WEBVTT - Robin King on the Navy SEAL Foundation (Podcast) 0:00:02.200 --> 0:00:06.800 Vis is Masters in Business with Barry Ridholts on Bloomberg Radio. 0:00:07.440 --> 0:00:10.680 This week on the podcast, I have an extra special 0:00:10.720 --> 0:00:15.880 guest for our fourth of July holiday special. When I 0:00:15.960 --> 0:00:19.959 interviewed Henry Cornell as the former woman SAX private equity 0:00:20.200 --> 0:00:23.400 person now runs Cornell Capital and really fascinating guy with 0:00:23.440 --> 0:00:26.880 a tremendous history. When we were talking about some of 0:00:27.040 --> 0:00:31.600 his charitable foundations and various board works that he does, 0:00:32.120 --> 0:00:35.080 he mentioned the Navy Seal Foundation, and I have to 0:00:35.080 --> 0:00:38.600 tell you I was quite intrigued, not only because over 0:00:38.760 --> 0:00:41.040 the course of my career, I've been lucky enough to 0:00:41.120 --> 0:00:45.360 work with a number of military vets. I started on 0:00:45.400 --> 0:00:47.519 a trading desk and the guy on my right was 0:00:47.560 --> 0:00:50.080 a Marine Jungle combat instructor and the guy on my 0:00:50.159 --> 0:00:53.279 left was an Army ranger. So I felt when we 0:00:53.320 --> 0:00:56.760 went out after trading for the day, I felt I 0:00:56.800 --> 0:01:01.320 could basically do anything. I was completely invulnerable to any 0:01:01.440 --> 0:01:05.160 sort of trouble. And now today I have a number 0:01:05.160 --> 0:01:09.200 of military veterans working in my firm, both as our 0:01:09.280 --> 0:01:13.080 CFO is one person and our CTO is another person, 0:01:13.200 --> 0:01:16.560 and I call those guys our secret weapon. So the 0:01:16.640 --> 0:01:21.520 opportunity to speak with Robin King, who is the CEO 0:01:21.959 --> 0:01:26.240 of the Navy Seals Foundation, was just too good to 0:01:26.440 --> 0:01:29.959 pass up. She's been a military spouse for many years. 0:01:29.959 --> 0:01:35.319 She has spent time both within the community of military 0:01:35.360 --> 0:01:40.200 families as well as a person who is helping to 0:01:40.240 --> 0:01:45.080 take care of those families post service in a variety 0:01:45.080 --> 0:01:49.840 of ways, both financial and organizational, helping them deal with 0:01:50.360 --> 0:01:56.040 sometimes trying circumstances, on rare occasion, tragic circumstances. And I 0:01:56.080 --> 0:02:00.000 think it's a wonderful organization that does great work. Could 0:02:00.160 --> 0:02:03.840 imagine a better guest for July four. So, with no 0:02:03.920 --> 0:02:11.000 further ado my conversation with Robin King, this is Masters 0:02:11.000 --> 0:02:15.880 in Business with Barry Ridholts on Bloomberg Radio. My special 0:02:15.919 --> 0:02:19.600 guest for the July four holiday weekend is Robin King. 0:02:19.919 --> 0:02:24.880 She is the chief executive Officer for the Navy Seal Foundation, 0:02:24.960 --> 0:02:29.560 which provides critical support and assistance to the Naval Special 0:02:29.600 --> 0:02:35.040 Warfare community and its families. They are based out of Coronado, California, 0:02:35.080 --> 0:02:38.680 where Naval Special Warfare Command is located, as well as 0:02:38.680 --> 0:02:43.519 where the Seal Qualification training takes place. She is the recipient, 0:02:43.720 --> 0:02:50.600 amongst other honorifics, of the US Special Operation Commands Outstanding 0:02:50.960 --> 0:02:56.959 Civilian Service Medal. Robin King, Welcome to Bloomberg. Thank you, 0:02:57.120 --> 0:03:00.959 thanks for having it this morning. So I think the 0:03:01.919 --> 0:03:05.040 role of military families is one of those things where 0:03:05.080 --> 0:03:08.080 there is a lot of sacrifice given and very little 0:03:08.120 --> 0:03:14.320 praise or fanfare recognized. Families have to endure long separations 0:03:14.360 --> 0:03:18.480 from the military spouse. Families often get moved around from 0:03:18.480 --> 0:03:22.200 place to place. Tell us about your experience as a 0:03:22.240 --> 0:03:26.080 military spouse. Yeah, you know, it's a very different life, 0:03:26.080 --> 0:03:29.720 but it's not one that I, uh, I didn't marry 0:03:29.720 --> 0:03:34.560 a feal My wonderful husband determined after we were married 0:03:34.560 --> 0:03:36.040 for a couple of years, if this is something you 0:03:36.080 --> 0:03:39.120 wanted to do, so um. You know, people jokingly in 0:03:39.160 --> 0:03:40.600 this community always say, well, you knew what you were 0:03:40.600 --> 0:03:45.680 marrying into, but I absolutely didn't. It's a unique life 0:03:45.840 --> 0:03:50.360 in that you learn how important community is, whether that's 0:03:50.360 --> 0:03:54.480 your neighbors, the Naval special worker community, your friends, your family. 0:03:55.600 --> 0:03:58.000 You have to learn to become really independent, and that 0:03:58.160 --> 0:04:00.800 is not really independent of your husban them, but it's 0:04:00.840 --> 0:04:05.600 being able to be independent with and without your husband. So, 0:04:06.120 --> 0:04:09.680 you know, the incredible amount of time that they're gone 0:04:10.360 --> 0:04:13.360 can really bring out some amazing things, and you know, 0:04:13.400 --> 0:04:16.040 the spouse and the families, You learn what you can handle, 0:04:16.520 --> 0:04:20.200 you learn where you need to lean on people. You 0:04:20.279 --> 0:04:24.000 developed some incredible strengths, and uh, I don't know any 0:04:24.080 --> 0:04:29.600 spouses who wish they didn't go through this amazingly enough, 0:04:29.640 --> 0:04:32.160 as tough as it can be, I think we're all 0:04:32.160 --> 0:04:34.920 really proud to be part of this community and part 0:04:34.920 --> 0:04:37.640 of this life and to do this for our country. 0:04:38.240 --> 0:04:41.840 You mentioned you didn't marry a seal. Your husband was 0:04:41.880 --> 0:04:45.440 a photographer, right, Like, I couldn't imagine anything more polar 0:04:45.480 --> 0:04:47.400 opposite than when I what I think of when I 0:04:47.440 --> 0:04:50.640 think of a Navy seal. How did he come to 0:04:50.760 --> 0:04:54.880 the decision to change his career path and what was 0:04:54.920 --> 0:04:59.359 your reaction to that? Yeah, you know seals probably have 0:04:59.560 --> 0:05:02.120 one of them, those diverse sets of backgrounds and all 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:04.720 these guys, you know, we have everything from you know, 0:05:05.200 --> 0:05:08.280 guys who have their pH ds, you know, guys who 0:05:08.279 --> 0:05:11.240 are photography dooming. His degree was in fine art photography. 0:05:11.600 --> 0:05:15.800 My husband's much older half brother was a Vietnam A seal, 0:05:16.520 --> 0:05:19.279 and he had taken a trip down to San Diego 0:05:19.360 --> 0:05:21.760 to visit him one weekend when he was I had 0:05:21.800 --> 0:05:25.280 traveled across the country to visit an old Vietnam era buddy, 0:05:25.440 --> 0:05:27.360 and my husband said, I'm going to go down and 0:05:27.440 --> 0:05:29.840 visit Mikey. I'm like, great, go have a bathulous weekend. 0:05:29.880 --> 0:05:31.680 You know, see when you get back. And at this time, 0:05:31.680 --> 0:05:34.880 we were living in Pasadena, we had a house, we 0:05:34.920 --> 0:05:37.800 had our little life. And he came back and looked 0:05:37.839 --> 0:05:39.279 at me and said, I want to be a seal. 0:05:39.440 --> 0:05:41.680 I've always wanted to be a seal. And I think 0:05:41.680 --> 0:05:44.760 I probably cried for about a week. And I just 0:05:44.800 --> 0:05:47.760 didn't you know, I didn't know anything about military life. 0:05:47.839 --> 0:05:49.279 I didn't know what that would be, but I knew 0:05:49.279 --> 0:05:51.520 it was going to be a dramatic change. But it 0:05:51.600 --> 0:05:53.680 was really apparent that this was something that he just 0:05:53.720 --> 0:05:56.520 had to do. It was a calling and not you know, 0:05:56.600 --> 0:05:59.240 I've never experienced anything like that. You know, I don't 0:05:59.279 --> 0:06:02.200 have anything that just called spoke to me so strongly 0:06:02.200 --> 0:06:05.160 that I just had to do it. And um, you know, 0:06:05.279 --> 0:06:07.520 he actually went in on the older end. He was 0:06:07.560 --> 0:06:12.120 twenty six when he started this journey, and god, you know, 0:06:12.200 --> 0:06:14.760 he he loves his job. Every day. We were sitting 0:06:14.760 --> 0:06:17.960 around the other evening with my daughters and everybody's talking 0:06:17.960 --> 0:06:20.600 about work, and he just chuckled and said, I love 0:06:20.680 --> 0:06:23.360 my job, you know. So you know, a lot of 0:06:23.360 --> 0:06:26.000 people have a lot of complaints, but he does not. 0:06:26.279 --> 0:06:28.719 He loves it with everything he has. So that's fun 0:06:28.720 --> 0:06:32.000 to be around. Huh. I can imagine. So. So one 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:35.240 of the things about the military brats I know and 0:06:35.279 --> 0:06:38.760 the stories I've heard, is how often their families had 0:06:38.800 --> 0:06:42.200 to move from assignment to assignment, based to base, and 0:06:43.240 --> 0:06:47.880 for the spouse, very often they're working in careers like 0:06:48.200 --> 0:06:51.080 teachers and nurses and other things like that where there's 0:06:51.120 --> 0:06:55.360 a state certification required and then suddenly you pick up 0:06:55.360 --> 0:06:57.800 and moved to a new state and you have to 0:06:57.920 --> 0:07:01.479 start all over. How do you deal with that? Do 0:07:01.720 --> 0:07:05.919 states cross honor other licensing or is this still a 0:07:05.960 --> 0:07:10.720 problem today? Yeah, that's a great question. There has been 0:07:10.760 --> 0:07:15.200 a lot of movement in ensuring that military spouses have 0:07:15.360 --> 0:07:19.360 much more portable careers. So there's a two thousand eighteen 0:07:19.440 --> 0:07:23.680 National Defense Authorization Act which allows the spouses to get 0:07:23.720 --> 0:07:27.440 reimbursed for licensure costs. There is a lot of states 0:07:27.480 --> 0:07:30.760 that are implementing or in the process of implementing portability 0:07:30.800 --> 0:07:34.760 measures for spouses of their organizations like the Navy Seal 0:07:34.800 --> 0:07:39.040 Foundation that provides scholarships to help with funding if you 0:07:39.040 --> 0:07:41.840 you know, it's above the reimbursement that's allowed by the 0:07:41.880 --> 0:07:46.240 military branches. And you know, it's really heartening to see 0:07:46.720 --> 0:07:49.720 that the government is taking this seriously and they understand 0:07:49.760 --> 0:07:51.960 these challenges by the spouses, and the states are really 0:07:51.960 --> 0:07:55.760 working hard at ensuring that these spouses aren't leaving behind 0:07:55.920 --> 0:07:59.160 their their law career, their nursing career, their teaching career, 0:07:59.680 --> 0:08:02.480 and um, you know, I was at a meeting recently 0:08:02.520 --> 0:08:06.200 in a spouse who's an attorney that she just got 0:08:06.200 --> 0:08:10.400 her license renewed from Virginia to California, and she was 0:08:10.480 --> 0:08:12.239 very excited that she was able to make that happen. 0:08:12.280 --> 0:08:13.920 I was going to talk to another attorney in the 0:08:14.000 --> 0:08:16.280 room on how she did that without retaking the bar, 0:08:16.360 --> 0:08:18.920 which I can't even imagine doing. There's a lot of 0:08:18.920 --> 0:08:22.080 good things going on in that space. That's great. So, So, 0:08:22.200 --> 0:08:25.800 you've been with the Navy Seals Foundation since its inception 0:08:25.880 --> 0:08:29.440 in two thousand. How did the foundation come about and 0:08:29.600 --> 0:08:35.040 what was your involvement from from the beginning. Sure, the 0:08:35.160 --> 0:08:38.440 Navy Seals Foundation grew out of a fraternal Order of 0:08:38.559 --> 0:08:42.080 Navy Seals called the dt Seal Association, and that still exists. 0:08:42.080 --> 0:08:46.040 It's been around since the sixties. And the DCCAL Association 0:08:46.080 --> 0:08:51.160 had a small scholarship program where they awarded scholarships to 0:08:51.400 --> 0:08:56.360 the dependent children of seals and that was about fourteen 0:08:56.400 --> 0:08:59.880 thousand dollars a year that was being awarded at that time. 0:09:00.720 --> 0:09:03.000 And this was in two thousand when I started working 0:09:03.480 --> 0:09:06.000 with them. We had a donor come to us and say, hey, 0:09:06.040 --> 0:09:08.240 I want to give to the scholarship program. I want 0:09:08.240 --> 0:09:10.280 to get a hundred thousand dollars, but you have to 0:09:10.280 --> 0:09:12.640 be a five and one C three, which the association 0:09:12.800 --> 0:09:15.040 was not. It was a paternal order, so it fell 0:09:15.120 --> 0:09:17.440 unto a different tax code. And a hundred thousand dollars 0:09:17.480 --> 0:09:20.800 is a significant amount of money. And so we were like, absolutely, 0:09:20.920 --> 0:09:22.480 you know, we can do that. Let's form a five 0:09:22.480 --> 0:09:24.800 and one C three and we you know, the original 0:09:24.840 --> 0:09:27.240 thoughts were, we're going to expand our scholarship program. This 0:09:27.360 --> 0:09:31.000 is fabulous, and so we did that, got the great donation, 0:09:31.520 --> 0:09:34.080 and you know, fast forward just a little bit of 0:09:34.120 --> 0:09:37.640 time and we're at nine eleven and you know, obviously 0:09:37.679 --> 0:09:41.400 the world changed, and you know, my husband actually left 0:09:41.520 --> 0:09:45.000 in November of that same year, and we lost our 0:09:45.000 --> 0:09:47.800 first seal in Afghanistan in March two thousand two, and 0:09:47.840 --> 0:09:51.080 we lost our second seal also in March two thousand 0:09:51.080 --> 0:09:54.079 two in Afghanistan, and we kind of looked at each other. 0:09:54.440 --> 0:09:56.200 It was just a couple of us and we said, 0:09:56.240 --> 0:09:59.280 you know, things have changed. And the first deal we 0:09:59.320 --> 0:10:01.600 lost in Afghana stand with Neil Roberts, and he wrote 0:10:01.640 --> 0:10:04.440 an incredible letter for in his records. It was one 0:10:04.480 --> 0:10:07.120 of those you know, if you're reading this letter about 0:10:07.120 --> 0:10:10.400 how much he loved what he did and you know, 0:10:10.480 --> 0:10:12.720 died doing what he was supposed to be doing. And 0:10:13.360 --> 0:10:16.000 that got picked up by the press and we started 0:10:16.000 --> 0:10:19.240 receiving donations from that. People were just looking for a 0:10:19.280 --> 0:10:23.160 place to give and support his family, and we understood 0:10:23.160 --> 0:10:25.720 that we had a responsibility with these donations to do 0:10:25.840 --> 0:10:29.760 something for those families. And so over time, you know, 0:10:29.920 --> 0:10:32.560 just like what happened with Neil and the families and 0:10:32.559 --> 0:10:36.160 the community and the stresses and the operational tempo, the 0:10:36.200 --> 0:10:40.559 foundation just began to evolve and by creating great programs, 0:10:40.679 --> 0:10:43.079 you know, we've got more donations and we supported more 0:10:43.120 --> 0:10:46.120 families in a in a bigger, better way, which spawned, 0:10:46.240 --> 0:10:49.960 you know, more great programs and more great donations. You know. 0:10:50.040 --> 0:10:54.560 So it was really just this organic development um that 0:10:54.880 --> 0:10:58.040 ended up being this, this great organization that provides incredible 0:10:58.080 --> 0:11:00.880 support today. And uh, you know, the guys I was 0:11:01.000 --> 0:11:04.760 there when it started, I wouldn't say I was much 0:11:04.800 --> 0:11:08.760 more than that. The guys that started this were retired Seals. 0:11:09.360 --> 0:11:11.760 I don't think we have any of them still on 0:11:11.760 --> 0:11:15.880 our board today, but they're still always happy to attend 0:11:16.000 --> 0:11:19.280 things and active and talk very positively in support the 0:11:19.280 --> 0:11:23.280 foundation in big, big ways. It was. It was a 0:11:23.280 --> 0:11:25.080 great group of guys, and I was just lucky to 0:11:25.080 --> 0:11:27.000 be at the right place at the right time. Let's 0:11:27.040 --> 0:11:31.040 talk a little bit about your backgrounds in finance. You 0:11:31.080 --> 0:11:34.319 were both CFO and now you're CEO of the Seal Foundation. 0:11:34.880 --> 0:11:38.640 How did your prior career help you get ready for 0:11:38.679 --> 0:11:41.840 this role. Yeah, that's an interesting question that I don't 0:11:41.840 --> 0:11:45.040 think I've really had to think about before. You know, 0:11:45.160 --> 0:11:47.600 out of school, I went to work from McDonald Douglas, 0:11:47.640 --> 0:11:49.520 which is now part of Boeing, and I worked as 0:11:49.559 --> 0:11:54.240 a financial analyst on military special projects, and from there 0:11:54.320 --> 0:11:57.080 I ended up with the Walt Disney company working as 0:11:57.080 --> 0:12:00.720 an auditor for the Disney Channel back when the Disney 0:12:00.800 --> 0:12:03.480 Channel was a paid channel, before it became part of 0:12:03.559 --> 0:12:06.720 you know, Basic not Basic cable, but you know, more 0:12:06.760 --> 0:12:09.040 of a standard package. And I guess Disney now has 0:12:09.040 --> 0:12:11.600 its paid channel as well. You know. So there's a 0:12:11.600 --> 0:12:19.079 lot of my previous career history that focused on you know, planning, budgeting, 0:12:19.440 --> 0:12:23.280 paying attention to the details. And I remember when you know, 0:12:23.600 --> 0:12:26.719 people first started asking me there's the difference between for 0:12:26.920 --> 0:12:30.240 profit and nonprofit, and I remember thinking, I don't really 0:12:30.320 --> 0:12:32.240 view them all that differently, other than there are a 0:12:32.280 --> 0:12:35.720 few rules you have to follow for nonprofits. So I 0:12:35.760 --> 0:12:38.359 think I kind of came at the Navy Field Foundation 0:12:39.120 --> 0:12:43.720 with more of a for profit mindset, and I understood 0:12:43.760 --> 0:12:47.160 the importance, like you know, anybody would, the importance of 0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:52.360 really ensuring that the donors know how well we take 0:12:52.400 --> 0:12:55.200 care of their dollars and how much we try to 0:12:55.240 --> 0:12:58.400 squeeze out of every dollar, and that that needs to 0:12:58.440 --> 0:13:02.480 be transparent. They always need to be very comfortable that 0:13:02.559 --> 0:13:04.440 they are making the right decision. I mean, they're getting 0:13:04.480 --> 0:13:09.240 us a gift, right and we have to know what 0:13:09.240 --> 0:13:12.079 we're doing with it, why we're doing that, that our 0:13:12.120 --> 0:13:16.280 programs make sense, that they have a philosophy that aligns 0:13:16.360 --> 0:13:19.200 with our customer base, which is you know, naval special 0:13:19.240 --> 0:13:22.880 warfare and feel community. And I think we've we've done 0:13:22.880 --> 0:13:25.200 a really good job at that. You know, we we 0:13:25.280 --> 0:13:28.280 know exactly why we do everything we do, and that's 0:13:28.320 --> 0:13:30.080 really important. And you know, we sit around we have 0:13:30.120 --> 0:13:33.640 some pretty interesting conversations when we're making decisions about new 0:13:33.640 --> 0:13:37.520 programs or program growth or if you we scale something back. 0:13:38.480 --> 0:13:41.520 You know, we don't take any of that lightly. So 0:13:41.520 --> 0:13:44.560 so let's talk about both of those things that you mentioned, 0:13:44.600 --> 0:13:48.240 because it's really very very interesting. I want to get 0:13:48.280 --> 0:13:51.720 into some of the programs that you guys run a 0:13:51.760 --> 0:13:55.760 little later, but let's talk about the donor base. I 0:13:55.840 --> 0:13:59.040 understand you have a broad group of donors. Tell us 0:13:59.640 --> 0:14:02.720 what the range of people who give to the Navy 0:14:02.720 --> 0:14:06.720 Seal Foundation looks like. Who's the typical donor that you 0:14:06.800 --> 0:14:10.360 count on and obviously not by name, but what sort 0:14:10.360 --> 0:14:16.240 of person chooses the Navy Seal Foundation as their favorite charity. 0:14:17.120 --> 0:14:19.560 You know, we have such a broad base of donors, 0:14:19.640 --> 0:14:23.160 everybody from you know, members of the Seal community themselves, 0:14:23.240 --> 0:14:28.360 their friends, their families. We've developed great relationships with people 0:14:28.520 --> 0:14:31.680 and businesses and business leaders across the country, you know, 0:14:31.720 --> 0:14:35.200 and then we just have our you know, great American 0:14:35.240 --> 0:14:37.840 patriots who may not even know that much about the military, 0:14:37.920 --> 0:14:42.080 but are just you know, honored to support our military 0:14:42.080 --> 0:14:44.000 in some way. And you know, we're lucky enough that 0:14:44.080 --> 0:14:47.520 they've chosen the Navy Seal Foundation. You know, we've done 0:14:47.520 --> 0:14:51.760 a lot of work connecting with donors through you know, 0:14:51.920 --> 0:14:55.840 major events, um but we've continue to expand with partnerships 0:14:56.360 --> 0:14:59.080 with companies like you know, reebok is A is a 0:14:59.080 --> 0:15:03.880 great partner of and we try to incorporate you know, 0:15:03.920 --> 0:15:07.840 our donors and our partners into really connecting with this 0:15:07.920 --> 0:15:11.480 community and understanding, you know, what makes feels different and 0:15:11.520 --> 0:15:15.040 what makes feel special and why the needs exists. I mean, 0:15:15.080 --> 0:15:18.840 this is a very proud community who you know, you 0:15:18.880 --> 0:15:21.080 certainly aren't going to hear or say, you know, we 0:15:21.160 --> 0:15:24.680 need your help. And that's where the Foundation comes in, 0:15:25.080 --> 0:15:27.640 looking at you know what it is these families have 0:15:27.760 --> 0:15:30.480 to deal with and and discussing it with the donors 0:15:30.480 --> 0:15:35.360 who have always been just been so incredibly thoughtful and 0:15:35.640 --> 0:15:40.480 respectful of the privacy of this community, and you know 0:15:40.560 --> 0:15:42.760 what it is that they deal with on a daily basis. 0:15:43.200 --> 0:15:44.800 So you know, I don't know if I could say, 0:15:44.920 --> 0:15:48.120 you know, one type of donor because it really is 0:15:48.240 --> 0:15:51.280 incredibly varied. But I can tell you across the country 0:15:51.320 --> 0:15:54.320 where we've had, you know, major events, and we have 0:15:54.600 --> 0:16:00.600 just some really incredible major donors that have been so 0:16:00.960 --> 0:16:03.880 pleased with the Navy Steal Foundation and what we do 0:16:03.920 --> 0:16:06.520 that they leverage their networks. You know, they're connecting us 0:16:06.520 --> 0:16:09.520 with their friends, um, which says a lot, you know, 0:16:09.760 --> 0:16:13.560 to us, it says a lot because that's hard to do, right, 0:16:13.680 --> 0:16:15.880 you know, to go ask your friends to participate in 0:16:15.960 --> 0:16:18.320 something because you think it matters. You know, you're going 0:16:18.360 --> 0:16:20.840 to really believe in it if you're doing that. And 0:16:20.880 --> 0:16:24.480 we've been extremely lucky on the relationships we've built and 0:16:24.480 --> 0:16:26.800 how these people feel about the Navy Steal Foundation, and 0:16:26.840 --> 0:16:29.320 we just we hope we can continue to make them 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:32.160 feel a part of this team, because we do view 0:16:32.200 --> 0:16:35.880 it as a team. Every donor, every supporter, everybody who 0:16:35.880 --> 0:16:39.280 puts on a small race or you know, sells their 0:16:39.320 --> 0:16:42.080 own T shirts for us, or we've had kids who 0:16:42.160 --> 0:16:44.360 do lemonade stamps. Those are all part of this team. 0:16:44.360 --> 0:16:46.960 And every one of those dollars matters to us being 0:16:47.000 --> 0:16:50.400 able to provide incredible support to this community. So how 0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:54.000 do you balance the needs of the community that you're 0:16:54.080 --> 0:16:59.240 serving when there are obviously some very current short term needs, 0:16:59.280 --> 0:17:01.240 but on the same time, you have to think long 0:17:01.360 --> 0:17:05.040 term about the financial health of the organization and your 0:17:05.040 --> 0:17:08.959 mission is perpetual. How do you balance between what you 0:17:09.000 --> 0:17:11.720 want to do right now and what you want the 0:17:11.840 --> 0:17:17.840 organization to be able to do one, five, ten years out. Yeah, 0:17:17.880 --> 0:17:20.040 it is a balance, and we worked hard to support 0:17:20.560 --> 0:17:23.960 that immediate need, was always keeping an eye on that 0:17:24.600 --> 0:17:28.800 long term objective. You know, we have camps for these kids. 0:17:29.440 --> 0:17:30.920 We want the kids to go to camp this year, 0:17:30.960 --> 0:17:32.920 and we want ten years from now kids still go 0:17:33.000 --> 0:17:35.879 to camp. Right We can't look up and say, oh, sorry, 0:17:35.920 --> 0:17:38.680 we didn't plan well enough. So you know, your younger 0:17:38.760 --> 0:17:42.119 children don't get to go to camp. We really understand 0:17:42.160 --> 0:17:46.040 when we roll out new programs. Every time we do that, 0:17:46.560 --> 0:17:49.720 we make sure that it's going to be sustainable long term. 0:17:49.800 --> 0:17:52.840 So you know, every year we are budgeting and forecasting 0:17:52.880 --> 0:17:57.480 processes is really intensive. We work with the staff, we 0:17:57.560 --> 0:18:00.960 work with committees of the board. Uh, we leverage our 0:18:01.000 --> 0:18:04.159 board members and their expertise, and we bring forward what 0:18:04.160 --> 0:18:06.040 we think we want to spend the following year and 0:18:06.040 --> 0:18:10.160 what those programs entail. And you know, with that there's 0:18:10.160 --> 0:18:12.879 always a buffer. We like a buffered budget because we 0:18:12.920 --> 0:18:16.000 want to take that buffered money, assuming the day, you know, 0:18:16.040 --> 0:18:19.920 the year goes right, and put that towards our long 0:18:20.000 --> 0:18:22.199 term needs. You know. So over time, we've built up 0:18:22.240 --> 0:18:25.879 a reserve, you know, an emergency contingency reserve. We're working 0:18:25.920 --> 0:18:28.800 towards building an endowment, and all of those things help 0:18:28.880 --> 0:18:31.960 ensure that we're able to continue on and provide every 0:18:31.960 --> 0:18:35.280 program that we've promised well into the future. And with 0:18:35.400 --> 0:18:37.560 this virus right now, and you know, we're really stepping 0:18:37.560 --> 0:18:40.720 into the first layer of what catastrophe can be like 0:18:41.040 --> 0:18:43.439 and its catastrophes. You know, the wrong word here, but 0:18:43.840 --> 0:18:46.560 you know, how do you deal when your whole funders 0:18:46.560 --> 0:18:49.560 and dynamics had to change and you know what the 0:18:49.600 --> 0:18:51.200 impact is that going to be? Energy's still going to 0:18:51.280 --> 0:18:53.840 stain your programs and the Foundation hasn't misked the beat. 0:18:54.640 --> 0:18:57.200 And on top of that, we've helped support a couple 0:18:57.200 --> 0:19:01.640 of other foundations that have struggled in other ways, and 0:19:02.760 --> 0:19:05.240 they provide programs that we feel are important enough that 0:19:05.280 --> 0:19:07.040 we want to reach across and say, hey, we're gonna 0:19:07.040 --> 0:19:11.080 help you through this this rough period. So I'm really 0:19:11.119 --> 0:19:15.120 proud of how we have planned so that we are 0:19:15.200 --> 0:19:18.000 able to continue to Pride programs. I don't want to 0:19:18.040 --> 0:19:22.399 miss giving a mom of flowers on Memorial Day. I 0:19:22.400 --> 0:19:26.640 don't want to not recognize, you know, the birthday of 0:19:27.640 --> 0:19:32.359 a fallen you know, a warrior to his spouse. And 0:19:32.800 --> 0:19:34.720 you know, those things may seem little, but to be 0:19:34.760 --> 0:19:38.360 able to do everything that we've we've established that we're 0:19:38.359 --> 0:19:40.760 going to do and continue to do that, it's just 0:19:40.920 --> 0:19:44.040 hugely important to us. And I really am so proud 0:19:44.119 --> 0:19:47.280 of how we have planned long term. And you know, 0:19:47.359 --> 0:19:51.560 I think sometimes nonprofits get get dingmed for you know, 0:19:51.640 --> 0:19:53.679 you have money in the bank. We have money in 0:19:53.680 --> 0:19:55.919 the bank for a reason, and that is to sustain 0:19:55.960 --> 0:19:59.600 these programs forever, you know, and nobody is more important 0:19:59.600 --> 0:20:02.639 to us. And gold Star and Surviving Families are veterans, 0:20:02.960 --> 0:20:06.280 you know, these children who serve, you know, and they 0:20:06.320 --> 0:20:09.120 didn't choose to serve, and we need these programs for them. 0:20:09.160 --> 0:20:10.959 And you know, I think we're really really good at it. 0:20:11.359 --> 0:20:13.679 Let's talk a little bit Robin about some of the 0:20:13.760 --> 0:20:18.280 programs that the foundation runs. What do you do for 0:20:18.320 --> 0:20:22.119 the families of Navy seals in general, and what do 0:20:22.160 --> 0:20:26.119 you do, as you mentioned, for the families of fallen warriors. 0:20:28.119 --> 0:20:31.680 So the foundation operates under five main areas of support 0:20:32.400 --> 0:20:38.120 Warrior and family support, educational opportunities, tragedy assistance and survivor support, 0:20:38.520 --> 0:20:42.560 Warrior transition and veteran support. And then you know, we 0:20:42.600 --> 0:20:46.840 also have a legacy preservation area. You know, our goal 0:20:46.920 --> 0:20:51.159 Star families are surviving families are you know, have have 0:20:51.320 --> 0:20:55.520 been through the unimaginable and they are one of our 0:20:55.560 --> 0:20:58.520 first areas of expansion. And we've really learned over time 0:20:58.560 --> 0:21:02.199 by working with these incredible family members. You know, what 0:21:02.280 --> 0:21:05.680 their needs are. We support them with everything from all 0:21:05.720 --> 0:21:07.960 of that immediate tragedy assistance. You know, we really like 0:21:08.080 --> 0:21:11.359 to remove as much stress as we can in those 0:21:11.400 --> 0:21:14.399 early days, and that is you know, could be handling 0:21:14.440 --> 0:21:19.919 memorial reception items, it could be you know, ensuring that 0:21:20.000 --> 0:21:22.560 they are not worried about their mortgage. You know, we've 0:21:22.560 --> 0:21:25.680 seen people in the past make decisions too early on 0:21:25.720 --> 0:21:28.120 and a lot of our programs are designed to say, hey, 0:21:28.240 --> 0:21:30.880 right now, you can just breathe. You know, we've got you. 0:21:30.880 --> 0:21:33.120 You don't have to make a decision about if you're 0:21:33.119 --> 0:21:35.600 staying in that house, if you're moving back somewhere, so 0:21:35.840 --> 0:21:39.359 we're gonna pay your mortgage for a while, and you 0:21:39.480 --> 0:21:42.600 cannot think about that because so many times we hear 0:21:42.640 --> 0:21:44.320 from these families that you know, they were in a 0:21:44.359 --> 0:21:46.840 fog for so long and it's really not the best 0:21:46.840 --> 0:21:50.399 time to make decisions. You know, we have Discovery grants 0:21:50.400 --> 0:21:53.240 for their gold Star and Surviving children, and these grants 0:21:53.280 --> 0:21:57.200 are designed so that the kids can pursue something maybe 0:21:57.240 --> 0:21:59.159 that was unique to them and their dad. You know, 0:21:59.200 --> 0:22:01.639 maybe their dad was into music and he was sharing 0:22:01.640 --> 0:22:04.560 that with his son or daughter and that's not an 0:22:04.600 --> 0:22:08.879 area that mom maybe is proficient in. So if they 0:22:08.880 --> 0:22:10.440 want to go pursue that, we want them to be 0:22:10.520 --> 0:22:15.760 able to do those things. Grief counseling, financial counseling, tax preparation, 0:22:16.800 --> 0:22:19.800 resiliency gatherings. You know, what we've learned over these last 0:22:19.880 --> 0:22:23.440 twenty years is that what these families do for each 0:22:23.440 --> 0:22:27.040 other is more than anybody can do for them. You know, 0:22:27.080 --> 0:22:29.560 when you bring them together and they lean on each 0:22:29.560 --> 0:22:35.520 other and they share what they've been through and you 0:22:35.560 --> 0:22:39.439 can see how the spouses who have been um survivors 0:22:39.440 --> 0:22:42.080 for a good number of years, you know, how they 0:22:42.119 --> 0:22:46.760 help these newer spouses and it's really incredible to watch 0:22:46.960 --> 0:22:48.480 and to to just be a part of it. A 0:22:48.520 --> 0:22:49.960 lot of times we just kind of back up and 0:22:50.040 --> 0:22:55.760 let them do their do their thing. You know, go ahead. 0:22:55.800 --> 0:22:58.720 I'm sorry to interrupt now, just you know, it goes 0:22:58.760 --> 0:23:01.040 on and on. I mean, we really just try to 0:23:01.040 --> 0:23:02.840 listen to them, and we've learned over the years. We 0:23:02.880 --> 0:23:06.760 have about twelve unique programs for just our goal storre 0:23:06.760 --> 0:23:10.760 and sprouting spouses and families. So so you kind of 0:23:10.800 --> 0:23:13.000 put an idea in my head that I was trying 0:23:13.080 --> 0:23:18.919 to reconcile, and you just touched on it. The concept 0:23:19.200 --> 0:23:24.000 that having a spouse that is a warrior forces you 0:23:24.040 --> 0:23:28.520 to be independent, but at the same time becomes part 0:23:28.560 --> 0:23:31.360 of a larger community. And it it's a little bit 0:23:31.400 --> 0:23:36.320 of Yin and yang tell us about how those two 0:23:36.560 --> 0:23:40.200 work together, how you're both part of a larger community 0:23:40.600 --> 0:23:47.720 but at the same time forced to become resilient and independent. Yeah, 0:23:47.960 --> 0:23:52.280 you know, the Stale Foundation creates programs that bring people 0:23:52.320 --> 0:23:54.040 together as part of a community, and we work with 0:23:54.160 --> 0:23:56.879 Naval Special Warfare and they've got some incredible staff members 0:23:56.920 --> 0:23:59.520 who who focus on the same thing. We always want 0:23:59.520 --> 0:24:01.440 people to know that they are part of a community. 0:24:01.800 --> 0:24:04.560 There are people that you can call. Um. You know, 0:24:04.760 --> 0:24:07.720 back years and years ago, everybody leaned on their neighbors, 0:24:07.800 --> 0:24:11.240 right everybody the neighborhoods were tight, or you were close 0:24:11.320 --> 0:24:13.600 to your family. Well, you know, you've been removed from 0:24:13.600 --> 0:24:16.159 your family. You may have been placed into a neighborhood 0:24:16.160 --> 0:24:19.520 where you don't know anybody, and that takes time. So 0:24:19.600 --> 0:24:22.800 there are a lot of great programs within the Foundation 0:24:22.840 --> 0:24:27.800 and within Naval Special For itself to bring these spouses 0:24:27.840 --> 0:24:31.400 together and bring kids together and help them create this community. 0:24:32.600 --> 0:24:36.719 But you do have to learn as well, um you know, 0:24:36.760 --> 0:24:38.679 how to how to do some of these things on 0:24:38.720 --> 0:24:42.119 your own. I mean it's inevitable, uh, the moment your 0:24:42.200 --> 0:24:45.080 husband walks out the door, the car breaks down, or 0:24:45.080 --> 0:24:48.200 the washing machine you know, floods the whole kitchen, or 0:24:48.600 --> 0:24:50.840 you have a hurricane because they always take them out 0:24:50.920 --> 0:24:53.800 during hurricanes and it's like, hey, honey, I'm I'm leaving 0:24:53.840 --> 0:24:56.840 you and your home with you know, toddlers and a 0:24:56.920 --> 0:25:00.679 hurricane bearing down on you in Virginia Beach and um, 0:25:00.720 --> 0:25:03.040 you know, it's it's really fascinating what you have to 0:25:03.040 --> 0:25:05.919 to learn to deal with. And I think through that 0:25:06.000 --> 0:25:10.920 community connection and the sharing of stories and and everybody's 0:25:10.920 --> 0:25:14.399 sitting around laughing about the time that this broke and 0:25:14.480 --> 0:25:18.280 this flooded and how you dealt with it, and you know, 0:25:18.440 --> 0:25:26.480 traumas and tragedies, you really understand what what you're capable of, 0:25:26.800 --> 0:25:30.280 and what you know everybody in this community is capable of, 0:25:30.359 --> 0:25:32.639 and who you can lean on. But you know, you 0:25:32.680 --> 0:25:36.200 really have to get used to, you know, your own 0:25:37.240 --> 0:25:39.919 I don't know triggers. I guess you know, when my 0:25:40.000 --> 0:25:41.800 kids were little and my husband was deployed, there were 0:25:41.800 --> 0:25:43.359 times when I would look around the house and like, 0:25:43.400 --> 0:25:45.480 I'm just not going to do that today. I'm just 0:25:45.520 --> 0:25:48.120 not going to clean that stuff today because I feel 0:25:48.119 --> 0:25:51.359 like I'm kind of at my at my tipping point 0:25:51.600 --> 0:25:54.280 on this day. It'll still be there tomorrow, It'll still 0:25:54.320 --> 0:25:56.200 be fine tomorrow. The car that broke down in the 0:25:56.280 --> 0:25:58.960 driveway will still be there tomorrow. I can handle it 0:25:59.000 --> 0:26:01.480 when I can mentally hand And sometimes you let that 0:26:01.480 --> 0:26:04.600 car set there for two weeks until you felt, you know, 0:26:04.720 --> 0:26:07.600 strong enough again. To handle it because you no longer 0:26:07.640 --> 0:26:11.719 have the sick child and you know the the toilet 0:26:11.720 --> 0:26:15.159 that's backing up in your first floor. I swear we 0:26:15.160 --> 0:26:18.960 should write a book of spouses stories when your when 0:26:18.960 --> 0:26:22.840 your husband leaves, because it is like clockwork that the 0:26:22.920 --> 0:26:25.600 worst things that ever happened happened. They're never home for 0:26:25.600 --> 0:26:28.680 potty training, they're never home for you know, that hurricane. 0:26:29.359 --> 0:26:32.360 It's it's pretty funny, but it's like a badge of honor, 0:26:32.520 --> 0:26:34.280 you know, when you talk to these spouses and what 0:26:34.320 --> 0:26:38.320 they've done, Um, it's pretty incredible. And I think we 0:26:38.359 --> 0:26:40.680 do a really good job of of leaning on each 0:26:40.680 --> 0:26:43.320 other and still standing on our own. So let me 0:26:43.359 --> 0:26:46.919 ask you this, because you're you're alluding to something but 0:26:47.080 --> 0:26:49.400 not coming right out and saying it. And I've been 0:26:49.440 --> 0:26:53.919 thinking about it while I hear you speak. The spouse deploys, 0:26:54.200 --> 0:26:58.560 they're obviously going in harm's way dangerous situations. Hey, if 0:26:58.560 --> 0:27:02.760 they could just send in a regular group of either 0:27:02.840 --> 0:27:04.879 police or military to deal with it, it would have 0:27:04.880 --> 0:27:08.640 been done that way. So these are not only special missions, 0:27:08.640 --> 0:27:14.639 but unusually dangerous missions. How do you manage the stress 0:27:14.760 --> 0:27:18.760 of knowing the risk that your spouses is going through 0:27:18.800 --> 0:27:22.639 and knowing that there's a possibility that there could be 0:27:22.680 --> 0:27:28.040 a bad outcome. Well, for me, it was always you know, 0:27:28.200 --> 0:27:30.880 there with the best of the best. You know, they 0:27:31.040 --> 0:27:34.080 love the guys they work with, They have you know, 0:27:34.240 --> 0:27:39.040 incredible trust for everybody that just pours out of them, 0:27:39.040 --> 0:27:41.240 and that gives me a lot of comfort. Always gave 0:27:41.280 --> 0:27:44.520 me a lot of comfort knowing that everybody that my 0:27:44.600 --> 0:27:48.439 husband was working with is doing everything they can in 0:27:48.440 --> 0:27:50.480 the situation to ensure that they're all are going to 0:27:50.560 --> 0:27:53.600 come home and they're going to accomplish our mission. You 0:27:53.720 --> 0:27:56.760 just can't sit around and focus on it. You know, 0:27:57.560 --> 0:27:59.640 there are no better trained guys in the world, and 0:28:00.160 --> 0:28:03.200 you assume it's all gonna come out just fine. Most 0:28:03.280 --> 0:28:07.360 time it does. We've had we've suffered some some big losses, 0:28:07.880 --> 0:28:11.720 some you know, mass casualties that were incredibly hard on 0:28:11.760 --> 0:28:16.280 this community, and you know, unfortunately those are going to happen. 0:28:16.800 --> 0:28:21.080 Those one off, lucky or unlucky shots, I guess you know, 0:28:22.040 --> 0:28:24.960 are going to happen. You just can't live in that space. 0:28:25.600 --> 0:28:27.399 You have to assume that they've got their back. And 0:28:27.760 --> 0:28:29.840 when my husband talked about it and any of these 0:28:29.840 --> 0:28:32.200 guys that I talked to about it. You know, they 0:28:32.240 --> 0:28:35.040 just look so confident, they feel so confident that they 0:28:35.200 --> 0:28:39.080 just it creeps into everything else and you feel it too. 0:28:39.880 --> 0:28:45.360 Let's talk about that issue. Many public institutions have been 0:28:45.440 --> 0:28:50.680 falling in approval ratings, whether you're talking about Congress or 0:28:50.720 --> 0:28:53.640 the police or all these different institutions have seen their 0:28:53.640 --> 0:28:58.480 reputations dinged, and yet the military is the one exception 0:28:58.520 --> 0:29:03.479 to that still ranked amongst the most trustworthy and highest 0:29:03.520 --> 0:29:07.560 approval ratings from the public. Why do you think that 0:29:07.640 --> 0:29:12.760 might be? You know, that's a tough thing to answer. Um. 0:29:12.800 --> 0:29:16.760 You know, I certainly don't have an unbiased view on this, 0:29:16.960 --> 0:29:21.640 being someone who works for a nonprofit that supports them 0:29:21.680 --> 0:29:25.600 and being a spouse the military. I just think that 0:29:25.680 --> 0:29:29.000 connection between the military and the American people is so 0:29:29.080 --> 0:29:31.080 incredibly strong, and it goes back to the beginning of 0:29:31.080 --> 0:29:37.680 our roots. They feel that the military is, you know, 0:29:37.800 --> 0:29:40.960 doing this for them. I mean they ask we all 0:29:41.000 --> 0:29:43.600 ask these guys to go out and do this hard job, 0:29:43.800 --> 0:29:46.280 and we ask them over and over and over again, 0:29:46.440 --> 0:29:49.000 and they keep going, and they keep going out there, 0:29:49.000 --> 0:29:53.040 and they keep fighting for us every time without hesitation. 0:29:53.600 --> 0:29:55.720 You don't really hear that from many other people, right, 0:29:56.600 --> 0:29:59.840 and they're proud to do it. I mean, I remember 0:30:00.520 --> 0:30:04.760 sitting with my daughters watching the Olympics and the year 0:30:04.880 --> 0:30:08.480 that the first Afghanistan woman was running, and we sat 0:30:08.520 --> 0:30:12.720 there and talked about how she was running in the 0:30:12.720 --> 0:30:15.920 Olympics because of what these guys did. You know, we 0:30:15.920 --> 0:30:18.520 didn't go over there for that purpose. You know, we 0:30:18.560 --> 0:30:22.640 went there after nine eleven, but the results for that country, 0:30:23.040 --> 0:30:25.560 at least for a time being, we're pretty incredible. And 0:30:25.680 --> 0:30:27.880 you know, women getting to go to school and being 0:30:27.880 --> 0:30:29.600 in the Olympics and that kind of thing. I mean, 0:30:29.600 --> 0:30:33.240 those stories and the pride that you know, America has 0:30:33.520 --> 0:30:36.280 in the difference we've made in the world, I think 0:30:36.400 --> 0:30:42.200 is um incredible. And I think just Americans are proud 0:30:42.240 --> 0:30:44.080 of what these guys do, and they do it for 0:30:44.120 --> 0:30:46.120 the right reasons. Now they do it for all of 0:30:46.200 --> 0:30:50.720 us that we're safe here at home. Quite quite interesting. So, 0:30:50.720 --> 0:30:53.800 so it wasn't always the case that there was strong 0:30:53.880 --> 0:30:59.280 support for either military action, and that very much translated 0:30:59.320 --> 0:31:03.040 into allow to support for the military in the sixties 0:31:03.040 --> 0:31:07.280 and Vietnam era. Things have obviously changed and now people 0:31:07.280 --> 0:31:10.600 are much more comfortable saying thank you for your service. 0:31:11.480 --> 0:31:15.280 What else should the public be thinking about as a 0:31:15.280 --> 0:31:17.920 way to support the military, and and what should the 0:31:17.960 --> 0:31:24.000 military as a service be doing to continue earning their support. Yeah, 0:31:24.040 --> 0:31:25.880 you know, I think the American public is doing a 0:31:25.960 --> 0:31:28.440 great job from what I see in terms of thinking 0:31:28.480 --> 0:31:32.520 our our service members. You know, corporations, businesses all over 0:31:32.520 --> 0:31:38.400 the country and just individuals make it a point to recognize, 0:31:39.080 --> 0:31:41.280 you know, the sacrifices of these men and these families, 0:31:41.320 --> 0:31:44.240 and that goes a long way. You know, our team 0:31:44.280 --> 0:31:46.160 guys tend to get embarrassed by it, and I hear 0:31:46.200 --> 0:31:47.760 a lot of them like, oh gosh, don't thank me. 0:31:48.280 --> 0:31:50.920 They love what they do, so you know, it's always 0:31:50.960 --> 0:31:53.920 a little awkward for them. And as far as what 0:31:54.000 --> 0:31:56.000 the military can continue to do, I think that's just 0:31:56.200 --> 0:31:58.080 keep doing your job and doing it well, and doing 0:31:58.080 --> 0:32:00.680 it for the right reasons. You know, honor your ethos, 0:32:01.720 --> 0:32:06.000 you know, respect your command, and do do the right 0:32:06.040 --> 0:32:07.920 thing for the right reasons. I mean, they get put 0:32:07.960 --> 0:32:11.120 in a lot of situations that are tough, and you know, 0:32:12.000 --> 0:32:14.880 respect your training and and follow what you're supposed to do, 0:32:14.920 --> 0:32:19.760 and take good care of everybody with you, and pay 0:32:19.800 --> 0:32:22.960 a lot of attention to you know the countries that 0:32:23.000 --> 0:32:26.440 you're in and be respectful of those, and I think 0:32:26.440 --> 0:32:28.280 they'll continue to do an amazing job for all of 0:32:28.320 --> 0:32:31.000 us and will continue to be very proud to be 0:32:31.080 --> 0:32:34.360 associated with the American military. So one of the things 0:32:34.520 --> 0:32:38.160 I've heard vets complain about is um and this is 0:32:38.200 --> 0:32:40.920 not a recent thing. This goes back decades and decades 0:32:41.200 --> 0:32:45.200 veterans administration and the sort of medical care that's available. 0:32:45.840 --> 0:32:48.120 On the one hand, a lot of it is cutting 0:32:48.240 --> 0:32:50.800 edge and as good as it gets anywhere in the world. 0:32:51.400 --> 0:32:54.720 On the other hand, the bureaucracy can be very problematic 0:32:55.280 --> 0:32:58.600 for run of the mill ordinary medical needs that people 0:32:58.680 --> 0:33:02.000 have as as a result of their their service, especially 0:33:02.040 --> 0:33:05.480 if they've been in overseas engagements and wars and what 0:33:05.560 --> 0:33:08.680 have you. What can we as a country due to 0:33:08.680 --> 0:33:12.320 to make sure we're providing all of the adequate care 0:33:12.360 --> 0:33:16.160 and support for our veterans when they return from from 0:33:16.240 --> 0:33:20.400 military service. Yeah, I mean, you're absolutely right. There's some 0:33:20.440 --> 0:33:22.600 incredible work coming out of the v A and they have, 0:33:23.400 --> 0:33:26.040 you know, some of the best doctors and surgeons and 0:33:26.080 --> 0:33:29.920 mental health professionals that exist anywhere. And you know, we 0:33:29.960 --> 0:33:34.440 are lucky to be associated with some some great people 0:33:34.520 --> 0:33:38.080 at the v A and our community, you know, hopefully 0:33:38.800 --> 0:33:42.360 through groups like the Navy Steal Foundation and others, has 0:33:42.400 --> 0:33:44.320 the ability to get to care they need. I think 0:33:44.360 --> 0:33:48.760 we need to not work around the v A. You know, 0:33:48.880 --> 0:33:51.600 I think they, like you said, they have incredible programs. 0:33:52.320 --> 0:33:54.360 We need to work through them. We've got to demand 0:33:54.400 --> 0:33:58.400 that they get staffed the way they should be. And 0:33:58.440 --> 0:34:01.560 I think every time we let them um, every time 0:34:01.600 --> 0:34:06.440 we just go around them through a different solution set, 0:34:07.120 --> 0:34:11.640 we're not forcing the government and the v A to 0:34:11.719 --> 0:34:14.240 do what it needs to be doing and to fulfill 0:34:14.280 --> 0:34:16.960 its promises. So you know, I'm a I'm a fan 0:34:17.040 --> 0:34:19.440 of putting pressure on and work in the system as 0:34:19.480 --> 0:34:23.080 hard as we absolutely can to help it correct itself 0:34:23.120 --> 0:34:27.480 and to you know, leverage Congressman or whoever. We need 0:34:27.520 --> 0:34:30.000 to shake some of this stuff out of the system. 0:34:30.000 --> 0:34:32.520 I mean, some great things have come about in terms 0:34:32.560 --> 0:34:34.480 of if you're not close enough, you're allowed to go 0:34:34.560 --> 0:34:37.720 outside the system. You know, those things didn't used to exist. 0:34:38.239 --> 0:34:41.720 But it's really disheartening when you hear a VA hospital 0:34:41.719 --> 0:34:44.360 in one particular location in the country is you know, 0:34:44.680 --> 0:34:47.600 so inferior to you know, some of the others. You know, 0:34:47.640 --> 0:34:51.720 that's heartbreaking to think about someone not getting the proper 0:34:51.800 --> 0:34:55.319 care they need and in a timely way. I think 0:34:55.360 --> 0:34:57.080 it's something we should continue to pay attention to and 0:34:57.400 --> 0:35:01.759 really put the pressure on and use three resource we 0:35:01.840 --> 0:35:05.719 can to shake out those problems and push people through 0:35:05.800 --> 0:35:10.920 a faster rate. So so I'm veering close with that 0:35:11.040 --> 0:35:15.320 question too. The world of politics and the political process. 0:35:15.440 --> 0:35:18.440 You're a five oh one three C I believe, so 0:35:18.560 --> 0:35:20.600 you're that's kind of off limits. So I'm trying to 0:35:20.640 --> 0:35:23.880 find a way to ask a broader question, which is 0:35:23.920 --> 0:35:27.640 really so we're in a very divisive age. Politics is 0:35:27.800 --> 0:35:31.520 off limits for you. But obviously everything that's been going 0:35:31.560 --> 0:35:35.160 on both with the military and a number of generals, 0:35:35.520 --> 0:35:39.200 how does your organization deal with that? How do you 0:35:39.360 --> 0:35:45.640 sidestep questions that often are on everybody's lips. Well, you know, honestly, 0:35:45.640 --> 0:35:47.040 we don't get to ask a lot of those questions, 0:35:47.040 --> 0:35:48.960 and because people know who we support and why we 0:35:49.000 --> 0:35:53.280 support them, and you know, we support of Naval Special 0:35:53.320 --> 0:35:56.759 Warfare community, which is our seals are Swick, which your 0:35:56.800 --> 0:36:02.000 special workfare, combating craft crewmen, all of the supporting people 0:36:02.040 --> 0:36:04.719 that go with Naples Special Warfare you know, and our 0:36:04.840 --> 0:36:10.680 stealing switch veterans, So we're not having to make any 0:36:10.719 --> 0:36:13.319 decisions based on anything that's going on in the news 0:36:13.480 --> 0:36:16.600 right now because we know who we support and if 0:36:16.640 --> 0:36:18.680 your part of Naples Special Warfare, you're part of the 0:36:18.760 --> 0:36:20.680 Navy Seal Foundation. If you're stealer swie, you're part of 0:36:20.680 --> 0:36:23.440 the Navy Seal Foundation. So our lines are very clean. 0:36:23.560 --> 0:36:26.520 It makes it very easy, but it's it's tough right now, 0:36:26.640 --> 0:36:29.400 and you know, a lot of groupure are struggling, and 0:36:30.680 --> 0:36:33.359 I just hope that you know, we see the light soon. 0:36:33.440 --> 0:36:34.960 I think there's a lot of things that are are 0:36:35.440 --> 0:36:38.160 a lot of goods happening as well, and we just 0:36:38.200 --> 0:36:40.480 need to focus on that and we're gonna keep doing 0:36:40.480 --> 0:36:42.080 what we're doing it as the Navy steal Foundation and 0:36:42.080 --> 0:36:45.920 supporting these families to the best of our ability. So 0:36:45.920 --> 0:36:48.520 so let's stick with that topic then, because it's easier 0:36:48.560 --> 0:36:52.279 to come head on with that given all the programs 0:36:52.320 --> 0:36:56.279 that you folks run. What is the bigger restraint? Is 0:36:56.320 --> 0:37:00.960 it your capital limitations or is it the number of uh, 0:37:01.040 --> 0:37:04.480 let's just call it worthy targets that you can potentially assist. 0:37:04.960 --> 0:37:08.920 What what are the constraints you're dealing with. So by 0:37:08.920 --> 0:37:14.000 worthy targets you mean like, uh, constituents, people we helped. Yes, 0:37:15.680 --> 0:37:19.120 you know, I don't. I don't feel constrained by either. 0:37:20.320 --> 0:37:24.040 If our program growth, it's happening because we're reaching more people, 0:37:24.080 --> 0:37:28.400 that's fabulous. We've built up reserves, contingency reserves to be 0:37:28.440 --> 0:37:30.400 able to handle that growth. If if something were to 0:37:30.440 --> 0:37:33.080 sneak up on us, if we you know, tapped into 0:37:33.280 --> 0:37:37.640 a pocket of veterans that we hadn't reached previously, that's 0:37:37.640 --> 0:37:40.239 a great thing for us, right And we do over 0:37:40.360 --> 0:37:45.759 in a constant effort to expand our veteran outreach. Our 0:37:45.800 --> 0:37:48.759 planning and budgeting and such, our program development is such 0:37:48.840 --> 0:37:52.560 that we just haven't been a position to where we 0:37:52.560 --> 0:37:56.640 we've felt constraint by money. We're not avoiding a program, 0:37:56.680 --> 0:38:00.640 We're not not launching a program because of reach worst issues. 0:38:01.160 --> 0:38:03.320 You know. We really feel like we've developed a robust 0:38:03.320 --> 0:38:07.359 set of programs and identifying a gap is really hard, um, 0:38:07.400 --> 0:38:09.840 which is a great thing, right um. And there are 0:38:09.880 --> 0:38:12.719 also a lot of other organizations that do things and 0:38:12.719 --> 0:38:15.239 and the found Navy Still Foundation has been focused on 0:38:16.040 --> 0:38:19.959 not duplicating effort. If you know, some of our great 0:38:20.000 --> 0:38:24.399 partner organizations, you know, have narrower missions and they're very 0:38:24.400 --> 0:38:26.600 good at what they do. We're gonna let them do 0:38:26.680 --> 0:38:28.799 what they do. We don't need to come take that over. 0:38:29.120 --> 0:38:31.040 We want to support that, we want to respect that. 0:38:31.600 --> 0:38:34.960 And so that's developed, you know, clean lines for us 0:38:35.239 --> 0:38:40.560 to continue our program growth and development in the areas 0:38:40.600 --> 0:38:45.319 that we've chosen. So luckily we don't feel constrained at all. 0:38:46.440 --> 0:38:49.120 And who are some of these other organizations that you 0:38:49.200 --> 0:38:53.640 work with? Is there an organization for Army Rangers or 0:38:53.719 --> 0:38:57.280 marines or anything like that that performs a similar function. 0:38:57.719 --> 0:39:01.600 Who else do you work with? Yeah? Absolutely, you know 0:39:01.680 --> 0:39:05.319 there's there are foundations for you know, all usoff and 0:39:05.480 --> 0:39:08.000 that's fabulous that they get that unique support. I mean, 0:39:08.040 --> 0:39:11.600 Green Berets, Army Rangers, Marine Raiders. You know. One of 0:39:11.640 --> 0:39:15.120 the organizations organizations that we have worked closely with since 0:39:15.160 --> 0:39:18.840 the beginning of our development is the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, 0:39:19.400 --> 0:39:23.239 which supports all SAW, all Special Operations Forces, Goal Star 0:39:23.280 --> 0:39:26.200 and surviving families. And you know, they were kind of 0:39:26.200 --> 0:39:28.040 a big brother to us when we were getting started 0:39:28.080 --> 0:39:32.040 and helped us navigate in the nonprofit world. And you know, 0:39:32.080 --> 0:39:34.600 we work closely with them still today and they're they're 0:39:34.640 --> 0:39:38.680 a great group and they provide scholarships and educational benefits 0:39:38.840 --> 0:39:42.080 to our Goal Star children and spouses. So that's the 0:39:42.120 --> 0:39:46.120 area that we don't do. We are there in case 0:39:46.160 --> 0:39:49.759 there's a gap, you know, if a child has exhausted 0:39:50.200 --> 0:39:52.000 you know, all of their the resources, or if they're 0:39:52.000 --> 0:39:54.200 doing a specialized program that may not fall under a 0:39:54.200 --> 0:39:57.560 different organization's umbrella, then we're there to pick that up 0:39:57.560 --> 0:40:01.239 for Navals Special Warfare families. But you know, a lot 0:40:01.239 --> 0:40:04.000 of these organizations work well together. We've worked with a 0:40:04.080 --> 0:40:09.239 Third Option Foundation which supports our State Department people and 0:40:09.280 --> 0:40:11.279 some of those guys left the seal community, you know, 0:40:11.320 --> 0:40:12.880 retired from the seal community and go work for the 0:40:12.880 --> 0:40:16.279 State Department. So we always work close down the crossover 0:40:16.320 --> 0:40:18.120 if we lose you know, one of those guys in 0:40:18.160 --> 0:40:21.200 a diplomatic mission. A lot of great organizations out there, 0:40:21.239 --> 0:40:25.320 and um, I think Natal Special Warfare is really lucky 0:40:25.880 --> 0:40:27.799 and all of thoft is really lucky to have these 0:40:27.880 --> 0:40:31.359 organizations that work well together and learn from each other. 0:40:31.560 --> 0:40:35.520 And we're always happy to work with any other organization 0:40:35.640 --> 0:40:38.399 to ensure that they have you know, all the great 0:40:38.440 --> 0:40:40.640 knowledge base that we've do all over these twenty years. 0:40:41.440 --> 0:40:43.440 And if people want to reach out to the Navy 0:40:43.480 --> 0:40:46.880 Seal Foundation, either for more information or to make a donation, 0:40:47.520 --> 0:40:51.160 where's the best place to do that. Yeah. Absolutely. Our 0:40:51.200 --> 0:40:55.239 website is Navy Seal Foundation dot org, all spelled out. 0:40:56.080 --> 0:40:59.160 People can always email me. My email is r K 0:40:59.400 --> 0:41:02.960 I n G for Robin King at Navy feel Foundation 0:41:03.160 --> 0:41:06.279 dot org. And you know their phone numbers on the 0:41:06.280 --> 0:41:12.120 website as well, So we welcome at all fantastic Robin. 0:41:12.200 --> 0:41:14.200 What are you streaming these days? Tell us what you're 0:41:14.200 --> 0:41:17.000 watching on Netflix or if you're listening to any podcast. 0:41:17.080 --> 0:41:22.080 What what are you doing to stay entertained during lockdown? Well? 0:41:22.120 --> 0:41:24.399 I just been used watching a great Netflix documentary, How 0:41:24.440 --> 0:41:28.560 to Fix a Drug Scandal? Really interesting. I am kind 0:41:28.560 --> 0:41:30.960 of obsessed right now with the criminal justice system. So 0:41:30.960 --> 0:41:34.800 there's a podcast third season serial on the Ohio criminal 0:41:34.880 --> 0:41:39.040 justice system that I found just unbelievable. Um, learned a 0:41:39.080 --> 0:41:41.320 lot of great stuff there. And then my guilty pleasure 0:41:41.440 --> 0:41:44.600 is Billions. I've been watching Billions and enjoy the heck 0:41:44.600 --> 0:41:47.640 out of that show. Yeah, that is a fun one. 0:41:48.040 --> 0:41:51.080 Tell us a little bit about who your mentors were 0:41:51.200 --> 0:41:55.000 who helped shape your career, both in the world of 0:41:55.080 --> 0:42:00.320 finance and on the foundation side. Yeah. Well, I I 0:42:00.360 --> 0:42:02.400 grew up in a house where my dad ran his 0:42:02.440 --> 0:42:04.600 own business, and my mom and dad worked together together 0:42:04.640 --> 0:42:07.400 for years, so I learned a lot about running an 0:42:07.440 --> 0:42:11.879 organization by talking to him. He was incredible. I've had 0:42:11.880 --> 0:42:16.160 some great board members who really helped me understand how 0:42:16.200 --> 0:42:19.200 to do this job. Well. I wouldn't be where I 0:42:19.280 --> 0:42:21.520 was without their advice. I don't know if you want 0:42:21.600 --> 0:42:28.080 names or not, but yeah, my first vice chairman was d. J. Haley. 0:42:28.440 --> 0:42:30.520 He works in New York, is an incredible guy and 0:42:30.800 --> 0:42:33.840 always easy to talk to. And then M. Jack Daley 0:42:34.239 --> 0:42:38.920 another board member who um is incredibly successful himself and 0:42:39.000 --> 0:42:42.759 always willing to share, you know, his wisdom. And you know, 0:42:43.440 --> 0:42:45.360 both these guys would have the hard talk with you 0:42:45.440 --> 0:42:47.319 and the great talk with you, and I think that's 0:42:47.360 --> 0:42:51.320 really important. Quite interesting. What are you reading these days? 0:42:51.360 --> 0:42:54.040 Tell us some of your favorite books and what is 0:42:54.120 --> 0:42:57.399 keeping you, uh, your mind occupied? Yeah, right now I'm 0:42:57.400 --> 0:43:00.760 reading The Right of a Lifetime by Bob I. Disney. 0:43:00.880 --> 0:43:02.840 You know I worked for for a while, so I 0:43:02.920 --> 0:43:05.440 find that really interesting. He also was an honorary or 0:43:05.520 --> 0:43:07.439 l a Gal a couple of years back, so it's 0:43:07.480 --> 0:43:10.120 kind of fun. An interesting book called A Woman of 0:43:10.120 --> 0:43:13.160 No Importance by Sonya Purnell. It's it's a biography of 0:43:13.200 --> 0:43:15.279 a woman named Virginia Hall, who was an American spy 0:43:15.360 --> 0:43:17.640 and War War two story. I didn't know, and I'm 0:43:17.680 --> 0:43:21.400 really enjoying that. I'd setose that to anybody who's into history. 0:43:21.440 --> 0:43:24.279 I enjoy history. I wouldn't say I'm history buff, but 0:43:24.640 --> 0:43:29.680 I really like historical biographies quite interesting. What what sort 0:43:29.680 --> 0:43:33.399 of advice might you give a recent college graduate who 0:43:33.520 --> 0:43:38.840 was thinking about a career, either on the charity public 0:43:38.920 --> 0:43:43.640 service side or in the military. I think, you know, 0:43:43.719 --> 0:43:45.520 you gotta understand why you want to do it. You know, 0:43:45.640 --> 0:43:47.440 if you think you want to join the military to 0:43:48.040 --> 0:43:50.280 you know, go shoot back guys, that's not the right reason. 0:43:50.760 --> 0:43:53.239 You know, You've got to understand that there's so much 0:43:53.239 --> 0:43:56.440 more to it. You know, it's it's a calling. It 0:43:56.520 --> 0:43:58.480 has to be something that comes from your heart. A 0:43:58.520 --> 0:44:00.279 lot of people can do the physical part and really 0:44:00.360 --> 0:44:04.200 thinking about seals, but it's what's between your ears and 0:44:04.239 --> 0:44:05.759 what's in your heart that are going to make you 0:44:05.880 --> 0:44:09.120 successful in the military when it comes to nonprofits kind 0:44:09.160 --> 0:44:10.520 of the same thing. You know, why do you want 0:44:10.520 --> 0:44:12.839 to do this? There are sacrifices that go with being 0:44:12.920 --> 0:44:17.080 in a nonprofit and they worked for me. You know, 0:44:17.200 --> 0:44:19.120 I have an incredible staff. Every one of them could 0:44:19.120 --> 0:44:22.640 be working somewhere else, probably making a good amount more money, 0:44:22.680 --> 0:44:24.440 but they love what they do and they want to 0:44:24.480 --> 0:44:26.880 be part of this organization. But you've you've got to 0:44:26.920 --> 0:44:29.719 find that right fit. And I think college students today 0:44:29.760 --> 0:44:32.719 are really looking for that, to really exploring cultures so 0:44:32.800 --> 0:44:34.680 much more than I know I did when I was 0:44:34.760 --> 0:44:38.359 twenty So I think that's great for them. And our 0:44:38.400 --> 0:44:42.920 final question, what do you know about the world of foundations, endowments, 0:44:43.800 --> 0:44:49.200 UH and raising money for a specific cause today that 0:44:49.320 --> 0:44:52.520 perhaps you wish your new twenty years ago when the 0:44:52.600 --> 0:44:57.440 Navy Seals Foundation was first launched. I think, you know 0:44:57.640 --> 0:45:01.920 the relationships. I think it's really important to connect, you know, 0:45:01.960 --> 0:45:04.719 these fabulous people with with the foundation in a way 0:45:05.040 --> 0:45:07.040 that they can really get to know and understand this 0:45:07.120 --> 0:45:09.799 community and making them part of the team. That we've 0:45:09.840 --> 0:45:11.839 done so well in the last few years. I don't 0:45:11.840 --> 0:45:15.359 think we did that necessarily. Early on, we didn't understand 0:45:15.920 --> 0:45:19.840 our responsibility to the donors in those in those first 0:45:19.920 --> 0:45:24.400 years and today we we know that they're what allows 0:45:24.480 --> 0:45:28.040 us to live and breathe, and they are hugely important, 0:45:28.200 --> 0:45:32.040 and we want to make sure that they understand what 0:45:32.239 --> 0:45:35.880 they give us the ability to do. And we hope 0:45:35.920 --> 0:45:40.160 they feel the pride of being connected to such an 0:45:40.160 --> 0:45:42.680 incredible community and what I hope they think is an 0:45:42.719 --> 0:45:47.880 incredible organization in the Navy Seal Foundation. Wow, perfect answers. 0:45:47.920 --> 0:45:50.040 Thank you so much, Robin for being so generous with 0:45:50.080 --> 0:45:53.239 your time. We have been speaking with Robin King. She 0:45:53.640 --> 0:45:57.359 is the CEO of the Navy Seals Foundation. If you 0:45:57.520 --> 0:46:01.279 enjoy this conversation, well check out all of our previous 0:46:01.400 --> 0:46:05.200 three and something podcasts over the past six years. You 0:46:05.239 --> 0:46:10.320 can find that at iTunes, Spotify, Google podcast, Overcast, Stitcher, 0:46:10.719 --> 0:46:14.960 wherever finer podcasts are sold. We love your comments, feedback 0:46:14.960 --> 0:46:17.879 and suggestions. You can write to us at m IB 0:46:18.040 --> 0:46:20.799 podcast at Bloomberg dot net. Be sure to give us 0:46:20.840 --> 0:46:24.880 a review on Apple iTunes. Check out my weekly column. 0:46:24.920 --> 0:46:27.760 You can find that on Bloomberg dot com slash Opinion. 0:46:28.360 --> 0:46:31.239 Follow me on Twitter at Rid Halts. Sign up for 0:46:31.400 --> 0:46:35.200 our daily reading list at Rid Halts dot com. I 0:46:35.239 --> 0:46:37.680 would be remiss if I did not thank the Cracks 0:46:37.719 --> 0:46:41.320 staff that helps with this conversation together each week. Maroof 0:46:41.360 --> 0:46:45.440 All is my audio engineer. Michael Boyle is my producer. 0:46:45.560 --> 0:46:49.040 Mike bat Nick is my head of research. Attica val 0:46:49.120 --> 0:46:53.160 Brunn is our project manager. I'm Barry Riholts. You've been 0:46:53.160 --> 0:46:56.480 listening to Masters in Business on Bloomberg Radio.