WEBVTT 00:00:09.389 --> 00:00:11.669 Hey guys, Matt Major from Clickstream Studios. 00:00:11.750 --> 00:00:14.310 Welcome to another edition of Good News York. 00:00:14.730 --> 00:00:17.890 I'm here by myself. Mike got lost in a snowbank 00:00:17.890 --> 00:00:20.350 somewhere. He'll be back eventually, I'm sure. 00:00:21.410 --> 00:00:23.829 I think he might be here. Is that those feet 00:00:23.829 --> 00:00:25.530 that I saw when I pulled in the parking lot? 00:00:25.710 --> 00:00:30.010 I thought that was a joke. Anyway, check out... 00:00:29.980 --> 00:00:32.439 Our good friend Zach over at ads on the go, get 00:00:32.439 --> 00:00:35.140 ads on the go .com. They are the sponsor of this 00:00:35.140 --> 00:00:38.500 show and one of the best. Uh, and, and one of 00:00:38.500 --> 00:00:40.840 the other new sponsors that we have here on good 00:00:40.840 --> 00:00:44.659 news York, uh, is office calling .com. 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Without 00:01:06.349 --> 00:01:10.030 further ado, we've got an awesome guest here. 00:01:10.269 --> 00:01:14.290 We've got an incredible woman who not only just 00:01:14.290 --> 00:01:17.010 won office here in Onondaga County, but is the 00:01:17.010 --> 00:01:19.269 founder of a really interesting organization 00:01:19.269 --> 00:01:21.510 that I'm really excited to learn a lot about. 00:01:22.189 --> 00:01:25.010 So without further ado, welcome Nicole Watts 00:01:25.010 --> 00:01:27.859 to the show. How are you, Nicole? I'm doing well. 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:30.799 How about yourself? Great, great. Thank you again 00:01:30.799 --> 00:01:32.780 for taking the time and joining us here on the 00:01:32.780 --> 00:01:36.359 show. Nicole, if you wouldn't mind, give us just 00:01:36.359 --> 00:01:39.859 a quick overview. Kind of who are you and what 00:01:39.859 --> 00:01:42.209 should folks know right off the bat. Absolutely. 00:01:42.810 --> 00:01:46.549 So Nicole Watts, I am a proud resident of Syracuse's 00:01:46.549 --> 00:01:50.030 North Side. I've lived here for the last 15 years 00:01:50.030 --> 00:01:53.750 doing the work that I have been committing my 00:01:53.750 --> 00:01:57.510 life to and is kind of my life call regarding 00:01:57.510 --> 00:02:00.750 working with people who have found themselves 00:02:00.750 --> 00:02:04.269 marginalized due to being displaced from their 00:02:04.269 --> 00:02:07.049 homeland and having to set up a new life here 00:02:07.049 --> 00:02:10.949 in America or other inequity and injustice issues 00:02:10.949 --> 00:02:12.909 that we face in our in our nation from people 00:02:12.909 --> 00:02:15.770 who were born right here. And so the work of 00:02:15.770 --> 00:02:18.710 Hope Print, the organization that I lead is something 00:02:18.710 --> 00:02:21.270 that I am really grateful that I have gotten 00:02:21.270 --> 00:02:23.310 to be a part of and continue to learn every day 00:02:23.310 --> 00:02:26.650 from my community and absolutely love the life 00:02:26.650 --> 00:02:28.849 that I get to live here and work here and play 00:02:28.849 --> 00:02:31.930 here. That's awesome. That's awesome. Nicole, 00:02:32.129 --> 00:02:34.819 what What inspired you to do this? I mean, there's 00:02:34.819 --> 00:02:38.000 lots of folks living in all kinds of neighborhoods 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:41.800 all over that see these issues, but you jumped 00:02:41.800 --> 00:02:46.900 in and have taken action. Why? So there are a 00:02:46.900 --> 00:02:49.780 number of things that happened over the course 00:02:49.780 --> 00:02:53.939 of my younger life. I encountered the spaces 00:02:53.939 --> 00:02:57.539 where injustice and inequities and especially 00:02:57.539 --> 00:03:02.819 along racial, economic levels and it just disturbed 00:03:02.819 --> 00:03:06.939 me deeply back when I was a teenager that was 00:03:06.939 --> 00:03:10.159 planted in me and I never shook it and really 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:13.639 set out on a twisting and wild ride to try to 00:03:13.639 --> 00:03:15.259 figure out what it looked like to show up in 00:03:15.259 --> 00:03:19.909 those spaces and I, along that ride, encountered 00:03:19.909 --> 00:03:23.009 some families who had just were literally arriving 00:03:23.009 --> 00:03:28.129 at the airport from Rwanda as refugees and through 00:03:28.129 --> 00:03:30.610 our friendship and the mutual learning that we 00:03:30.610 --> 00:03:32.849 were able to undertake through sharing meals 00:03:32.849 --> 00:03:36.840 and me being able to contribute navigating living 00:03:36.840 --> 00:03:40.219 in the US for my whole life, just where to buy 00:03:40.219 --> 00:03:42.419 underwear and other exciting things like that. 00:03:42.740 --> 00:03:45.240 I witnessed the transformative difference that 00:03:45.240 --> 00:03:48.759 it had both on myself and on them to have that 00:03:48.759 --> 00:03:51.439 relationship and the incredible power that relationship 00:03:51.439 --> 00:03:55.319 can have to just unlock potential and to help 00:03:55.319 --> 00:03:58.979 us to really understand humanity and what it 00:03:58.979 --> 00:04:01.759 looks like to be human in the world in a different 00:04:01.759 --> 00:04:04.750 way. So through that relationship, and understanding 00:04:04.750 --> 00:04:07.669 the power of relationship, it inspired me to 00:04:07.669 --> 00:04:10.090 move down here so I could be closer and not be 00:04:10.090 --> 00:04:12.090 commuting 30 minutes to have dinner together, 00:04:12.250 --> 00:04:15.189 but also to be able to expand this work to not 00:04:15.189 --> 00:04:17.850 only be myself in this family, but to include 00:04:17.850 --> 00:04:20.189 now thousands of other people that have been 00:04:20.189 --> 00:04:22.269 part of what we've called our hope family for 00:04:22.269 --> 00:04:27.889 the last 15 years. So you literally became a 00:04:27.889 --> 00:04:30.930 part of the community. You're not just, you know, 00:04:32.870 --> 00:04:35.589 Seeing a charity case somewhere else in a different 00:04:35.589 --> 00:04:38.730 part of town, you've become part of that. That's 00:04:38.730 --> 00:04:43.629 incredible to me. I think that's ridiculous credibility, 00:04:43.870 --> 00:04:46.329 honestly, for what you're doing and everything 00:04:46.329 --> 00:04:49.189 that you've got going on. So thank you for that, 00:04:49.189 --> 00:04:53.230 first and foremost. Take us through kind of the 00:04:53.230 --> 00:04:55.970 start of the formal organization, Hope Print. 00:04:56.149 --> 00:04:59.930 So how did that become an actual organization 00:04:59.930 --> 00:05:04.259 and get off the ground? So when we very first 00:05:04.259 --> 00:05:07.480 started it we were sharing meals together we 00:05:07.480 --> 00:05:11.550 were getting U -Haul moving trucks and taking 00:05:11.550 --> 00:05:13.290 furniture from folks who were getting rid of 00:05:13.290 --> 00:05:16.889 it to newly arriving families, to their apartments, 00:05:17.670 --> 00:05:20.310 sharing a cup of tea and conversation that then 00:05:20.310 --> 00:05:22.410 led to more relationships. And so the network 00:05:22.410 --> 00:05:25.889 just grew and grew and grew. And very early in 00:05:25.889 --> 00:05:28.009 those days is when I moved into the neighborhood 00:05:28.009 --> 00:05:30.230 with a couple of other folks. And we just started 00:05:30.230 --> 00:05:33.490 to open up our home like they had opened up their 00:05:33.490 --> 00:05:37.810 homes to us over the... previous months and made 00:05:37.810 --> 00:05:40.470 Tuesday essentially the everyone's welcome for 00:05:40.470 --> 00:05:43.829 dinner night. And so folks came from all across 00:05:43.829 --> 00:05:48.879 the community and just this beautiful. way overcrowded 00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:52.579 space of relationship, meal sharing, and all 00:05:52.579 --> 00:05:55.040 kinds of things grew up out of that. There was 00:05:55.040 --> 00:05:57.100 a teacher that started teaching English sitting 00:05:57.100 --> 00:05:59.959 in the front yard with folks and realized they 00:05:59.959 --> 00:06:02.899 wanted to go to college and that there was a 00:06:02.899 --> 00:06:04.879 pathway they could take to do that. And so she 00:06:04.879 --> 00:06:07.220 started to work with them on that to get them 00:06:07.220 --> 00:06:11.839 into OCC. And they were having this huge circle. 00:06:12.189 --> 00:06:15.610 filled our front yard with how to get into college 00:06:15.610 --> 00:06:18.889 tutorials from this teacher and continue to expand 00:06:18.889 --> 00:06:21.269 from there. Other folks were asking if they could 00:06:21.269 --> 00:06:24.209 pop into one of the side rooms so that they could 00:06:24.209 --> 00:06:27.490 sit on the floor and work on English flashcards 00:06:27.490 --> 00:06:29.970 with somebody. Or there were kids running all 00:06:29.970 --> 00:06:31.910 over and someone said, can I do something with 00:06:31.910 --> 00:06:35.189 the kids? And started to bring all kinds of different 00:06:35.189 --> 00:06:38.410 activities and academic educational pieces with 00:06:38.410 --> 00:06:40.970 them. So all of the programming and the work 00:06:40.970 --> 00:06:44.220 really rose up from those relationships and from 00:06:44.220 --> 00:06:46.519 people who had different skills and understanding, 00:06:47.100 --> 00:06:49.160 people who had different needs, matching up with 00:06:49.160 --> 00:06:51.300 each other in these organic grassroots ways, 00:06:51.519 --> 00:06:54.040 and then kind of forming programs that over the 00:06:54.040 --> 00:06:56.000 years constantly changed. No season of footprint 00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:58.240 has ever looked the same, whether it's who's 00:06:58.240 --> 00:07:00.360 part of it, because the folks coming into our 00:07:00.360 --> 00:07:02.579 community as refugees and new Americans were 00:07:02.579 --> 00:07:05.240 coming from all over the world, different seasons, 00:07:05.480 --> 00:07:09.079 different conflicts that we've had as a part 00:07:09.079 --> 00:07:11.339 of our family. But we say once part of the always 00:07:11.339 --> 00:07:13.379 part of the family. And so it's just been an 00:07:13.379 --> 00:07:16.579 ever -growing, beautiful network of people working 00:07:16.579 --> 00:07:19.839 together to make one another's lives better and 00:07:19.839 --> 00:07:22.819 to make our community a better place. Wow. Wow, 00:07:22.819 --> 00:07:27.139 that's incredible. Nicole, you mentioned something 00:07:27.139 --> 00:07:31.500 of the seasons of Hope Print. Is there, it sounds 00:07:31.500 --> 00:07:33.540 like maybe you have some sort of sequential programming 00:07:33.540 --> 00:07:35.259 that happens, starts and stops, that sort of 00:07:35.259 --> 00:07:38.779 thing, something like that? For many years, we 00:07:38.779 --> 00:07:42.550 functioned in... by trimester doing kind of seasons 00:07:42.550 --> 00:07:45.189 of program presence and rest, we would call it. 00:07:45.250 --> 00:07:46.790 And so that was the majority up until COVID. 00:07:46.810 --> 00:07:49.990 That's how we functioned. And each season, we 00:07:49.990 --> 00:07:52.610 would reevaluate what our community really needed, 00:07:52.730 --> 00:07:55.110 working with our people to say, do we still need 00:07:55.110 --> 00:07:56.910 citizenship classes? Is there anyone who's needing 00:07:56.910 --> 00:07:59.490 citizenship assistance right now? Or did everybody 00:07:59.490 --> 00:08:02.009 already get that? Which is, by the way, one of 00:08:02.009 --> 00:08:03.290 the things you should do in your life someday 00:08:03.290 --> 00:08:06.879 is go to a citizenship. ceremony. You know, whether 00:08:06.879 --> 00:08:09.199 it was like different needs that we were encountering 00:08:09.199 --> 00:08:10.899 with different cultures and backgrounds, you 00:08:10.899 --> 00:08:13.540 know, some folks had all kinds of access to education 00:08:13.540 --> 00:08:16.220 and their home before conflict came or they were 00:08:16.220 --> 00:08:19.100 displaced and others did not have that. And so 00:08:19.100 --> 00:08:22.199 the needs and different things that were we needed 00:08:22.199 --> 00:08:25.519 to show up and changed. very much trimester to 00:08:25.519 --> 00:08:30.480 trimester. And so when COVID hit though, we organizationally 00:08:30.480 --> 00:08:33.740 came to a new season because a lot of things 00:08:33.740 --> 00:08:36.240 changed. Simultaneously with COVID there was 00:08:36.240 --> 00:08:39.879 also a lot of changes that took place at a federal 00:08:39.879 --> 00:08:42.100 level related to refugee resettlement, which 00:08:42.100 --> 00:08:44.779 had a profound impact on our community. And so 00:08:44.779 --> 00:08:47.279 as we, as all the ecosystem was changing around 00:08:47.279 --> 00:08:50.039 us, we asked the question, that we were very 00:08:50.039 --> 00:08:52.340 practiced at asking, what does our community 00:08:52.340 --> 00:08:55.580 really need of us now? And we began to focus 00:08:55.580 --> 00:08:59.139 more on community development work with our entire 00:08:59.139 --> 00:09:01.470 neighborhood, which includes people from all 00:09:01.470 --> 00:09:03.269 around the world who've been resettled as refugees, 00:09:03.490 --> 00:09:05.710 who've come as immigrants, and a whole lot of 00:09:05.710 --> 00:09:07.649 folks that have either lived here for generations 00:09:07.649 --> 00:09:10.649 or have migrated here from other parts of the 00:09:10.649 --> 00:09:14.509 United States. It's a beautifully diverse neighborhood 00:09:14.509 --> 00:09:16.870 and to try to come to a space of what does it 00:09:16.870 --> 00:09:20.830 look like for us together to come up with a vision 00:09:20.830 --> 00:09:24.830 of what we want this to look like for us to all 00:09:24.830 --> 00:09:27.750 have the lives that we dream of. And so we did 00:09:27.750 --> 00:09:30.169 a number of rounds of knocking on doors, talking 00:09:30.169 --> 00:09:32.250 to people, hosting community forums to come up 00:09:32.250 --> 00:09:35.549 with a reinvestment proposal for our community. 00:09:35.549 --> 00:09:38.169 And that led us to the season that we are in 00:09:38.169 --> 00:09:41.470 today, where we're now an incubator for emerging 00:09:41.470 --> 00:09:44.470 nonprofits and leaders who have passion projects, 00:09:44.809 --> 00:09:47.230 where we work alongside of them to try to enact 00:09:47.230 --> 00:09:49.929 that work in the community and to give them an 00:09:49.929 --> 00:09:53.059 on -ramp into taking the things that we did as 00:09:53.059 --> 00:09:55.379 an organization in our early days and hopefully 00:09:55.379 --> 00:09:57.539 have an exponential impact by empowering more 00:09:57.539 --> 00:09:59.840 people in more places to do that in their little 00:09:59.840 --> 00:10:03.860 pockets of community. Wow, that's truly incredible. 00:10:04.620 --> 00:10:06.519 Nicole, let me ask you, do you have a specific 00:10:06.519 --> 00:10:08.720 location? You got a headquarters where all these 00:10:08.720 --> 00:10:10.720 activities take place or how does that work? 00:10:11.860 --> 00:10:16.120 We've always been a bit dispersed and home -based. 00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:18.580 We, for many years pre -COVID, were in literally 00:10:18.580 --> 00:10:21.700 a home running a lot of these programs out of 00:10:21.700 --> 00:10:25.580 the home. Today we are... We do not have a headquarters. 00:10:26.059 --> 00:10:28.820 We are intentionally dispersed because, again, 00:10:28.820 --> 00:10:30.519 we're trying to engage a number of different 00:10:30.519 --> 00:10:32.759 pockets of community that are in all different 00:10:32.759 --> 00:10:34.879 geographic spaces, even within the neighborhood. 00:10:35.419 --> 00:10:38.620 We are fortunate that we have some space on the 00:10:38.620 --> 00:10:40.740 north side that we do use for a number of those 00:10:40.740 --> 00:10:44.460 programs. But it's really in community work has 00:10:44.460 --> 00:10:46.840 always been a heartbeat of what it looks like 00:10:46.840 --> 00:10:48.720 for hope for it to be present in these spaces. 00:10:49.159 --> 00:10:50.879 I kind of thought that might have been your answer. 00:10:51.080 --> 00:10:54.220 And I think that's that's such a phenomenal approach 00:10:54.220 --> 00:10:57.720 in terms of really reaching folks where they 00:10:57.720 --> 00:11:03.500 are. That's really neat. Nicole, so I want to 00:11:03.500 --> 00:11:05.139 ask you a couple more questions on this, and 00:11:05.139 --> 00:11:06.620 then I want to jump to another topic for just 00:11:06.620 --> 00:11:11.480 a moment. So you're telling me about meeting 00:11:11.480 --> 00:11:13.419 all these different people from all these different 00:11:13.419 --> 00:11:15.500 countries, these different ethnic groups, sitting 00:11:15.500 --> 00:11:18.450 down having dinner with them. All it's making 00:11:18.450 --> 00:11:20.110 me think maybe it's because I'm hungry, but all 00:11:20.110 --> 00:11:22.110 it's making me think is all this food so I got 00:11:22.110 --> 00:11:26.990 to ask you what is your favorite kind of ethnic 00:11:26.990 --> 00:11:29.250 food unique food that you maybe never had growing 00:11:29.250 --> 00:11:32.029 up that certainly isn't a Syracuse typical thing. 00:11:32.389 --> 00:11:36.269 Yeah, so I. you are totally right. The food is 00:11:36.269 --> 00:11:40.250 one of the most delicious bonuses of getting 00:11:40.250 --> 00:11:43.509 to have this life. I really love like learning 00:11:43.509 --> 00:11:45.909 from all the different cultural communities, 00:11:46.110 --> 00:11:48.850 just the spices that they use and kind of integrating 00:11:48.850 --> 00:11:52.190 it into my own cooking. But in terms of like 00:11:52.190 --> 00:11:55.659 my I call my my comfort food that is like you 00:11:55.659 --> 00:11:57.860 know growing up it had been chicken noodle soup 00:11:57.860 --> 00:12:00.940 and macaroni and cheese has now transformed to 00:12:00.940 --> 00:12:06.580 being a fufu and asaba and the kind of Congolese 00:12:06.580 --> 00:12:09.820 East Central Africans cuisine of kind of like 00:12:09.820 --> 00:12:13.200 their their mainstay. They've had so many friends 00:12:13.200 --> 00:12:16.000 over the years that that made that for me and 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:18.220 it just kind of became like my home comfort meal. 00:12:18.679 --> 00:12:20.860 So I'm having a bad day, I want some foo foo. 00:12:21.179 --> 00:12:25.159 But my favorite flavors really especially emerged 00:12:25.159 --> 00:12:28.100 from the Ethiopian cuisine, which is phenomenal, 00:12:28.200 --> 00:12:34.080 as well as the Iraqi cuisine is filled with all 00:12:34.080 --> 00:12:36.980 kinds of fascinating combinations that aren't 00:12:36.980 --> 00:12:38.779 as traditionally, you know, typically present 00:12:38.779 --> 00:12:42.470 in the cuisine I grew up on. That's incredible. 00:12:42.610 --> 00:12:45.750 There used to be a place out in Albany many years 00:12:45.750 --> 00:12:47.970 ago that was an Iraqi restaurant, tiny little 00:12:47.970 --> 00:12:52.470 place, incredible food. And that's so neat. I 00:12:52.470 --> 00:12:54.330 don't know if you do this, but just as a suggestion, 00:12:54.669 --> 00:12:56.269 you ever want an awesome fundraiser? There should 00:12:56.269 --> 00:12:58.470 be some, you should do some sort of ethnic food 00:12:58.470 --> 00:13:00.070 fair or something. You'd probably do something 00:13:00.070 --> 00:13:03.830 like that. We did pre -COVID. It was called Culture 00:13:03.830 --> 00:13:07.250 Gala and we, it was a great event. I hope someday 00:13:07.250 --> 00:13:10.569 we can do it again. That sounds incredible. So 00:13:10.569 --> 00:13:12.570 if you wouldn't mind, let's pivot for just a 00:13:12.570 --> 00:13:15.169 moment. And as folks who watch Good News York 00:13:15.169 --> 00:13:17.370 know, we're not a politics show. So we don't 00:13:17.370 --> 00:13:20.210 really get into picking sides or debating issues 00:13:20.210 --> 00:13:22.710 or things like that. But Nicole did just win 00:13:22.710 --> 00:13:25.250 an election. And I think it's really interesting 00:13:25.250 --> 00:13:27.909 to talk to leaders as folks know. We've had leaders 00:13:27.909 --> 00:13:30.330 from all parties and things like that. And the 00:13:30.330 --> 00:13:32.769 reason we do that is because you are the folks 00:13:32.769 --> 00:13:36.070 who are sort of in the know, right? That's why 00:13:36.070 --> 00:13:40.470 you're there. You're not. You take office specifically, 00:13:40.470 --> 00:13:42.450 I know you just won the election, but when do 00:13:42.450 --> 00:13:43.970 you actually take office? I guess I should ask 00:13:43.970 --> 00:13:46.230 you to start. January 1st. January 1st, fine 00:13:46.230 --> 00:13:49.450 26. I like that. I don't necessarily like the 00:13:49.450 --> 00:13:51.509 super long lame duck session. Like, come on, 00:13:51.509 --> 00:13:54.269 let these folks do what we ask them to do. But 00:13:54.269 --> 00:13:58.830 anyway, what is that like just as a person from 00:13:58.830 --> 00:14:00.889 this community leader and doing these things 00:14:00.889 --> 00:14:04.190 to now sort of getting into that political game 00:14:04.190 --> 00:14:07.730 and now you've got to, you know. do all these 00:14:07.730 --> 00:14:10.610 things that is really a different world. How 00:14:10.610 --> 00:14:14.289 was that to navigate? So it's not something I 00:14:14.289 --> 00:14:16.789 set out to do. I have been asked a number of 00:14:16.789 --> 00:14:18.970 times over the years to consider taking on these 00:14:18.970 --> 00:14:22.220 positions and like. the work that I needed to 00:14:22.220 --> 00:14:25.080 do was being best done at the neighborhood level 00:14:25.080 --> 00:14:28.820 and in the advocacy side. But in recent years, 00:14:29.399 --> 00:14:31.379 I've started to feel a bit of a ceiling when 00:14:31.379 --> 00:14:35.659 it comes to advocacy and a growing sense of the 00:14:35.659 --> 00:14:39.700 need for there to be people who have this grassroots 00:14:39.700 --> 00:14:42.159 on the ground understanding of the people and 00:14:42.159 --> 00:14:44.740 the issues that we're facing. Also being in these 00:14:44.740 --> 00:14:46.980 spaces where decisions are being made, where 00:14:46.980 --> 00:14:49.240 resources are being allocated that impact our 00:14:49.240 --> 00:14:54.559 community. And so when I got the call on a, I 00:14:54.559 --> 00:14:58.200 was actually on my way to vacation, someone called 00:14:58.200 --> 00:15:00.720 and said, within the next 48 hours, we need to 00:15:00.720 --> 00:15:03.620 fill this seat or this person on the ballot. 00:15:05.019 --> 00:15:08.860 would you be willing to take this role? And they 00:15:08.860 --> 00:15:13.179 let me sleep on it for all of one night. But 00:15:13.179 --> 00:15:16.179 when I woke up the next morning, I just felt 00:15:16.179 --> 00:15:20.480 compelled that in this moment in time, for our 00:15:20.480 --> 00:15:23.360 community, for the people that I love and have 00:15:23.360 --> 00:15:25.220 welcomed me into their homes and their families 00:15:25.220 --> 00:15:28.919 and their lives, that to say no was just irresponsible. 00:15:29.210 --> 00:15:33.129 And so I said yes, and suddenly I was on the 00:15:33.129 --> 00:15:35.590 wild ride of what it looks like to campaign. 00:15:36.389 --> 00:15:39.950 I was not on a major party line, so it was a 00:15:39.950 --> 00:15:42.350 pretty different situation than it can be for 00:15:42.350 --> 00:15:44.509 a lot of folks who do that. And one of the most 00:15:44.509 --> 00:15:47.690 beautiful things that happened during the campaign 00:15:47.690 --> 00:15:51.789 season was just this manifestation of 15 years 00:15:51.789 --> 00:15:53.710 in this community and the relationships that 00:15:53.710 --> 00:15:57.090 I've built that just came out in this way that 00:15:57.090 --> 00:16:00.610 kept on just... touching my soul. Like just, 00:16:00.850 --> 00:16:04.669 it felt like a beautiful, a beautiful entree 00:16:04.669 --> 00:16:06.789 into our next season. And on the night when I 00:16:06.789 --> 00:16:09.490 did win, a number of those community folks were 00:16:09.490 --> 00:16:13.409 with me and they said, we won, we won. And I 00:16:13.409 --> 00:16:15.429 hope that that is how they continue to feel on 00:16:15.429 --> 00:16:17.370 this journey, that government is really meant 00:16:17.370 --> 00:16:22.009 to be representative. So I hope that we, not 00:16:22.009 --> 00:16:25.269 only we won an election, but we won being able 00:16:25.269 --> 00:16:27.110 to see the things that need to happen for our 00:16:27.110 --> 00:16:30.740 community move forward. After hearing you speak 00:16:30.740 --> 00:16:32.120 about all the work you've been doing in that 00:16:32.120 --> 00:16:34.580 community, I... there's no way you couldn't win 00:16:34.580 --> 00:16:37.379 in that community. I feel like talk about a true 00:16:37.379 --> 00:16:39.500 representative. We don't always get those choices 00:16:39.500 --> 00:16:42.419 and it's so great for your community and our 00:16:42.419 --> 00:16:45.559 county as a whole. Which I guess is sort of my 00:16:45.559 --> 00:16:47.940 next question as you think about that. Obviously 00:16:47.940 --> 00:16:51.179 you represent a particular district but also 00:16:51.179 --> 00:16:54.980 now have to weigh in on issues that span you 00:16:54.980 --> 00:16:57.919 know into the suburbs and well beyond. How do 00:16:57.919 --> 00:17:01.649 you bring this kind of local neighborhood knowledge 00:17:01.649 --> 00:17:04.190 to the areas that don't necessarily look like 00:17:04.190 --> 00:17:07.470 your neighborhood does. So in the early days 00:17:07.470 --> 00:17:09.549 of living in this region, I did live in other 00:17:09.549 --> 00:17:12.410 parts of our county. And I'm grateful for that 00:17:12.410 --> 00:17:15.369 experience as I step into this space, because 00:17:15.369 --> 00:17:17.910 both from living there and just the work in general, 00:17:18.150 --> 00:17:20.789 I have a number of relationships across most 00:17:20.789 --> 00:17:25.180 corners of Onondaga County. So I've I've gone 00:17:25.180 --> 00:17:28.099 out with friends and I've been to their homes 00:17:28.099 --> 00:17:30.680 and I've shared life with people that live in 00:17:30.680 --> 00:17:33.259 really different spaces across Onondaga County 00:17:33.259 --> 00:17:36.700 that augment the life that I get to live here 00:17:36.700 --> 00:17:40.599 on Syracuse's north side. And so I'm also grateful 00:17:40.599 --> 00:17:42.960 that the way that the system set up is that we 00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:45.180 are... we each represent a district. And so we 00:17:45.180 --> 00:17:47.119 each bring our different knowledge and understanding 00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:49.039 to the table and hopefully listen well to one 00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:52.160 another to build, to make decisions that are 00:17:52.160 --> 00:17:55.039 for the whole of our county and for all the people 00:17:55.039 --> 00:17:58.640 that call this place home. So I'm hopeful that 00:17:58.640 --> 00:18:01.400 we can continue to do that and make decisions 00:18:01.400 --> 00:18:04.880 that benefit us all. I get the impression that 00:18:04.880 --> 00:18:07.460 you're the type of person that is open to conversation 00:18:07.460 --> 00:18:09.819 with folks and that's just a massive asset for 00:18:09.819 --> 00:18:13.950 all of us. So I appreciate that so much. So tell 00:18:13.950 --> 00:18:17.730 me, again, let's have some fun with this. What's 00:18:17.730 --> 00:18:21.289 your favorite thing, something fun to do in Onondaga 00:18:21.289 --> 00:18:23.410 County? What's your favorite recreational activity? 00:18:23.569 --> 00:18:27.170 Maybe for date night, maybe for family, whatever 00:18:27.170 --> 00:18:30.759 comes to mind. One of my favorite things to do 00:18:30.759 --> 00:18:34.819 is to go out to skinny atlas mirror bow in the 00:18:34.819 --> 00:18:37.019 summertime when they have the gardens open with 00:18:37.019 --> 00:18:40.039 all the beautiful flowers and streams and and 00:18:40.039 --> 00:18:43.759 And just just sit out there and read or write 00:18:43.759 --> 00:18:46.140 a grant even if it's you know I know that's work 00:18:46.140 --> 00:18:49.160 not fun But just to be in that in that beautiful 00:18:49.160 --> 00:18:53.500 space is is like a little reset spot for me. 00:18:53.619 --> 00:18:57.990 I love all the nature that surrounds us in general, 00:18:58.349 --> 00:19:01.809 just getting in my car and just driving, not 00:19:01.809 --> 00:19:03.650 so much when there's snow on the ground, but 00:19:03.650 --> 00:19:06.930 the other times of the year, being able to go 00:19:06.930 --> 00:19:10.509 through the rolling hills and take in the scenery, 00:19:10.890 --> 00:19:13.589 go to Beacon Scaff and go apple picking in the 00:19:13.589 --> 00:19:18.630 fall. We live in a place that has a lot to offer 00:19:18.630 --> 00:19:22.450 and I am grateful to live here to have access 00:19:22.450 --> 00:19:26.420 to all those things. I love that. I love every 00:19:26.420 --> 00:19:28.440 part of that, honestly. That was just such a 00:19:28.440 --> 00:19:30.880 great... It is and that's the thing that we love. 00:19:31.019 --> 00:19:32.720 One of the things, one of the reasons that we 00:19:32.720 --> 00:19:36.480 do this show specifically is to highlight those 00:19:36.480 --> 00:19:38.769 things. And we try to talk about a little bit 00:19:38.769 --> 00:19:41.289 beyond Onondaga County because the one of the 00:19:41.289 --> 00:19:43.650 things that we feel like is New York State as 00:19:43.650 --> 00:19:46.289 a whole is such a great thing and we try to sometimes 00:19:46.289 --> 00:19:48.130 divide ourselves almost a little too much in 00:19:48.130 --> 00:19:50.990 our regions but you know we can go in any direction 00:19:50.990 --> 00:19:54.789 and have the most incredible vacations. We as 00:19:54.789 --> 00:19:57.369 a company actually have on more than one occasion 00:19:57.369 --> 00:19:59.509 taken a little trip to Skinny Atlas and decided 00:19:59.509 --> 00:20:03.589 we're gonna work for there from the day. So it's 00:20:03.589 --> 00:20:08.089 such a beautiful place and seems like it's distant, 00:20:08.109 --> 00:20:10.170 but it's not, but it's like a whole other world. 00:20:10.349 --> 00:20:12.230 It's just, I don't know. And this time of year 00:20:12.230 --> 00:20:15.190 we got the Christmas. So folks want to go see 00:20:15.190 --> 00:20:17.289 the Dickens Christmas in Skinny Atlas. Shout 00:20:17.289 --> 00:20:20.500 out to that incredible thing. incredibly famous. 00:20:20.539 --> 00:20:23.380 People come all over the place, which I guess 00:20:23.380 --> 00:20:27.440 that'll be my last thing. So what would you tell 00:20:27.440 --> 00:20:30.200 folks? A lot of people don't necessarily understand 00:20:30.200 --> 00:20:34.220 having visitors, having tourists, having shoppers 00:20:34.220 --> 00:20:37.349 from outside the county come to the county. is 00:20:37.349 --> 00:20:39.990 such a huge thing for us. The last thing that 00:20:39.990 --> 00:20:42.750 I will leave you with, Nicole, is what is your 00:20:42.750 --> 00:20:45.410 commercial for people outside of Onondaga County? 00:20:46.809 --> 00:20:49.369 Why should they come check out our awesome area? 00:20:50.349 --> 00:20:56.150 So I am a big traveler. I love to see and experience 00:20:56.150 --> 00:20:58.750 just the things that different communities like 00:20:58.750 --> 00:21:01.750 how the architecture is and how the culture is. 00:21:01.910 --> 00:21:05.210 And we have such an incredible space here in 00:21:05.210 --> 00:21:08.329 Onondaga County, whether it's the, you know, 00:21:08.430 --> 00:21:11.740 from the... centuries ago housing that still 00:21:11.740 --> 00:21:15.079 stands. And last night I went to one of the mansions 00:21:15.079 --> 00:21:17.319 on James Street that's still standing and folks 00:21:17.319 --> 00:21:20.680 continue to work to keep it alive and its story 00:21:20.680 --> 00:21:23.339 alive. And this space is filled with a lot of 00:21:23.339 --> 00:21:27.059 those places that were history makers in their 00:21:27.059 --> 00:21:30.819 day. We have beautiful nature and then of course 00:21:30.819 --> 00:21:34.299 I'm a bit biased. I love our city and the core 00:21:34.299 --> 00:21:36.640 of our city and I wanna continue to see us get 00:21:36.640 --> 00:21:39.190 better at sharing that with people. that come 00:21:39.190 --> 00:21:44.109 in from the out can taste those amazing f go 00:21:44.109 --> 00:21:48.609 shopping. So if you co and you want to experienc 00:21:48.609 --> 00:21:51.650 you to check out just th you might not normally 00:21:51.650 --> 00:21:56.490 go yourself immediately into a feels a bit like 00:21:56.490 --> 00:22:04.130 you went Afghanistan or had or hangi are many 00:22:04.130 --> 00:22:09.799 different little these entrees into the diversity 00:22:09.799 --> 00:22:12.519 of culture we also have here at home. So you 00:22:12.519 --> 00:22:14.099 can always reach out to us if you want to do 00:22:14.099 --> 00:22:15.920 that and can't find it now and I hope that we 00:22:15.920 --> 00:22:18.059 continue as a community to be able to highlight 00:22:18.059 --> 00:22:21.279 those things to provide those spaces for people 00:22:21.279 --> 00:22:23.619 to experience the whole of what Onondaga County 00:22:23.619 --> 00:22:27.380 has to offer the world. I love it. I love it. 00:22:27.660 --> 00:22:32.400 You can instantly see why she was elected. Nicole, 00:22:32.799 --> 00:22:34.720 I'm going to let you go and get back to the work 00:22:34.720 --> 00:22:37.319 of getting ready to take office and everything 00:22:37.319 --> 00:22:40.039 on top of running this incredible organization. 00:22:40.420 --> 00:22:41.920 But before we go, we should tell folks how they 00:22:41.920 --> 00:22:43.859 can find it. So you've got a website, Facebook, 00:22:44.039 --> 00:22:46.559 all those plugs. Hit us with those if you could. 00:22:46.910 --> 00:22:50.789 Absolutely. HopePrint, H -O -P -E -P -R -I -N 00:22:50.789 --> 00:22:53.490 -T dot org is the website. And then all of our 00:22:53.490 --> 00:22:55.650 social media is also under that name. So if you 00:22:55.650 --> 00:22:58.329 search that or just backslash it, you should 00:22:58.329 --> 00:23:00.809 be able to find us on Instagram and Facebook 00:23:00.809 --> 00:23:04.829 and YouTube. And Nicole, I'm guessing that. on 00:23:04.829 --> 00:23:06.849 those resources, they'll answer this question. 00:23:06.910 --> 00:23:08.890 But I just want to ask you, for folks that want 00:23:08.890 --> 00:23:11.190 to help support your organization, what is the 00:23:11.190 --> 00:23:14.410 best way to do it? Is it a volunteer in person? 00:23:14.690 --> 00:23:19.710 Is it make a donation? What can they do? in a 00:23:19.710 --> 00:23:22.589 consistent way, making a donation is definitely 00:23:22.589 --> 00:23:25.250 the most helpful. We provide this supportive 00:23:25.250 --> 00:23:27.309 foundational support to these emerging leaders 00:23:27.309 --> 00:23:30.329 and try not to pass on that expense as much as 00:23:30.329 --> 00:23:32.589 possible to the grants and donations that they're 00:23:32.589 --> 00:23:35.089 able to procure as they build. But in order to 00:23:35.089 --> 00:23:39.230 do that, we really need a foundational kind of 00:23:39.230 --> 00:23:41.930 support system to be able to provide these really 00:23:41.930 --> 00:23:45.230 key resources to emerging leaders in our community. 00:23:45.430 --> 00:23:47.789 And then also there's ways just to give directly 00:23:47.789 --> 00:23:50.390 to those if you're inspired by some of the projects 00:23:50.390 --> 00:23:53.589 you might see. We're also always happy to share 00:23:53.589 --> 00:23:55.450 more information about what they do and connect 00:23:55.450 --> 00:23:58.210 you directly to them. That is how we do volunteerism, 00:23:58.269 --> 00:24:01.369 is we match you directly with our partners. And 00:24:01.369 --> 00:24:03.130 some of them have more opportunities than others. 00:24:03.309 --> 00:24:05.569 We usually start with a conversation, figure 00:24:05.569 --> 00:24:07.970 out where you can plug in and go from there. 00:24:08.650 --> 00:24:11.869 That's so awesome. That's so awesome folks as 00:24:11.869 --> 00:24:13.529 always the links and everything will be right 00:24:13.529 --> 00:24:15.890 here in the description Go and dig into this 00:24:15.890 --> 00:24:17.809 incredible organization as we've been learning 00:24:17.809 --> 00:24:20.069 more and more about it It just it just gets more 00:24:20.069 --> 00:24:22.349 incredible and it's it's so awesome to see people 00:24:22.349 --> 00:24:25.329 do this work for their own community literally 00:24:26.189 --> 00:24:28.950 I absolutely love it. So Nicole, we've taken 00:24:28.950 --> 00:24:31.029 up way too much of your time already. I thank 00:24:31.029 --> 00:24:33.589 you for being so generous with us. And any time 00:24:33.589 --> 00:24:36.150 in the future that there's something interesting 00:24:36.150 --> 00:24:38.990 or positive or events and fundraisers, all that 00:24:38.990 --> 00:24:41.269 fun stuff, we would love to help spread the word. 00:24:41.329 --> 00:24:45.470 So please don't hesitate to reach out. Wonderful. 00:24:45.589 --> 00:24:48.470 Thank you so much for having me. Anytime. Wow. 00:24:49.139 --> 00:24:51.579 What an impressive woman. That was a phenomenal 00:24:51.579 --> 00:24:53.640 interview. I'm so glad that I got to speak with 00:24:53.640 --> 00:24:56.299 Nicole and learn about this incredible organization. 00:24:56.960 --> 00:25:00.240 I can't help but be impressed when people say 00:25:00.240 --> 00:25:03.559 that, you know, she moved to the community to 00:25:03.559 --> 00:25:07.599 be a part of it and serve it. It just doesn't 00:25:07.599 --> 00:25:10.240 get any more genuine than that to me. I don't 00:25:10.240 --> 00:25:13.140 know. Anyway, this has been Good News York. It's 00:25:13.140 --> 00:25:15.519 been a phenomenal episode. Thank you to the whole 00:25:15.519 --> 00:25:20.619 crew, Danny, Amanda, Mike, Malachi. Ruth Jackie 00:25:20.619 --> 00:25:23.579 I'm just gonna start saying names at this point. 00:25:23.700 --> 00:25:28.019 It's been fun guys Stay tuned like share follow 00:25:28.019 --> 00:25:31.019 do everything like that peace out