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Speaker 1: Will Lucas here, Black Tech, Green Money. I have Dana

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Speaker 1: Loepeman here Today. She's the executive director of the Virgil

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Speaker 1: ad Blow Foundation, where she leads efforts to expand access, opportunity,

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Speaker 1: and equity for underrepresented creatives. Over a decade of experience

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Speaker 1: in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors, Dana has driven impactful

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Speaker 1: initiatives at the intersection of culture, leadership and social change.

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Speaker 1: Prior to joining the Virgial ad Blow Foundation, she served

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Speaker 1: in senior leadership roles in the Obama Foundation, where she

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Speaker 1: helped shape legacy programs like My Brother's Keeper, which I

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Speaker 1: was a big fan of the Obama leaders initiative, while

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Speaker 1: building multimillion dollar partnerships with global brands like Nike, Apple, Google,

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Speaker 1: and more. A strategic leader and advocate for systemic change,

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Speaker 1: Dana brings a deep commitment to community empowerment, innovation, and

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Speaker 1: cultivating the next generation of cultural role change makers. Welcome

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Speaker 1: Tanna to the show.

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Speaker 2: Thank you, Thank you. Such a pleasure to be here

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Speaker 2: with you.

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Speaker 1: It's my pleasure. So I want to start here, like,

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Speaker 1: what is Virgil Ablo's legacy? Define that for me as

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Speaker 1: you see it.

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Speaker 2: Such a great question.

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Speaker 3: I mean, I think we see it every day, right,

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Speaker 3: Like Virgil was a multi hyphen it He redefined what

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Speaker 3: it meant to be a creative in so many ways.

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Speaker 3: He was the first black creative director at Louis Baton,

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Speaker 3: the founder of Off White, the brand that we all

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Speaker 3: know in love, and he was also a DJ, an architect,

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Speaker 3: a designer, an engineer by degree, and so really redefine

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Speaker 3: and reshaped what it means to be a creative. He

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Speaker 3: was the first in many places, but did not want

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Speaker 3: to be the last, and so that legacy for him,

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Speaker 3: when you actually what is Virgil ABL's legacy, it really

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Speaker 3: is continuing the work that he has started to continue

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Speaker 3: his story by investing in young creatives, specifically young underrepresented

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Speaker 3: creatives he believed deeply and elevating black voices and diverse perspectives.

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Speaker 3: And so that's what our work is fully focused on

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Speaker 3: here at the Virgil Ablow Foundation, continuing that legacy that

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Speaker 3: he started to invest in underrepresented creatives.

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Speaker 1: What part of that work resonates most personally with you

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Speaker 1: and professionally.

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Speaker 2: With you, Dana oh Man.

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Speaker 3: I mean even in our first pilot program program a

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Speaker 3: blow Air, I'll share more about it, but every day

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Speaker 3: I see, you know, engaging with young people who are

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Speaker 3: just so passionate around their creative I think for me,

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Speaker 3: I grew up born in New York, raised in Maryland,

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Speaker 3: the DC area by an incredible single mother. Have a

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Speaker 3: relationship with my dad, but it was my mother who

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Speaker 3: really really championed education for me, hard work, and I

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Speaker 3: grew up with dreams and aspirations of being a choreographer.

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Speaker 2: That was my goal. Dance. Dance was the passion.

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Speaker 3: Dance was the passion, but really one I didn't have

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Speaker 3: mentors in the space that looked like me to show

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Speaker 3: me that this was possible.

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Speaker 2: Right, how do you make a career out of dance?

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Speaker 2: How do you sustain?

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Speaker 3: How do you pay for family and finances, you know,

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Speaker 3: and dancing and creative and so instead of pursuing dance

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Speaker 3: full time, I went to follow in my mother's flitsteps.

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Speaker 3: She was a proud graduate of Louis State University, one

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Speaker 3: of the oldest HBCUs in our country.

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Speaker 2: And I ended up going to Louis.

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Speaker 3: State as well, and there I studied sociology and so

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Speaker 3: not dance, but I studied sociology and that's where I

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Speaker 3: got my passions really for investing in our communities and

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Speaker 3: minority communities and really ensuring that we have the same

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Speaker 3: access that our counterparts have.

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Speaker 2: And so yeah, every day in our work.

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Speaker 3: The work is deeply, deeply personal for me because as

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Speaker 3: a creative naturally, but I did not see the path

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Speaker 3: towards that for a sustainable career.

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Speaker 1: You know, you're you have not You've had had an

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Speaker 1: opportunity to work with, you know, humongous personalities Barack Obama,

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Speaker 1: Michelle A, Virgil ad Blow and I'm sure there's others,

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Speaker 1: And I wonder, like, what about those experiences have prepared

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Speaker 1: you to carry on this legacy that or dosystem carry

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Speaker 1: on Virgil's legacy here.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, well it's a great question.

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Speaker 3: And yes, I've had the honor of the lifetime of

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Speaker 3: working with the Obamas and now and another incredible opportunity

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Speaker 3: and continuing for the legacy that Virgil started. And I

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Speaker 3: would say there's a couple of things really necessary. One

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Speaker 3: is just leadership, right. Leadership is the ability to really

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Speaker 3: inspire others around a collective mission. I would say values

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Speaker 3: leading through values, right, Like in all of these names

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Speaker 3: that you mentioned, there's a through line really in seeing

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Speaker 3: everybody as equal, right, and so and really valuing how

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Speaker 3: do we create more equity and inclusion and really I

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Speaker 3: think seeing humanity first and kindness, and so those are

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Speaker 3: values that I really lead with. But collaboration, collaboration. Collaboration,

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Speaker 3: I will say too, is something that I've learned. No

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Speaker 3: person could do anything, can't change the world by themselves,

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Speaker 3: and so Virgil believe heavily in collaboration and it's something

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Speaker 3: that I carry forth even from my experience with the Obamas,

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Speaker 3: who also did as well, and so bring it forth

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Speaker 3: unique perspectives across sectors, age groups, backgrounds, and so that's

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Speaker 3: that's I would say the three buy and a commitment

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Speaker 3: to the mission right the work first, Young people first.

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Speaker 1: What are the first priorities you have step into this room.

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Speaker 3: Well, one I'll say is to continue to execute and

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Speaker 3: build impactful, transformational creative programs for young underrepresented creatives.

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Speaker 2: So we just.

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Speaker 3: Launched our first program at blow Air and so that

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Speaker 3: is a ten month program focused on exposing seventeen to

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Speaker 3: eighteen year olds here in Chicago. Chicago's home for US

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Speaker 3: is headquarters. It is Virgil's home, and so the foundation

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Speaker 3: is headquartered here. The work is global in nature, but

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Speaker 3: we're starting here locally, and so that program is.

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Speaker 2: Really a huge priority.

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Speaker 3: For me right now and for our team, and it

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Speaker 3: really focuses on exposure, access and opportunity, which is our

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Speaker 3: which are three pillars of work. And so this program

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Speaker 3: ten months, ten students from all over Chicago from BIPOD communities,

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Speaker 3: Black Indigenous, first generation single parent homes all go through

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Speaker 3: a transformational experience for ten months where they came into

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Speaker 3: the program, they were they went through a rigorous application

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Speaker 3: process where they identified some area of creative passion that

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Speaker 3: they had in a creative area of interest that they

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Speaker 3: were interested in going into and in the work in

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Speaker 3: our In our evaluation, we identified ten that were superstars

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Speaker 3: and think over eighty were nominated and we decided that

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Speaker 3: we moved for this group. And over the ten months,

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Speaker 3: they each get a mentor virtual beliefs heavily a mentorship,

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Speaker 3: They go through a they each go through a creator

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Speaker 3: series that we host as a part of the program monthly.

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Speaker 3: And this is with top creators from Virgil and Shannon's community,

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Speaker 3: folks like you'll know names like Grace Lidojia and Alex

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Speaker 3: Sosa or Benjib and Don c and just you know

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Speaker 3: a lot of folks who have transformed the industry as

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Speaker 3: we know it and are game changing the game and

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Speaker 3: changing the industry as we know it. And they're given

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Speaker 3: real hard, tangible skills to young people. So whether it's

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Speaker 3: soft skills or hard skills, they're getting the behind the

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Speaker 3: scenes of the industry, whether it's marketing campaigns or they

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Speaker 3: like Don Cie hosted a campaign shoot with the students

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Speaker 3: here in Chicago, and they actually did a campaign for

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Speaker 3: just Don.

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Speaker 2: And in his store.

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Speaker 3: And so this program virgially deeply in cultural immersion. And

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Speaker 3: so while he was local in Chicago, he was also

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Speaker 3: in Paris, around the world in so many ways. And

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Speaker 3: so we take the students on a ten day trip

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Speaker 3: to Paris in London, and during that trip they learned,

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Speaker 3: you know, they learned from a Fabian Montique and top

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Speaker 3: photographers like the topic, and they're actually getting that hands

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Speaker 3: on experience and behind the scenes of like attiliers for

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Speaker 3: Louis Vauton, only stuff that like a virtual APLO foundation

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Speaker 3: could do. And so we're not just showing them these experiences,

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Speaker 3: they're getting tangible skills that they can put on their

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Speaker 3: resume and they're graduating in the next few weeks from

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Speaker 3: the program, and they're all going to college as next steps.

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Speaker 3: Some are studying marketing, some are looking forward to integrating

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Speaker 3: political science with their photography interests. And so this program

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Speaker 3: really was built on virtuals quote that a lot of

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Speaker 3: people will know. Everything he did was for the seventeen

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Speaker 3: year old version of himself. And so I have the

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Speaker 3: north star of leading that program forth and continuing it

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Speaker 3: and growing.

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Speaker 2: It and scaling it too.

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Speaker 3: And so I know you touched them that was the

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Speaker 3: first program, but we're going to be doing a lot

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Speaker 3: more of that, a lot more of partnerships and resources

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Speaker 3: to to your creators.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, in taking this over, I imagine you

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Speaker 1: know you've got to you know, be the face of

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Speaker 1: the thing. You got to be on podcasts, you got

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Speaker 1: to raise money, you got to develop relationships with key partners,

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Speaker 1: you got to program things, you got to hire people

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Speaker 1: and lead people and all the things.

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Speaker 3: Right.

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Speaker 1: So you so big title means you do everything right.

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Speaker 1: And so I want you to talk about number one,

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Speaker 1: how you learn to lead number one, and then how

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Speaker 1: this is still a business even though it's a nonprofit.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a great question. I mean you think and

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Speaker 2: now on the head.

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Speaker 3: This is it's a startup at this stage, and so

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Speaker 3: we're building something that lasts for generations, right, So we

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Speaker 3: are doing all of the tasks ask it's too big

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Speaker 3: or too small when you have big vision, especially that

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Speaker 3: you know outlets, it's all And so learning how to

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Speaker 3: lead really for me is about like how I grew

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Speaker 3: up to, which is like community, right, you don't, like

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Speaker 3: I said, we don't do anything in silos. And so

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Speaker 3: learning listening to young people, what do they need? What

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Speaker 3: do young people of color feel like? There are their

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Speaker 3: gaps that they're facing within the industry, talking to experts

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Speaker 3: and like I said, the creators and collaborators and virtuals

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Speaker 3: and friends that know this industry and have had you know, success,

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Speaker 3: while navigating the barriers that are faced in the industry

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Speaker 3: and really getting out there and elevating the mission of

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Speaker 3: the work to your point around fundraising, we are actively

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Speaker 3: fundraised and receded by a gift from Shannon Ablow, Virgil's

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Speaker 3: wife and our founder. But we have to get out

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Speaker 3: there and ensure that we have the right resources to

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Speaker 3: bring this big vision to life. So leading is I

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Speaker 3: think really about like heart core and values and like

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Speaker 3: community and ensuring that you always have the mission and

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Speaker 3: the vision first and like foremost, and then being able

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Speaker 3: to work backwards from there. So what is the strategy

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Speaker 3: how do we get to that big north star, which

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Speaker 3: is for us a limitless creative future, which virtually deeply

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Speaker 3: in and so constantly in the in the reads of

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Speaker 3: making sure that we have the right team to succeed,

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Speaker 3: that we have the resources that we need to do this.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, what does success look like? You know, especially with

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Speaker 1: a blow air, you know, these these power programs and

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Speaker 1: other objectives that you have. What does success look like?

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Speaker 2: Yeah?

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Speaker 3: Well, success for us, like I said, it's not just

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Speaker 3: about giving students a great experience, right, there's a lot

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Speaker 3: of programs that do that. For us, we want to

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Speaker 3: give folks transformational experiences that they can tangibly use as

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Speaker 3: they grow into their careers.

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Speaker 2: And so our.

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Speaker 3: Ultimate goal is to change and to influence the creative

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Speaker 3: set there as we know it. We aim to increase

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Speaker 3: equity and inclusion within the creative sector. And so for us,

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Speaker 3: that is the big vision and the huge the north star,

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Speaker 3: and so really building out those programs that transform the

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Speaker 3: industry and make way for this next generation of young.

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Speaker 1: Creatives you know, and based on this pilot you know

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Speaker 1: you said they got a couple of weeks.

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Speaker 2: Left, right, Yes, they graduated.

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Speaker 1: I love it. You know, what do you think about

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Speaker 1: what did you learn in this you know, first iteration

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Speaker 1: and what do you want to enhance for future iterations

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Speaker 1: and you know, enhancements for the next programs.

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Speaker 3: Yes, when we learned that the students really value the experience, right,

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Speaker 3: like we're getting there's stories of I mentioned as a

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Speaker 3: young lady in our program who she came into the program.

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Speaker 2: Passionate around music.

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Speaker 3: Right at the end of the program, now she sees

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Speaker 3: herself with integrated music and fashion she wants to model

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Speaker 3: and seeing that integration that things aren't just that siloed.

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Speaker 3: And that's that was the goal of the program, which

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Speaker 3: is to expose to all the possibilities, right, Like I said,

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Speaker 3: Virgil was a multi hype in it. He didn't box

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Speaker 3: himself into one creative And so to hear those stories

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Speaker 3: of young people who who feel like they gained value

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Speaker 3: from this experience and it's influencing their next steps in

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Speaker 3: their next career, that is really something that we learned that. Okay,

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Speaker 3: the program works right where anytime you're building a pilot,

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Speaker 3: you're learning as you're going, and how to indicate where

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Speaker 3: the organization goes in the future, and how to design

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Speaker 3: future programs too. And so our students are telling us

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Speaker 3: what they need as they enter into college and career

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Speaker 3: early career, and so making sure that they have the

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Speaker 3: resources in this next phase and the community as well

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Speaker 3: in collaboration, which we know is very necessary, especially with

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Speaker 3: communities of color too.

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Speaker 1: And I know you mentioned you know the goal is

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Speaker 1: to you know, and influence the industry. And I think

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Speaker 1: about when you have these visions and you have these

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Speaker 1: goals and you're running pilots, you have like a vision

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Speaker 1: of what the future looks like, this grand vision that

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Speaker 1: maybe the resources aren't there to do to yet today,

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Speaker 1: or the connections aren't there to do yet today, or

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Speaker 1: whatever they are. When you can, can you paint a

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Speaker 1: picture of at its fullest, you know, version of itself,

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Speaker 1: what this foundation looks like.

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Speaker 3: I smile because I get to wake up every day

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Speaker 3: thinking about this. And you know, right now we're starting,

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Speaker 3: we're starting. We're talking about ten students here in Chicago,

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Speaker 3: right and we're in the process of executing the next

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Speaker 3: cohort of that here and expanding our programs, whether it's

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Speaker 3: with through philanthropy and grant making and ensuring resources go

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Speaker 3: directly to underrepresented creat as. We know that there's barriers

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Speaker 3: to access to resources in the industry for creatives. And

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Speaker 3: so the start I think when I think about that question,

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Speaker 3: we desired for the next couple of years where we're

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Speaker 3: going from that ten to thousands of young underrepresented creatives

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Speaker 3: who've been impacted by the work of the Virtual av

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Speaker 3: Low Foundation, whether that's through you know, in person experiences,

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Speaker 3: are bespoke programs, partnerships and collaborations, or you know online

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Speaker 3: programs as well, and so really excited to invest in

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Speaker 3: this next generation to change the way the sector currently

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Speaker 3: what it currently looks.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and you mentioned, you know, even in your story

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Speaker 1: you wanted to dance and you're thinking about, you know,

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Speaker 1: how do you make money doing this and all these

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Speaker 1: other things. And these are the creatives, these students are,

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Speaker 1: these young people are and there's so often when we

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Speaker 1: are creative and we give our creations out into the world,

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Speaker 1: we don't always realize the reward of that, you know,

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Speaker 1: creation and that that contribution. So how do you or

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Speaker 1: do you yet? Maybe either question depending on where you

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Speaker 1: are in the state. How do you help them develop

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Speaker 1: that business acumen to understand their value in the marketplace.

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Speaker 3: It's spot on, and this actually touches on your point

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Speaker 3: around you know what have we learned within the program.

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Speaker 2: We're learning that even through the experience.

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Speaker 3: That the students had on the trip with them getting

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Speaker 3: tangible like hard skills, they're working with different collaboration partners

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Speaker 3: like Billionaire Boys Club or Pablo T Shirt Factory, We're

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Speaker 3: learning that there's opportunities to ensure that they understand the

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Speaker 3: business side of the industry so that they're not going

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Speaker 3: into it blindsided.

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Speaker 2: And so even within our.

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Speaker 3: Programs and the Apple Air program, we're designed you know

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Speaker 3: what does the business of arts look like? Right, and

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Speaker 3: giving them that real tangible experience and understanding the legal side,

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Speaker 3: the tax implications, financials, all of that, the pieces that

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Speaker 3: you know, folks don't like to shy away from that

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Speaker 3: are necessary to be successful.

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Speaker 1: You know, how does maybe a better question how could

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Speaker 1: because you know you're in the pilot station, you're launching

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Speaker 1: this thing, which I think is remarkable, how could.

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Speaker 3: You scale this?

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Speaker 1: So here's here's probably a better way to ask this.

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Speaker 1: You know, you talked about the this is a global

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Speaker 1: effort ultimately, but it's starting local there in Chicago, and

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Speaker 1: the goal is to scale globally. Are there things that

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Speaker 1: you could do in local communities across the country, across

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Speaker 1: the world that maybe Dana doesn't have to be there,

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Speaker 1: you know, in one year, employees don't have to be there,

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Speaker 1: but maybe there's like curriculum or something. How do you scale?

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Speaker 1: This is my question?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, well, I love I love this conversation because it's

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Speaker 3: about big vision and scale one is going to happen

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Speaker 3: through partnerships. Right, So we look at Virgil actually started

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Speaker 3: the Virgil Ablo Postmodern Scholarship Fund at the Fashion Scholarship Fund,

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Speaker 3: and so that's the great example of the type of

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Speaker 3: partnerships that we look forward to continuing and that we

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Speaker 3: look forward to developing additional ones.

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Speaker 2: Right.

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Speaker 3: That scholarship directly gives scholarships and grants to students who

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Speaker 3: are in college Black students study in fashion, and so

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Speaker 3: that's a way to actually reach additional students at scale.

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Speaker 3: But partnerships and collaborations, whether we've done it through the

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Speaker 3: Royal College of Arts, where Virgil also has a scholarship program,

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Speaker 3: will be tangible examples of the types of programs that

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Speaker 3: we look to expand. But we can't do this work

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Speaker 3: in silo, and so there's a lot of great work

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Speaker 3: happening in the sector already, and so anticipate a lot

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Speaker 3: of collaboration and partnerships to really scale and to reach

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Speaker 3: to that vision of thousands of creatives.

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Speaker 1: What criteria are yoused to select these students.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, well, all of the students were nominated from local

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Speaker 3: partners in Chicago.

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Speaker 2: We work.

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Speaker 3: We did not want to, you know, there's no need

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Speaker 3: to start from scratch. There's people in the city who

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Speaker 3: are already working with young people, and so we identified partners,

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Speaker 3: whether it was with My Brother's Keeper locally here in Chicago,

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Speaker 3: or Chicago Scholars or Little Black Pearl and Gray Matter Experienced,

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Speaker 3: Chicago West Community Center, Yola Calli Arts, Mexican Arts Center,

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Speaker 3: just to name a few of them that we actually

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Speaker 3: worked with to nominate the students. And so they identified

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Speaker 3: students in their programs who were interested in some form

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Speaker 3: of creative whether it was fashion, music, design, visual art,

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Speaker 3: you name it. They nominated students for the program, and

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Speaker 3: then the students went through an application process and then

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Speaker 3: from there our committee reviewed it the committee is. It

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Speaker 3: was a group of folks from our board and with

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Speaker 3: the mergers community as well, and so that's that's the

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Speaker 3: process that they came to be within the ten the

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Speaker 3: ten students.

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Speaker 1: Right the first Yeah, and so I'm a student. I've

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Speaker 1: gone through this program. I've met some of the most

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Speaker 1: incredible people, designers, photographers, models, the whole thing. I met

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Speaker 1: all these wonderful people. I've learned a ton. But I'm

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Speaker 1: from so so, you know, less a social economic background.

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Speaker 1: I don't have all the resources in my family, et

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Speaker 1: cetera to help me launch. Where do I go? I've

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Speaker 1: been through this program, it was remarkable, had a great time.

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Speaker 1: What's next?

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Speaker 2: Yep.

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Speaker 3: So that's exactly what where we're focused right, Like, this

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Speaker 3: won't be a one and done experience. This is a

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Speaker 3: community and that's something that you'll see kind of when

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Speaker 3: we talk about what is Virgil's legacy. In every conversation

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Speaker 3: with folks who knew him personally, it was about community, right,

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Speaker 3: And so for us, anyone going through the program, we

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Speaker 3: are actively staying in touch with them through their like

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Speaker 3: next years in their early career, working with them to

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Speaker 3: identify either internship opportunities or the resources that they need

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Speaker 3: and you know, to be successful. And so one of

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Speaker 3: our students is studying political science and going I think

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Speaker 3: to Morehouse and will plan to continue to do his

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Speaker 3: photography and integrate that.

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Speaker 2: With the social justice perspective.

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Speaker 3: And so for us, this is not it's about building

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Speaker 3: that community where they know that they have a r

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Speaker 3: resource in the Virgial Apple Foundation for to pursue their

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Speaker 3: dreams within this industry.

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Speaker 2: So they will be they'll be right here with us.

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Speaker 3: And so they've actually already acts to be mentors to

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Speaker 3: the next cohort.

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Speaker 2: We're like, no, you keep going, you know.

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Speaker 3: And so yeah, the goal is that community and collaboration

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Speaker 3: and you know, future creative spaces where they know that

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Speaker 3: they can meet meet peers and collaborate, but also really

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Speaker 3: leverage and continue to utilize the skills and the relationships

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Speaker 3: that they build from this experience.

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Speaker 2: And none of those relationships their mentors.

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Speaker 3: The creatives, they're all theirs, right, Like this is not

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Speaker 3: just they have their contact info. They're able to communicate

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Speaker 3: with them and knowing this COVID, they're going to run

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Speaker 3: with them.

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Speaker 1: What they do you know when when Virgil pass you know,

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Speaker 1: oh God, bless them, you know, this will twenty twenty one.

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Speaker 1: So he saw, you know, what happened with COVID. He

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Speaker 1: saw how the world changed post COVID, but he wasn't

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Speaker 1: here to see how AI is impacting you know, the

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Speaker 1: creative industries. And so what I guess my question is

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Speaker 1: how does the Foundation think about how to stay adaptable

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Speaker 1: and to meet the needs of creatives as the world

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Speaker 1: continues to evolve and change.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, well, to your point, exactly, so much has evolved

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Speaker 3: over the last couple of years, and so we believe

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Speaker 3: deeply in innovation and at the core of everything with

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Speaker 3: the Virgil Apple Foundation is creativity, right, and so Virgil

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Speaker 3: believes in that innovation and adaptability and the change in world,

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Speaker 3: and so we're we're staying close to.

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Speaker 2: Ensuring that things are modern. Right. This gets to that.

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Speaker 3: Real ethos of what he believed in that post modern

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Speaker 3: and so for us, we're always willing to evolve and

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Speaker 3: continue to make sure that the work is at you know,

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Speaker 3: the cutting edge and relevant to this nextion. And so

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Speaker 3: really I think it'll be a lot of listening to

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Speaker 3: young people and how do they receive information or you know,

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Speaker 3: what's the best way to communicate and so to your

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Speaker 3: point around AI, you know you have to use these

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Speaker 3: modern tools to reach young people directly.

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Speaker 1: What advice do you give to people aspiring to be

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Speaker 1: in leadership in this in nonprofit sector? You know you

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Speaker 1: found obviously you found your way, you know, having worked

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Speaker 1: directly with Valerie Jair and again the big names that

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Speaker 1: you've worked with. But what is it about people who

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Speaker 1: find success in nonprofit that you would like to lend

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Speaker 1: as advice?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, well, I would say hard work, like you mentioned

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Speaker 3: the name like Valerie Jared, Like that is you have

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Speaker 3: to show up right, like nothing is handed to you.

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Speaker 3: And so hard work and commitment to the mission, right

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Speaker 3: and so it's not always about you ever, right like

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Speaker 3: it is about the work and about who you're seeking

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Speaker 3: to serve in the communities that you're looking to impact.

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Speaker 3: So always keep that first. And then I would say integrity,

441
00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:04,720
Speaker 3: right Like in the nonprofit we have a lot to

442
00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:08,920
Speaker 3: be accountable to. You're accountable to resources from funders, there's

443
00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:11,000
Speaker 3: nine nineties at the end of the year, and you're

444
00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:14,639
Speaker 3: accountable to the mission and to the people that you're serving,

445
00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:17,600
Speaker 3: and so that integrity is key. And then I would

446
00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:21,359
Speaker 3: really say mentorship, seek guidance. And this is something that

447
00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:23,760
Speaker 3: is very deep to the mission and the vision for

448
00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:27,040
Speaker 3: the Virtual Atlow Foundation is that you surround yourself with

449
00:24:27,119 --> 00:24:29,399
Speaker 3: people who might be smarter than you, and you're willing

450
00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:33,639
Speaker 3: to learn from them, right, And so I think that

451
00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:36,359
Speaker 3: that willingness and eagerness to learn and to serve and

452
00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:40,160
Speaker 3: to grow while being committed to the mission and maintaining

453
00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:42,600
Speaker 3: the values first, I think it'll get any of us

454
00:24:42,640 --> 00:24:45,439
Speaker 3: far within our careers and within the creative industry. So

455
00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:48,920
Speaker 3: that would be my advice. Yeah, in the nonprofit.

456
00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:51,399
Speaker 1: Industry, sure, yeah, And we talked about you know, this

457
00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:53,439
Speaker 1: is a startup and you wear many hats. You do

458
00:24:53,480 --> 00:24:55,760
Speaker 1: all the big things you do, the little things you know,

459
00:24:55,800 --> 00:25:00,400
Speaker 1: all the things you know. And in that regard, you've

460
00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:04,119
Speaker 1: got to find a balance between the creative aspects of

461
00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:07,840
Speaker 1: leading this, you know, charge and the administrative aspects of

462
00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:10,920
Speaker 1: doing this like and not you know from a thirty

463
00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:14,119
Speaker 1: thousand foot view, but actually tactically every day, how do

464
00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:17,520
Speaker 1: you balance that work? And so what are you using,

465
00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:19,760
Speaker 1: what tools are you using? How do you balance you know,

466
00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:22,119
Speaker 1: are you doing these sorts of things on Mondays and

467
00:25:22,160 --> 00:25:24,879
Speaker 1: Tuesdays and these sorts of things on Wednesdays and Fridays

468
00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:27,199
Speaker 1: and we do something mails on Thursday, like how do

469
00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:27,880
Speaker 1: you do it?

470
00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:30,720
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, it's a great question.

471
00:25:30,760 --> 00:25:34,200
Speaker 3: I would say, I'm not right now doing this thing

472
00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:35,400
Speaker 3: on Mondays and Tuesdays.

473
00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:40,160
Speaker 2: Maybe one day we'll get there. But at this stage, I.

474
00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:43,600
Speaker 3: You know, I love organization, and so I used tools

475
00:25:43,600 --> 00:25:44,160
Speaker 3: like Asana.

476
00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:46,160
Speaker 2: Those are you know, necessary for me to.

477
00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:49,320
Speaker 3: Project manage a lot of meetings and a lot of

478
00:25:49,359 --> 00:25:51,439
Speaker 3: calls with our team, like we're built, you know, in

479
00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:54,000
Speaker 3: the early days, we have you know a series of

480
00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:56,080
Speaker 3: consultants and partners who are helping us to get the

481
00:25:56,080 --> 00:25:59,120
Speaker 3: work started as we're able to hire later this year

482
00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:02,000
Speaker 3: and really build out the long term team for the foundation.

483
00:26:03,119 --> 00:26:06,920
Speaker 3: And then I have a great partner and Auti, who

484
00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:09,760
Speaker 3: is our chief creative officer and who was Virgils.

485
00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:13,639
Speaker 2: He was his chief of staff and his assistant for years.

486
00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:16,439
Speaker 3: And so from the creative side, we really get to

487
00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:20,320
Speaker 3: balance that business, the nonprofit business side, with the creative

488
00:26:20,359 --> 00:26:23,720
Speaker 3: side daily so that I could really shure up during

489
00:26:23,720 --> 00:26:26,359
Speaker 3: this critical time that we're building out the infrastructure and

490
00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:28,919
Speaker 3: the operations and the fund reason and the staff men

491
00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:32,320
Speaker 3: to be successful. So again in early days, it's all

492
00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:34,960
Speaker 3: all hands on deck for every task. No task too

493
00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:38,040
Speaker 3: big or too small, but a lot of project management

494
00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:40,919
Speaker 3: and time management, right like, we have to ensure that

495
00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:43,720
Speaker 3: as leaders, we are taking care of ourselves and while

496
00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:45,680
Speaker 3: still able to show up with the work daily.

497
00:26:45,760 --> 00:26:48,320
Speaker 2: And so that's how I do it.

498
00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:51,760
Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, you know you mentioned the phrase a minute

499
00:26:51,840 --> 00:26:54,160
Speaker 1: or two ago, and you saw you about this conversation

500
00:26:54,280 --> 00:26:57,520
Speaker 1: having big vision, and that has been ringing in my

501
00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:00,840
Speaker 1: head since you said it, and I think about so often.

502
00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:04,119
Speaker 1: We have young people who have this particular worldview. You know,

503
00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:06,720
Speaker 1: they're young, they haven't had all the experiences in the world.

504
00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:09,960
Speaker 1: So they see, you know, I want to be the designer,

505
00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:12,480
Speaker 1: but they don't realize they can own the house. You know,

506
00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:14,080
Speaker 1: they see that can be I want to be in

507
00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:16,000
Speaker 1: the NBA, but they don't realize they can own a

508
00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:17,200
Speaker 1: team or a league.

509
00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:17,679
Speaker 2: You know.

510
00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:22,480
Speaker 1: So how does your work directly and the Foundations work

511
00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:27,960
Speaker 1: more globally help people creatives, young creatives and you know,

512
00:27:28,200 --> 00:27:30,159
Speaker 1: embolding their ideas make them bigger.

513
00:27:30,880 --> 00:27:34,320
Speaker 3: Yeah, Well, this comes down to our key pillars, which

514
00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:38,240
Speaker 3: are that exposure, access, and opportunity, right like, you have

515
00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:40,639
Speaker 3: to see it to believe it, right, even in the

516
00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:44,240
Speaker 3: story of Virgil and his legacy, right, we're talking about

517
00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:46,920
Speaker 3: the first black creative director of Louis Baton but also

518
00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:50,600
Speaker 3: the founder of Off White simultaneously. And so for us,

519
00:27:50,640 --> 00:27:53,639
Speaker 3: we want young people to see what's possible so that

520
00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:56,520
Speaker 3: they can actually pursue it. And so a lot of

521
00:27:56,560 --> 00:28:00,600
Speaker 3: the programming will be about them meeting mental towards and

522
00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:03,600
Speaker 3: people who are in the space already so that they

523
00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:07,760
Speaker 3: know what's possible, and then providing and exposing them and

524
00:28:07,760 --> 00:28:10,520
Speaker 3: connecting them to the resources so that they can actually

525
00:28:10,520 --> 00:28:14,800
Speaker 3: pursue those dreams. And so yeah, that's really how we're

526
00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:17,199
Speaker 3: doing it, through that mentorship and that exposure and that

527
00:28:17,359 --> 00:28:20,640
Speaker 3: access so that they know, you know, how to turn

528
00:28:20,720 --> 00:28:22,119
Speaker 3: these streams into reality.

529
00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:26,560
Speaker 1: Yeah, and we're talking about somebody who you know, unfortunately

530
00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:29,679
Speaker 1: isn't here anymore. And so I think about how do

531
00:28:29,760 --> 00:28:33,760
Speaker 1: you instill that desire to build legacy in the next

532
00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:36,520
Speaker 1: generation of creative so they're not just thinking about what's

533
00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:40,280
Speaker 1: trendy today. You know, again, we were talking about work

534
00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:43,520
Speaker 1: that Virgil did years ago and it still permeates today.

535
00:28:44,360 --> 00:28:46,240
Speaker 1: So how do you think about that and how do

536
00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:49,240
Speaker 1: you instill that desire to build something that lasts beyond

537
00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:51,440
Speaker 1: their own you know breath.

538
00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:53,680
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's funny.

539
00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:57,000
Speaker 3: On the trip, we had a there was a panel

540
00:28:57,080 --> 00:29:05,160
Speaker 3: talk that that Stammy Gier and Clint Quartet who's from Cortez,

541
00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:08,479
Speaker 3: and a few others as well. Like there was a

542
00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:11,200
Speaker 3: panel where they talked about legacy. One of the students

543
00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:14,440
Speaker 3: asked about like, you know, I have this passion with

544
00:29:14,480 --> 00:29:17,600
Speaker 3: my art and I have a hard, hard difficulties letting

545
00:29:17,640 --> 00:29:20,840
Speaker 3: it go. And the panel Clint actually gave him advice

546
00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:25,200
Speaker 3: on archiving and you know, Virgil archives everything, and so

547
00:29:25,320 --> 00:29:26,960
Speaker 3: that's a big part of the work that Audi is

548
00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:29,560
Speaker 3: doing with us is the archives or Virgil, so that

549
00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:32,800
Speaker 3: young people can learn from that legacy and learn, you know,

550
00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:35,240
Speaker 3: how did what was the process to the works and

551
00:29:35,320 --> 00:29:39,080
Speaker 3: so really that story you know that Clint gave him

552
00:29:39,080 --> 00:29:41,600
Speaker 3: that advice is to say, share your work with the

553
00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:43,959
Speaker 3: world and like that legacy lives on and just make

554
00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:46,320
Speaker 3: sure that you're you know, capturing it as you go.

555
00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:49,600
Speaker 3: So that's I think that that archiving and teaching them

556
00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:51,640
Speaker 3: the importance what it what does it mean to have

557
00:29:51,720 --> 00:29:55,040
Speaker 3: an archive as a creative and portfolio? Right, and so

558
00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:58,560
Speaker 3: these are the skills that we're teaching them.

559
00:29:58,960 --> 00:30:01,920
Speaker 1: And finally I asked you a different version of this question.

560
00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:03,760
Speaker 1: I kind of want to ask this in a different way.

561
00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:07,720
Speaker 1: And you know, the work that you're doing, it has

562
00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:10,560
Speaker 1: to mean something to you. And you talked a lot

563
00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:14,200
Speaker 1: about how you know, what resonated with you with this work,

564
00:30:14,600 --> 00:30:16,640
Speaker 1: you know, but I'm interested like it, what is if

565
00:30:16,680 --> 00:30:19,600
Speaker 1: you have it, you know, nailed down, Like what is

566
00:30:19,640 --> 00:30:22,719
Speaker 1: your personal mission and how does this work align with it?

567
00:30:24,040 --> 00:30:26,120
Speaker 2: Yeah, well you'll see.

568
00:30:26,240 --> 00:30:28,920
Speaker 3: I think this is a through line any like my

569
00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:31,000
Speaker 3: full full career experience.

570
00:30:31,120 --> 00:30:31,280
Speaker 2: Right.

571
00:30:32,040 --> 00:30:36,080
Speaker 3: I am committed to equity and inclusion in advancing communities

572
00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:38,680
Speaker 3: of color, right, And so that is the heart of

573
00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:39,920
Speaker 3: everything that I do.

574
00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:41,200
Speaker 2: And so when.

575
00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:45,120
Speaker 3: I met Shannon Ablo in twenty twenty three where she

576
00:30:45,240 --> 00:30:49,440
Speaker 3: hosted a summit which was really focused on what building

577
00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:52,480
Speaker 3: what the future vision for the Virgil Ablo Foundation would be,

578
00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:56,920
Speaker 3: and it was a series of folks across sectors, creative foundations,

579
00:30:56,960 --> 00:31:02,360
Speaker 3: philanthropy partners and corporation and collaborators from Virgils community.

580
00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:03,880
Speaker 2: I'm young people.

581
00:31:04,760 --> 00:31:07,360
Speaker 3: What I saw there in that room inspired me and

582
00:31:07,360 --> 00:31:09,000
Speaker 3: it lit up what I call, you know, my baby,

583
00:31:09,040 --> 00:31:13,240
Speaker 3: my mission baby, which is that ability to continue forth

584
00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:17,400
Speaker 3: legacy and leave something in this world that livets beyond us,

585
00:31:17,400 --> 00:31:20,200
Speaker 3: but lists beyond us with purpose and mission that is

586
00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:24,320
Speaker 3: about advancing and making the world, you know, easier for

587
00:31:24,480 --> 00:31:25,080
Speaker 3: this next.

588
00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:26,440
Speaker 2: Generation of people who look like me.

589
00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:29,760
Speaker 3: So I would say that's the that's the commitment and

590
00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:31,760
Speaker 3: the three line and my mission if I'm your star

591
00:31:32,040 --> 00:31:33,120
Speaker 3: in all the work that I do.

592
00:31:34,640 --> 00:31:37,040
Speaker 1: Black Tech Green Money is a production of Blavity Afro

593
00:31:37,160 --> 00:31:40,080
Speaker 1: Tech in the Black Effect podcast Networking Night Hire Media.

594
00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:43,440
Speaker 1: It's produced by Morgan Debonne and me Well Lucas, with

595
00:31:43,520 --> 00:31:46,560
Speaker 1: the digital production support by Kate McDonald, Sarah Ergan and

596
00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:49,640
Speaker 1: Jada McGee. Special thank you to Michael Davis in Love Beach.

597
00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:51,760
Speaker 1: Learn more about my guess Other Tech The Shop is

598
00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:55,479
Speaker 1: an Innovatives afrotech dot com. Video version of this episode

599
00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:57,760
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600
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601
00:32:01,120 --> 00:32:04,560
Speaker 1: to somebody, go get your money. Peace in Love