Keep Showing Up

Flora: All right, so we're back for our final episode of our mini series, Ask me Anything. I'm Flora, the host who has been here since the beginning of TLC. So I know kind of the ins and outs of everything. I'm here with Cass. Would you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Cass: Yeah. I'm Cass o' Hara. I'm a current BCBA trainee. I'm also a teacher with one of the nonprofit district partners. I'm also partnering with TLC and the non-profit for some dreaming for the next school year and seeing what that's going to look like. We also have Matthew here.

Matthew: Hey, thanks, Cass. Yeah, I'm Matthew Hayes. Me and Heather actually go back a while from some work we did together, and then I came over to TLC as a coach. Now one of the founding directors is a non-profit. So excited for today's conversation.

Flora: We got a great group, and of course, we have Heather. Hello, Heather.

Hello! Glad to be here.

Flora: So I'm going to start you off really easy. So we're recording in May, and so this is like closing up the school year. So I want to know, as an owner of a company that works with schools and districts, what is something that's really difficult for you and the company? Closing out a school year?

 Yeah, this school year is unlike any other that I have experienced, and I'm really lucky that I have a lot of other professionals in the education space and all of our like nonprofit district partners that we're working with, too. The questions that our people internally and the people that we're serving have been asking over the past, you know, five months, like this semester. It's unreal, right? Like these are big, unanswerable questions that are hitting at the time of year when most schools are doing future projections and making planning for next school year and figuring out what staffing is going to look like, what programming is going to work, what are those data-based outcomes that they need to target in the next school year? And then what are those, you know, strategies, supports, resources that need to be in place to actually make, you know, make that progress happen.

And at the same time, we've got so many things that are changing at the federal level and at the state level that they're not even, you know, like what you think you've got. One month is different from the next month. And I don't think we've really talked about this in, you know, this, this miniseries, but even planning from month to month, at the end of every month I meet with my, you know, district leaders or building leaders and say, Cool, like how to go?

How'd this month go? What do you need for next month? Are we working? Not working, like new targets? What are we trying to do? And oh my gosh, like the conversations that I had in January were completely different from what I'd had in December and then what I had in February. And that has just continued through this entire semester. So walking into the summer, typically, we've got kind of like a feel.

We may not have it, you know, completely, you know, rooted into scheduling and having like all the right names and all that stuff. Like, there's still a lot of things that get ironed out over the summer, but a lot of times from March and April, you kind of have a general idea, like a direction at least, you know, like if there's going to be a partnership or not or what types of things they're trying to work on or not.

But because there are so many big question marks at both the state and federal levels right now, it's like, well, this is what we're hoping for, but we don't know, right? Like, and it's a genuine, we don't know. Not like an ambivalent or lack of planning, or, you know, like I'm just too busy to think about that right now. It's none of that. It's just really big question marks. And so I think that in terms of ending a school year, I have never ended a year like that, right? There's always, you know, details to get figured out.

But I have never walked into the summer in this, like, well, we'll see, you know, like, you know, very, very open-handed is quite honestly like how we're all walking into the summer. And so on my end, that has made it really hard. I mean, I mean, Matthew and I, a couple of episodes ago, had conversations around, you know, entrepreneur, and you know, how do you get a business model, and how do you make some of those, like organizational structure, and you know, just decision making.

This is a wild context to do that in. But likewise, our schools are the same way, right? Like our practitioners don't know if they have jobs coming back next year. Our districts don't know what they can or can't offer to what students. And so everybody, right, like on every front, just has so many really big questions. So I think that makes it extra complicated or challenging, but I think it's, I think, Cass, some of you in my episodes this summer have been, you know, but I think that's just sort of what I'm built for, is what TLC is built for, and we're here for it.

And so I think there's a lot of unknowns, but there's also a lot of curiosity and intentionality behind making sure that we can show up in ways that, you know, really fit for the folks that are willing to partner with us.

Matthew: Yeah, I think that's so good. And one of the things I know you talk about all the time when it comes to TLC is how we're positioned and like, always making sure that TLC is positioned in the way to serve and to serve the people that we care about in our communities. So I know you talked about, like, a feel. Right. Like every year, as we come to this time like, there's a feel of what's next. So I'm curious, all these questions that you've been hearing from people and all these, you know, conversations and meetings and chats, like, how have you been kind of interpreting all that and kind of what's it, what kind of dreaming is it creating for you? Like, what are you kind of seeing as you start positioning TLC into this next year?

Yeah. So, of course, with any dream comes the operations and logistics to make the dream reality. Right. And so I think where I have been having fun again, we're recording this at the end of May and throughout the back half of April and May up until now, I've been having a lot of those conversations to say, okay, we've had these dreams, you know, especially February, March, as a lot of our districts were, you know, also having really big question marks. And we're trying to figure out where we fit in.

Some of it comes down to those operations. Right. So if other organizations, people, groups, entities can't also get flexible and creative in some of how what they do can show up or be leveraged in ways that are a little bit outside of maybe their, their norm. I've had some really cool conversations with people where it's like, well, then it's just not a fit. Right. Like we're, we're going to try to show up in ways that is outside of your structures at this time. And that's cool. Right? Like there's, there's a closed door, great, what's the next one?

And then there have been other ones where they have fully engaged in some of the like, oh, that's interesting. Okay, well, I wonder if we could. What about, you know, and you start having different kinds of conversations where it's leveraging what does exist, but maybe trying it in. In different ways. And that's where, like, on the nonprofit side, because that's where we do a lot of our district services, man. Between conversations with my district, the district leaders that I get to work with, and then even internally, because all of us, in our own professional ways, are seeing things in all kinds of different ways. Our team is all across the country, too. So how this shows up at different states has also been very different along the way.

But being able to not just get creative, to still focus on, like, who we are and what we're here for, but then get creative in the operations to say, can we actually make that happen? And then to get hit with another sideswipe and see, okay, well, then maybe that direction isn't the direction, but the purpose and intentionality behind it is still the same. So now how can we pivot and still meet those same needs and stay within the new parameters to, you know, continue to serve the folks that we are, you know, here to serve?

But I think that. I think we've, you know, I think we've walked that in a bunch of different ways so far. And I'm curious to see kind of where some of this stuff shakes out even by the time this episode airs, quite honestly, because a lot of those decisions will happen over the summer before this episode will even air.

Flora: I was going to say, Heather, I feel like pivoting is a huge part of this company, and I feel like maybe your life in general before this company, it's just never been this extreme.

Matthew: Yeah.

Cass: I think that actually leads me to my. My question, too. I hear a lot of. There's a lot of uncertainties, whether it's the political climate or just things changing and people not being sure or maybe not looking as far ahead as maybe the business needs to or lacking creativity. So I guess my question is, what is certain? Right. So in order to keep this mentality that I can pivot and there's going to be open doors, I just need to find them along the way and just kind of keep walking through it.

What. What do you hold on to that is certain or really can anything be in this field?

Hmm. So I look at this in, I think, two. Two different directions. So I'll kind of take both of them, and then you can take me where. Where you think this goes. So I think in the. On the school front, I have been saying all semester, even if the funding vaporizes, the humans aren't right. So end of the day, like until a free appropriate public education is no longer part of the education in the United States, that means every public school has a duty to serve.

A kid shows up at the front door. And whether we have the tools, skills, resources, people, or any, it does not matter. We still have the mandate to serve them. And so for me, I think that's. There's so many opportunities there, right? Because if the end goal is still, well, we just we have to serve them, right? Well, then what? How? Right? Like then we get to be creative. And I think there's opportunities tucked into that.

Actually had a really cool conversation with one of the directors where she was really excited about a potential that we were starting to kind of dream up in the nonprofit for next school year. And then by the time we'd gotten together the next month, I was like, that's kind of off the table. Like here's. Here's another direction, here's another angle. And she was just like, see, every time, every time that there is a closed door, it makes the open door that much better, right? Like, it's okay, this is a no. But because that's a no, we got to pivot this way, which means we got rid of these things, and we're actually keeping these things, and didn't even, like, we hadn't previously thought about those things, and now those things are actually going to meet the needs so much better.

And she was just like, That's why I love working with TLC, you know, like. Cause like this is like, it's not. This is our business model, and this is what we do, period, full stop. It's like, here's who we serve and here is who we are and how that gets to show up. And I think that's, that's the other way of like looking at this question that you're asking. Cass is at the end of the day, like TLC is not just me, right? Like, there are so many different people doing so many super cool things, and they are each in their own right, Amazing professionals and humans with non-straight-line stories, just like my own, right?

And I think that's true. That just stays true, right? Like we are all completely different people with completely different backgrounds, and we all still kind of have that same similar heart to continue to keep walking forward to figure out what's next. And so even when one of us is like doom scrolling till the end of time, right? And it's like, no, wait, hold up. Reroute. What are we here for? Right? And each one of us can take those moments together to make sure that each of those next steps can be taken, not just even at TLC, but in all of our lives outside of, you know, in our perfect, like, personal, professional outside of TLC.

And I think that's. That just stays true regardless of, you know, whatever is going on around us at any given time. Like, the kids are still here. They're still going to exist. The consultancy, the group of people doing the work around TLC, they still exists. We're all still here. Right. It's just a matter of walking forward into, you know, what's next. How does this continue to merge together? And how can we continue to just keep showing up and doing the thing with whoever, wherever, however?

Matthew: Yeah, I love that Cass said that because I was on the exact same page of, like, the mindset piece, because especially coming out of our last episode, talking about self-care. Right? And like, through all the changes and, you know, shifting priorities throughout all that we're talking about and dealing with here, I remember we went back, you know, we were texting maybe a week or two ago, and you sent me a song. And one of the lyrics of that song is that every no leads to a better yes.

Right? And it's, you know, that's what I heard as you were just talking, right? Of, like, this pivoting mentality that we'll always find a solution. Because at the core of not just the TLC team, but and not just the work that TLC does, the core is both the same. Our focus is to serve. Right. So I'm curious, like, as we go through all these different shifting pieces of life, right? Not just professionally, but also personally, that mindset piece is huge. Right. And I know, I definitely want to. We'll talk more about, like, what we see for TLC and all those pieces, for sure.

But I think for a lot of people listening right now, especially getting to this part in the series, they've walked through a lot of this themselves, right? In their own levels in the world, right? And they're probably in that same space of like, okay, I have something I need to accomplish. I. I also have a heart to want to be of service, but life is a lot right now, right? And, like, how do I keep that positive mental attitude to keep looking for even when sometimes it feels a little dark outside?

Yeah, I mean, I'll be real. I mean, like, we've got some really amazing people that carry things very deeply. And so in this season, it has been walking with them. And yeah, sometimes it's sending things like, hey, this made me think of you, or this is a conversation you and I just had. And, like, I'll just like, you know, ping little things right, to, you know, help keep your head up, keep, you know, keep.

Keep the vision longer than the. The uncertainty, ambiguity, you know, chaos that's. That's right here and so very big at the moment. But to be, like, a little further, right, like, but on the other side of that, right, Anything that can kind of just nudge all of us to continue to kind of keep thinking in that direction, I think that's. That's very real. But I think even in the episodes you and I had recorded, Matthew is within business operations, just needing to honor that. Right. Like, there's going to be seasons just, like, if someone just has a baby, right? Like, there's a massive, you know,life shift that happens, which means they're going to either need to show up differently or not at all for a period of time, or, you know, whatever that might be.

But for me, it goes back to, like, but they have something to offer that doesn't change. But how it's offered, gosh, we can get really flexible and really creative with what that would be, and we can walk that with intentionality in, to, and out the other side of whatever that season may be. And I know I've done that around here with TLC, but I think Matthew, to that mindset point, like, that's seeing the person.

It's. It's a very human way of not just, like, operations or leadership, but it's just like, of life. So, like myself, I have things that I love to do. I have ways I love to show up, and there are seasons of life where I can do that and then some full tilt, like, Flora has walked with me through some of those seasons where I'm just like, let's go. And there's also been seasons where I'm like, I'm gonna curl up in a ball. I'm gonna wait this out, and then we're gonna try again, right? Like, my skills and what I have to offer and how, you know, like, what that. That hasn't changed, but how can I show up completely different, right? So the mindset isn't oh, I can or I can't, it's how, like, how can I. What can I do in this season that's good for me and good for whatever's around me to show up in that meaningful way and to know that that's not the end of it? Right. There's another day, another month, another year, and the front's, like, on the other side of it.

We get to figure that out as we go.

Cass: It's honestly super impactful. I'm over here sitting like, man, I've learned so much from Heather and all these people I've gotten to meet through her. Here I am a student once again, and I think that that's what you continue to surround yourself with and have really built up TLC on the backs of the people that are wanting to lean in as a team and maybe lean in further when someone doesn't have. They aren't 100%.

And I think that's really, really huge for a company, especially one like this, to continue to keep pushing through all of these changing times. So as much as you can share, want to share, what kind of opportunities do you have kind of laid ahead that are kind of paved and saying, okay, you know, we feel a lot of this shift, sometimes within one month, but is there anything that you're looking forward to or TLC is looking forward to in the coming year and coming semesters that you can share with us any exciting things?

Flora: Yeah, we'll do a drum roll for you.

Cass: I will. I will, too.

So something that I have found myself saying quite a bit, especially in the past couple of months, is I did not. I know, I know, Matthew. You're like, the business planning and, like, all this stuff, and I'm like, I would love to be able to be, like, I was a brilliant business leader, and we were so far ahead of the times. Right. Like, that's not how I see the story, but that is kind of where we're at, where we are better positioned than I could have ever dreamed knowing. Even the positionality that we walked into the school year with was an intentional shift.

So, like, we had shared before, the nonprofit launched this school year out of some consulting work that had been done. Had been done years prior. And part of that was because we wanted, wanted, like, we had people that were reaching out, asking, like, we want to work with you. But the fee-for-service model is, you know, it's a barrier. And so we wanted to try to find some other way, like, how do we remove that barrier so that the work can continue to move forward, and then that opens up opportunities like grants and founders and sponsors and all these other things in the philanthropic space that doesn't exist in a more traditional business model space.

Well, at the same time, we also had a couple of different like angles going on. So I know, in other episodes we talked about, you know, different projects in the online space and how we're leveraging some of those things. We've also talked about the district services and like the partnerships that we get to have with our with our people. And this moment, like we are walking into next school year with the widest like cafeteria selection style options and opportunities.

Because everybody in the consultancy has taken their corners, championed it, and continued to walk those spaces forward. We now have opportunities where we can say, Cool, if you can get us on site, on campus, then let's go, right? And we can leverage that really like an intimate hand-holding experience in that space all the way to. If you just need to learn some stuff, right, like we can hook you up with a learning and like period, full stop. And now we've got all these options, you know, thanks to, you know, post pandemic and you know, people leveraging, you know, new technology and new skills that they, you know, had never maybe had to collaborate in certain ways or. It felt so removed. Now it feels a little bit more normal. And so we can leverage like video calls or even like I videoed into classrooms, or we can do embedded coaching pieces within some of that online learning, where it's more of that asynchronous, and get what you need as you're going. Or our coaching team has been able to get creative with how we can show up. It's no longer having to be on site at a certain time for a certain group, but we can leverage online so people aren't even having to drive. Or now we can leverage asynchronously. I mean, Matthew over here is the king of the voice memo, you know, so like all these different options and opportunities show up, but it's, it's just more ways for our team to continue to show up and do what we do.

And now it gives so many more options to our district partners and, honestly, our practitioners. And that's one of the things that I'm, I'm, we've been like kind of behind the scenes trying to figure out how, how to get the angle because I get all these emails on a regular basis. It's like, hey, I saw this thing. This is super cool. Like, how can I partner with you? And I'm like, your district has to be part of that decision-making, right? Like, and so there I've been kind of landlocked with some of those, like needing to go through district contracts to be able to serve a practitioner. And sometimes districts are like, Oh my gosh, yes, please. Thank you.

And other times, that's not the decision. And so to be able to now have a space where we can fully really serve the practitioner from the ground up, as well as the organization from the top down, it then we can just serve whatever those needs are, kind of however that's showing up. So I think for me, looking at, you know, where, where are we headed and what's coming next year, a lot of that is just knowing that we actually have a lot of different angles now that are good, solid, like well-founded, with good people that have these practices locked in.

And that way, regardless of time, budget, interest, you know, even our district or our practitioners learning styles, we can match those, you know, potential opportunities, you know, with what it is that they're trying to, to make happen and how they would be able, like, would be open to making those things happen. So that's super exciting for me.

Matthew: I was just gonna say, because we've talked about so many different things throughout the year, whether it's things in the classroom, like stories of families, even. It's really cool. Our student ambassador through the nonprofit who comes and gets to share out with some of the different stuff happening in middle school, and, you know, all the drama, right. In the cafeteria. And it's like, has been so many things this year that have been heavy, but also have been meaningful and have created such a cause and purpose behind the work outside of just wanting to serve, impacting the community, which in itself is already, you know, powerful.

Right. But, like, when you get a chance to be on the ground floor and in the classroom and hear the stories and, like, share a box of milk with somebody. Right. Or whatever the case, it just. It. It hits a little different. Right. As the kids would say. So I'm curious. All right. Like, I'm curious. Are there any, like, stories this year that are really kind of hit home for you or that you sat with and helped drive the way that you look at the work moving forward?

Yeah. So anyone who's listening, like, you know me, like, I. We just do the work, right? Like, we show up and do the thing, serve the people, help them out, move them forward, right? Like, we just keep the ball moving down the field. So I do not keep a great, you know, record of all of these stories. But I think in TLC, if there is anything that's true, that has been true from the jump, is like, you just can't make these stories up.

If that's how people join TLC, how people hear about TLC, the work that TLC then does through any of these different, you know, angles, outlets, and opportunities that. That we've talked about, and even some of them that are kind of percolating into the next school year. Two, like, you just can't make this stuff up. Like, we've had. I had a conversation with one of the members of our consultancy, and we were like, Oh, wouldn't it be cool if this, like, online learning thing could be, you know, leveraged in.

In this kind of way? Because then it's not just the learning piece. We could also do some of like, the hand holding, and then we could do some Q&As, and we could do some, like, on-site and, like, all these things. And I was like, that's awesome. Like, that would be super cool if that opportunity came up. You're right. Like, we are really well-positioned to meet that need. Literally, that was one night. The next morning, I dropped onto a call with a district who is interested in working with us, and they're like, Hey, we were looking at your website. We're interested in this thing. But we were wondering, instead of just doing that, could we also? And literally pitched back to me the exact same idea in that conversation I had had the night before.

So I literally am like, actually, yeah, we can do that. Because we had already had that conversation. How many different times folks have said, you know, like, this is something I'm really passionate about, or, I mean, honestly, like, the story of how TLC even started offering the BCBA trainee experience was I was asked to go present at a conference about supervision and specifically to speak on behalf of supervision in schools. Because that's a big gap in. In the ABA world is that folks are really great at applying the science in clinic and in home settings, but there are a lot of practitioners that then will not supervise in schools.

And that also means we've got a lot of practitioners that go underserved there, or they complete their master's but don't get their hours. And so they never actually sit and become certified. Right? So I was asked to go speak at this conference from that school. Practitioner lens did a whole session on that while I was there, of course, picked up a bunch of really cool things, different like tools, tips, tricks, and things like that. Because I don't live in that space frequently. So it was like a cool brainchild for me. Literally tucked that in my back pocket. Be like, oh, that would be neat.

That's like, what, June, July. I'm at a conference, presenting with another member of the consultancy in November. And they're like, man, the thing I just really love is like, I love being able to pour into people, just trying to learn this and figure this out. Like, I miss some of those, you know, making sense of the science in the practice type of conversations. I don't get to do that in my day job.

This is just so cool. And I'm like, I have a model for it. Can you run it? You know, and then we popped up supervision with TLC in January and have, you know, now we're walking through district partnerships or not district university partnerships and having universities be like, oh my gosh, you're filling this gap that, you know, we have folks that are exactly where, you know, what we're designed to serve, but nobody does that. And so we don't have anywhere to send our people. So now we've got universities that are like, Oh my gosh, yes, please go work with them. And it's the same. It's a consultancy model.

So we all get to just be our practitioner selves and then show up and help other folks learn it too. But like, that came from, you know, these timelines and stories that you just simply cannot make up. But I think at the end of the day, all of my director conversations that I get to have every month, where, you know, I always open with like, how's it going? Like you surviving? How are you? What's, you know, what is life at the moment?

And hearing their top of mind thoughts when I ask that question, I mean, heck, if I take it back to January, folks were going like, could we go back to popping up like a Covid hybrid learning style so that we could support our, you know, immigrant students hiding in plain sight in our communities, right? Like that, they are thinking in that creative way at the end of the day to serve those local, like, serve their local.

I'm like, I'm so here for that, right? Like that, there's only so much that our team can do. We're not there all day, every day. Like we're. Our goal is to equip and expand to extend their local capacity. Right? And if that goes through the online learning stuff or through, you know, the direct services stuff, or any hybrid combination in between, to know that we are partnered with people that see their people and at the end of the day are just trying to serve their students, their families, their communities, and the staff that are doing that service to their local.

All of those stories, literally every single one of them, that is that, like, through line for me, that I can then take those stories back to our team and be like, see, we're layered up. Like, here's where this is fitting. Here's how. Here's what they're seeing. Here's where they're headed. Here's where we may be able to fit. They're open to this partnership here. Do you have any resources on this?

Right. Like, those are the stories that you just simply cannot make up. That has literally been TLC from day one.

Flora: Day one. Yep.

Matthew: Absolutely. That was amazing. Thanks for all of that, Heather. We're wrapping up. It's episode nine. And we've covered a lot. Right. And I think for all of our listeners who are here with us at this point, you know that you're part of the TLC family, too, for sure. So if, if, if someone heard nothing else outside of maybe 60 seconds.

All right, just to hear from you, the founder, the CEO, kind of, but also someone on the front lines with the rest of us, kind of, just take maybe one minute and kind of. What's one message you want to leave? Looking forward to?

Yeah, I think just keep showing up, right? Keep showing up in whatever capacity with whatever skills and whatever space. Right. Like, I know there's a lot of folks at this point in the summer, actually, when this airs, they may know if they're going back next year or not. Where right now there are a lot of questions. I think, regardless of what it is, right? Like, you are your practitioner, you have your skills, you have the heart of whatever it is that you are bringing.

Show up and do it, like, and just be okay being creative, knowing that, like, it doesn't have to be that clean, that it literally can just be show up, show up and do the thing, wherever, however, with whoever, just keep doing the thing.