage open again. You
• 27:21
  can't be doing that. I'm going to make
• 27:23
  sure that before you leave it's closed."
• 27:24
  I'm like, "Thank you." And first of all,
• 27:26
  appreciate that that you're looking out
• 27:28
  for me and that I also know that if I'm
• 27:30
  not home and something is off with the
• 27:31
  house or things like that, people are
• 27:34
  looking out. And so I think showing up
• 27:36
  and and looking out for one another um
• 27:40
  those type of feelings were really
• 27:41
  present as I was growing up and I
• 27:43
  remember like the neighborhood that I
• 27:45
  had knowing all who all my neighbors
• 27:47
  were and that I could go to any of them
• 27:48
  for help or just to hang out if I needed
• 27:51
  to and I want to. I think community
• 27:53
  means like that feeling of when you know
• 27:56
  you can go to your neighbor for whatever
• 27:58
  it may be and you know they're going to
• 27:59
  be excited to help out and show up for
• 28:02
  you.
• 28:02
  >> That's right. They they get some joy
• 28:03
  when they're able to help others, but
• 28:05
  you take away their joy if you don't ask
• 28:06
  for their help. And so it's terrific
• 28:08
  hearing you guys' thoughts on community.
• 28:10
  And before we get to our last question,
• 28:12
  just thinking about your guys' stories
• 28:14
  and kind of how they intertwine in the
• 28:15
  heart of how you both ended up at IYG,
• 28:18
  right? So starting in Northern
• 28:19
  California, ending up in Cal in
• 28:22
  Kentucky, then coming here to Hanover,
• 28:24
  right? And then
• 28:25
  not claiming, but starting out as
• 28:27
  Buckeye.
• 28:28
  Right? Five years there.
• 28:29
  >> Small part of the story. Coming to
• 28:31
  Indianapolis, right? Then going to
• 28:32
  Manchester and and going down the path.
• 28:34
  Both of you guys continuing the
• 28:36
  education path and going separate
• 28:38
  directions, right? So teaching in a
• 28:40
  nonprofit and going through the
• 28:41
  for-profit space. 23 years of
• 28:44
  leadership. Um deciding at the pandemic,
• 28:47
  right, that ultimately this isn't what
• 28:50
  isn't filling your cup. I don't have to
• 28:51
  mention you might mention there and and
• 28:53
  being able to work with kids and maybe
• 28:55
  therapy might be a way to do it. And
• 28:57
  then uh for you coming home and after 23
• 28:59
  years to say, "Hey, I'm going to quit."
• 29:01
  And by the way, your spouse saying,
• 29:03
  "Yeah, we can work with that. We'll
• 29:04
  figure this out." It's terrific to hear
• 29:06
  the support mechanism there.
• 29:08
  But the same reason, right? Wasn't
• 29:09
  filling your cup and you weren't helping
• 29:11
  people. And so the heart of both of your
• 29:13
  stories is terrific able to go out and
• 29:15
  help people and to do this in this area,
• 29:18
  to do it for our community. Thank you
• 29:19
  for what you're doing for our children
• 29:21
  that are 12 to 24. I believe that's the
• 29:24
  folks you guys answered. And within an
• 29:26
  hour driving all over the state of
• 29:27
  Indiana with your five locations.
• 29:29
  Certainly appreciate what you guys are
• 29:31
  doing. So
• 29:32
  So last question, funnest one. If you're
• 29:35
  not at IYG working, what are you doing
• 29:36
  for fun, Chris?
• 29:38
  >> Um hanging out with friends, um
• 29:41
  following Indiana Fever basketball.
• 29:43
  We've been season ticket holders for 27
• 29:45
  years or since day one. Um
• 29:48
  yeah, just uh
• 29:49
  hanging out with friends is the most
• 29:51
  important thing I do outside of work.
• 29:53
  >> Love it. By the way, 27 years ago it's
• 29:55
  hard to believe it was 27 years ago that
• 29:57
  they started. Feels like yesterday.
• 29:59
  >> Yeah.
• 29:59
  >> And same question for you.
• 30:01
  >> Yeah, similar. Um my fiance and I
• 30:05
  um we have so many of the the same
• 30:07
  interests, which is is so nice. And so
• 30:09
  he and I both are big video gamers, big
• 30:11
  board gamers. And so
• 30:13
  playing games together. We the board
• 30:15
  game that we play the most is called
• 30:17
  Dice Throne. We both lead tournaments
• 30:19
  for that game in Indianapolis. We're
• 30:20
  going to Gen Con this week to
• 30:22
  play some more of those. He's actually
• 30:24
  going to be working at the the Gen the
• 30:26
  Dice Throne booth at Gen Con. And so
• 30:28
  just really pouring into like that
• 30:30
  personal community that we built via
• 30:31
  video games, board games. And family is
• 30:34
  is huge for for both of us. So that that
• 30:36
  personal time, then of course our our
• 30:38
  pups take up a good a bit of a good
• 30:41
  amount of our time to see what we've
• 30:42
  got. 9-month-old golden retriever puppy
• 30:45
  named Maple and then a a 10-year-old fox
• 30:47
  terrier named Jasper. Yeah, that's all
• 30:49
  right. So, dog dads through and through
• 30:52
  and just putting that time with those
• 30:53
  people that we love and care about the
• 30:55
  most.
• 30:56
  >> Love that. Chris Joseph, thank you for
• 30:58
  what you're doing for our youth in the
• 30:59
  state of Indiana.
• 31:01
  Um Chris, thank you for the service
• 31:03
  thing more than 2 years being there now.
• 31:06
  And uh we are appreciated.
• 31:08
  >> Okay, congrats on the end of the year.
• 31:09
  >> Okay.
• 31:10
  >> Yeah, I'm with there. Looking forward to
• 31:11
  what's next for you. Thank you and it
• 31:13
  sounds like with the chief of staff and
• 31:14
  what's going on at IYG, that things will
• 31:16
  be in good hands continue forward into
• 31:18
  your 40. And so, thank you both for
• 31:20
  being on the show. Appreciate you guys
• 31:21
  doing what you're doing.
• 31:22
  >> Yeah, thanks for having us. We
• 31:23
  appreciate it.
• 31:24
  >> Thank you for listening to the Elevate
• 31:26
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• 31:31
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