So New Sunny Mount Missionary Baptist Church is where I is where I fellowship. I serve on the usher board. I'm a greeter as well as a trustee. And and I absolutely love the fact that we're in the center. We're located right across from Calvary Cemetery on on the corner of West Flarson and Shreve. And our pastor, each ministry is charged with giving back to community. And so on a monthly basis, all of the ministries are either making sandwiches for the homeless, or they're knocking on doors trying to figure out what the the basic support that they need and how the church can help in those efforts. So, again, that's connected to community. And our church is right near the tornado, impacted area. We're fortunate that we did not have any damage, but we have been supporting that area for quite some time. Mhmm. So I I love the fact that everything that we do is based on our community and how we can serve and lead and, again, make sure that the folks in that area have access to, necessary resources.

Yeah. Well, you're doing what the church was called to do, Andrea, and that's to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Right? Yes. Amen. We are all to serve, and, he served. Right? So you're just you're modeling him, so I just love that. Well, is your faith like, let me ask you this. Has your faith ever been tested in leadership? And if it has been, what did that look like?

Well, you know, that's a great question, Lisa. One of the things that I often question is my leadership style given, you know, we work in a multigenerational, work environment, and everybody's needs and expectations are different. And so what I try to lead with is being a servant leader. Mhmm. Empowering those individuals to lead, and giving them the autonomy, but also pairing that with accountability, and expectations so that they also understand that with this work comes a lot of accountability.

Yes. And

and all of us, will be held accountable for our actions, but also giving them the tools to thrive and to feel empowered and supported throughout the process.

That's such a great point. You gotta have both, don't you? Right? Because empowerment without accountability could be chaos. Right?

And confusion. And a lot of confusion.

And maybe get things done, but not getting the right things done. So, I love that. You got the empowerment plus the accountability. And, I happen to feel the accountability because, oftentimes, people may seem like that that's encroaching, but I feel like it's loving to have the that accountability piece too. So

And, Lisa, I I would add too, it has a lot to do with the approach. Mhmm.

Because One one hundred percent.

Yes. The approach is critical as well. And, again, that has a lot to do with how you can support your team by making sure that they feel supported a and that we can come to a happy medium. Leaders don't always have the answers.

Yeah.

And we have to acknowledge that at some point and lead with humility.

Amen to that. Amen to that. I always say, if you think you are the smartest person in the room, you're clearly in the wrong room. Yes. But, you know, it does. It takes humility. It takes vulnerability, I think, Andrea, to go, hey, listen. I don't really know what to do here. You know?

So I

need to rely on you guys. I need to hear your voice. So, that's so good. Such a great leadership lesson. Well, I've got lots more questions for you, but we need to take a really quick break, and we'll be right back with Andrea Jackson Jennings on the Something Extra podcast.

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Welcome back, everyone, to the Something Extra podcast with Andrew Jackson Jennings. We've been learning so much from Andrea this morning. I'm so excited to learn a little bit more here. I've got more questions for her. But, Andrea, during COVID, you had a thirteen million dollar budget. And almost overnight, it went to thirty nine million. Yeah. What did that season teach you about leadership?

You know, that was a very trying time for all of us. One of the things that I I recognized early is that when the government shut down and all of the employees were asked to work remotely, A lot of them, Lisa, didn't even have the tools to work remotely.

Right.

Right? They didn't have computers. They did not have access to Internet. And so here are government employees who are helping folks every day needed help themselves. So we learned early from that that we need to make sure that folks have the tools that they need to be successful, whether that's working in the office or outside of the office. In addition to that, there were a lot of federal dollars that were coming in to make sure that each sector, needed had access to, the resources. And so that's the reason why my budget increased swiftly. Mhmm. And all of these mandates that were coming in, and folks weren't able to leave their homes. So we had to make sure that they had access to food, that they had access to medical, supplies, that those that were disabled, had delivery companies that could drop off whatever their needed supplies were. So we were charged with a lot during that pandemic. And so, again, it was a learning experience because we we learned, that there were a lot of folks that just were in need and that we were thankful that we did receive the funding from the federal government to try to fill the gap Mhmm. For those individuals.

Yeah. You know, I'm just thinking as you're talking, Andrea, there there's a lot of emotional investment. I mean, it's physically probably that was very physically taxing, but also emotionally when you're carrying so much. I mean, that's how, you know, how did you balance that? I mean, like, because inter I would be internalizing all those stories. Right? So, you know

Well, and you feel responsible. You feel responsible because you're the face of the organization. We had meetings in the morning at seven o'clock, and, we had meetings in the evening at at seven PM. So at seven o'clock AM, we met. And then at seven PM, all of the leadership team for county met together and talked through what the challenges were, what did we need what needed an immediate response, and then who was gonna take the lead on all of those things. And so it it was emotionally draining. Yeah. But I have to say, I have a very supportive family, and then my faith, you know, sustained me. So I put my personal feelings aside because I knew what was at risk for everyone else. Mhmm. And that was how I was able to to balance it at all.

Yeah. I love that you said that. Well, I know. I've read I've read somewhere that you've been described as a crisis manager, and I would definitely say during that time, there was crisis. Right? It was definitely a crisis. Yeah. It's a there's a lot of emotional weight. So, like, would you say would you say because, I mean, I was gonna ask you this question about, like, burnout if you ever feel that, but probably, I think you just said, like, your faith is probably what sustains you during those times when you just feel that exhaustion. Right, Andrea?

And it you know, the other piece to that is is we are learning this whole work life balance. And what does that really mean? Does that mean, you know, taking off a day periodically to just take a break? Mhmm. Do some things that really make you feel good about you and the work that you're providing to community? So I find myself, Lisa, trying to find my happy. Right? And and this season, because it's spring, my happy is working in the yard. I have rose bushes that I need to trim, and so that's therapeutic for me. Right? Yes. Yes. My flowers and making sure that I'm connecting with mother nature. So that's how I find my happy, and it's a distressor for me. A lot of people find ways of taking care of themselves from an emotional and mental standpoint. But what I'm doing for this season is, working in my yard and and just trying to, meditate on life and and how thankful and grateful I am.

Yeah. Oh, that's so good. Gratitude. You know? Making those gratitude lists are very important. Our family, Andrea, several years ago, just a little practice that we do. Every night, we do a gratitude circle. And the whole family is around, and we go, you know, sometimes and sometimes we include my eighty six year old mother-in-law in it, and she loves it. We FaceTime with her, and she loves it when we include her. But, you know, we're going from youngest to oldest or oldest to youngest, and everybody goes around and really is very thoughtful, intentional about what they're great grateful for. Because when you list all those things, it's hard to be, you know, it's hard to be disgruntled when you focus on things.

And I think as a human being, you know, we're human. So Yes. Naturally, we're gonna have brief moments where we we can get frustrated. But for the most part, I don't stay there because I have so much to be thankful and grateful for.

Yeah. That's so good. That's so good. Yeah. And and the other thing that I've had to learn too because I kinda grew up in a kind of a performance productivity, you know, type environment. You know? And that's something I've had to learn that rest is sacred too. Rest really, you know, is the only way you can restore. So I love that you said, you know, maybe just get out in the yard and, not necessarily work harder, but just find that thing that brings you joy and happiness because then how how are you gonna show up for other people?

And that's it. If if you haven't taken care of yourself, self care, Right? If you haven't done that, then how do you sup provide the support that others need and rely on on a daily basis?

Yeah. So good. So good. Well, let's talk about this a little bit because what you're doing now, there's a lot of collaboration. A lot of collaboration, nonprofits, government philanthropy. I mean, you guys are not doing again, you're kind of I kinda look at you as the glue. I kinda look at you as the hub, you know, of everything. But, you know, I how have you seen or how how have you guys made that work? Because sometimes you see organizations that, how do I wanna describe very territorial, and it's hard for them to collaborate? You know? I mean, are there things that you have done and brought to bear that really makes that collaboration easier?

I think, you know, from from a collaborative standpoint, trust is important. One of the things that I really focus on is creating trust and relationships. Sometimes in this work, it could be very transactional.

Good point.

You know, it could be very, very transactional. Folks are are multitasking. They're just trying to check the box and get all these things done. But if we take the time to establish relationships that create trust, then that makes the more the collaboration more meaningful and lasting Mhmm. Is what I've experienced.

Yeah. So tell me the secret sauce to to building a relationship that is relational instead of transactional.

Well, I think what we have to start off is just meeting to get to know each other and not just meeting to take care of business. Can we meet to have a cup of coffee? A lot of times, I meet quarterly with folks just to say, hey. Just to do a check-in.

Yes.

How are you? Is there anything going on? Is there any support that we can give you? You know, often enough, folks think you wanna meet with them just so that you can get something from their organization or looking for a check to be written. And and it's not often about that. It's about just setting some time to get to know you, your organization, your work, to see how we align, and to see how we could be partners. And not short term partners, but long term partners.

Mhmm. That is so good. That's so good, Andrea. And that goes across sectors. Every every sector. Right. Yes. For sure. Yeah.

Because need has no boundaries, Lisa.

Yes.

Need has no boundaries.

That's so good. That is so good. Well, yeah, we kinda talked about this. You said that you wanna be a voice for the voiceless. I read that somewhere.

Yes.

You know yeah. I mean, what does that responsibility really feel like, Andrea?

It it feels you know, it could be heavy. Mhmm. Because a lot of time, the folks that are in need, Lisa, aren't in the rooms making the decisions. And I would say that you have to get on the community and talk to the folks that are impacted. I remember some years ago in in North County where we were wanting to open up a youth center. The demographics were changing. The community was was the it was getting into be an older community, and a lot of folks were moving out. And so we decided to just talk to the community to find out what the issues were. It was the the generation, the younger generation against the older generation. The older generation, like, you know, all the things. Right? Yes. So the answer was for us to create a youth center so that the youth could come, hang out. We had, instructors there to help them with their homework. We had snacks there, so in case they needed if they were a little hungry, to hold them over until their parents got home from work. We also if we had some youth that had some challenge with education, we had instructors there to help them Mhmm. With obtaining their, GED at the time it was called. So we we felt that this is what that community needed at the time. We didn't just walk in and say, this is what we're gonna do. Right. Right. We we survey those individuals. Mhmm. Yes. We listen. And that's critical, Lisa.

It is. It is. That is so awesome. Is that youth center still in operation today?

It is. It's in Spanish Lake. It's called Youth on the Rise.

Yeah. Love that. I love that so much. Yeah. So you are now serving on the bistate board. We talked about that. You were appointed by governor Parson, I think, in twenty twenty four. Right. There's ten people that serve on that board, five from Missouri, five from Illinois. What tell me about that board. What does the board do? Because, our listeners may not may not understand that. It's part of the by state development, the transit. Right?

But It is. You know, the the board, we meet regularly with the president and the executive leadership team, at by state. We talk about what the needs are of that particular organization and how the board can be instrumental in supporting that. A lot of times, it's fiduciary responsibility. It's talking through some of the challenges that the institution or the organization is having. Mhmm. And and we're a thought partner with them in in those areas. It's been a very rewarding appointment. I have a lot of respect for that organization. They they are they have a tough job. They're trying to make sure that they have a functioning transit system, that the the team, have the resources that they need in order to get folks to their places of employment, on a daily basis. So, yeah, it's it's been quite rewarding. I've learned a lot, and I respect those folks over at Bi State.

Aw. Well, that is so awesome. Well, I'm glad that you're there. I'm glad you're there, Andrea. I'm glad to. What's your term? Is it a four year term or a two year term?

What is it for us? Yeah. It is. It is. And so, yeah, I hope to I hope to continue to serve.

Yeah. That's awesome. Well, I'm glad that you're there. Well, speaking about learning a lot, you are a lifelong learner. You're a lifelong learner. I mean, you've got a bachelor's degree in general studies, master's degree in education,

You know, it was during during the pandemic too. Well, we finished up being face to face, but for three, almost four years, that was a very stressful time working full time and as well as taking nine hours, which is a lot at at the graduate level. Mhmm. That particular cohort, it was very interesting to learn from other other individuals, but it was a a very stressful time trying to manage the county, department of human services while also, being in a doctoral program. My dissertation was on disinvestment, in neighborhoods and, in particular, the health care system Mhmm. And just all of the the challenges that the current system has, today that they're faced with and the folks that impacted that are impacted the most. So it was very rewarding when I was able to cross that stage and get my hood. And what was even more so rewarding is that I was the commencement speaker last year.

I know. Well, that was kind of a full circle moment for you. Right?

It was. It was it was one of the most rewarding experiences that I have had, just being there to speak to the students and and give them a a boost of confidence and let them know that anything is possible. If you put your your, your your hard work, your time, and your heart into it as as many folks do, we we never know about the challenges that students are faced with today. And so not taking that lightly to know that they persevered and are able to walk across the stage, it it was awesome.

Definitely, a highlight for you. I was gonna ask you not to regurgitate your keynote

Yes.

But I was gonna ask you what were some of the main things that you told the students? I mean, you've said, you know, put your hard work in. You know, it's possible. Is there anything else, Andrea, that you tried to deposit in them in that keynote that would be maybe helpful to to some of our listeners?

Well, one of the things too that I wanna even though I know that that day is focusing on the graduates Mhmm. I also wanted to thank the folks that helped get them there. Because often enough, there's a story behind that. And so I took a moment to reflect and give those individuals an opportunity to be acknowledged too because not everybody is it's it's not it's not always been an easy road for everyone. Right. But I also told them that anything is possible, as I've shared with you. Anything is possible, but you do have to put in the time, the hard work, and be willing to face the obstacles that will be before you. It's not always gonna be easy. This life, no one ever promised us that life would be easy. But if you put in the time, the work, and and the heart, the grit that's required today, then you you will have a successful path, not without bumps.

There will be bumps.

There will be bumps. We just

put it out there. There will be bumps. There will be obstacles. So prepare mentally for that now.

That's right.

What will you do when that obstacle when that bump comes? You know? And prepare for that. So