Latest / ChildCare Conversations / 365: How Can Women Lead Boldly Without Apology in Early Childhood Education? With Amy Cowan

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365: How Can Women Lead Boldly Without Apology in Early Childhood Education? With Amy Cowan · ChildCare Conversations

• 0:00
  Childcare Conversations: Welcome to Child Care Conversations, the podcast where early childhood leaders like you get real-world strategies, honest talk, and a whole lot of support.
• 0:10
  Childcare Conversations: Whether you're running one center or many, we're here to help you lead with confidence and clarity.
• 0:17
  Childcare Conversations: This episode is brought to you by this quarter's sponsor, Playground, the all-in-one child care management software.
• 0:25
  Childcare Conversations: We're all about managing monkeys and saving you time at your center.
• 0:30
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• 0:32
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• 0:37
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• 0:41
  Childcare Conversations: Now, let's get into today's conversation.
• 0:44
  Childcare Conversations: One we think you're really going to love.
• 0:48
  Kate Woodward Young: Welcome back to this week's conversation, and I am so excited to have Amy Cohen join us from Ivy Brook Academy.
• 0:56
  Kate Woodward Young: Hi.
• 0:57
  Kate Woodward Young: Hi.
• 0:59
  Kate Woodward Young: Thanks for having me.
• 1:00
  Kate Woodward Young: Yes, and we're so excited because she's always traveling.
• 1:04
  Kate Woodward Young: But what I really love is in today's conversation about authority without apology, we are going to talk about Amy's parallel career paths and maybe what she learned in the first path that helped her on this second round journey.
• 1:18
  Kate Woodward Young: So with that, Amy, tell us a little bit about how you got into education, and then we'll have a conversation about where those paths led.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: Sure, sure.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: So I started as a public school teacher, graduated early from college and thought that I was going to be a classroom teacher.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: That was my career goal.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: And I was super excited to dive into that.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I did and did that for about roughly 10 years.
• 1:46
  Kate Woodward Young: But what age group did you have?
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_01: So I was a third grade teacher, but I also at times was an interventionist.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: So I always elementary age students that I worked with.
• 1:56
  Kate Woodward Young: Making sure, because you know, middle school teachers, they are a whole special breed.
• 2:01
  Kate Woodward Young: Yes, they are.
• 2:02
  Kate Woodward Young: Yes, they are.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: One time I did teach fifth grade in a middle school setting, and that was a that was a an eye-opener for me.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: Those middle schoolers are definitely different, and those teachers are definitely different.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: They it takes a very strong educator to do that.
• 2:17
  Kate Woodward Young: I think it just takes a strong human.
• 2:19
  Kate Woodward Young: I don't even know if they have to be educators.
• 2:22
  Kate Woodward Young: Um, you know.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_01: Even when you're raising them, they're tough.
• 2:24
  Kate Woodward Young: Oh, absolutely.
• 2:26
  Kate Woodward Young: So, okay, all right, so we're gonna jump off that because I could go down that rabbit hole really, really fast.
• 2:30
  Kate Woodward Young: So, 10 years as an educator, where did you go from there?
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_01: So I uh I was fortunate enough that I um had a principal that really, really believed in me and saw me as a leader at an early, early age and and began to put me in position to where I could gain better leadership skills.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: She sent me to conferences, let me present in front of the staff, all of that.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: And so I began after my, you know, 10 or so years, maybe it wasn't quite 10, in the classroom, began to take on some other leadership roles.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: That looked like um I became an academic coach, uh, an instructional coach for teachers.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: So then that just kind of added another layer.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_01: So then I stepped out of the classroom and stepped into more, uh, a more leadership role.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_01: And then from there, I was given additional tasks, additional roles.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: Then I actually landed an administrator role in a public school system and was like, wow, this is where it's at.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_01: I'm really able to, you know, have my gifts, my talents, things like that.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but then at that time, my husband had a career change and said, hey, we're gonna move to a different state.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_01: And so basically, whenever you're in the public school system, you are building yourself.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_01: And when you move to a different state, totally different network, you have to start over.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: And I took a job as a classroom teacher starting back at the beginning.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: It had some coaching role in it.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I wasn't certified at that time in that state to be an administrator.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_01: So I knew I was gonna have to work towards that.
• 4:09
  Kate Woodward Young: But then hang on, I've got some questions for you.
• 4:12
  Kate Woodward Young: Because I sure I I'm reflecting and I'm kind of excited because I heard you say something.
• 4:16
  Kate Woodward Young: So, first, you're the principal who inspired you, who kind of reached out and grabbed your hand to pull you along, was a female.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: She was.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: Very strong female.
• 4:27
  Kate Woodward Young: I love that because I think that's ultimately the goal all of us should be striving for, right?
• 4:32
  Kate Woodward Young: So, as female leaders in any female dominated industry, if we are identified as a leader or have a leadership role, I think it's our responsibility to lean back and grab the others coming up the ladder instead of going, oh no, no, get off my ladder.
• 4:49
  Kate Woodward Young: And I think it would our responsibility as women is to lean back and um grab that hand.
• 4:57
  Kate Woodward Young: I actually heard that uh analogy heard probably over three decades ago from the woman who actually was in charge of the Borden Foundation.
• 5:06
  Kate Woodward Young: So if you remember like Elmer's Blue and Borden Milk, um, she started as the administrative assistant, administrative secretary to the president of Borden Foundation and ultimately over 30 years became the president of the Borden Foundation.
• 5:23
  Kate Woodward Young: Wow.
• 5:24
  Kate Woodward Young: And so, but that was the first time I'd ever heard somebody say it in a way that I got the visual, and so I loved it.
• 5:31
  Kate Woodward Young: So if you are still thinking you're breaking glass ceilings, perfect.
• 5:35
  Kate Woodward Young: You go break it, but make sure you've got some you're holding somebody's hand.
• 5:39
  Kate Woodward Young: So absolutely.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I she didn't just hold my hand.
• 5:42
  Kate Woodward Young: She, I mean, there she got back behind you and was doing doing a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little, but she brought a lot of other uh women along with her.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: She didn't, it wasn't that she just saw that in me.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_01: She looked for that trait because she had worked so hard to get where she is.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: So many of us who were just educators under her are now in leadership roles um in different places throughout Georgia and obviously throughout the United States.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_01: And so she she was she was amazing.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: I learned from her to ask questions, I learned from her to have confidence, I learned also to um accept challenges and be present all the time.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: That's what she was.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_01: She was present and she was ready and willing.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: And so I watched, I watched how she did it and I watched how she had to fight um to get even where she was.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: And so she inspired me and she believed in me.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_01: So from there, even I was not ashamed.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: It was fine with me to kind of step back when I started my career over after the move.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_01: But that landed me into my next role, which was a classroom teacher.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_01: And I thought, okay, and like I said, I was I was coaching a little bit as well in a public school system and responded to an ad for Ivy Brook Academy.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: And it was a uh um, it was advertised as, you know, part-day preschool.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_01: It was an administrator at their campus.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I thought, wow, this kind of sounds amazing.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_01: I could go back into the administrative role.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_01: It said it was part day.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_01: I would love to work part-time.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: This is great.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, lo and behold, that was not exactly how it all um added up.
• 7:29
  Kate Woodward Young: You mean your role as an administrator in early childcare was not part-time?
• 7:34
  Kate Woodward Young: It was not.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: It was not.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: I thought, I thought this this just sounds amazing.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you know, I went in, I interviewed, I absolutely fell in love with the school, thought it was just just amazing what I saw a four-year-old at a workbench um with a hammer and a nail and a two by four.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I thought, wow, we never would allow something like this in public school.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_01: What's happening here?
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_01: I have to know more.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, took that role as an administrator.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_01: I was uh the assistant principal and the curriculum coordinator of uh Ivybrook Academy in Wettington.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_01: And from there, my career has just taken off again.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: And I've rebuilt myself and now I sit as the COO of our franchise company.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: So quite the journey in the last eight years uh with Ivy Brook.
• 8:27
  Kate Woodward Young: So I'm just gonna say something, and I'm sure you're probably going to correct me or help me understand.
• 8:34
  Kate Woodward Young: But I think what's really, really cool is that you built yourself to this great role and you were willing to make a move with your family.
• 8:43
  Kate Woodward Young: And so you made that move with your family.
• 8:45
  Kate Woodward Young: Were you think, do you think that you got to where you are?
• 8:48
  Kate Woodward Young: Because eight years seems like pretty fast to move to a COO of a franchise organization.
• 8:54
  Kate Woodward Young: And right now you guys have what, like roughly 60 brick and mortar locations and another 75 or so contracted franchise agreements, right?
• 9:04
  Kate Woodward Young: Okay.
• 9:04
  Kate Woodward Young: So so if you're listening, this is not a small little mom and pop or even a medium-size, I got 20 locations.
• 9:14
  Kate Woodward Young: This is a franchise organization with over 60 current franchises with another at least that many with signed agreements.
• 9:24
  Kate Woodward Young: So Amy is number two in the pecking order.
• 9:28
  Kate Woodward Young: And it's not that we don't like number one, but we are talking about um why it's okay to be number two and how women should be building each other up for that number one and number two space.
• 9:40
  Kate Woodward Young: And so um Amy has been willing to endeavor and engage in this conversation with me um about that process.
• 9:49
  Kate Woodward Young: So you had a great female role model in the public elementary school.
• 9:54
  Kate Woodward Young: Were there skills that you learned there that you applied?
• 9:57
  Kate Woodward Young: And if so, share those.
• 9:59
  Kate Woodward Young: If somebody's listening and they're like, Well, I've been teaching for over 15 years and I've been a director for five or six.
• 10:06
  Kate Woodward Young: I I want to roll like Amy's.
• 10:07
  Kate Woodward Young: How do I get there?
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: So I I I know that I mentioned in the beginning the the wonderful administrator that that did see the potential in me.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: But I think also along the road, even moving from that district, I also had other females that that I looked up to and that poured into me and and saw my gifts and saw my talents.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but also along that road, you're correct, most all um above an assistant principal, possibly a principal, everyone else was male.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and yes, our CEO of Ivybrook Academy is male.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, one of the things that I think that helped that kind of helped me within the Ivybrook organization is because um he has a co-founder that is his wife, that it is that also um has great leadership qualities, right?
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_01: So he wasn't afraid to take chances on a female that um that came into the the Ivybrook organization.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_01: Now, in terms of of kind of telling and instilling in someone who's just sitting there thinking, can I can I move?
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_01: Can I do this?
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_01: Can I make the next move in my career?
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: I think that you have to always be willing to say yes.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: And you have to always be willing to take that risk and you have to put yourself out there.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: When I came on board with Ivy Brooke, I remember there were things, a lot of public school experience that I brought with me in terms of operations, in terms of how to run schools very well, how to handle teams of people.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_01: And so I could have just sat in my small little assistant principal office and done exactly what I um was hired to do, but I was more outspoken.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_01: I took risks.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_01: I, you know, very gently said, hey guys, um, I have an idea.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't, uh I was confident in the ideas that I was bringing.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_01: And it wasn't um, I never wanted to seem bossy or intrusive or because what they were doing was already beautiful.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I just wanted to be able to express my ideas.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that if you do that in a way, in a respectful way, then it lands well, right?
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_01: And and in every company, whether or not you're a private company, like we are a franchise company, or whether or not you're in uh, you know, public education or healthcare, it's it's often in how you package your ideas and how you present yourself that is important in this.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I also, you know, when I walk into a room that's full of gentlemen, which that does happen even in my industry, right?
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: Then I I feel as equipped, as confident, and as intelligent, all of the things as they are.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_01: And I make sure that I'm presenting myself that way.
• 13:06
  Kate Woodward Young: So when you say presenting yourself that way, I'm sure that is more than just language.
• 13:11
  Kate Woodward Young: It's probably even more than just the clothes on your body.
• 13:15
  Kate Woodward Young: What does that mean to you?
• 13:16
  Kate Woodward Young: In other words, again, somebody who's listening to this might be in their 30s.
• 13:20
  Kate Woodward Young: You know, most of our, I mean, we got 125 countries and that that listen.
• 13:25
  Kate Woodward Young: Right.
• 13:26
  Kate Woodward Young: So, you know, what else could impact that confidence level?
• 13:31
  Kate Woodward Young: I got all kinds of ideas, but I want to hear yours.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_01: So I think I think it's it's an entire package, right?
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, dress is that's the easiest part, right?
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_01: You want to dress the role, but it's really what's what's inside of you.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_01: So it's the mental, um it's the mental part of making sure that you're in the headspace to be able to talk intellectually to people.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_01: But it's it's again uh confidence, I think, is one of the biggest drivers in women um succeeded in any any industry and pushing themselves forward.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_01: Because if you are confident, even if you don't know something, yet you're poised as as being um confident and and ready and willing, that goes a long way.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_01: So I think it is, I think that that you have to make sure that you articulate who you are, um, why you're there, what your goals are.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that you have to um make sure that you have done your homework.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: That's also part of this, is like you have to know who your um I was set up for a pretty big meeting maybe about a year and a half ago.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_01: And I knew that the meeting was going to be predominantly men in the room.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_01: And so I did my homework.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_01: I wanted to know.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_01: I stalked their LinkedIn.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_01: I looked, I mean, I did because I wanted to make sure that I could speak um intelligently, have conversation.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_01: You have to be able also to have clear conversations um uh with strangers sometimes in order to elevate yourself.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_01: And you can't shrink.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_01: You can't shrink.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_01: You have to be bold but not bossy.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_01: I love that bold, not bossy.
• 15:24
  Kate Woodward Young: I'm gonna use that somewhere, don't know where.
• 15:27
  Kate Woodward Young: But one of the things that I know that I sometimes see, especially in females and leadership, especially in our industry, because it's not something that we're generally encouraged to do.
• 15:38
  Kate Woodward Young: Right.
• 15:38
  Kate Woodward Young: But were you involved in local chambers of commerce, in the um, in the industry organizations?
• 15:46
  Kate Woodward Young: Where did you get the practice of having these conversations with complete strangers about topics that you're not really sure that you were a hundred percent ready to have?
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_01: Well, this is this is gonna sound uh, you know, here I'm trying to sound very professional and polished, but I'm gonna take a little step back and and I have this little thing inside my brain that says, fake it until you make it sounds like Fatumi.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_01: I call that the Fatumi method.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_01: Because if you spill it out, fake it till you make it is fatumi.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_01: And so I think that that isn't, you have to have again, I know that I continue to say the word confidence.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_01: And so maybe I should even step back and kind of think about how do you build confidence?
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_01: How do you as a woman feel confident walking into these spaces to speak to others or to elevate your career or to speak up for yourself?
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that that is um that's through your own learning.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_01: You know, people that are listening to your podcast, right?
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_01: They're listening to your podcast because they're wanting as much information as they can possibly get.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_01: And so I think it is through making sure that you are not just educated with your college degree, but that you are um putting yourself in situations that stretch you and that grow you.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_01: And so whether or not that is joining the Chamber of Commerce, now I wasn't doing that when I was in my public school um career, I didn't need to do that.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_01: But was I in other organizations?
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: Did I make sure that if some, if if there was something that needed to be volunteered for, you know, to speak here or to lead this, I was always doing that because what that also does, if you take those opportunities, you're being put in front of many, many different individuals of all different walks of life, all different cultures, um in different leadership roles.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_01: And if you watch those folks and if you listen and you learn, that all pours into you.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_01: So I would see things that other leaders did really well.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_01: And I would say, I'm gonna do that.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_01: Or, you know what?
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_01: That was impressive.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: I really thought that, you know, and I would put that in my own toolbox.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: And that's how the whole confidence builds when you are continuing to grow and stretch yourself professionally and put yourself out there.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_01: And also the other thing, Kate, that I think is so important is that as a good leader, you have to ad, you have to be confident with knowing that there are many other people that are way smarter than you that might not even be above you, right?
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: And you have to be willing to listen and learn um from them to just continue.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: Your skill set is always being built.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_01: It, it does, you cannot be stagnant.
• 18:36
  Kate Woodward Young: I love that.
• 18:37
  Kate Woodward Young: So um I often use the term utility belt, um, mostly because I I do have a little superhero thing and I love superheroes, but I also know that I don't have any superhero powers.
• 18:48
  Kate Woodward Young: So, you know, consider me Batgirl and that I'm gonna go find all the fancy tools I can put on my utility belt because um, you know, I I've had the same tools in my toolbox since I was in high school, and my toolbox looks like it's probably since I was in high school.
• 19:03
  Kate Woodward Young: And so um I got to, you know, embrace some new visual for myself.
• 19:08
  Kate Woodward Young: But I love that.
• 19:09
  Kate Woodward Young: I love the thought of encouraging folks to, you know, if somebody has to go speak, volunteer to be that person to go speak.
• 19:17
  Kate Woodward Young: And that takes me back to one of my like when I first remember ever taking stage, and I'm gonna end with my one little tiny story, is I was 14.
• 19:27
  Kate Woodward Young: I was the MC of a Girl Scout Awards ceremony, and I am sitting in this meeting, and there were all of these women in leadership roles in the community.
• 19:39
  Kate Woodward Young: They were leading this organization, but nobody wanted to be the MC.
• 19:44
  Kate Woodward Young: And I went, I'll do it.
• 19:45
  Kate Woodward Young: Now, I was 14.
• 19:47
  Kate Woodward Young: I did not know I should not have said, I'll do that.
• 19:50
  Kate Woodward Young: Right.
• 19:50
  Kate Woodward Young: So here I am.
• 19:51
  Kate Woodward Young: I am a high school freshman, right?
• 19:53
  Kate Woodward Young: And I'm like, I'll do it.
• 19:54
  Kate Woodward Young: And I did it, and I absolutely loved it.
• 19:57
  Kate Woodward Young: And I thought it was the best thing ever.
• 19:59
  Kate Woodward Young: Um, now, if you had ever asked me if I'd ever want to do any sort of theater or anything like that, I'm like, I'm not doing that in front of people.
• 20:06
  Kate Woodward Young: Now, I will happily stand in front of 5,000 people and talk and MC an event or facilitate a small community group of people with way more letters before and after their name than me.
• 20:19
  Kate Woodward Young: And I just kind of go, well, you know, you put your pants on the same way I do, right?
• 20:23
  Kate Woodward Young: So, like, we all have a different version of that confidence and where that comes from.
• 20:29
  Kate Woodward Young: And a lot of times we're inspired because somebody else in the room didn't stand up.
• 20:33
  Kate Woodward Young: And so if you see that pause, don't wait for the guy next to you.
• 20:38
  Kate Woodward Young: And I am gonna say it that way because I've sat in nonprofit board meetings.
• 20:43
  Kate Woodward Young: There's one guy in the room, and that's the guy that gets elected to president because he said he wanted the role.
• 20:48
  Kate Woodward Young: Now, there were 10 other women who were more than capable, who might have even had more experience in doing what they were doing, but they didn't say, I want it.
• 20:58
  Kate Woodward Young: And I think what she kind of said was maybe that.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, you have to be willing also, and I I'm glad that you just told that story because what you did was you made yourself uncomfortable.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_01: At 14 years old, you were willing to be uncomfortable and and volunteer to do that.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that when things like are are presented to us, if if it makes you a little uncomfortable, then you're probably being stretched and you're probably you should take the challenge.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_01: So be uncomfortable and do it.
• 21:30
  Kate Woodward Young: Absolutely.
• 21:31
  Kate Woodward Young: And the really funny thing is that somebody will say something like that to me.
• 21:34
  Kate Woodward Young: And I'm like, I don't think at 14 I knew I was supposed to be uncomfortable.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: Well, look at you now hosting podcasts.
• 21:40
  Kate Woodward Young: I was more like, why don't you want to do it?
• 21:42
  Kate Woodward Young: Like, I couldn't understand.
• 21:44
  Childcare Conversations: That's awesome.
• 21:45
  Kate Woodward Young: Right?
• 21:46
  Kate Woodward Young: Like I was an only kid.
• 21:47
  Kate Woodward Young: And I, you know, when I went to a high school with, you know, 1,500 students in, you know, a while ago.
• 21:54
  Kate Woodward Young: And so it wasn't like I sat there and went, oh, maybe I should, maybe I shouldn't.
• 21:59
  Kate Woodward Young: It was like there was A gap.
• 22:00
  Kate Woodward Young: Nobody stepped up for it.
• 22:02
  Kate Woodward Young: And I'm like looking around and like none of the women want it, like none of the moms, the older women, aunts, uncles, grandmas, or aunts, grandmas, right?
• 22:10
  Kate Woodward Young: Nobody else was saying that they wanted to do it.
• 22:12
  Kate Woodward Young: They were all saying why they couldn't.
• 22:14
  Kate Woodward Young: Right.
• 22:14
  Kate Woodward Young: And I was like, well, that seems silly.
• 22:16
  Kate Woodward Young: I can do that.
• 22:17
  Kate Woodward Young: Right.
• 22:17
  Kate Woodward Young: Like, because I was like, well, what do I have to do?
• 22:18
  Kate Woodward Young: And they told me, and they're like, and we'll even give you a script.
• 22:21
  Kate Woodward Young: And I'm like, okay.
• 22:22
  Kate Woodward Young: You know, like I don't even have to, like, you know, um, and it wasn't at the time, like, I'm sure that I mean, I know award shows were around, right?
• 22:30
  Kate Woodward Young: And I know that I probably watched them, but I don't know if I actually associated myself with I'm playing the role of Billy Crystal, right?
• 22:38
  Kate Woodward Young: Like I never really thought of myself as the award host kind of thing, which now I might be going, I'm not sure I can be a Billy Crystal or a Robin Williams or, you know, like I'm not really sure that's me, but I'm happy to jump in.
• 22:52
  Kate Woodward Young: And now people will tell me I'm going to jump into my Julia Sugar Baker age, um, mostly because people will see me in a red suit.
• 22:58
  Kate Woodward Young: And if I get the 80s hair going, um, watch out Julia Sugar Baker, right?
• 23:03
  Kate Woodward Young: And I have no problems with um carrying that tone.
• 23:06
  Kate Woodward Young: So I'm sure that anybody who's listening to that episode who's like, oh, I've seen that, um, they're gonna be like, um, I'm going to get comments about my Julia Sugar Baker era.
• 23:18
  Kate Woodward Young: And um, you know, did Dixie Carter was great, right?
• 23:21
  Kate Woodward Young: And so if I'm gonna have to channel my my inner it I was fine until I found out how old she was when she filmed that.
• 23:27
  Kate Woodward Young: And I was like, I'm too old to apparently be Julia Sugar Baker because she was like 43 when she started that role.
• 23:33
  Kate Woodward Young: And I was like, all right, well, gonna be a good one.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_01: What a good show to even reference when you're talking about women, you know, in in position.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_01: And and I think that's a that's an amazing reference for sure.
• 23:46
  Kate Woodward Young: I'm hoping that everybody who's listening to this who has absolutely no idea what I'm talking about will go watch Designing Women and just find some some Julia Sugar Baker outtake.
• 23:54
  Kate Woodward Young: Agreed.
• 23:55
  Kate Woodward Young: Because that character, that role, um, the actress just did a wonderful job.
• 23:59
  Kate Woodward Young: So well, Amy, I think we're gonna have to have you back because this has been a great conversation, and I know there are more things that we could talk about.
• 24:07
  Kate Woodward Young: And um I will be your guest anytime.
• 24:11
  Kate Woodward Young: I don't know.
• 24:12
  Kate Woodward Young: You may, you may, you may regret saying that of course then we got to figure out how to get that on the calendar.
• 24:16
  Kate Woodward Young: And so um that is its own um, you know, Tetris um adventure in itself.
• 24:22
  Kate Woodward Young: But Amy, thank you so much for joining us.
• 24:25
  Kate Woodward Young: And folks, hopefully you will stay around and listen to us in a few more days.
• 24:29
  Kate Woodward Young: If you don't already follow our newsletter, there's always tips that aren't in the episodes, um, as well as we don't tell you everything that's in the episode ahead of time.
• 24:39
  Kate Woodward Young: So go to childcareconversations.com, sign up for the newsletter list, and we will see you in a few days.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 24:48
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• 24:49
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• 24:55
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