THE SEA-TOWN PODCAST: Interviewing Seattle's Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs

This week's guest is Chris Langeler, the Executive Director of The West Seattle Helpline, a community-based organization that provides emergency services to local families and individuals to prevent homelessness and other detrimental poverty-related outcomes. He is also the Vice President of the Board of Directors for the Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association, one of the largest affordable housing providers in West Seattle. Highlights From This Episode:

• Chris' road to serving the community where he is now started back with influence from both his parents, with their complimentary perspectives.
• • His mom did lots of compassionate work with young people (small picture focused on individuals)
  • His dad was a bit of an entrepreneur, having founded a tech company in Portland, OR and very systemically &, logically (big picture focused on why things are the way they are).
• Early on, he developed an interest in homelessness and housing and other racial and social justice aspects of non profit and public policy work.
• Chris came to Seattle for the graduate program at the University of Washington (Evans School of Public Policy and Governance), focusing on non-profit management and public policy.
• Worked on political campaigns while at UW, working in Senior Patty Murray's office as part of undergraduate intern program.
• The W.S. Helpline is designed to be a little further "up stream" in peoples lives, to help them make a small "diversion" along their path, before life situations thrusts them into poverty or if they need help but don't qualify for the more conventional low-income or government programs.
• • This additionally is more cost effective and efficient to help an individual or family make a small diversion to get back to a healthy place of self-sufficiency, rather than waiting until they are overwhelmed with catastrophic events or fall into poverty... when the cost, effort and likelihood of getting them back to a good place is much harder and much more taxing on an already strained social 'safety-net' system.
• Chris was the first full-time staff member when he started nearly 2 years ago.
• • Now they have 3 full-time staff and 1 part time.
  • • Program Manager - Teresa
    • Operations Coordinator - Joan
    • Development and Communications Coordinator - Lala

• They have become a more effective and visible organization by picking the 'low hanging fruit' and leveraging resources that are readily available.
• • Created a social media strategy.
  • Tuning up the website so its easy for people to find out more about WS Helpline.
  • Partnering with organizations that have larger "megaphones".
  • • Big shout out to the enormously helpful partners - the West Seattle Blog and West Seattle Herald.
    • And now partnering with The Sea-Town Podcast, to get the WS Helpline's message to our "4 million listeners"... (ok, not nearly that many, but working towards it).
  • Being present in community events like the West Seattle Summer Fest and Harvest Festivals.

• What they love most about working for the organization - The relationships built with the volunteers, people they serve, staff and community members.
• The thing that gets Chris most excited is the potential for what can be done.
• Their serves and programs are the main way they help the community but giving people the opportunity to volunteer and serve and have an impact in their own community is good for them too.
• The future of the WS Helpline:
• • In next couple years, grow out the core of the programs, focus on outreach to gain greatest visibility to everyone in West Seattle, so everyone who may need their services, know about them.
  • Maintain 100% ability to help all eligible people who ask for assistance.
  • Increase funding, bus ticket numbers and expand clothing distribution center.
  • • In next 2-3 years, the goal is to be able to help 3-4 times as many people as they are now... people who may not know about them now.

• Their biggest challenges when he started and biggest challenges now - So many hats to wear and so much to do to keep the organization running, serve the needs of the clients, while also building relationships with other non-profits in the area to make everyones efforts more effective.
• • WS Helpline has been around a while but until recently, they did not have close relationships with any of the other non-profit organizations that are also serving the West Seattle community, like the White Center Food Bank, West Seattle Food Bank, West Side Baby, SW Youth and Family Services, Saint Vincent De Paul... and even some of the larger YWCA and YMCA.
  • The only way we get this work done, is by working together and collaborating with other non-profits in the area.
• Some of Chris's mentors (they have really taken their organizations to the next level in the last few years):
• • Nancy Woodland, the Executive Director of West Side Baby (check out her interview on episode #025).
  • Fran Yeats, the Executive Director of the West Seattle Food Bank.
  • Steve Daschle, the Executive Director of SW Youth and Family Services.
• When Chris started at the WS Helpline (not quite 2 years ago), they were having to turn 2 out of 3 eligible people away... but in 2016, they had the funds to not have to turn down any eligible requests for help.
• Specific story of how they helped a particular family:
• • WS Helpline is one of the few organizations equipped to handle unusual situations that fall outside the realm of what most non-proft and gov. organizations are setup to handle.
  • Usually clients that need help are due to a combination of bad circumstances all coming together at one time (not just an isolated bad decision or circumstance). Situations in which most people are not equipped to handle and would take most of us out (medial emergency + loosing a job + family crisis... all happen at once).
  • This family needed the funding to get their life's possessions out of storage, as they were getting back on their feet... being on the brink of loosing everything they own, except for the clothes on their back - which would have really set this family back and make it much harder for them to get on their feet and move forward.
• The best advice they have ever received - Consider the best practices but at some point, you just have to rely on what you know, make a decision and go with it. Trust your instincts... there is never going to be 100% certainty or a "right answer" in every situation or task to be completed.
• A defining moment or experience - After completing his undergraduate degree, Chris spent some time in Costa Rica, working with South American Refugees. So many of these families living on the brink of survival had to make the life and death choices between spending money on food or required life-saving medicine for one of their kids.
• • While the government provided universal health care at no cost, you had to be a citizen to qualify for it, so didn't have access to the medical care they needed. Not being a citizen also made it very difficult to find employment.
  • This family and 15,000 other refugees were in a situation where they were struggling just to get their basic needs met on a daily basis.
  • The emotional impact of those families being in such dire circumstances, at no fault of their own left a profound impact on Chris and had him asking the question, "How do we set the system up so that this never happens to anybody?".
  • • This question plays out in the USA regarding our immigration laws, access to health care needs and a basic social safety net as well as the ability to get a job.
  • This experience really drove Chris' pursuit of what kind of work can he do and policies to influence to make a difference in the lives of people facing similar hardship.
  • These issues need to be addressed at both the human level and the system level.
• Chris is a really big fan of and encourages people to give and get involved locally; Get to know the people in your neighborhood and find ways to be there for them, connect with them and build the community that your in.
  • For the WS Helpline, that includes signing up to volunteer at their clothing bank, helping sort or hand out clothes to people in the community who need them or volunteering to answer the phone at the hotline to help put them in touch with the resources to help them.
• • Especially for their rent and utility assistance programs, funding the organization by becoming a monthly donor are huge in making sure people don't have to be turned away when they are in need.
  • • The average assistance given per family for the program is $325... that is $325 difference between a family on the streets or a family safely in their house and moving on to better things.
    • • That is a small price in the grand scheme of things, especially when studies on homelessness say that there is $15,000 to $25,000 in public costs for one person being homeless for a year.
• West Seattle Helpline fund raising events throughout the year:
  • Neighbors Helping Neighbors Gala Dinner in November - http://wshelpline.org/events/nhn2016/
• • Taste of West Seattle (big community food fair in May) - http://tasteofwestseattle.org

Episode Links & Resources:

• West Seattle Helpline - http://wshelpline.org or Call 206-932-HELP
• Business Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/wshelpline/
• Business Twitter Page: https://twitter.com/wshelpline
• Queen Anne Helpline - http://queenannehelpline.org
• North Helpline (serving Lake City and Ravenna areas) - http://www.northhelpline.org
• WS Helpline feature on King 5 News - August, 2016 - http://wshelpline.org/west-seattle-helpline-featured-on-king-5-2/
• Learn more about Christian, other projects he's working on and his business at: www.Sea-Town.com

Ways to Subscribe to The Sea-Town Podcast:

• "Like" the Sea-Town Podcast FaceBook Page HERE
• Click here to subscribe on iTunes
• Click here to subscribe on Google Play
• Click here to subscribe on TuneIn
• Click here to subscribe on Stitcher

Help Us Spread The Word - Reviews Help a Ton! Thanks for joining me again this week. If you have any tips, suggestions, or comments about this episode - email me at [email protected]. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post. Thank you! And finally, please leave an honest review for The Sea-Town Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show and I read each and every one of them.

This week's guest is Nancy Woodland, the Executive Director for the non-profit WestSide Baby in White Center. WestSide Baby serves all of Western King County and partners with the community to collect and distribute essential items for local kids (ages birth-12 years old). Topics & Ideas Discussed in This Episode:

• W.S. Baby works directly with 127 local social service agencies to get essential items to children.
• The more efficient their systems and organization is, the more kids they can serve.
• The process: Social workers place their order for their families, the 50+ regular weekly volunteers fill the orders and then W.S. Baby distribute the filled-orders back to the families
• W.S. Baby has been around for 16 years, having been founded by Donna Pierce.
• Nancy has been there for 10 years.
  • She has a law degree from Loyola University as part of their first Child Advocacy program and practiced law in WA State doing child neglect and abuse cases for 4 years.
    • In that, she saw that in a lot of cases, it's not that the parents don't want to care for their children... it's that they can't because they don't have the simple tools to take care of their kid (like diapers).
    • Joined the W.S. Baby board of directors in 2005.
    • in 2006, she took over the role of Executive Director, from the founder and visionary of W.S. Baby, Donna Pierce.
• Biggest changes in the last 10 years:
  • Grown their staff, grown their regular volunteers (from 6 to over 50 each week), expanded their spaces and expertise and scaled to maximize efficiency and effectiveness.
  • Being open to opportunities that open them to be able to serve more kids.
• W.S. Baby serves 500+ children per week & 35,000 kids across King County... and is only possible because of the communities support.
• W.S. Baby is entirely supported by their fund-raising efforts - 77% of funding is from regular individuals in the community and the rest is by generous corporate and foundation support.
• Community Partnerships: Trinity West Seattle has recently partnered with WestSide Baby as a "Mission Partner" - sending regular volunteer groups, help with financial support & act as a collection site for needed children goods.
• For the first time, W.S. Baby is going to have Billboard advertising (4 billboards next week
  • Located in Ballard on 15th, Capital Hill on Madison, Rainier Valley & West Seattle on Delridge.
• The biggest challenges at W.S. Baby -
  • Not having enough: They can't fill all the needs
    • They can only fill 47% of the request for car seats and while they give out 1.25 million, yet, if they diapered all the kids in King Co. living below the federal poverty line that are of diapering age... that number is 22 million.
  • Having too much of one thing or having unusable items "donated", that they then have to get rid of (like a moldy stroller or worn out clothes).
  • Keeping the staff and volunteers from burning out - Sometimes the best we can do is enough.
• If we want to help those in need, start with listening to them, asking what they need and then providing that... as opposed to what we think they need.
• Their greatest strength - Nancy want's to hear how they can do better and is willing to try new things if it means they can serve more families.
• W.S. Baby's growth goals are always related to serving more kids: They want to raise awareness around King Co, because that is who they serve & to be able to open a couple more branches to collect donations, be sorted and sent out (meeting their volunteers and clients where they are).
• The best advice they have ever received - "Sometimes the best we can do is enough" and be open to learning all the time.
• W.S. Baby has two major fund-raisers every year:
  • March 12th Benefit Tea (1/3rd of budget comes from this event)
  • Fall evening cocktail party event (more casual).

How you can make a difference:

• Financial donations - "Donate Now" button on their site - During the month of December (through Christmas day), all financial donations of $250 or more will be matched by a donor.
  • Volunteer - "Get Involved" button on their site.
  • Have your own donation drive - Already having a holiday party, ask everyone coming to bring a pack of diapers and then drop them off at a WestSide Baby collection center.

• Most regularly needed items:
  • car seats, portable cribs, clothes (particularly boys size 5-12), new underwear, socks and pajamas.

Episode Links & Resources:

• http://westsidebaby.org
• Business Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/WestSideBabySEA
• Business Twitter Page: https://twitter.com/WestSideBabySEA
• Book recommendation - "The Gifts of Imperfection" by Brene Brown
• Learn more about Christian, other projects he's working on and his business at: www.Sea-Town.com

Ways to Subscribe to The Sea-Town Podcast:

• "Like" the Sea-Town Podcast FaceBook Page HERE
• Click here to subscribe on iTunes
• Click here to subscribe on Google Play
• Click here to subscribe on TuneIn
• Click here to subscribe on Stitcher

Help Us Spread The Word - Reviews Help a Ton! Thanks for joining me again this week. If you have any tips, suggestions, or comments about this episode, please be sure to leave them in the comment section below. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post. Thank you! And finally, please leave an honest review for The Sea-Town Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show and I read each and every one of them. Tags: Seattle, West Seattle, Sea Town, Sea-Town, Business, Entrepreneur, Community, Neighborhood, Small Businesses, Local, Christian Harris, Nancy Woodland, WestSide Baby, non-profit, charity, White Center, volunteer, children, kids, King County, diapers, strollers, clothes

This week's guest is Dave McCoy, owner of Emerald Water Anglers. Headquartered out of their premier fly-fishing retail shop in West Seattle, Dave and his staff offer high-quality and knowledgable fly-fishing guides, are passionate about fishing, preservation and they really know the water and fishing around the Northwest. Topics & Ideas Discussed in This Episode:

• Dave is involved in many aspects of the fly-fishing industry - He is a true entrepreneur: with a photography business, writer, traveler, fishing guide, social media manager for his shop and Patagonia Fly Fish (as well as a "Patagonia Ambassador"), and helps develop products for companies he believes in.
• Seattle is a pretty small city for being a big city.
• The fly-fishing community is pretty tight - Dave's friend (and my dad) Tim Harris' fly-fishing site
• Their biggest challenge when first starting business - moving from CO, to WA and being new to the area... he had to go from just knowing trout in one mt. lake to having to know so many different fish species and hundreds of bodies of water.
• Their biggest challenge now - local retail spaces having to compete with online retailers | resource management pressures in WA State | Getting in front of a lot of fly-anglers, who are older and not necessarily online and so have never heard of their store.
• Steelhead (the WA State fish) are endangered in a lot of the local rivers, creating closures of some great rivers.
• Just launched new woman's fly-fishing guide program - Welcome Karli Roland (official announcement on Facebook)
• What set's them apart from other in their industry - Super selective in hiring... leading to unbeatable customer service, superior staff with extensive knowledge and experience.
• Their greatest strength - "great salesman"... focuses on the relationship and what the customer needs and what's best for them vs. pushing for "closing the sale".
• They wish they had the habit of... - not always saying what comes to his mind; having a better filter.
• They are passionate about - educating fellow fly-fishers about the current state of the states fishers and resources and incoming them on what they can do to be good steward of our fisheries.
• The best advice they have ever received - "Jump in with both feet and give 100% of yourself to it, unconditionally"
• A personal habit that contribute to their success - A sense of humor
• Parting Guidance from our guest - "If you make a lot of money and your unhappy, change it". Figure out something you really want to do and through yourself at it... you only have one life to live, so life it!

Episode Links & Resources:

• www.emeraldwateranglers.com
• Business Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/EmeraldWaterAnglers
• Business Twitter Page: https://twitter.com/EmrldWtrAnglers
• Get involved in local organizations that work to preserve our fisheries and be a good steward of the resources.
  • www.pugetsoundkeeper.org - Working to keep Puget Sound waters clean & watchdog for superfund sites.
  • www.wildsteelheadcoalition.org - Working specifically on policy for managing our state fish, the wild Steelhead.
  • www.wildfishconservancy.org - Help facilitate courts making judgments in favor of good and sustainable policies as well as do a good deal of science to backup why they take the stances they do in court.
  • www.tu.org - Does great work on habitat restoration in entire region.
  • www.wildsalmon.org - Working hard in regaining Salmon populations.
• Jim Collins book - Good To Great
• Skate The Fly Podcast (Dave McCoy & Dylan Rose video podcast on Vimeo)
• The Tim Ferris Podcast - "Drunk Dialing - Ladies Night" episode
• Favorite podcast(s) - Anchored Podcast with April Vokey - Not just entertaining but also informative, as she asks the right question of the more informed and involved people in the industry.
• Book recommendation - "Let My People Go Surfing - The Education of a Reluctant Businessman" by Yvon Chouinard (By the Founder of Patagonia and how it came to be.)
• Learn more about Christian, other projects he's working on and his business at: www.Sea-Town.com

Ways to Subscribe to The Sea-Town Podcast:

• "Like" the Sea-Town Podcast FaceBook Page HERE
• Click here to subscribe on iTunes
• Click here to subscribe on Google Play
• Click here to subscribe on TuneIn
• Click here to subscribe on Stitcher

Help Us Spread The Word - Reviews Help a Ton! Thanks for joining me again this week. If you have any tips, suggestions, or comments about this episode, please be sure to leave them in the comment section below. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post. Thank you! And finally, please leave an honest review for The Sea-Town Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show and I read each and every one of them. Tags: Seattle, West Seattle, Sea Town, Sea-Town, Business, Entrepreneur, Community, Neighborhood, Small Businesses, Local, Christian Harris, Fly Fishing, Angeler, Casting, Emeral Water Anglers, Patagonia, Photography, Karli Roland, Fishing, Rivers, Dave McCoy

This week's guest is Cami MacDonald, Co-owner of West Side Music Academy along with her husband Chris. This long-time West Seattle small business has been serving West Seattle for 17 years, passionately teaching a wide variety of musical instruments and styles to both kids and adults alike. Topics & Ideas Discussed in This Episode:

• Started off teaching piano lessons out of her house but eventually grew into teaching all types of instruments in a studio space.
• Focuses on teaching classical style and jazz but also teach guitar lessons for pop and rock styles as well.
• Teach both kid and adult music lessons but they do teach more kids than adults.
• Loves teaching music and sharing that passion with their students and being part of their "ahha moments" when it all comes together for the student.
• The calm atmosphere is important to facilitating a students creativity.
• Favorite quote - "The harder I work, the luckier I get".
• Book recommendation - "The Artist's Way" by Julian Cameron
• Parting Guidance from our guest - "Follow Your Passion".

Episode Links & Resources:

• www.WestSideMusicAcademy.com or call 206-937-2343 Weekdays from 3-7pm.
• Facebook Page
• Learn more about Christian, other projects he's working on and his business at: www.Sea-Town.com

Ways to Subscribe to The Sea-Town Podcast:

• "Like" the Sea-Town Podcast FaceBook Page HERE
• Click here to subscribe on iTunes
• Click here to subscribe on Google Play
• Click here to subscribe on TuneIn
• Click here to subscribe on Stitcher

Help Us Spread The Word - Reviews Help a Ton! Thanks for joining me again this week. If you have any tips, suggestions, or comments about this episode, please be sure to leave them in the comment section below. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post. Thank you! And finally, please leave an honest review for The Sea-Town Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show and I read each and every one of them.

This week's guest is Tram Luu, owner of Tram's Salon. Ideally located just North of the Alaska Junction in West Seattle, this friendly community hair salon has great rates, long hours and provides a wide range of hair styling, salon and cosmetology services. They focus on serving all types of cliental and all ages, as well as staying up-to-date with the latest styles, trends and techniques. Tram's Salon Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Trams-Salon-157420821007649/?fref=ts Trams Salon Yelp page: https://www.yelp.com/biz/trams-salon-seattle

This week's guest on The Sea-Town Podcast is Heidi Herr & Corina Luckenbach, co-owners of The Admiral Bird. Nestled in the heart of the Admiral Junction in West Seattle, this community diner & coffee shop is known for their friendly staff, great community vibe, delicious breakfasts and amazing Raven's Brew coffee. They make all their food from scratch, specializing in breakfast but also featuring beer on tap, cider and kombucha. They share their cozy space with Flower Lab and Heidi is also the owner of Bird on a Wire coffee shop a little further South in West Seattle.

www.Thirstiestbirds.com

www.seattleflowerlab.com

Seth Godin - Startup School podcast (15 episode podcast for the entrepreneur)

Celebrating our 20th Episode of The Sea-Town Podcast, our guest is Brianna Shaver, creator of Toste. Serving up delicious savory and Sweet French Toast sandwiches.

www.tostesandwiches.com

www.u-power.org

This week's guest on The Sea-Town Podcast is Chandra Travers & Nicolette Shea of Nurture Home & Hospital Massage. They work with new and expecting families, providing restorative therapeutic massage services in their hospital rooms and to mother's in their homes before and after the delivery. She also co-ownes Nurture By Nature Massage, focusing on blending the best of medical treatment work with spa-like relaxation massage and Reiki energetic healing. Chandra is also the co-owner of Nurture By Nature, a massage and esthetics business in the Morgan Junction of West Seattle.

www.NurtureByNatureSpa.com

FB Page - Nurture Home and Hospital Massage

FB Page - Nurture By Nature Massage and Esthetics

www.schedulista.com

Marie Forleo (Marie TV YouTube channel)

This week's guest on The Sea-Town Podcast is Jeff Williams and Jeff Rayner, co-owners of MyPad3D, a virtual reality (VR) development company in West Seattle. They focus on cutting edge applications and development of VR using their proprietary software that allows anyone to use it on any device, no longer requiring expensive super computer hardware. Some of the current uses are for home & commercial builders, architects, developers, new home construction or remodels to help their clients visualize and "walk through" a building that doesn't yet exist, while trying out various wall colors, counter top materials and other options in real-time... before construction even begins. Put on a VR headset for the full immersive effect, so realistic you forget that your walking around in a virtual space. They are even working with the medical industry to develop a virtual reality space to help treat patients with various phobias.

"VR for everyone... any device, any where, any time"

www.mypad3d.com

No interview episodes for a few weeks... on vacation with the family.

Please take this opportunity to help me out by leaving me a review and some stars on iTunes!