Finding Meaning in the Mission …with Catherine Townsend

21:24Shelley:Your remarks were terrific. Oh, thank you. I saw you the night before at the White House, which was incredible because we were supposed to be on the, I know, we were supposed to be on the White House lawn or the terrace, the Rose Garden, and because it was supposed to rain, we had the whole run of the first blur of the White House, and the president spoke and called Catherine and who else was up there? Our board chair. Yeah, the board chair up, and they had to stand there for 40 minutes while the president was going on and on and on about, guess what, the reflecting pool. I just got a couple very helpful collaborative staff, and the chief usher's office, they've transcended all the administrations.

22:13Our superintendent of the Park Service has been there, I don't know, 40 years plus. So they've seen a lot of different administrations come in. And so it's really nice to be included in that. And then hopefully in future administrations will be invited. It'll always be like a pre-event at the White House. Right, gotcha. Which is kind of nice. So yeah, he was pretty excited about some of the things he's working on to do his beautification plan. And so we got to, he was very excited with pictures. And so, yeah.

22:45Shelley:Do you field calls about that all the time? Not the Reflecting Bowl because it's not our project. Okay, but don't people think it's your project? Sometimes they do. But we don't get a lot of assuming that because they know we're not in the media. Park Service is working with them on that. So picking and choosing projects, yeah. There's a lot going on on the mall. All right, so yes. But on the mall, you have under our monumental moment, which I think is clever, you have Constitution Gardens, the Lincoln Memorial, Undercroft, and the horse tables. Yeah. So tell us about all of that. And eat in the middle.

23:26Eat pasta in the middle. Yeah, exactly. So the Trust has always been focused as an organization on three key pillar programs. Restoration and sustainability programs like maintenance, educational enrichment, and volunteerism. We also do a lot of leadership collaboration with other leaders, park leaders across the country that are similar to us for the Park Service. We do a lot of collabs with the Park Service on many, you know, we're working with partners on certain projects like the Park Foundation.

23:58Shelley:Right, and you had a bunch of Park Service people at the White House. Yeah, yeah. They're always there. They're our number one partner. We actually are in service to serve them. Right. We're not a separate nonprofit. We only can do the work we do because we have a philanthropic agreement with them. We also have a design and construction agreement with them. So we can actually, when we raise the money, we can actually do the project start to finish, which they don't have to worry about. It basically creates better efficiencies. We can stay on budget, on time, with the highest quality output. So we have a couple of examples of that.

24:30The Lockkeeper's House, that was the oldest structure on the National Mall. We just completely restored it to its original materials and moved it away from the dangerous corner, created a plaza, opened it up with an exhibit and a video about the history of the National Mall. And that was a boarded-up building for 40 years. Would never have gotten a federal appropriation. So people probably passed it and were like, whatever that is. What building is it again? It's right at the corner of 17th and Constitution, right across from the DAR and the whole estates. And what's it called? It's called Lock Keeper's House.

25:01So basically that was the entry point of commerce to the city. I know what you're talking about. And then Landfill created land all the way out to Lincoln. And so that's always just been, I mean, the Park Service has close to a billion dollars in deferred maintenance. And what that means is if they can't get to certain maintenance work during a year, they put it on a list and add it up. And it adds up over time. And so they always ask Congress for more money. The Park Service asks for more money broadly across all 426 parks. Right. But they will not get, not every park will get what they need.

25:37So it just sits. So the Great American Outdoors Act was signed in 2020, and that infused the Park Service with$6.65 billion in repairs and infrastructure improvements. Yeah. And that was huge. We got one of the largest allocations for the tidal basin. So that new tidal basin area by the Jefferson, where the Cherry Tree Walk was, was flooding. It was twice daily flooding. It was like a complete mess there for the last 10 years, for 20 years. Wow. And so they've redone the whole thing. It's beautiful. So that's a big, huge project. We would never have been able to raise that kind of money. So there's certain projects on the list that are, like, perfect for government infusion of money or additional annual money.

26:17And then there is money that's more, like, exciting and, you know, engaging for the general public. So donors would want to fund that because it's public-facing. So, like, the lotkeeper's house, the U.S. Park Place 4 staples.

26:32Shelley:So what did you find in the lotkeeper's house? I mean, I guess it was open. It just was decrepit. I don't know. It was boarded up. So what was in there? For 40 years. It had a whole history of things. Aside from rats. Like what? Rats, birds, you know, decay. Well, it had been all sorts of things over its history. So it was built in the early 1800s, and it served as a home for a family that took the tolls. And then it eventually turned out into, like, was like a jail at one point. It was a brothel at one point. My goodness. It was like bathrooms at one point. And then it just kind of, they couldn't keep it up and couldn't repair it.

27:09And so they just shut it down. Forty years. And so we came in with private money that took about$6 million. And then we could reopen it. So it needs constant care. We need a maintenance fund to keep. You know, there's always something that needs to happen. Yeah. And so that was exciting. And then we did the same thing with the U.S. Park Police horse stables and education.

27:28Shelley:Oh, yeah. Huge project, thanks to Sheila Johnson and her passion. Incredible. She infused it with some initial seed money, and then we raised the rest. It was about a$22 million private funded project. But it is a beautiful, state-of-the-art officer's facility. The horses are like in a spa, basically. So they're super happy. It was built for the bicentennial and got very dilapidated. Didn't have any money to keep it up. And then we came in and decided we were going to make this the first project for the semi-quicentennial. It was the first one? First project of ours, yeah. So we could get that ready so that when the 250th came, they have a place as a staging area for more horses.

28:12There's 16 stalls there. So it's a pretty impressive place. And we built an 1 ,100-square-foot education center. So we had about 60 ,000 to 75 ,000 people go through there annually. Just to check it out. We want to see what's in there. We want to see the horses. They want to touch the... There's all sorts of fun displays for kids, for adults. And we have wonderful volunteer docents in there that describe the role of the mounted unit. That's amazing. That's fantastic. And the Park Service always says, in tongue-in-cheek with us, that was something that we had to produce. If we finally got money for it, it was on the lowest on the total cash of getting any appropriation.

28:50If we got it, we would have to have spent three times as much. It would have taken five years longer. And it would have been cinder block and floodlights. So what the trust does that a lot of people don't realize, we don't pass through any of our money to the park service. We actually invest the money directly into projects on the National Mall at the blessing of the park service. And we work closely with them on the selection of those projects. And then they're at the table with the design elements and the approval process. And then we actually work with our subcontractors and design teams and project management teams.

29:26and we get the project done. Always on time, on budget. That's the highest quality. You can do it right. You can do it more quickly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's, and the Park Service loves that. So Constitution Gardens is our next big project. It just happens to cost a lot more money. So it's having a harder time raising the rest of the money for it. But it is a beautiful 36 acres of a lake, and it's got the memorial to the 56 signers in the middle of it, walkways and lighting and trees that are not thriving. because that whole thing was built in haste for the Bicentennial. Right. Because it used to be those grounds used to hold the defense buildings before the Pentagon was built.

30:02So if you look at old pictures of the reflecting pool, you could see bridges going across from all the defense buildings that were built during World War I.

30:11Shelley:Well, that whole area, which I consider to be to the right, or obviously to the left, depending on where you're going. Yeah. But it's it. I mean, and even where Martin Luther King, the memorial was built, like there was really no man's land. It was really just volleyball courts. Just I mean, at best. Yeah. So there's been a lot of additions. But I think the challenge is there's a lot of additions, but they need the park service can't maintain. So even if you get a new monument or memorial, they need at least half a million to a million annually to maintain them. And so that's where the trust has come in, because we're trying to create awareness that maintenance of the mall is critical to keep it beautiful and safe.

30:54So we're trying to make sure that all these places have a program to maintain them. And so we're working on that. We've really built some really strong maintenance funds for the horse stables. We're building one for the Lockheepers House. German-American Friendship Garden is another one. The George Mason Memorial. Oh, and the Lincoln. And the Lincoln Undercraft. We didn't fund it, but we are helping launch it. We did a little bit of funding for it. But we're trying to just promote it and help create a smooth VIP experience for certain VIP tours. The Park Service is doing a great job with operating it right now.

31:31We get about 2 ,000 people through there a day. That's incredible. And it just opened, right? It just opened on the 25th of June. Yep. But does Central Park have something similar? I do. It's called Central Park Conservancy. And we actually modeled our early years on them. They're about 60 years old now, I think. But their first 20 years was all about just trying to... Keeping stuff. Well, just repair things and restore things. Right. And then they moved into much more, you know, they had all these kinds of events in the park. But they just really worked on the main lawn and just taking care of every piece.

32:20Shelley:Central Park is in great shape to me, but I only know Central Park from like the 50s to the 90s. Yeah, and then they've brought in a woman named Betsy Smith who used to work for Bloomberg. She's a rock star. She knows how to raise money. She's built a strong endowment. They've just been doing some amazing stuff there. Branding. So we've been taking some of their best practices. That's great. Yeah. But they work with the New York Parks and Rec. They don't work. It's not a national. It's not a federal property. It's a state. Oh, okay. So that's a whole different nuance. So they do get some reimbursement.

33:00At the beginning of their time, they were only like 9 % or 10 % of the work there. And now they're about 90%. But they manage most of the park now. So they have trucks that go out and maintain, and they get a reimbursement. Yeah. And they get reimbursed from the parks, the New York parks. So they also have an amazing donor list. But it's been many, many years. So I think the trust is hitting 20 years next year. That's it? I know. So we're proud to, like, we're still in our infancy, we say. Wow. And there's so much opportunity in the future, for sure. Wow. Yeah.

33:34Shelley:I thought I was much older than that. Well, what are you, I guess, most excited about? Or do you have to say everything all at once? Well, what I think is really interesting with the Constitution Gardens and the 56 Niners Memorial, we're still fundraising for that program. We hoped at this point we would have raised that money. But what's exciting is that just last December, the new Women's Suffrage National Monument is going to be going in on the west side of the park, of that area of Constitution Gardens. That's cool. Because it's right at 19th Street. So it's the 19th Amendment. They want it to be at 19th Street.

34:15So they're planning to—they love our design. And they want to be layered on top of it because it's not going to be a monument like a structure. They want to do something that is blended in the gardens. Oh, wow. It tells a really nice story. So we're excited about that, and we hope that that kind of re-energizes people to consider the investment in this space. And it'll be beautiful. It's like we're building a ring that people can walk around in the lake. I saw, and it's going to light up at night. Yeah, and then you can do model boating in the summer for kids. Right, which is very central park.

34:47And then do some activities that just makes people, you know, benches, and people can sit around. Right. And there will be little carts. You know, little carts. I was going to say, yeah, that'd be great. People want to go down there and hang out. So we really think it's a worthwhile project. So we're excited about that. We're excited to keep our monumental moment still going. Right. We're still in it. We're hopeful to hit our goals by the end of the year. But we also just launched last year, in honor of the 250th, the National Mall Gateway, which is our, like, gem of our programs. What is that?

35:21So the Gateway is a digital platform where you can learn all about the National Mall from anywhere in the world. Oh. So if you can't visit, you can learn about all the elements of it, if you were wondering. Because the Park Service had a nice website, but they had different sites for the different monuments. So we didn't know, right, just all one thing. Right. So we're super excited about it. We're giving much more. We do it with the Park Service, so it's approved content. And we have these lovely stories about all the different monuments, how they were built, the history of them, sort of the activities that have happened around the mall, the stories.

36:03Because the mall has been, like, there's 9 ,000 permanent events a year. There's so much going on. Yeah. And there's been so much that have stories that have been told over time that are sort of, that represent the country's history, right? So it's not just a place where you just go visit the monuments. You go and you honor those, you know, in the military that have served. You learn history. You go for the fireworks to celebrate. You go and play sports. You know, there's so many sporting events out there. You go just sit on the lawn. You go sit on the lawn, recreate, and, you know, just have a little rest.

36:36Fly kites. What's that? Fly kites. Yes, fly kites. And so there's all sorts of different activities that tell the story of our country. And who we are as Americans. So I just think it's a beautiful center stage. Yeah. So there is a little theater called Sylvan Theater at the base of the Washington Monument. That is also a longer-term project for ours is to transform that theater into a much more beautiful outdoor venue for performing arts. And we've been working with the Smithsonian and other performing arts organizations that are dying to have a free outdoor space for performances. Right. Military band wants to play there.

37:13Oh, yeah. You could have First Amendment demonstrations that happen all the time out there. We want to be able to use that stage. So there's all sorts of opportunities there, but it's a little longer runway of fundraising and execution against the project. And why is it called the Sylvan Theater? Because when it was originally located, like when they first started doing performances there, and this was back in the early 1900s, like early, like 1902 or 1905 was the very first. And it was basically, there was a big grove with a lot of trees at that spot. And over time, some of those trees have died, and they just haven't replanted trees.

37:51But at the time, it was like in a grove. So Sylvan means grove. But yeah, so it's exciting. And I think those are the, the Park Service's priorities are the Constitution Gardens and Sylvan, because they're kind of eyesores right now. They're not beautiful, and they're not inviting places. They're functional. They're functional, but they're just not at the level they should be, compared to the rest of the mall. And then they also have this survey lodge. It's near there. It's kind of near 17th, right across from the Tidal Basin, on the mall by the Washington Monument, which is a little teeny house that services the rangers but doesn't service them very well.

38:27So they want to expand that just a little bit.

38:28Shelley:Maybe that's what I was thinking of was the lock. Lockheeper's house? Yeah. Because it's super teeny. But we'll take your bite. But my question is, do you feel like people are stepping up or do you think that either because of this presidency or because it's Washington versus L.A. or something else that, I mean, how hard is it, I guess? So it's interesting. I think when I started this work back in 2016, we had gotten a big gift from VW because they had just moved into their headquarters, their Northern American headquarters moved up West End. So we did have some companies back then, but we, over the last 10 years, we've really focused on, let's see, again, we've got to remember, we were trying to make a small organization bigger.

39:22and then COVID hit, right? So we were just trying to, and a lot of companies were like, oh, I'm giving them medical care. Wells Fargo came in right before that. I saw that. So that was key. And then we had some other partners. And so coming out of COVID and then building up for the 250th, we ended up getting some really great companies. Like Humana came in big, Humana Foundation. And they did a beautiful installation, activation on the National Mall called the National Mall Pickleball, which was a wonderful event that engaged, you know, all ages, like kids to elderly and helped with social isolation for the elderly.

39:58Really great program. And then HP Inc. came on board and they've been doing an amazing amount of in-kind gifts and in-kind printing. So all our materials are printed in-kind and all our signs. It doesn't sound sexy until you say that. But it's like fantastic. It's amazing how much money we're saving. And then they actually invested. They were the primary donor to the National Mall Gateway. Oh, wow. So they helped us get that technology off the ground. GE Aerospace has been a big partner. Northrop Grumman is funding our Volunteers in Parks program, which is huge. And we just rebranded that. Kathy Merrill, Washingtonian Magazine, has been a big supporter of the organization for 20 years.

40:41and her family foundation gives and the magazine gives does free ad space for us which is fabulous and we've got all sorts of partners you know we're probably missing somebody David Rubensine's been a big partner and just a number of companies are really starting to get excited about what we're doing so we have a BNY Bank just came on board they're the first bank in the country from Hamilton founded it. So they came on board big. They wanted to be a part of it. They're involved in Lafayette Park. And we did a big restoration project with the Park Service and the Department of Interior for Lafayette Park.

41:21Restored the Pendantons. They hadn't been working in 20 years. I don't remember them ever working. Columbus Circle. Yeah. Did you see Columbus Circle at Union Station? Oh. I haven't seen it but I've heard about it. Yeah. So we did the study and the design and brought in the contractor that we thought would do the best job and then the park service paid the bill so we're very excited you feel so good it was that was a very big that's kind of a a new area for us to go into which is provide the research and the study and the design plan and even though we're fundraisers and we go after finding the money but there's other ways to find if the federal government wants to contribute let's have them contribute to a well thought out design right plan and so that it executes well so that's

42:08Shelley:Not to contribute theoretically, and then you get the plan. Yeah, right. And they have to do it like. Exactly. Right, right, right, right. Exactly. So we want to always make sure that we are working collaboratively because the Department of Interior is trying to figure out where more funding can come. The National Park Service is trying to invest wise and with their teams, and the administration cares about beautification in Washington. Right, yeah. So his spirit behind it has probably made most of this happen with the fountains. So there's like 19 ,000. It's just so obvious. And I've been living in D.C., I think, as long as you have.

42:44Shelley:And I love it here. But I just drive by knowing that it's not going to work. You know what I mean? Like not expecting that it's going to be shiny or anything. There just needs to be more collab with the mayor's office and the administration to really work together to find the money to make sure that the city stays beautiful. Because it's not its own state. It really needs to. Exactly. And until then, it's got to rely on Congress to invest in it. It's such an important fact. And, you know, aside from so many other reasons why D.C. is on its back foot because it's not a state. But you're right. Not getting that kind of funding to keep up the infrastructure is huge.

43:27Shelley:It's very, very important. It's going to be more important in the future years. Yeah. I know. I don't want to start getting neurotic about driving over bridges, but. Yeah. Which actually isn't really D.C. It's D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, but still. It's a lot. Adjacent. Yeah, adjacent. If you ever leave D.C., you've got some things to consider. Yeah. Wow, and they're doing so much. I know. All the infrastructure isn't changing, which is good. But even if we were to restore everything that needs to be restored on the National Mall, our job's not done. The maintenance of that. Right. And there's always some projects.

44:00So I think our future is really educational enrichment with the Gateway. Well, the other part of the Gateway, which I didn't mention, was there's a whole teacher platform. We do kits for the map that we gave. There's a big one that schools are getting in their classrooms. And so it teaches them about the mall. They can plan their trips. So a lot of eighth grade, not most, but a lot of eighth grade classrooms go to the mall. And there's no resources to help them plan their trip. So we have a whole portal for teachers so they can help plan their trip.

44:29Shelley:I'm so glad that you said that because my first inclination was because, you know, the lack of civic courses in public schools, apparently. And, you know, our kids are aged out. But it seems like it's a really big problem. So I was thinking to myself, you put all of this work into trying to teach everybody about the mall. Do you think the classrooms are really embracing it, like actually using it? Do you get good feedback? Oh, yeah, we do. And it's just out of the gate, right? So we love every classroom and every school to do it. So we're working on a state-by-street strategy to get implemented there.

45:11But I'll tell you one example. During COVID, this is why this kind of, we had an aha moment during COVID. The Lincoln Memorial turned 100 because it was 2022, right? And in 1922 is when they built the Lincoln. So in 2022, during COVID, the Park Service was doing, they had one person at the Park Service prior to that who would go into classrooms and do little classroom talks. Around the area? Just around the area. Or like all over the country? Around the area. No, just around the area. That's all she could do. Yeah, right. One person. And then classrooms would call her and say, oh, we're going to be down on the mall on May 10th, and so would you meet us down there?

45:50So she would meet them down there and do a little tour. and we were like, okay, but what if we doubled or tripled that?

45:57Shelley:Had three people. Had three people. Right. And so how are you tracking this? Not tracking it. Like no sense of, I'm a data-driven type. Probably my daughter's a math major, but I'm all about data. And evaluating that. So the point was, when the Lincoln turned, when COVID happened, they were like, can you guys pay for, can you author, can you organize the Zoom call? because I don't get to go into classrooms anymore, so I'm going to do my classroom talks on a Zoom, but Park Service won't let us use our Zoom platform. So they came to the partner. We'll set up the Zoom platform, and Park Ranger Jen would be on the platform, and classrooms would sign up, and they would do some promotion.

46:41She would go to the 200 classrooms and say, oh, I'm doing a Zoom, and so we'd have like 100. Then it was like 100 people would show up, 100 classrooms would show up. And then we did something around the Lincoln series, and we helped promote it. And we had 12 ,000 classrooms in one day. Wow. One session. 12 ,000. That means times to times 30 students in a class. And this is where the video is in the classroom. They're sitting in their desks watching. That's so wonderful. And so the aha moment was like, wait a minute. Yeah, there's a hunger. There's a hunger and a need, and we're not fulfilling it the best way.

47:16So how can we do this best? So Gateway was born out of that. But the goal is that it does have more interactive opportunities. Like right now we have 360 degree tours. So it's not just a person talking. Oh, I'm sure it's gorgeous. It's like photos. And you're now walking inside the Lincoln Memorial. And kids are probably like, I want to go visit that mom. And they're like, maybe in five years or next year. But now they can see it. And so what we're trying to do is have more of the teachers build it into their curriculum and then work with our team to bring this to life for them. And then this way, you know, like, yeah, especially like some people go, oh, I came to D.C.

47:56I'll never forget when I was in eighth grade and that was our classroom trip. Right. I never got to do that.

48:02Shelley:I didn't either. And I'm not that far away. I was like, there was no plan to bring me to the mall. I never saw the mall until I came here. Me too. After graduating college. I was staying with a friend and she brought me to the mall. So now it's like you can check it out. And we have a bloom cam. During COVID, we started a bloom cam where people could watch the blooms if you couldn't go down. Oh, that's a good idea. We had like 10 million hits to the website. It was crazy during COVID. That's amazing. Yeah, and now it's less because people go. I actually will sign up to the bloom cam because I'm still, again, you know, I keep thinking to myself, will there ever be parking?

48:39Shelley:But no. Well, now they do this drive-thru. I wonder if that's like the oldest thing I've ever said on the podcast. You have to get up to your zone and walk. But now we have Monument Camp, too. So there's a camera at the top of the Washington Monument that faces the Lincoln. Do you know I've never been up there? Much to my chagrin. Why don't we take the podcast and put a lunch up at the top? Let's do it. We could have had lunch at the top of the Washington Monument. It's a nice idea, though. Right on. Maybe in the future. Let's totally do that. I'm serious. You're listening to Lunch with Shelly.

49:22Shelley:So you mentioned earlier in the podcast, you know, you're a California girl, and I got this bohemian vibe. So maybe we could talk about the dead afterwards, as I'm a huge fan. That's not your jam. My ex-husband was. Okay. I'm an indie independent. When do you think that philanthropy, I mean, when did you know? Because you have like this most marvelous thread going through your life. And even the sports stuff is philanthropic. So I don't know. I mean, does it mean like are you an Aquarius? That's why you're so philanthropic. I'm an Aries. I'm a Ram. Exactly. I don't know. I think I'm a middle sister.

50:05I'm a number three of four kids. Okay. I was the mediator. I was the centrist in the family. And the fixer? And the fixer, I would say. But also just, I think I always, like, I was always funny when I was growing up. When I think I was 13 or 12. I think I started when I was 10 or 12. And, like, my siblings were getting jobs in banks in the summer. And I was like, we live at the beach. Boring. I was like, I cannot imagine sitting at 9 to 5 in some 9 to 5 job. I know. I still have a hard time. So I created a cleaning business to clean the houses in my neighborhood so that I could clean in the morning and then go to the beach in the afternoon.

50:49So that was my thing. And I was like, and then I would waitress. I was in the hospitality. So it's not surprising that I ended up being loving restaurants. Into the food, yeah. I was a waitress or a wait staff for 16 years. Wow. So even when I worked at Shara Strength, I worked at night just to pay the bills. Cool. So I was, because I knew I wasn't getting a salary. A certain income level. So, but anyway, so I don't know where it came from. I think when I was in college, I remember doing a program that was, it was called Athletes for Youth. And that was probably the spirit where I was always the helper anyway.

51:22I was like the organizer. I was the woman on the committee for your high school that did the parties. I want everybody to have a good time. You know, I was like, well, everyone's doing policy stuff for the school. I'm like, hey, what's the homecoming dance going to look like? And, you know, I was doing all that. I always had this, like, I want to make it fun for everybody, and everybody, I want to take care of everybody. So I think when I did the college program, it was really very meaningful where they partnered. It's like Big Brother's Big Sister, but it was athletes from college paired with community kids who needed help.

51:52So I was paired with somebody, and then I kind of got the bug for it. And then there was an opportunity to do it nationally after graduating, but then the program lost its funding so they didn't do it so I was in the queue to be deployed so I was like well I still want to do something right meaningful so that's where I was finding meaning finding the meaning and then I think I'm always um there if the organization needs help and support what are the biggest issues that was my consulting practice too which is what are non-profit leaders most looking for so if it's fundraising help or event planning or marketing or just leadership banter.

52:31Like, how can I make this decision? So I'm always like a good ear. So I think I did that. I mean, I think with Share Our Strength, it was just a, I always find that my career has gone in an opportunity. I've never been a, this is my plan. Yeah. Never. That's not Catherine. So I was always, I happened to meet Billy Shore by a total fleek. And then he's like, what are you doing? And I'm like, this is what I'm doing. He goes, what do you want to be doing next? And I said, I was looking for a job. So what do you want to do? I want to work for a cause. I was like, I want to work for a cause. I was all excited.

53:02Right, right, right. And he's like, you need to come work for my cause. And I go, oh. And the funny story with him is back then it was pink slips, you know, for messages. Yeah, yeah. Remember that? Yeah. In those days? No one probably knows those today. But he was like, listen, I'm on the campaign trail. Just call me. I'll call. I will call you back eventually, but don't give up calling me. So I was like, okay. So I just called him 27 times one month. Like, I just kept calling him. So he calls me up one day and he goes, I just want to tell you. You passed my first step. Never gave up. Like, you kept calling.

53:32And I wanted you to know that I said I was going to call you back, and I called you back. And I was like, and then he just was so funny. He kept giving me these little, like, he just basically, he's like a mentor. So he's inspired my contribution, my energy, and my passion for this. Because I tell my staff, my kids, I tell my team members, I'm like, just pick up the phone and call. If you can't get an answer, pick up the phone and call somebody. Because they'll be shocked sometimes. They'll be like, how did you get that? And I go, because I called her. Exactly. How do you know that? Because I picked up the phone.

54:03There's a lot of emails going back and forth. Exactly. Like, why is there all these emails going on? Right. Let's just, let's get to the, let's go find out why they want. And they usually, executive level, they'll call you back. Right. If you're an exec calling an exec, they don't, like, totally ghost you. Now, I've been ghosted. But, so anyway, so I think there was some good practical things. But he also gave me the bug for this work. And he also empowered me to participate in it. So I think once I got to come up with ideas and see them through, I just got hooked. I was in. So and then I think with the D.C.

54:35Ed Fund was more of a recruitment. And my kids were in D.C. public schools. And I also knew a lot of, you know, I just I know how to diplomacy is a theme for me. So I know how to maneuver the different bodies and so and the different board members. And so I did that for a couple of years. I didn't stay in it too long just because funding was changing within the Ed's system at that time. So it was good, though. There was some good stuff there. And they were doing a big event at the Kennedy Center at the time. And so that was kind of my skill set was to produce a big event. So that was good. And then the trust came along, and it was more of a they came at me twice.

55:14And the first time I was like, I really can't do this right now. And then the second time I was like, you really can't find anybody to do that, right? Like, why not? Right, right, right. Because they were in a rough patch, and so they needed help getting it to the next level. So I said, give it a try.

55:29Shelley:I think you're just in the flow, a whirl. No, I really do. I think you're in the flow. With your, I mean, and we have so many shared interests, but with your food, with your philanthropy, and with all of the sports stuff, it's like the best of all worlds. Yeah. Okay, so here's probably the hardest question I'm going to ask you. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. If you could have lunch anywhere in the world, where would it be and where would you be eating? Well, I'm probably picking someplace that I haven't been because I've eaten a lot of good food in different places. But, you know, the place I've never been is like Burgundy, France or the wine country of France.

56:10Like I would love to do like yummy French food and wine. But I'm a huge like Indian food. I go to India to eat Indian food. I love Italian, Mediterranean food, but I've eaten that so much that I've had the most amazing meals, just even on this last trip. So I feel like I've checked that box. Right. But, you know, also the Asian food I love. So anything, China, Japan, sushi. The East Trust gave the same answer, too.

56:40Shelley:I can't help. I love it all. Okay, one place, if you could have lunch tomorrow, boom. Oh, tomorrow. Yeah, anywhere. Well, anywhere. I mean, it's a... Well, I love Austria mozza, so I'd probably do that tomorrow. No, I mean, anywhere in the world. Oh, here, oh, in the world. Pick me up and take me. Yes. Anywhere in the world. Oh, man. Where would it be and what would you be eating? Well, I love Hawaii. Drop me in Hawaii for lunch with yummy raw fish. Yeah. With, like, I don't know, just yummy dish with, I don't know, vegetables. I mean, I'm a clean, simple eater, usually. I still love my In-N-Out burger, one of my favorite spots in Southern California.

57:24But kind of not helpful. I don't have, I don't have, like, a... Nobody said Hawaii yet. I know. I love Hawaii. I went to Maui for the first time two years ago, and I was, like, hooked. I've never been. Hooked. First of all, you could just walk to the local market, which I would never get fish at my local market.

57:39Shelley:Right, of course. But you go there and it's like yummy mahi-mahi and tuna that looks like delicious. I'm getting some surfer vibe next door to you, too. I have surf. I'm putting you down for Hawaii. I know. Hawaii is like a few surfers. Just the fish and the life and the ocean. Incredible. Sue Catherine, it is so incredibly nice to meet you. I knew you were going to be extraordinary. And you are extraordinary. Thank you. It's a treat. I knew it from the first time I met you. But this was really, really fun, wasn't it? Most definitely. Yeah, it was great. I learned a lot about what's going on at the National Mall right now.

58:20Shelley:Yeah. Oh, and by the way, there is so much more to find out about. So everybody should check out www.nationalmall250.org. Yes. Really, there's so much information there. And the Gateway is there, too. And the Gateway is there. You can get a link to the Gateway. Oh, a link to the gateway. But in any event, you are charming and super cool. So are you. And I am so glad that you said yes. Thank you so much for being on. Of course. Honored to be on your show. Thank you. Everyone, thank you so much for listening. I'm sure you didn't have, well, maybe you had as much fun as we did. But anyway, thanks for listening to this episode.

58:59Shelley:Check out other episodes at www.lunchwithshelly.com or wherever you get your favorite podcasts. And as always, peace, love, and lunch.