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Lighting is the subtle shift. That spark of brilliance. The element that transforms a space from ordinary to extraordinary.
The Reveal is where lighting professionals, residential experts, and designers come together to explore the art and business of outdoor design. From the intricacies of running a design company to the transformative power of lighting itself, this channel gives you the insight, inspiration, and tools to bring every project to life.
Andy Schwindler (00:14):
Welcome to The Reveal. I'm Andy Schwindler. My special guest today is Kitty Campbell, Executive Director of Leadership Lafayette, a group that's been developing leaders in our region for many years. Kitty works with people who are ready to grow, ready to contribute, and ready to be something bigger than just themselves. And that's what we're going to explore here today. And I'm really glad she's here.
Kitty Campbell (00:41):
Thanks so much for having me, Andy.
Andy Schwindler (00:42):
And Kitty, I've been thinking a lot lately about the difference between people that learn to be leaders and ones that kind of contribute to become leaders. And the difference really, what is that moment like when they discover or you discover that they are actual leaders?
Kitty Campbell (01:05):
Well, everybody can be a leader, Andy. I mean, you can go to school and you can go get a management degree. I went to Kelley School and you study all of these things, but what really makes a leader, and especially in our case, it's servant leaders, it's more about caring about others. It's more about figuring out how you can contribute and give back. So that's not something you learn in a textbook. That's something you feel. And a lot of people learn that by example, by watching their parents, by watching other people in the community. It may be all sorts of things as they're growing up their experiences. And so it's not textbook learning. It's really getting out, getting involved, and especially in what we're doing with volunteerism in the community. That's a whole different animal than leading a C-suite kind of corporation.
Andy Schwindler (01:55):
No, and I think that that's kind of where my mind goes is leading corporations and businesses, but it's so much bigger than that. And I've noticed something special about you is you identify those people in the community, the need before they even know.
Kitty Campbell (02:11):
Well, it takes a village, believe me. I mean, I'm not out there cherry-picking everybody to be the heads of everything else. But you see a spark in people. With you and Michelle, I thought, oh, you would be great because you care about the community, you've got this wonderful business, but you also have a big heart. I think when we really closed the deal on you being in Class 55 this year, we were at Food Finders Blue Jean Ball. And here we are all having a great evening, but it's for a really good cause that really matters. And so being able to share that evening with you, it's like, okay, it's time. You guys are ready and you're ready to get involved and kind of up your game in volunteerism and giving back to the community.
Andy Schwindler (02:56):
Absolutely. And I guess maybe that's why I thought you were out cherry picking all the good ones because we talked for almost two years.
Kitty Campbell (03:05):
Oh, sure.
Andy Schwindler (03:05):
You kind of let me know, "Hey, Leadership Lafayette would be right up your alley." Absolutely. But you also let me know there was an application process. This wasn't something that you just said, "Hey, Andy, come be in our group." It was, "Hey, Andy, apply to be in our group and we'll see." And I actually, I know that there's probably psychology behind that, but it made it feel really important. And when I went through the questions, they were so thoughtful and it really pushed me a little bit to figure out if I was ready. And honestly, you saw stuff that in need that maybe I didn't see in myself. And that's kind of what I'm picking up on is that you see it and I think you kind of push people to do the thing that they're capable of.
Kitty Campbell (03:50):
Sure, sure. I think nobody says, "Oh, I'm a natural born leader," or some people might and maybe those are the folks we don't want. But no, I think it's something where a lot of people are more humble, have imposter syndrome and they like, "I can't get involved and really make a difference." And everybody can. It's just the timing has to be right. And with our application process, part of that is making sure that we have a really diverse group of people that really represent our community. So it's nonprofits, it's for- profits. It's people from all over the community, small business owners, entrepreneurs. Some C-suite people. There's been all kinds of very important people in our community.
(04:35):
They may not be in that role at the time they do Leadership Lafayette, some are. We have Chancellor Bounty from Ivy Tech, and there's a lot of people that think, "Oh, it's too late for me, and it's never too late. It's what time is right for you to get involved, to learn more about our community, and everybody can learn more about the community." I've been here for quite a while before I took this role and I thought I knew a lot about the community, but it's evolving every day. It's changing and growing and there's always new people and new opportunities that arise.
Andy Schwindler (05:10):
Yeah. And I'm glad you put it that way because wait, I didn't really know what to expect. And the things that I was looking for were the same things that she just talked about. I wanted to learn more about Lafayette. I felt like I knew it pretty well geographically, but there's so many inner workings of how everybody contributes to make this such a great town.
Kitty Campbell (05:32):
And they change. And it's greater Lafayette. It really is. It's Lafayette, it's West Lafayette, it's Tippecanoe County, it's our surrounding counties. It really is the whole region. We got people from all over.
Andy Schwindler (05:44):
Yeah, that's what I noticed as well. I'm actually in Leadership Lafayette right now. I'm going through this part of the program. I'm Class 55, but it's really fun to see the people that were here before me that helped get us to where we are now, how they still contribute, how they're still growing within the community. I think that's the most exciting part on a network.
Kitty Campbell (06:10):
Oh my gosh. Yeah. So I love the quote that Tom Murtagh shared as he was being acknowledged as one of our distinguished alumni leaders, and he shared that without being in Class 20 in Leadership Lafayette, he didn't think he would've had the confidence to run for office. Can you imagine? County without Tom
Andy Schwindler (06:31):
Murtagh? I had never met him personally, but as we got into some of the things and the initiatives, his name came up almost every single time as someone I needed to connect with. So I'm excited he's part of this. At some point, I'll ask you for the connection.
Kitty Campbell (06:47):
Yeah. Well, he was not our navigating civic issue sting.
Andy Schwindler (06:51):
I remember that.
Kitty Campbell (06:51):
Okay.
Andy Schwindler (06:52):
I remember that. But that thing is to sit down and have a conversation. And that's really what this is all about.
Kitty Campbell (06:58):
Absolutely.
Andy Schwindler (06:59):
Is being able to be in a room with the people because sometimes you don't know where to go to do the things you want to do, whether it's volunteering, whether it's helping out, whether it's donating, whether it's helping just a community grow. And it's nice that we've got somebody and just about all the little nooks and cranny.
Kitty Campbell (07:19):
That is the whole intent. That's the purpose of the application to make sure that the whole community is represented.
Andy Schwindler (07:26):
Yeah. So I want to go back to finding leaders, finding people that you have identified as someone who would be a great contributor. What are the things that you see along the way where they cross over from being somewhat skeptical about themselves to actually stepping into the role of being a leader?
Kitty Campbell (07:47):
Well, everybody's a leader in some way, and everybody's also a follower. And the thing that's important is to know when to do which role.
Andy Schwindler (07:56):
That's right. No, that's great.
Kitty Campbell (07:57):
And so I think what we're looking for in our application process is somebody's intention. Do you want to really get involved and make our community better? Those are the people that we're looking for. You spoke about the real thoughtful questions in the application. Those are the things that the selection committee really sits down and looks at that and really looks at, okay, is this person just in it for themselves and wanting to network or do they really see a bigger way that they can get involved and help other people and help other organizations and really, really have a good intention for serving the community because it is servant leadership. There's all kinds of leadership.
Andy Schwindler (08:42):
That's what has helped me in this journey as well is I've learned about things that I wouldn't otherwise know or understand. And I think it's that better understanding that helps you have the empathy, the thoughtfulness, and the fact that you can actually make a difference by just doing little
Kitty Campbell (09:04):
Things. Absolutely.
Andy Schwindler (09:05):
And that's kind of what I've taken from it, but I've learned so much more about how great teams work together and how you can work with other people to get the initiatives that we want to accomplish together. I mean, the last one we went to was so thoughtful in the sense that looking at a problem, but not how to solve the problem, how did that problem even arise?
Kitty Campbell (09:30):
Right, right. Looking at the root causes and getting- So it does get a little academic there for sure. It gets a little
Andy Schwindler (09:36):
Academic.
Kitty Campbell (09:37):
But the way in which you approach it, the way to look at it and the session you're speaking about is our collaborative leadership session, which I think is a really, really important one because coming together and getting groups that have no org chart that have. It's really hard when you're getting a bunch of people in the room and there's no definite flow of, okay, this person's in charge. There may be some definite leaders that need to come to the table, but getting all those voices heard and it's harder than just a top-down approach and saying, okay, this is our plan, this is what we're going to do and executing it. But the end result is so much stronger when you get everybody working together. And there's more ownership in the process too. Absolutely. Which is great. And sometimes you wouldn't even think of things that are really brilliant.
Andy Schwindler (10:29):
That's the powerful part.
Kitty Campbell (10:30):
Yeah, absolutely. If you don't look at the end user of a service, say you're looking at something like food insecurity or housing insecurity, many of us are very fortunate to have never been in that position. And if you've never been there, we do things like the poverty simulation to try to give you a snapshot, but that's all it is. Until you've walked in their shoes, you don't know what that experience is really like. So how tone deaf or just would it be to not talk to someone and say, "What was that like? How can we help? What can we do? " Because you may be having the best of intentions, but if you don't understand the experience of someone going through that situation, you can't begin to know what might be the most impactful for them.
Andy Schwindler (11:21):
So good. I'm so glad you said it that way because it is all of our own unique perspectives and experiences that shape how we come together.
Kitty Campbell (11:32):
Right, absolutely.
Andy Schwindler (11:33):
And I love that. I want to talk a little bit more about Leadership Lafayette, but the people that don't really know. Sure. I'd love to talk a little bit more just about what it is, again, and what its purpose is. And then I want to lead into something I'm really excited about, which is our capstone project.
Kitty Campbell (11:54):
Absolutely. Yeah. Well, Leadership Lafayette's been around for almost 44 years. It was founded in 1982 and-
Andy Schwindler (12:02):
That's still- I
Kitty Campbell (12:03):
Know. It's amazing. Amazing. And in May, you'll get to meet some of the founders that were involved in the very, very first programs. So they really had foresight and we were really lucky to have some funding from the Lilly Foundation and the Gannett Foundation because people were seeing there was a change in how people were basically bringing the people and those folks as volunteers to the table to run lots of organizations. There used to be a situation where there would be maybe someone who might stay home and have time to go volunteer during the day while the kids were at school. And you fast forward to the 80s and a lot of those situations were just, that wasn't the case for people. Maybe there were single family homes. If there were two parents at home, maybe both of them needed to work, and it was just that landscape was really changing, and yet the need for people to serve in volunteer roles wasn't going away because nonprofits are structured to rely on volunteers to fill the gaps where staff or other people can't do all of the work.
(13:19):
And so there was kind of a nationwide just a movement to try to get people knowing, first of all, that you don't need to be retired or working from home or whatever to be able to give back. And so that's what all these community leadership programs, a lot of them started in the 80s. And we were really fortunate that the state of Indiana had this funding from the Lilly Foundation to see those programs, and many of them are still in existence today.
Andy Schwindler (13:53):
Yay. Is Lafayette unique to the fact that we have this or is this something that a lot of counties and-
Kitty Campbell (14:01):
Absolutely.
Andy Schwindler (14:01):
This is existent in a lot of different
Kitty Campbell (14:03):
It's great. One of the speakers for the Everly Board Series, which is a great program about board governance and helping people understand how nonprofits work differently. That's put on by the community foundation of Greater Lafayette and also funded by NCHS, which is a great community partner. And one of the speakers one time said, well, basically when you go into a community, you find a place that's called leadership, plug in the name of the city, town, whatever. There's a formula. There is a formula. Now, every community has a unique way of doing it that fits their community. Got it. Some are part of a chamber of commerce, some are part of a university or a foundation. Some are like Leadership Lafayette that we are a separate 501 because our founders thought it would make sense. It might be harder sometimes without a backbone organization, but it would make sense to be able to chart our own course, have our own rainy day funds if needed.
(15:07):
So things like the pandemic came and we were very fortunate that many people who came before me had planned ahead and had reserves. So we were unlike a lot of communities not worrying about shuttering our doors or pausing programming.
Andy Schwindler (15:23):
I love to hear that.
Kitty Campbell (15:24):
Which was great.
Andy Schwindler (15:25):
I love to hear that.
Kitty Campbell (15:25):
A lot of people have been planning for more than four decades to build the success of Greater Lafayette,
Kitty Campbell (15:33):
Which is great. And
Andy Schwindler (15:34):
It seems like Lafayette as a community really embraces
Andy Schwindler (15:41):
Not only leadership Lafayette, it-
Kitty Campbell (15:43):
Working together.
Andy Schwindler (15:44):
And the opportunity to give back.
Kitty Campbell (15:46):
Absolutely.
Andy Schwindler (15:47):
Because it's not always just about the money or working towards the goals. It's really about how do we make or we live or kids go to school where people are doing the things. How do we make that better? Yeah.
Kitty Campbell (16:02):
You hear live, work, and play all the time. That's it. And they're really great about it. I love that both cities really work well together. Purdue and Ivy Tech are great community partners. Oh God. As I said, the community foundation is wonderful. Also, United Way does an amazing job. You talk about leaders and if they're born leaders or they rise to the challenge this past campaign, the chair was Virginia Vote. She was in class 52. So good. And never imagined herself in that role. And she blames Leadership Lafayette a little bit for positioning her in there.
Andy Schwindler (16:42):
I do imagine.
Kitty Campbell (16:43):
But she's just a rockstar.
Andy Schwindler (16:45):
I was like, she is a rockstar.
Kitty Campbell (16:47):
Right. But she's very humble too. Yeah. She's very humble and yeah, she knocked it out of the park.
Andy Schwindler (16:55):
She's the type of person you want to follow.
Kitty Campbell (16:57):
Absolutely.
Andy Schwindler (16:58):
I'm like, I should do United Way.
Kitty Campbell (17:01):
Oh, it's recorded now, Amy. David Faye's going to be giving you a couple rings. I'm fine.
Andy Schwindler (17:08):
Listen, I want to give back. So wherever Leadership Lafayette feels I'd be the best fit, I'm in. So I'm all in.
Kitty Campbell (17:16):
Well, and we really want to teach you to fish. I don't know if you noticed that from day one of the opening retreat. It's finding out that self-awareness,
Kitty Campbell (17:24):
Figuring out where your passions are, where you've got the capacity to serve now. You can dream about later. It's not just a one time like, "Okay, this is my passion. I'm going to be here for the rest of my life." You may grow over time. So that's why we really try to give you a survey of the whole community and surrounding areas. Yeah.
Andy Schwindler (17:47):
We did. Personally, we visited. I think we did. It was almost like speed dating. It
Kitty Campbell (17:52):
Kind of is.
Andy Schwindler (17:53):
And in a row.
Kitty Campbell (17:54):
In March, absolutely. Yeah.
Andy Schwindler (17:56):
Oil and road talking to the Boys and Girls Club and talking to all the different opportunities,
Kitty Campbell (18:02):
Honestly. And that was just helping human service agencies after the poverty singularities. So just wait.
Andy Schwindler (18:07):
And I found connection to almost every single
Andy Schwindler (18:10):
One of them in one way or another
Kitty Campbell (18:11):
Sure.
Andy Schwindler (18:12):
It was remarkable.
Kitty Campbell (18:13):
So that gives you that empathy and compassion for all the causes. And then it's deciding where do you want to give your time, treasure and talent. And that may evolve over the years. But yeah, I'm kind of teeing you up here for your capstone project. Yeah, no doubt.
Andy Schwindler (18:31):
So this program, it's eight months?
Kitty Campbell (18:34):
Well, nine.
Andy Schwindler (18:35):
Nine months
Kitty Campbell (18:36):
Yeah. So September to May. Starts with your opening retreat and then monthly sessions leading up to your capstone project and graduation, which will be here before you know it.
Andy Schwindler (18:48):
It'll be here soon. It's gone by very quickly, but I do know that our capstone project's coming up. So I want to talk to you a little bit about that. I want you to kind of explain how the Capstone Project became what it is and then what the goals are and what the opportunities are for not only for Class of 55, but for community to be a fair
Kitty Campbell (19:09):
Sure, sure. Well, I'm really grateful for my colleagues and other programs throughout the country. So I didn't allude to our other partner organizations, but we are members of the Indiana Leadership Association and the Association of Leadership Programs. And so learn from colleagues throughout the state and throughout the country. And so I've been very fortunate to go to some national conferences and regional conferences, and we learn from each other. And so one of the things that I picked up actually from a colleague in Long Beach, California, and actually I believe it was Leadership Fresno that had the model of a whole class project. Because when I came on board, there were small group projects and trying to reach out to other organizations, but there were only so many projects that could be done in a year. And you want to have some type of experiential learning to take all those things that you've learned throughout the year and really put them into practice kind of your safety net practice before you got into the real world and we launch you into wherever you're going to deserve.
Andy Schwindler (20:17):
That's right.
Kitty Campbell (20:17):
So it's important to have that, but we really wanted to find a way, how can we serve all the nonprofits in some way? And so actually my colleague and graduate of class 24 and past president of leadership Lafayette had been to Indianapolis and seen two different programs. And what was called Get On Board, which was specifically about recruiting board members. And another was called Get IndyMauld.
(20:46):
And both of those had specific roles. Get IndyMauld was their young professional group that had kind of what we have with the Volunteer Expo, which is almost like a trade show sampling of all the different organizations where you can get involved. Dane kind of format with Get On Board, but it was only for board opportunities. Got it. And there's so many ways that you can get involved and help with nonprofit organizations. You don't have to jump straight to being the board president. In fact, you shouldn't. You should get to know them, go to some events, volunteer with your family, find out what they're about. There's this adage of you wouldn't propose on the first date, so why would you join a board without even knowing them? Yeah, I know that. So it makes a lot of sense to find out where you really fit, where your skills and abilities can be best serving an organization.
(21:43):
And that again gets back to that listening and asking them, what do you need? Because you may be like, oh, I've got, let me come and I can fix everything for you, but you need to know-
Andy Schwindler (21:55):
Really what the mission is.
Kitty Campbell (21:57):
Really? Yeah. Not only what is their mission, but what role can I serve that can be the most helpful?
Andy Schwindler (22:03):
Got it
Kitty Campbell (22:04):
So it's kind of that really- And it
Andy Schwindler (22:07):
Takes all types.
Kitty Campbell (22:08):
Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. One of our facilitators who's a graduate of class, 36, she used to say that when she was raising her daughter, the only capacity that she had was to get the supplies ready for the Sunday school teacher at her church. But that's a huge gift.
Andy Schwindler (22:27):
That's huge.
Kitty Campbell (22:28):
Because then that teacher could come in on Sunday and everything's ready. So the teacher didn't have to worry about all that on Saturday night.
Andy Schwindler (22:36):
Jason's a pride.
Kitty Campbell (22:37):
Yeah.
Andy Schwindler (22:38):
To actually contribute.
Kitty Campbell (22:39):
Absolutely.
Andy Schwindler (22:41):
I love that.
Kitty Campbell (22:42):
Now, as her daughter's gotten older, yeah, your life evolves. So the capacity to serve and the ways in which she can change. And she can take her daughter along and it can be a family affair now going to volunteer, which is really great.
Andy Schwindler (22:56):
That's so much fun.
Kitty Campbell (22:56):
And that models that for the next generation, which is so important.
Andy Schwindler (23:00):
Wow. That's really a great point is we are the example for the next generation. And if we get this right ...
Kitty Campbell (23:08):
Yeah.
Andy Schwindler (23:10):
Nothing but good.
Kitty Campbell (23:10):
Right.
Andy Schwindler (23:12):
I love that
Kitty Campbell (23:12):
So we better get it right.
Andy Schwindler (23:13):
We better get it right. Yeah, that's a better way to put it. Absolutely. So the dates. When are the dates for the expo?
Kitty Campbell (23:22):
Okay. So the volunteer expo is an annual event. We've been doing this since class 43.
Andy Schwindler (23:27):
Okay.
Kitty Campbell (23:28):
So we're now at class 55, and those actually were every year.
Andy Schwindler (23:32):
Every year. Got it
Kitty Campbell (23:32):
Yeah. Yep. So the very first year we did it at the YWCA downtown in the gym, and it was great. This year is May 14th from 4:00 to 6:00 PM, and it's at the Tippecanoe Fairgrounds, which it's a great location. We're really happy
Kitty Campbell (23:48):
To be here.
Andy Schwindler (23:49):
I love that location. Easy to get in,
Kitty Campbell (23:50):
Great
Andy Schwindler (23:51):
Parking.
Kitty Campbell (23:51):
Absolutely.
Andy Schwindler (23:52):
Big, tall ceilings, wide walkways.
Andy Schwindler (23:56):
I mean, it's a really great venue.
Kitty Campbell (23:58):
It really is.
Andy Schwindler (23:58):
What kind of people would you want to come to something like this?
Kitty Campbell (24:03):
All kinds of people.
Andy Schwindler (24:04):
Yeah.
Kitty Campbell (24:04):
Yeah. I mean, you can be at any stage of life. There's a lot of high school kids that are really looking for ways to build their portfolio.
Andy Schwindler (24:13):
That's huge
Kitty Campbell (24:13):
And they need volunteer hours. This is a great way for them to have everybody in a room. It's fish in a barrel. And you can go around and literally have a one-stop shop to figure out, okay, I kind of like animals, what types of animal advocacy organizations are there? And you could check it out. It could be walking dogs. It could be all kinds of things.
Andy Schwindler (24:40):
Yeah. So a way to prepare yourself if you do want to go maybe to look at our flyer.
Kitty Campbell (24:46):
Absolutely.
Andy Schwindler (24:46):
See who's going to be there.
Kitty Campbell (24:48):
Yeah. The website will list all the organizations that are going to be there.
Andy Schwindler (24:51):
And then kind of decide who it is you want to talk to, but be open-
Kitty Campbell (24:55):
Absolutely.
Andy Schwindler (24:56):
To letting something hit you off guard and learn something about the community that maybe you just didn't know before. I love that part.
Kitty Campbell (25:04):
Well, and I love the creativity of your class because there's some really cool things that are happening. After you've done something for more than 10 years, you kind of feel like, "Well, we got this. It'll be fine." The layout this year from the logistics committee- I love it. It's really creative. And at first I was like, "Oh, I don't know. People are used to coming in this door and doing..." But it's like when you looked at it and it was like it was very welcoming. They had certain goals and wanted people to feel welcome, whether it's an exhibitor coming in to set up for their nonprofit organization or someone from the community, they wanted to make sure that everybody felt like it was open, it was welcome, there was a good floor plan, nobody is in a corner, everybody's going to have a good showcase.
(25:47):
And I'm excited to see an inaction. I'm so excited
Andy Schwindler (25:49):
To see it in action.
Kitty Campbell (25:51):
And of course I was hesitant at first. It's easy to get into that. We've always done
Andy Schwindler (25:56):
It. You're pretty good about keeping all this in line and doing the things that we need to do.
Kitty Campbell (26:02):
But you have to be open when there are great ideas.
Andy Schwindler (26:05):
Absolutely.
Kitty Campbell (26:06):
So that's the difference where-
Andy Schwindler (26:07):
I decided to be a leader. Well, try. Patrick bring it all the way around to that. But now-
Kitty Campbell (26:14):
But again, it's a leadership team. That's right. Have you seen that? Your whole class is involved. So all 60 people, everybody has a role.
Andy Schwindler (26:21):
That's right.
Kitty Campbell (26:22):
And they're all important.
Andy Schwindler (26:23):
That's right. And you guys picked which role you felt each one of us was going to really do well in. I think you did a really good job. I'm on the marketing team, which is a lot of fun. And I guess that being said, I'd like to at least take a few minutes for a couple asks. Sure. I want to ask the community for a few things. I'll let you do it, but I'm going to tell you what it is we're looking for, what it is we're looking for. We're looking for people that want to go to this, obviously.
Kitty Campbell (26:54):
Absolutely.
Andy Schwindler (26:55):
But the vendors, the nonprofits-
Kitty Campbell (26:57):
Exhibitors. Yeah.
Andy Schwindler (26:58):
The exhibitors.
Kitty Campbell (26:58):
Yeah, because we're not selling anything.
Andy Schwindler (26:59):
We're not selling anything, but we need exhibitors to buy into what we're trying to do.
Kitty Campbell (27:04):
Sure, sure.
Andy Schwindler (27:04):
And to be a part of this and know that this is something that's going to help give back to them in the long term.
Kitty Campbell (27:11):
Well, since we have been doing this for more than 10 years, the nice thing is a lot of nonprofit organizations know this is coming. They know that May is the time that they're going to have an opportunity to get in front of the community. So they're reaching out to us, which is great. That is good. But the nonprofit team has done a great job reaching out. Yes.
Andy Schwindler (27:30):
But there's always room for-
Kitty Campbell (27:31):
Oh, sure, sure. And the big thing is we really want organizations that have roles for active volunteers. There's a lot of organizations that can be categorized as nonprofits, but who we're really looking for in the room is organizations that have activities, they have programming, they have events, they have things for ... It can be all ages. It can be different types of things. Every group's going to have different needs, but we want the organizations to come prepared to share what programming activities, events they have, and how people can get involved and help them serve their mission.
Andy Schwindler (28:12):
That's right. And the better they can communicate
Kitty Campbell (28:14):
That- Oh, it's great. Yeah.
Andy Schwindler (28:16):
The better they're going to find, the better results.
Kitty Campbell (28:18):
Yes. I remember at the very first expo, I was so excited because one of the nonprofit executives was there and she came out and met me afterwards and said, "I'm so excited. I have been wanting to meet this person for years and this is where it happened."
Andy Schwindler (28:35):
Let’s go.
Kitty Campbell (28:35):
And so yeah. Yeah. So it's for anyone in the community, it is only two hours. And we realize that two hour time block is not necessarily the best for everybody, but the website stays up all year. So you can look at the list. That's the website for, it's called lafayettevolunteerexpo.org. That's up all year round. And the people that have been involved with the nonprofit organizations, there's a link to their website. So you can see who has been involved and click on their links and we're trying to teach the community to fish as well.
Andy Schwindler (29:15):
That's right.
Kitty Campbell (29:15):
So you're not going to find all the volunteers you need in one, two hour period of one day of the year.
Andy Schwindler (29:22):
No, but it's the awareness that it raises.
Kitty Campbell (29:24):
Yes.
Andy Schwindler (29:25):
And it's the-
Kitty Campbell (29:26):
And starts those conversations.
Andy Schwindler (29:28):
It springs like wildfire. It really is. When you get that many people in the same room and that much energy kind of collaborating and talking about the things, that momentum kind of builds up and then carries us through the rest of the year.
Kitty Campbell (29:43):
Sure. Yeah.
Andy Schwindler (29:44):
So I'm really excited to be a part of it. Again, I'm really thankful that you welcomed me in to the program. The one thing that I noticed about you just in general is that you're a connector. Anytime we've been in the same room together, you You have introduced me to at least three or four people that I'd never met. And I can't tell you how much I appreciate that, but I've noticed that that's not just for me. No.That's just who you are. And it's special. And I just wanted to tell you that I see you and I want to be more like that. It's just a great example of how to be comfortable in your own skin, but also realizing that that's really the mark of a leader is somebody that can see potential in other people and connect them together. And I just wanted you to know that it's one of the things that I love most about you.
Kitty Campbell (30:43):
Well, thank you
Kitty Campbell (30:44):
Well, you can do it too now.
Andy Schwindler (30:45):
And I'm going to do it too.
Kitty Campbell (30:46):
You have 59 new best friends. I do. Yeah. And they're only a phone call away anytime. And as you go to events, you'll see them, you'll see folks that you've met throughout the community. And when you think of somebody that might be a good fit for an organization, you can pay that forward too.
Andy Schwindler (31:06):
Yeah. I've gone into several establishments prior to me signing up to be in Leadership Lafayette.. And you'd be surprised how many people, they wear it like a badge of honor.
Kitty Campbell (31:17):
Oh, absolutely.
Andy Schwindler (31:18):
But I was in class of ... Oh my gosh, I was in class of ... And I was like, "Do you think I should do it? " And they're like, "I don't think you should do it. I think you told you should do it. " And
Kitty Campbell (31:29):
That's what's great. There was a Purdue team that was trying to figure out our marketing strategy and they said, "You've got a lot of grassroots." Just people I said, "Yeah, I mean, our alumni are our best cheerleaders." And we have over 2000 graduates now over almost 44 years. Yeah. That's so good. Yeah. And when you look through our alumni directory on our website, it really is. There's a lot of rock stores out there. There really are.
Andy Schwindler (31:55):
Absolutely.
Kitty Campbell (31:57):
I mean, Mayor Easter, both city clerks. I mean, it's just there. Yeah.
Andy Schwindler (32:02):
That's a pretty impressive, just couple people you named. And I could tell you there's so
Kitty Campbell (32:07):
Many more. Oh yeah. The sheriff, Bob Goldsmith, both chiefs of police.
Andy Schwindler (32:14):
And these are the people you see. I mean, when I go out and we do the things, we were just at Survivor's Ball. We saw all the people there. We go to the Food Finders, see all those people there. And where was the other one? We saw each other.
Kitty Campbell (32:30):
Oh my gosh.
Andy Schwindler (32:31):
We go to all the faith. I know. And so Michelle and I love both because it's an opportunity for us to give back to the community, but it's also being in the same room with all of those ... You are the sum of the people you surround yourself with.
Kitty Campbell (32:45):
Oh, absolutely.
Andy Schwindler (32:46):
And if you want to be in the room, that's a great place to get started.
Kitty Campbell (32:50):
Yeah, absolutely.
Andy Schwindler (32:52):
All right. We're going to give all the details. Leadership Lafayette Volunteer Expo.
Kitty Campbell (32:58):
Yes.
Andy Schwindler (32:59):
And it is on ...
Kitty Campbell (33:00):
May 14th from 4:00 to 6:00 PM. That'll be at the Tipicanu Fairgrounds. We're in the east wing and we're so grateful this year's capstone project is powered by Duke Energy and really happy to be hosted again at the Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds.
Andy Schwindler (33:15):
And this is a free event.
Kitty Campbell (33:17):
Absolutely. Absolutely. There will be more than 60 nonprofit organizations there as exhibitors where you can learn all about what types of volunteer opportunities there in our community and how you can get involved.
Andy Schwindler (33:30):
And you don't have to register. You don't have to do anything but show up.
Kitty Campbell (33:34):
That's right. You can show up anytime between 4:00 to 6:00 PM on May 17th and there will be food trucks. So if you want to bring your family out and grab a little dinner, you can do that and also get to know about our community and ways you can get involved.
Andy Schwindler (33:49):
And if people wanted to go somewhere to learn more, where would they go?
Kitty Campbell (33:54):
They would go to lafayetteandvolunteerexpo.org. You can also find links and information on Leadership Lafayette's website, and that's leadershiplafayette.org.
Andy Schwindler (34:05):
And really, as we've been talking, you could reach out to just about anybody that's been a part of Leadership Lafayette or a class of 55, and you're going to be able to get all the deeds. So it's really impressive what not only you've been able to do for Leadership Lafayette, but what we've been able to do together as a team. And I'm super proud of us. And I honestly- Great job. I can't wait for that date. Yeah. It's going to happen fast.
Kitty Campbell (34:30):
Right. Well, and you mentioned too about how people can get involved in Leadership Lafayette. So there's another opportunity to learn about, actually, if you're interested in being part of the next class, which will be Class 56. So there's a meet and greet, and that will be on May 6th, and that is on Wednesday, May 6th. It'll be from 4:00 to 6:00 PM at Matchbox Coworking Studio. And it again is free. There will be people from Class 55 like Andy, and there'll be people who are alumni, different community partners, some of our board of directors, some of our selection committee. And there'll be just a very, very brief shout out about the program and how to apply. There'll be food and drink, and it's just a really fun time. And Matchbox is a great space. I was going to say,
Andy Schwindler (35:17):
I love Matt Fox. It's wonderful. They've become friends of ours.
Kitty Campbell (35:20):
Oh, absolutely. Well, and that's our home. So we've just celebrated 10 years with Leadership Lafayette's home base being out of Matchbox Studios. And it's a perfect place. It's centrally located in the community.
Andy Schwindler (35:32):
It is.
Kitty Campbell (35:33):
We were housed by Purdue and Ivy Tech for years. And it's just great to be downtown in a place where it's centrally located. People can find us. We've got-
Andy Schwindler (35:44):
And it's got all the vibes.
Kitty Campbell (35:44):
Yeah. It's got all the great vibes.
Andy Schwindler (35:46):
It's got all the good vibes. I know when I go there, I feel more creative where I'm just being in the room with those people.
Kitty Campbell (35:53):
Yeah. And Amanda and Juliana are graduates of Class 50.
Andy Schwindler (35:57):
Okay. Yeah. Does it get better than either one of those two?
Kitty Campbell (36:00):
No. Well,
Andy Schwindler (36:01):
They're so good.
Kitty Campbell (36:01):
You're here now.
Andy Schwindler (36:03):
That's it. Now, every time we meet with them, they're so gracious.
Kitty Campbell (36:07):
Because you do lighting for Sixth and South, which is another thing. I do.
Andy Schwindler (36:10):
We do some lighting for that. Again, our goal is to make sure that we're contributing to the places that are contributing.
Kitty Campbell (36:20):
You do a great job of that.
Andy Schwindler (36:21):
Thank you so much. I appreciate you saying that.
Kitty Campbell (36:23):
Well, it gives a whole really special vibe to that street figure and math that's for a good cause to keep that space open so organizations like us can benefit from a great community place.
Andy Schwindler (36:35):
Yeah. I wasn't talking about lighting too much today. The lighting there definitely sets the vital.
Andy Schwindler (36:41):
It gives us some boundaries. It gives us some eye candy, but the feelings, right?
Kitty Campbell (36:45):
Oh yeah.
Andy Schwindler (36:46):
So that's all I'll say about lighting is at that particular event, helps create the mood that keeps people excited coming back year after year. We're excited to do that. So one of the things that I've noticed is you are in the room all the time and you've been doing this for a long time. What personally, when the commitment, the blood, the sweat, and the tears, have you had to just endure to get to this place?
Kitty Campbell (37:16):
Yeah, you make it sound like working.
Andy Schwindler (37:18):
It's real work. It's room work.
Kitty Campbell (37:20):
Well, you know what? I'm happy to do it. I'm really grateful that some colleagues of mine encouraged me to apply for this job. One, my predecessor, Christie Smith, had been doing this. She'd been the previous executive director of Leadership Lafayette for 24 of the 30 years that had been in existence. And so to follow in those footsteps, that's huge.
Andy Schwindler (37:42):
Some big shoes.
Kitty Campbell (37:42):
Big shoes, big shoes. So when I was first asked to consider it, I looked at the organization. I was aware of the organization, of course, and I realized that it really aligned with my personal values. Yes, I'm at a lot of things, but I also care about a lot of things. I knew a lot about the community. One thing that it stretched me to grow was sectors that I didn't know a lot about. My past history had been in academia at Purdue and Ivy Tech, also in the community and mostly in the arts. So arts and education had really been my background. So there were a lot of sectors like health and human services and government that I really didn't know a lot about. And I really benefited from knowing more about all those things. And the people I've gotten to meet makes me want to be out in the community and makes me want to support them.
(38:31):
And I really, I cannot be everywhere, but I'm grateful that between our board, between our over 2000 alumni or 60 people in the class, I feel like even if I'm not in the room, people that understand the mission of really giving back, getting involved and making our community stronger are there.
Andy Schwindler (38:53):
How long did it take you to realize that this was going to be, or did you just know right away that this was going to be something you'd do for the next decade or two?
Kitty Campbell (39:03):
Well, let's talk ahead of ourselves. No, I think you have to get involved in anything to know really what ... You can see a webpage and understand something, you can talk to a few people, but until you're on the inside, I was actually at a national conference on my second day on the job and they were like, "Well, what do you do? " And I said, "Well, the website says..." I mean, honestly, I was pretty green in the area of community leadership. I knew a lot of people. What I didn't realize before getting involved in this role and for a while was the power of community. I'd seen that.
(39:46):
Yeah. I'd seen that, but really to know how many people in our community really care and are deeply committed to doing the work to make things better. And it's amazing. I feel honored to get to know people like you over the course of a nine-month program and then have these lifelong relationships. And there's amazing people, even people that were in the program before my time. As you said, there's this love of the community and the people that they experienced their class and their class experience with, and the mission has stayed the same. It's about building those relationships, making the community stronger, and that's the thing that doesn't change. And anyone who comes into a space, a community, an organization, and that's their intention, good things are going to happen.
Andy Schwindler (40:43):
Absolutely. And what was kind of the aha moment? When did it click that you get this? I get that this is bigger than just me.
Kitty Campbell (40:54):
Right. Well, I think even at statewide and national conferences, and there was a time when I was asked to apply for another leadership organization, and it was in a beautiful community. I was actually in Nashville, North Carolina. No point. Wow. Okay. But what I realized is what makes this role special is this is my community, and I didn't want to go and just have a cookie cutter approach someplace else. There's something special about here. You talk about, did I think I would be in this role? I didn't think I'd be in this community. I'm one of those people and many that came for Purdue and then tried to go away a few times, kept coming back.
Andy Schwindler (41:35):
Understood.
Kitty Campbell (41:36):
There's just something really special about Greater Lafayette and the way that people collaborate together. And it's a pretty unique and special place.
Andy Schwindler (41:45):
Yeah.
Kitty Campbell (41:46):
I'm grateful that I- I found it
Andy Schwindler (41:48):
As you founded that, I feel the exact same way about my lighting business. I'm from Indianapolis. I grew up in the Zionsville area. Yeah, sure.That's where a lot of people are doing lighting.
Kitty Campbell (41:59):
Absolutely.
Andy Schwindler (42:00):
And so when we decided to come to Lafayette and do this scenario, I've been here a while, but when we decided to dedicate our space to Lafayette, it was a real decision because Lafayette hadn't really come around to great lighting. And it was the community and just how open they've accepted not only my art and what I bring to the community, but how I've been able to grow my business here. I think that if more people understood just how great our community is, and I think people are starting to get it.
Kitty Campbell (42:34):
I think they are.
Andy Schwindler (42:34):
I think they're starting to get it. It's just so good. So I'm glad you said it like that because we thought the same thing. We thought maybe it could support what we wanted to do.
Kitty Campbell (42:43):
I really thought I'd be in Chicago or even larger cities elsewhere.
Andy Schwindler (42:48):
Well, I’m in Sandy Beach
Andy Schwindler (42:50):
So, I thought I'd be on a beach somewhere by this point, but now
Kitty Campbell (42:54):
It's- You are in Monticello. It's a bit
Andy Schwindler (42:56):
I'm in Monticello a little bit. That's where Sandy Beach started, but that vibe and that mindset really is more along the lines of being outside and that feeling you have when you're on a Sandy Beach. Our job, what we do is all about feeling, the environments that we create, but the fact that Lafayette's been able to support it, it excites me because it's home. It's where I get to raise my kids and do all of our things and I'm so proud of us.
Kitty Campbell (43:22):
Well, you talk about a feeling that really ... People don't focus on this a lot, but there is a lot of research that shows that there is ... You do feel better when you volunteer and get involved with that.
Andy Schwindler (43:34):
Way to bring it back.
Andy Schwindler (43:35):
That's so good.
Kitty Campbell (43:36):
I mean, it really ... It's true. It's true. I mean, not to be selfish about it, but I mean, the more you give, the more you get back in return.
Andy Schwindler (43:43):
I 100%. That's probably why I give as much as I do, because I know that you get it back, and I get it back, not just from the feeling of giving, but the idea that you make a difference. And I know that it gives you a purpose beyond- Brings meaning to me. ... the grind, because we're all high level achievers. And if you can put that down for just a second and think about raising everybody up together. Absolutely. That's the magic. As we talk about the volunteer expo, I'd love to talk about how our class has come up with these concept, these ideas. Obviously we had a framework, but talk about the process that each class goes through to get us to the end result.
Kitty Campbell (44:33):
So as you said, there's a framework. I loved how our work president, Josh Curry said, "This will happen May 14th. This is going to happen." So how you get there is your journey. And what's great is, so starting out in the fall, and even planning seeds at the opening retreat in September, we start looking at your self-awareness, where you have strengths and can really contribute. And then there's a survey, you remember a survey of what you like to be involved. And so we really look at trying to find ways where your skills and abilities might best be served because we've got 60 people in this cohort, there's project managers, there's team leaders, there's team managers and liaisons and an integration team to make sure that everybody's talking to each other. That's right. Because we're trying to give a really good, safe experiential learning project where you can develop and experience and practice some of these skills that we're going to do when you get out into a volunteer organization.
(45:41):
So we're so grateful. One of our graduates from Class 53, Dagny Zupin at Duke Energy, we've got a grant that powers this whole project, which is wonderful. And so grateful to Duke Energy for their support. And also Kim Murray from Class 45 is at the Fairgrounds. And so the fairground space is amazing, but it is very much a blank slate. The East Wing, every year we bring in different nonprofit organizations, but that is largely due to the team that has the nonprofit team and looks through. And every year, those people that are involved change. So it's not just a let's look at last year's list.
(46:27):
You really have to do the research, find out who the people are in the community that are the contact points. And since we've done this for 10 years, people do reach out to Leadership Lafayette, but making sure that the nonprofit team is reaching out as broadly as possible to make sure that the folks that have organizations that have volunteer opportunities can have a chance to be in the room and be an exhibitor. So that's one team. Then you've got the marketing team like yours that is making sure getting the word out so the community knows to come because we can have everybody in the room, but if nobody comes and there are volunteers to get involved and give back, then-
Andy Schwindler (47:11):
That's right.
Kitty Campbell (47:11):
Half of our job hasn't been done. So that's so important. And then the logistics team from day one is looking at what's the best layout, how do we execute this? And they've been very creative this year to come up with a way to make everybody feel welcome and really make the room easy to navigate. And I'm very excited because it's a brand new concept and that's very exciting. And again, then day of the event, the entire class, so all 60 participants are going to be there as ambassadors, as liaisons helping people get in, both the nonprofit organization exhibitors and all of the general public coming. It's wonderful. It's a free event. And again, that's thanks to Duke Energy and powering this whole capstone project from the beginning. It takes months to put this on. People don't realize it's not just, okay, you've got a little group and you open the doors and it happens.
Andy Schwindler (48:07):
No.
Kitty Campbell (48:07):
It takes a lot to put this on. And it's just really neat to see the energy that happens and the collaboration and really trying to foster everyone working together and make it better. And all the ideas that come to the table, it's really great.
Andy Schwindler (48:22):
And I'm in the middle of it.
Kitty Campbell (48:23):
Yes.
Andy Schwindler (48:23):
And so I had no idea how you were going to pick all the people because I looked across the room and I'm like, everybody's so talented.
Kitty Campbell (48:32):
You could have done a bunch of different ways. So it's a very holistic approach, just like looking at who's going to be in a cohort. Got it. So there's many ways that you can reach the finish line and have success. It's just at this point in time, what are people's capacities? What if they said they would like to get involved with? Yeah. Maybe they might like to learn a new skill. So they might be a marketing person, but they'd really rather learn more about the nonprofits in the organization or they might be an event coordinator, but I'd rather ... There's all kinds of-
Andy Schwindler (49:05):
Spread your wings a little bit. And stretch and-
Kitty Campbell (49:06):
It's a safe place. Experiment and try. Yeah.
Andy Schwindler (49:09):
Yeah. Well, I'm really proud of all the teams, the nonprofit team especially because, well, they've kind of showed up first. We’ve seen the work that they’ve put in.
Kitty Campbell (49:18):
They do a lot of the pre-
Andy Schwindler (49:20):
They do a lot of free stuff.
Andy Schwindler (49:22):
I’m excited to hear about logistics. That's kind of the first I've heard about partner.
Kitty Campbell (49:24):
Always going to be really cool.
Andy Schwindler (49:26):
And I know our marketing team. Our leader is Chelsea.
Kitty Campbell (49:31):
Friedman. She's great.
Andy Schwindler (49:32):
Is just about as give to the gets. Her communication style is strong. So I'm just proud to be a small part of the work.
Kitty Campbell (49:40):
When she said she's growing because she's used to basically directing everything into delegate and let other people grow. So that's part of really what we want to do too, is really help people realize that this may be your job, but how do you operate in a business organization is much different than how you should operate in a volunteer organization. It's
Andy Schwindler (50:05):
Totally different.
Kitty Campbell (50:06):
It really is. And getting that sensibility that, okay, I might just task things out in a work situation, but in a volunteer situation, you need to be sensitive to all the people involved, staff, other volunteers.
Andy Schwindler (50:24):
Accountability is tough-
Kitty Campbell (50:25):
It's huge.
Andy Schwindler (50:26):
When it's volunteers.
Kitty Campbell (50:27):
It really is.
Andy Schwindler (50:28):
Because obviously you want to tell somebody to do something, but they're also a volunteer. So there's a real balance, but talk about getting ready to play the game, right? Oh
Kitty Campbell (50:41):
Yeah, it really is. Yeah.
Andy Schwindler (50:42):
And how to play the game. It's really been a fun to be a part of. I've stretched a little bit because I'm a team lead, which is very huge deal, but it is to me because I got a few people that are expecting me to do the thing and to communicate the thing back and to kind of make sure that we're moving all things along. And it's been fun for me to learn people's communication style, who likes to text, who likes to have emails. And
Kitty Campbell (51:08):
You have to meet people.
Andy Schwindler (51:09):
And you got to meet people where they are.
Kitty Campbell (51:11):
Absolutely. Because a lot of people say, "Well, we need to start a Slack channel." It was like, okay, in a volunteer setting, you might get 30%.
Andy Schwindler (51:19):
I was one of those guys. I know. I was like, technology, technology, technology.
Kitty Campbell (51:23):
And you have to realize that meet people where they are. And especially if you're working in a nonprofit organization that has people of all ages, your comfortability with technology may be all ... And there's some people you're going to have to call still.
Andy Schwindler (51:38):
I know.
Kitty Campbell (51:39):
Or go visit in person. And so there's other people that's like, "Please don't call me. You better text me. " I'm trying. No. And I think that gets back to the awareness and communication and all this comes down to communication, relationships, knowing how to help people and meet them where they are and work together.
Andy Schwindler (51:58):
What a great exercise. Well, you've cracked the code.
Kitty Campbell (52:03):
Well, I don't know about that.
Andy Schwindler (52:04):
You've got the formula and it's a winning formula and I can speak. I know for class of 55, we're just so happy to be a part of this. We're really looking forward to the volunteer expo.
Kitty Campbell (52:15):
Yeah, it's going to be great.
Andy Schwindler (52:17):
And we're looking forward to celebrating the success of it as well.
Kitty Campbell (52:21):
Absolutely.
Andy Schwindler (52:21):
It’s going to be a really big deal.
Kitty Campbell (52:22):
Well, May is a big month because May 6th, we have the meet and greet for next year's class. So we're doing this again next year.
Andy Schwindler (52:30):
Are we still accepting applications for that?
Kitty Campbell (52:32):
Applications haven't even launched. They launch on May 6th.
Andy Schwindler (52:36):
Got it. Okay.
Kitty Campbell (52:37):
And they'll be open through July 15th.
Andy Schwindler (52:39):
Got it.
Kitty Campbell (52:39):
So this is our application launch May 6th. May 14 does the volunteer expo and May 21st, we'll get to celebrate your graduation.
Andy Schwindler (52:48):
That things time. Well, I wanted to personally invite anybody who's interested in being in Leadership Lafayette to reach out to me absolutely anytime. Come to the meet and greet. We'll high five, we'll shake hands, we'll chest bump, whatever you're into. And we'll talk about how to be a bigger part of our community.
Kitty Campbell (53:07):
Yeah. Sounds great. No, it's great. So that's 4:06 PM on May 6th at Matchbox Studios.
Andy Schwindler (53:14):
Love it. Can't wait. So I want to personally invite any nonprofit that is interested in exhibiting at the expo on May 14th from 4:00 to 6:00. To personally reach out to myself or Kitty or anyone at Leadership Lafayette, we'd love to get you some more information.
Kitty Campbell (53:33):
And there's a website with more information and a link to the application to be a nonprofit organization exhibitor, and that is located at lafayettevolunteerexpo.org.
Andy Schwindler (53:47):
So if you're in the Lafayette community and you're interested in giving back and you just want to learn a little bit more, no commitment, you just want to come to the Lafayette Leadership Lafayette Volunteer Expo, May 14th from 4:00 to 6:00 PM. We're going to have food trucks. We're going to have all kinds of opportunities to learn about nonprofits, way to give back to the community, and just special opportunities to do something and be a part of something bigger than yourselves. This is a great opportunity.
Kitty Campbell (54:20):
Yes. And that'll be at the Tippecanoe Fairgrounds from 4:00 to 6:00 PM on May 14th. We hope you'll come join us.
Andy Schwindler (54:26):
Well, Kitty, I've had so much fun talking to you, not only about Leadership Lafayette, but just our experience together. You're a special person in this community. Thank you. I'm thankful. I know the community's thankful, and I just wanted to let you know, I appreciate it so much.
Kitty Campbell (54:42):
Oh, thank you, Andy. Well, I appreciate you too. As I said, it takes a village and we are happy to be here. I'm happy to be personally part of Leadership Lafayette and grateful to have you in Class 55. So thank you for having me here today.
Andy Schwindler (54:55):
Yeah, thanks so much. This has been the reveal. I'm so thankful to have had Kitty on the show today. And ultimately, if you're interested in giving back, if you want to be a part of the Volunteer Expo, we'll have some information in the link down below, but until next time, thanks so much.