0:00  
Cari: I really feel like that the work in associations has to do with giving back and making the world making your community making your country a better place. One interaction at a time is what is so satisfying about the association world. I couldn't have said it better myself. 

0:19  
Colby: And that's just a little preview of what's coming up on episode two of VSAE ConneXions, an original podcast series focused on the interconnectivity of Virginia's Association community, produced by the Virginia Society of Association Executives. I'm your host, Colby Horton, and I'm here with my colleague and co host, Frank Humada. Hi Frank.

0:40  
Frank: Hey Colby.

0:40  
Colby: You know, we're fresh off the VSAE Fall Conference and Expo. And honestly, we can't say enough good things. So many great people, so much engaging conversation, so many networking opportunities. Based on different conversations we had at the conference, it's clear that Virginia's association community really bands together to help one another meet the everyday challenges of running our organizations. 

1:03  
Frank: And if you don't think you're making a difference in the livelihood of your members or industry professionals, we're going to hear from our guests today. Who better to talk about the journey into association of leadership and challenges faced by organizations than a Rear Admiral and the US Coast Guard. Today welcome Rear Admiral Cari Thomas, the Chief Executive Officer of Coast Guard Mutual Assistance. She served her nation as a career Coast Guardsmen for over 32 years as a commissioned officer, commanding units both at sea and ashore. She also served as executive director of the Navy League of the United States, on the events Advisory Committee on women in the military services, and on the board at the Navy Mutual Aid Association. Throughout her career, she's volunteered for different organizations that help the disadvantaged veterans and animals. It's our honor and pleasure to welcome Rear Admiral Thomas to the podcast. 

1:56  
Cari: Thank you so much for having me. 

1:59  
Colby: Let's start by talking about your career journey, which I have a feeling has also shaped your personal journey, and I'm sure we'll get into that as well. But studying your bio, you have over 32 years as a commissioned officer, culminating in being a rear admiral in the United States Coast Guard. What drew you to the military service? And how do you think that journey led you to the association space? 

2:23  
Cari: Yeah, so I was a Girl Scout growing up, Girl Scouts were uniforms, they pledge the flag, they learn about service to their nation. And eventually I wanted to be Jacques Cousteau, I realized that there's only one Jacque Cousteau. And so thinking about how to go to college, how to pay for it, knew I needed some scholarship money applied for and got accepted to the United States Coast Guard Academy. I thought I'd get my education get out of the Coast Guard. I got my education, I got a family and I forgot to get out of the Coast Guard for those 32 years. The Coast Guard was a really amazing career. You know, they save lives. They protect the environment, and they stop bad guys from importing illegal and unsecure stuff. I did some volunteer work along the way, I sat on some boards of some nonprofits. And there was so much that the Coast Guard taught me that when it came time to transition out of the Coast Guard, the nonprofit world became a natural fit for me. 

3:24  
Colby: So again, looking at your bio, you kind of lived all over, out of curiosity, where was your favorite place to live? I had a very arduous assignment of being stationed as the District Commander in Honolulu, Hawaii, I lived at the Diamond Head lighthouse. It was a sacrifice that my nation asked of me and was grateful to be able to do that. 

3:46  
Colby: Well, thank you for your service.

3:48  
Frank: What leadership advise can provide for fellow association execs?

3:53  
Cari: Gosh, there are so many leadership tools that I've learned along the way. I'm a graduate of Harvard's national preparedness Leadership Institute. And one of the things that they have a model there that teaches you in leadership is you have to, you have to lead yourself, you have to learn how to lead down, you have to learn how to lead up and then you have to learn how to lead your peers. And all of those things work very, very well in the military. Some are easier than others. But certainly it applies to association management, you know, very, very well. Also, I would say that little problems need solved so they don't get into big problems, whether it's a money problem, whether it's a personnel issue, even the littlest things have to be solved. And then another piece of leadership advice would be is that bad news is not like fine wine and does not get better over time. And so if you see something on the horizon happening, or something has happened, you've got to talk to your boss about it. You've got to let them know what you're doing about it. But don't try and ever gloss over any kind of bad news whatsoever. 

5:04  
Colby: Cari, remind us, remind our listeners, how long have you been in the association space. 

5:10  
Cari: I transitioned from the Coast Guard in 2016. And have worked in there almost nonstop. Since since I transition, I started as the National Executive Director for the Navy League of the United States, great mission, great organization, realized about 14 months into it that I needed a little bit more academic foundation. So I went back to school got a certificate nonprofit management at Georgetown University, grateful that my GI bill that I earned in the military was able to pay for that certification for me, and then landed this job as the CEO of Coast Guard mutual assistance in 2018. And I've been here ever since. 

5:49  
Colby: Gotcha. So leading, leading through a pandemic, I always think, you know, counts is at least five years, maybe 10, on the tenure of most Association exact, so congratulations there. But during all that time, what Association success are you most proud of? 

6:05  
Cari: I have to during my very first year at Coast Guard mutual assistance, we were faced with the government shutdown. So we serve members of the Coast Guard their families and the entire coast guard community. And if you remember, in late 2018 and early 2019, the administration and the Congress could not find their way to a solution in order to pass a budget for portions of the federal government that included the US Coast Guard, they are part of the Department of Homeland Security. And that was one of the departments that was affected. So the members of the Coast Guard 42,000 active duty members of their families were not paid during that 35 day period. And so financial resilience is straight up in our wheelhouse, and really grateful to be able to muster some pretty fast resources to be able to do it, it takes $180 million to pay the Coast Guard workforce, we didn't have $180 million in our bank account. You know, financial resilience is what we do. So we were able to secure a collateral loan based on the size of our portfolio savings that we had, then we got a very generous $50 million gift from USAA. That was a restricted gift intended for the purposes to help with pay issues. So that gave me access to about $30 million. And we weren't sure how long we were going to be in it, grateful to be able to have helped more than 6200 people with $8.4 million in those 35 days. And as a frame of reference, in 2016. Coast Guard mutual assistance provided $4 million in support for the whole year. And so then that influenced us in being able to prepare for the pandemic, what we did there was we created a bunch of new programs that were unnecessary, we provided about four and a half million dollars of relief, in pandemic support over the course of that year, of which about three quarters of that was in the form of grants. What's unusual about our nonprofit is we do some loans and some grants. during the government shutdown, it was all loans. But during the pandemic, it was about three quarters grants, which was new for us, and really, really proud of our team to be able to respond to those. And which is then allowed us to bond to so many other emerging needs, like formula shortages. And so we created a program where we would reimburse the shipment if your mom you're stationed in Miami and your mom and Seattle finds the the baby formula that you need, and wanted to ship it then to you in Miami, we would reimburse the shipment for that. 

8:45  
Colby: That's what great stories, clearly your past experience prepared you for things that none of us were prepared for. So I think that that's really great. 

8:53  
Frank: And Cari, what led you to join VSAE? 

8:56  
Cari: Yeah, a couple of things. First, I knew I needed access to a network of different associations, different types of 501-C organizations to be able to learn from them. Because in time of crisis, that's not the time to build relationships. So I wanted an access to network to help me to solve new problems. One of the things I learned in the military is that there's no such thing as a new problem. It's only a new problem for you. So I knew that there were other association executives in the state of Virginia that might be able to help me in time of crisis. And really to learn more about association management as well. Being so new to the organization. I knew that there were people who had worked their entire careers as association members had started as the taking phone calls from membership early on in their careers are helping to run events and now they're, you know, CEOs or executive directors and so understanding what the things that they've learned and some of the mistakes that they made a lot along the way is helpful for me to know as well, you obviously have this natural drive or curiosity to explore, to learn to grow. 

10:09  
Colby: We've heard you talk a little bit about it during your life's journey. So I wanted to expand on this idea of lifelong learning, and why you feel it's important, not only on a personal level, but also on a professional level, specifically, when leading an organization, can you talk a little bit more about that?

10:28  
Cari: Of course. I think intellectual curiosity is something that helps us stay young, you know, I watched my grandmother, as she aged, still try and do puzzles and still try and do knitting and crocheting. Because all of those, you know, motor skills and things for your brain are important to try and help you stay young. And so as I got my first master's degree was while I was working full time, while my husband was the captain of a ship, and this was before the internet. And so I'd have to order my station and Key West at the time had to order my books from a library in Alabama, and have them shipped to me so that then I could work on my papers. And I would go to school Friday night, all day, Saturday, all day Sunday, and trying to still be a mom. And still, you know, my daughter was a toddler at the time, I didn't realize after I was that how much free time that I had. So really grateful to have gone through that journey. And I realized I was a good student in high school, I was a not so good student at the Coast Guard Academy. And then I went back to being a good student at Troy University. So what that all told me is that, you know, being in this continual state of self improvement is important. And by that you can be a good role model for others. It was part of why I decided to get my certificate nonprofit management, and then go forward with my CAE, because it's important for my staff, for them to see that I'm still continuing to better myself, I want to push my other association executives in the military space to consider doing the same thing. And then I think businesses always have to modernize, right. And if you're stuck where you were, that's not going to be helpful for what the future needs are of your specific organization. And so continuing to better yourself, learning what others are doing, being responsive to what's going on externally, are all important facets of modernized, and businesses, this be a part as a as an executive in that we all have roles in helping to modernize and being forward leaning, being cutting edge and trying to step forward the technological revolution that has occurred in in my lifetime, to where we used to pick up a telephone, and it'd be charged long distance calls to where we're doing everything on this little phone that we have, that can do so much forces us to have to modernize our business processes to modernize every single aspect of of the organizations that you work with, because you've got to stay up if your job which ours is, is to serve a set of clients that are ranged from the age of 80 to eight months old and even younger. We've got to be prepared for all that. So that's all part of what the lifelong learning is all about. 

10:50  
Frank: I still can't get over how impressive your resume is. And something that really stood out to me was your volunteer service. Can you tell us a little bit about some of those experiences and why building and serving a community is so important to you? 

13:54  
Cari: Oh, sure. Well, you know, as I mentioned, I was a Girl Scout growing up and a very fundamental part of, I think having a lifelong commitment to service to others. When I was a mid grade officer, I sat on the Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association Board, grateful to have been able to do that I help do English as a second language. To others. I helped pick food for farms that were donating the benefits of their crops to others, was on the board of the Red Cross in Hawaii, as well as the board of the Girl Scouts of Hawaii when I was stationed in Honolulu, and all just really, really important. I know when I transitioned from coast guard mutual assistance, that I will land in volunteering as well. Probably from my local hospital or some other place that is very, very tangible, in which you develop a sense of purpose because I really feel like that the work in associations has to do with given back and making the world making your community making your country a better place. One interaction at a time, is what is so satisfying about the association world. 

15:09  
Colby: So to segue off of that question, what else are you passionate about? 

15:15  
Cari: Oh, gosh, I just turned 60, I like to get a good night's sleep. I think keeping a solid relationship at home, I've been married to my husband, who we met when we were cadets at the Coast Guard Academy, we've been married 36 years, making sure that I'm continuing to invest in my relationship with him is super important. My parents split up at 30 years, you know, I've watched other couples, you know, lose their relationships at 3040 45 years. I don't want to grow old by myself. And so I want to make sure that I've got, you know, a solid relationship. I have a an adult daughter and a son in law that I'm super proud of. And so I know that one day, you know, she's going to take care of us as we get old. And so having a solid relationship with her is super important. We're beneficiaries of the estate of a couple, and it was sad to read the will from them, because you could see that they as you clicked down through their assets, that their children, and I think they had three of them that all three of them were specifically excluded from the estate. And it just it struck me as really sad. Now, certainly parents have the ability to do that. And it may not have been the worst circumstances that occurred, but you don't know. And it just left me with a place to make sure that, you know, I kept a solid relationship with my with my daughter and son in law as well. Yeah, those relationships are so important. 

16:48  
Colby: That was great advice. So anything keeps you up at night?

16:53  
Cari: I worry about in our country that people aren't listening to each other. Listening is one of the most important leadership skills is to keep your mouth closed and your ears open. And really, that was reinforced for me. Most recently, when George Floyd was murdered, I really thought I had many, many black colleagues, I have a few African Americans that I call friends. And I thought that I knew what it was like for them. But I called up many of them. Some were close colleagues and others were only business relationships that I had. And I asked them what it was like to either grow up as a black man in America, or to grow up being the mother of a black son. And I learned that I still didn't understand. And so this idea of listening to one another on whatever the topic is, people are have different opinions. And it's one of the things that makes our country so great. But I do worry about us as a country, not listening to and appreciating the other points of view. 

18:07  
Colby: That's powerful statement. Listening is so important. I think you're right, I think we lost that is recognizable now that we should listen to each other. And I agree. Cari, what do you enjoy doing in your free time?

18:21  
Cari: Well, when I was stationed in Honolulu, I learned how to play the ukulele. I thought that it was a dumb instrument to be honest with you. And then one day I listened to a guy named Jake Shimabukuro, who is from Honolulu as of Japanese descent. And he played this song. Oh, no, it was on the radio, actually. While My Guitar Gently Weeps. So you remember that Beatle song? He played it on the ukulele and I realized that it was a real instrument. And I had played classical guitar as a kid. Then I played flute growing up, dabbled back and forth in piano and realized that I wanted to learn this instrument. So it was great and why. And then when I got transferred out of there, and 2016 Yeah, couldn't find another teacher that I really, really liked. Fast forward to the pandemic when everything becomes online again, and pretty soon I'm reconnected to my ukulele teacher in Honolulu. So, every Friday afternoon, I have my ukulele lessons online. I did take a piano after I played it for a while when my daughter was playing it as well. And then I had one of those jobs in the military that I couldn't practice enough. And so I took that up after I retired from the military. I like to spend time with my elderly mom, I live in Tucson, Arizona now. I'm grateful to be able to be there for her when she needs me or just to stop by and say hi is something that's that's new for me and I'm really, really grateful to be able to do when I'm not at work now.

19:59  
Frank: That's great. I'm so impressive, you know, so many instruments. And you mentioned you love to learn. Is there anything else you're looking to learn the next bit? 

20:07  
Cari: Oh, gosh, I don't know. I mean, I am not the greatest reader. And so one of the things that going through the certification getting my CAE forced me to do is forced me to read. And then I joined a book club that helped me become a little bit better of a reader and broaden my horizons for books that were new and interesting. I personally probably prefer podcasts or audiobooks to reading. I'm not really sure why. But some of the things that I've been doing lately, and there has been one called Code Girls, and it's a historical book about women during World War Two and the army. And the Navy had a program as well in which they were trying to figure out how to use women during the war, right. And some were mechanics, and some were, you know, secretaries and office while these women were brought in to try and help decipher codes, just really an important element of the intelligence community during the Second World War. So that's interesting. You know, I was speaking a little bit before about George Floyd's murder, and was brought to two books by African American Navy veterans. One called no coincidences by a woman who's a Naval Academy graduate, Janie Mines, class of 1980. She was the first African-American woman to graduate from the Navy Academy, and a really interesting book, and then one called from the hood to the hill. He's a retired Navy two star chaplain, who was also a chaplain of the United States Senate, and just his story about how he learned and adapted and and was successful during his career in the military. A book related to my job that I'm reading right now is called the Unbanking of America. And it's because we're in financial resilience is what our 501-C three does. Why would someone when they get a check that provides assistance for mutual assistance, go to a payday lender or go to a check cashing place, rather than using their bank. And so it's really a journalist story about learning about those businesses, and what's good about them and what's not so great about him. And then I am a hopeless romantic. And so whatever new Nicholas Sparks book comes out, I will always pick up because there's nothing like a good romance novel that when you open it, you know how it's going to end and you'll cry somewhere in the middle, and it's all in good fun. 

22:38  
Frank: Well, thanks for the recommendations. What about shows TV streaming? What are you watching? 

22:43  
Cari: Oh, gosh, whatever new series is on like succession is one of my favorites. There's American Ninja Warriors. One of my favorite summer finds as well as Holey Moley, is one of my favorite summer things to do. I'm a big blue buzz fan that I try and catch a Special Victims Unit. It's been on for 20 years now and still a fan of that I thought that they were going to sort of go off the radar, but they've done a really good job of modernizing their their storylines. Abbott Elementary is one of my new favorite comedies. This just a scream just so so funny. So I really appreciate new things, you know, as they're coming out as well. 

23:26  
Colby: Sounds like you have a future career in entertainment criticism.

23:30  
Cari: Yeah. 

23:31  
Colby: So can we end with this question? Since we are doing a podcast for the Virginia Society of Association Executives, what do you love most about Virginia 

23:41  
Cari: Gosh, I've lived in almost every part of the state of Virginia. So I grew up in the Appalachians, way down almost to Bristol, Tennessee, from first grade to seventh grade. And so that's where I cut my teeth and learned how to be a good student that learned how to be a Girl Scout. And then we moved from there up into Maryland. Then my military career took me to both the Hampton Roads area, and of course all that that offers with great seafood. Great sailing, my husband and I owned a sailboat when we lived there, lived in Northern Virginia for four years early on in my career, and then another five or six or seven years afterwards. So I feel like I've with the exception of the central area, Charlottesville. There's so much that Virginia has to offer. If you want the mountains you can find it if you want the beach you can find it if you want small town you can find it if you want, you know suburban city, you can find it. The people are diverse. They're very proud for what Virginia has and its history. Virginia is not without its its own challenges. One of the other books that I am reading right now it's called Robert E Lee and me and it's the story have a have a descendent of Robert E Lee and how he's coming to reconcile some of the real issues that has been uncovered about Robert E Lee as a as a man, as a slave owner, as a as a general that are not really pleasant in Virginia's history. But it's the beauty of that diversity of different ethnicities, different cultures, the eastern shores. Really interesting, its own unique place recently went to shake fatigue for the first time and actually stayed there right before the ponies ran. And just really, really great small town that was looking forward to getting back to post pandemic because they love hosting everybody in that town for that time of the year. Although the bugs tried to carry me away. There were so many.

25:50  
Colby: Well, Carrie, we really appreciate you being a part of this podcast, your candidness on relationships on learning on volunteerism, your insights on books and TV, so it was a well rounded conversation. Thanks again for participating. 

26:07  
Cari: You bet. If anybody would like to contact me for further follow up, I'd be happy to provide you with my contact information Cari - c-a-r-i-dot-Thomas at C-G-M-A-hq.org or you can dial me the old fashioned way. 703-498-8381 

26:27  
Colby: Excellent. We'll put that contact information in our show notes as well. So thank you for that. 

26:32  
Cari: You bet.

26:33  
Colby: And thanks everyone for listening to this episode of VSAE ConneXions. Join us each month as we continue our conversations with VSAE members about life work in the communities they serve. Be sure to subscribe to our podcasts on Apple, Spotify, Google or wherever you listen to your favorite podcast, and it'll behalf of VSAE I'm Colby Horton with Frank Kimata. Thanks again for listening.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai