September 3, 2024 • 19 mins
In this episode of "CEOs You Should Know," host Pedro Al Aire sits downs with Jenny Hixon, CEO of Any Baby Can. Join Pedro and Jenny as they discuss more about their annual Angel Affiar fundraising event on September 7th and the services provided by Any Baby Can.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Familia Fedro Alida. Welcome to another episode of iHeartRadio's CEOs.
You should know. On this occasion, I have in the
studio Jenny Hixon. She is the CEO of Any Baby Can.
Jenny was born and raised in right here in San Antonio,
where she lives with her wife, two kids, and two
spoiled dogs. I'm want to find out what breed those
(00:20):
dogs are here in a second. Jenny received her BA
from UT Austin and her MPH from Tulane University. I
hope I said that correctly, where she received dual degrees
in Maternal and Child health and Health Communication. Jenny was
the director of Outreach, Education and Development for Raises Texas
during refugee and family separation crisis. She was the primary
(00:43):
author of the first City of San Antonio comprehensive domestic
violence Prevention Plan, adopted for implementation by the city and
the county. She initiated the first violence prevention section at
Metro Health. She has served on boards of Planned Parenthood
of South Texas, Fun Texas Choice, inter Faith Welcome Coalition,
and the You You Social Justice Ministry, and is an
(01:06):
avid reader. I just read a lot that makes me
an ad avid reader. As well. She's always on the
hunt for the next good book, and I'd love to
find out what books you have read. But before all that, Jenny,
welcome to this episode of CEOs. You should know how
are you?
Speaker 2 (01:20):
I'm great? Thank you so much for having me today.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
That is an amazing resume.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
By the way, Oh well, it sounds better on paper.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
So tell me before we jump into the serious questions here,
tell me a little bit about yourself other than what
we just read.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Well, other than what we just read, I don't know.
Let's see. I guess I love to cook, so outside
of work, that's pretty much all that I do. I
love San Antonio. I know we were just chatting about
Fiesta and I am a diehard san Antonian. I think
we have an amazing city, and I think that I
spent a lot of my time inside and outside of
(01:55):
work just thinking about how we can do better. And
kids are my passion.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
I love that. What kind of dogs do you have?
Speaker 2 (02:02):
I have two mutts. I have a Sharpay Lab mix
and then I have a great Dane Lab mix. They
are disaster areas, but we love them.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
I have three pugs. That's a disaster, trust me. They
shed a lot a lot of fur.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
I definitely think are a great Dane lab is the
most horrible combination of a brilliant dog who is very large,
and you don't want a large dog with a big brain.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Noted. So tell me what was the path you took
to get to where you are today?
Speaker 2 (02:35):
So growing up in San Antonio, I went to college
and I got involved in HIV prevention work in the nineties,
which was before we had a lot of the innovations
that we have now that we're saving a lot of lives.
I had never heard of public health. I think public
health is one of those fields that nobody knew what
public health was until we had a pandemic. I think
(02:56):
we would prefer it that way, because if you don't
know about us, that means we're doing a job right.
And so I moved to New Orleans to go to
grad school for that where I studied INFIT mortality, And
when I came back to San Antonio, I've spent the
last twenty years working in and around issues with kiddos.
Really that's my passion. I think how we treat children
in this world tells us everything we need to know
about how we're treating everyone else. They are the most vulnerable.
(03:18):
They rely on all of us as adults to stand
between them and harm. And I think that that's why
I'm here today, because I think Any Baby Can does
an amazing job of helping kids and families to reach
all of their potential that every child has when they're born.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Why did you want to be CEO of Any Baby Can?
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Any Baby Can is a really amazing organization. It's been
around for forty two years. I'm forty three, so we're
about the same age. It was funded by doctor maryan Sokel,
who is one of my personal heroes. She's an amazing
woman that has founded a lot of organizations in San
Antonio that served children and families. And so when this
(03:57):
opportunity came open, I had been working on homelessness and
LGBTQ advocacy and I was looking for an opportunity to
kind of move back into my public health roots. This
seemed like an amazing fit and just a fantastic organization
that really has done so much for our city.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
How long have you been with the company now, I've.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Been here for three months and one week.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Okay, oh right, Well, at the time of the recording
of this podcast, three months one week. Now, within those
first three months, within those three months and that one week,
what are you most proud of regarding the company.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
What has really blown me away about Any Baby Can
is that everyone that I've talked to about Any Baby
Can has a story of how it has touched their lives.
And we so we are having air conditioning problems and
I was trying to find somebody to work on that,
and I happened to call a company and the man
who answered the phone was like, Oh, y'all served me
through your bereavement program twenty years ago when I lost
(04:53):
my child, and he was like, I'll come out personally.
And so I think the reach that this organization has
had over its existence is stunning. How many people's lives
it has touched and how much good it has done
for our community over that time period has really just
blown me away.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
What are the chances right at the pick up the
phone trying to get the AC fixed and the person
that answers happens to have been touched by this organization?
That's amazing. What goals do you have for the company?
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Well, I think we're a forty year old organization and
I think we're ready for a little bit of modernization.
So nonprofits are amazing and that if you give us
a dollar, well stretched as far as it can. But
that means a lot of times our internal systems they
need some refreshments. And so I think one of the
things that we're looking at doing is moving our systems
that serve parents into the modern age. Parents now that
(05:45):
have little kids, they're in their twenties, some of them
are in their late teens. They aren't looking for things
to be mailed to them on paper. They want to
be texted information. So we're working on how we can
communicate with people the way that they want to be
communicated with now as to how you know, we received
information a few years ago. Our goal is really to
do the best that we can, reaching the most people
(06:06):
with the most information. About twenty three percent of families
have a child that has a special health care need.
There is a huge need for these services, and we
just want to reach as many kids.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
As we can, and that's a good point. At least,
you know, within the Hispanic community, which I'm a part of,
our community, one at times doesn't ask for help, but
when they do, they don't know where to find the
help or even just ask the right questions to you know,
find get on the right path to find the help.
So making it simple, easier or effective to find these
(06:41):
services through technology, through social media, through texting, that I
think you know would obviously clearly would make a huge impact.
What did your fifteen year old self imagine you'd be
doing right now? Because you know, I don't. I've I've
never met anyone who, you know, at a young age
said would say I'm going to be a CEO of
XYZ company in the future. Right, easily start off with
(07:02):
I'm gonna be a doctor. I'm a lawyer, I'm a firefighter,
I'm get an astronaut. But at fifteen, did you imagine
yourself in this role?
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Well, I'm still deciding what I'm going to be when
I grow up. I think when I was fifteen, ridiculous
is a ridiculous thing. I wanted to be a large
animal vet.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
And so that's a ridiculous that's great, taking care of elephants.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
I love cows, Charles, Yes, it's like that was my
big dream. It turns out I was not great at biology,
so I think that doing this I'm better at it.
But I think, you know, the great thing that we
do in our work is we get to ask that
same question to kids and families. Now we get to
ask our kiddos who are They might have some challenges,
(07:42):
but we still know that they can go on and
they can achieve their dreams. And so that's the work
that we do.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Is there a habit that you seem to not be
able to kick? And then the reason I asked that is,
you know, as we as we dive into these podcasts
with these episodes CEOs, you should know, you know, we
like to ask CEOs the questions like this because the
listener probably just has this idea of well, CEO is
like this and they don't have any issues there. They're
(08:07):
brilliant people who are great at what they do. That's
why they're in their roles. But at the end of
the day, we're all we're all people with you know,
same issues. But so, is there a habit that you've
just not been able to kick yet?
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Yes, I drink enough diet pepper doctor pepper to like
float a swimming pool like it's it's intense. We have
like a line ONEm in our budget. So yeah, I
think that that's my big vice, which I'll take it
of the vices that are left.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Who would want to kick that habit? So good?
Speaker 2 (08:35):
If I ever moved out of Texas, it a real problem.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Whatever you do, don't move to Waco. Yeah, Ryan, that's
still of the plants, is right? Okay? If you were
a food, what food would you be?
Speaker 2 (08:46):
So my family teases me that I'm the bean Queen.
It's the most ridiculous thing. But I I'm vegetarian and
so I always cook beans, and that is that is
my nickname. I actually have a sticker they made from you.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Really.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Yes, it's ridiculous.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
You and my mom probably get along. She's all about lentils.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Oh yes, my kids.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Yeah, and will always will always tell me in Spanish me,
she's right, she is right, Yes, absolutely, I know your
mom knows, she knows, she knows it. And I have
to listen, you know, she's mom. If you had no deadlines,
what project would you focus on right now?
Speaker 2 (09:25):
So I have two projects that I would work on.
I think one. I decided during the pandemic that I
was going to learn how to quilt. And I set
this ambitious goal of making a wedding quilt for my
sister in law, and I started it and it's now
sits in pieces haunting me. So I would I would
finish that. And then I think from a work perspective,
(09:49):
I'm really passionate about understanding the history of the places
that I work. I really love nonprofits because I think
the people that do this work are all incredible people.
People who found nonprofits are a unique breed, and so
I would love to do a true history, if any
baby can. I think every time I talk to somebody,
I really do. So many people that I talked to
(10:09):
tell me something that they did with the organization, and
I'm like, we need all of this written down, we
need pictures, We need to be able to share this.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
Yeah, tell a story. Yeah, so people have a clear
idea of what this is and how it benefits them.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
And I think a road map for you know, we
as a city have struggled with how we serve children
for a very long time. My family is born and
raised in San Antonio. My grandfather went to work at fourteen,
at a drop out of school because his family was
very poor and they could not they could not take
care of themselves unless he worked. And I think that
that's the story of a lot of families in San Antonio.
(10:43):
So the organizations that have been here for that amount
of time, they have a story to tell about how
we can try to fix these problems.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Absolutely, if you could choose anyone in the world to
become friends with, who would you choose and why?
Speaker 2 (10:59):
So when I was thinking about this, I would love
to be friends with Julia Child, even though she's.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
No longer Oh okay.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Because she seems hilarious. Yes, and I think I would
love to just cook with her and have her teach
me all of the things so fun.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Fact, I recall as a kid, her program would be
on what is it repeats or whatever on TV, and
I recall watching just you know, summer break. The TV
would be on, and there's here today We're cookie, you
know whatever. I don't want to do a terrible impression,
but you know it was great. Yeah, thank you, But yes, Julie,
that would be that would be very cool. That would
(11:35):
be fun, That would be entertaining to cook with her. Fine, Yeah,
what's the oddest job you ever took to earn a buck?
And this says a lot about a CEO, by the way,
because again, I think a lot of folks have this
misconception that like, well, CEOs get to the top and
they didn't have to struggle, and like, no, we all
start somewhere. I'll give a perfect example. I my first
job was burg king. I flip burgers, actually drive through
(11:56):
and flip burgers as well. And here I am now
on the radio. But we'll you're what's the oddest job
you ever took?
Speaker 2 (12:02):
So this is there's a little backstory to my weird job.
When I went to grad school, I moved to New Orleans.
I had impeccable timing. I moved in two thousand and four,
and we all know what happened in two thousand and five, Katrina.
So I evacuated from New Orleans and I was staying
temporarily in Houston, and where I was working had gut destroyed,
and so all of a sudden, I needed to find
(12:24):
a job. So I took a job. I already had
an a graduate degree and I was halfway through a
master's degree. And I took three jobs while I was
working in Houston. Wow, because it was like, all of
a sudden, I don't have an income. So I got
to figure this out. So I was working at Target,
I was working at Borders, and then I was also
working for FEMA going around and interviewing people at the
(12:46):
different shelters that were set up for Katrina refugees, and
so I drove all over Houston. I learned a whole
bunch about a city that I didn't know at all
before I moved there unexpectedly, but I learned a lot
about that and customer service definitely is some of the
hardest work I've ever done.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Yeah, but that experience real quick, interviewing people refugees affected
by the hurricane. What was your major takeaway from having
those conversations with those folks.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Well, I think one of the things that the hurricane
taught a lot of us is how fragile our daily
lives are and how much we actually have to rely
on each other to have the systems that help people
when a crisis happens. So Katrina was an unusual event
and then an entire city got displaced. So you had
people that had, you know, lived middle class lives, had
(13:38):
always had everything that they needed, all of a sudden
for the first time in their lives being in a
shelter and having nothing, and it was very shocking for people.
And that work really influenced the rest of my career.
I ran a shelter when I worked for Riasis, and
it was the same thing where you had people that had,
you know, lived in their community in Guatemala and Duras
(13:58):
for generations and all of a sudd and there was
a word at their doorstep they didn't expect and their
life was upended. And I think that that's my grandmother
used to say, there before the grace of God go
I and I think what I always took from that
phrase is that we all rely on each other, even
if we don't know it. And that's why we have
to do this work and build these systems, because you
never want to be the person who needs to ask
(14:19):
for help, but we're probably all going to need to
at some point in our life.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
True, that is true, and that experience and you just
mentioned it, How does it motivate you? How does it
drive you? Now? At any baby can and getting these
services in this message out to the communities and the
families that need it.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
I think it's one of the greatest privileges of my
life to be able to support parents in doing what
they know they need to do for their children. Yesterday
we were talking about our organization and I said, at
the end of the day, Any Baby Can is a
love story because it's the story about how much parents
love their children that they will do anything they can
to get their child what that child needs. If their
(15:03):
child is born and has an unexpected healthcare need, something
that they never thought they were going to deal with.
The amazing dignity and power that you see in our
parents who take everything that they have and learn how
to serve their child and get what their child needs.
It's really moving.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Now. Any Baby Can also needs help. What are some
of the events that happened throughout the year to support
this organization and keep it going in order to provide
these these services for families and communities.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
So every September we have our Angel Affair, which is
our gala where we invite community to come have a
great time with us and support the organization. We're also
having our Butterfly Memorial in February every year, which honors
our parents who have lost a child over the course
of the year. And that's one of our programs that
we don't have as much attention on, but it's really important.
(15:56):
We'd have a fifteen percent increase in infant mortality in
Texas in the last year, and that program, unfortunately has
been our fastest growing program, and so we have that
in February, and then in April we have one of
our most fun events, which is the Walk for Autism,
where we have you know, ten thousand people come out, kids, families,
(16:17):
everybody gets to come out and celebrate the members of
their family who are on the autism spectrum and really
just celebrate the joy that is having a child who
brings all of these different gifts to the world.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
Where can we find this information, these dates for these events.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
You can also follow us on any of the social
media's and you can also find us at our website
which is www dot anybabycan essay dot org.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
One quick question, I had to have a question. You
were talking about books earlier, and again I go back
to the whole thing about you know, the misconception about
CEOs and this and that. But you got to learn,
you gotta read, you got to you know, polish your skills.
I think a lot of folks nowadays, including myself, consider
ourselves entrepreneurs. I did have a business at one point
had to shut it down, but I think all entrepreneurs
(17:04):
go through that right start a business doesn't go well
close it down next. One of my biggest challenges at
which I see here you enjoy actually, but one of
my biggest challenges is reading, like I sitting down and
actually just like getting into a book and learning something
out of it. Right, My challenge is I space out,
my mind starts to wander, I can't focus, I get bored.
(17:25):
I move on something else. But one, I want to
know what are you reading now? And then two how
do you stay focused on a book? Or what do
you look for in a book to keep your attention?
And then I guess what subject matters do you look for?
Speaker 2 (17:40):
So how do I stay focused on a book? I
have always been such an avid reader since I was
a little kid. My family would tease me because I
would start reading and they would talk to me and
I wouldn't hear them. So I think that it's just
the way my brain works. It's the most fun thing
for me. I read everything. So you said, you know
that CEOs are we have some sort of misconception. I
(18:02):
read trash, I read, I read, I read, you know,
professional development, Like if it's a book that's popular, I'll
probably read it. I'm part of a romance novel club,
like I mean there is. I think the great thing
about reading is that an we can all find something
that fits with us. So I'll recommend books to people
and they'll be like, I didn't like it, and I'm like,
(18:23):
that's cool, there's something else out there for you, right,
So for me, I think it's just an opportunity. If
you think about a book, it's like, you know, for
twenty bucks, you can get somebody who's been an expert
at something at their entire life, all of their wisdom
in one book. Yeah, so that's amazing.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
Yeah, that's a good point.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
I'm reading The Twelve Week Year right now because.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
I have that, do you. Yes. I stopped that page
like three because I was just like, I zoned out.
But I see the benefits. I've seen other folks who
have benefited from it because they just knock out so
much work within those twelve week periods. But how's it
working out for you?
Speaker 2 (19:00):
I'm in the middle of it. I'm getting ready to
make an ambitious plan because I really love to have
kind of all of the things, goals and objectives. We're
in the middle of us with any baby can and
then I also have kids and a wife who's a firefighter,
and our schedule is a mess. So I think I
laminate things in color code things, So I think it's
a great book for that.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Done, Jenny, I'm going to I promise, I'm going to
start the book again. I'm going to finish it. I
will put together my twelve week plan. Yes, Jenny Hickson,
the CEO of any Baby Can, thank you so much
for coming in today and being part of this podcast series.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Yeah, thank you so much for having me. I really
appreciate it.
Familia Fedro Alida. Welcome to another episode of iHeartRadio's CEOs.
You should know. On this occasion, I have in the
studio Jenny Hixon. She is the CEO of Any Baby Can.
Jenny was born and raised in right here in San Antonio,
where she lives with her wife, two kids, and two
spoiled dogs. I'm want to find out what breed those
(00:20):
dogs are here in a second. Jenny received her BA
from UT Austin and her MPH from Tulane University. I
hope I said that correctly, where she received dual degrees
in Maternal and Child health and Health Communication. Jenny was
the director of Outreach, Education and Development for Raises Texas
during refugee and family separation crisis. She was the primary
(00:43):
author of the first City of San Antonio comprehensive domestic
violence Prevention Plan, adopted for implementation by the city and
the county. She initiated the first violence prevention section at
Metro Health. She has served on boards of Planned Parenthood
of South Texas, Fun Texas Choice, inter Faith Welcome Coalition,
and the You You Social Justice Ministry, and is an
(01:06):
avid reader. I just read a lot that makes me
an ad avid reader. As well. She's always on the
hunt for the next good book, and I'd love to
find out what books you have read. But before all that, Jenny,
welcome to this episode of CEOs. You should know how
are you?
Speaker 2 (01:20):
I'm great? Thank you so much for having me today.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
That is an amazing resume.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
By the way, Oh well, it sounds better on paper.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
So tell me before we jump into the serious questions here,
tell me a little bit about yourself other than what
we just read.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Well, other than what we just read, I don't know.
Let's see. I guess I love to cook, so outside
of work, that's pretty much all that I do. I
love San Antonio. I know we were just chatting about
Fiesta and I am a diehard san Antonian. I think
we have an amazing city, and I think that I
spent a lot of my time inside and outside of
(01:55):
work just thinking about how we can do better. And
kids are my passion.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
I love that. What kind of dogs do you have?
Speaker 2 (02:02):
I have two mutts. I have a Sharpay Lab mix
and then I have a great Dane Lab mix. They
are disaster areas, but we love them.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
I have three pugs. That's a disaster, trust me. They
shed a lot a lot of fur.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
I definitely think are a great Dane lab is the
most horrible combination of a brilliant dog who is very large,
and you don't want a large dog with a big brain.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Noted. So tell me what was the path you took
to get to where you are today?
Speaker 2 (02:35):
So growing up in San Antonio, I went to college
and I got involved in HIV prevention work in the nineties,
which was before we had a lot of the innovations
that we have now that we're saving a lot of lives.
I had never heard of public health. I think public
health is one of those fields that nobody knew what
public health was until we had a pandemic. I think
(02:56):
we would prefer it that way, because if you don't
know about us, that means we're doing a job right.
And so I moved to New Orleans to go to
grad school for that where I studied INFIT mortality, And
when I came back to San Antonio, I've spent the
last twenty years working in and around issues with kiddos.
Really that's my passion. I think how we treat children
in this world tells us everything we need to know
about how we're treating everyone else. They are the most vulnerable.
(03:18):
They rely on all of us as adults to stand
between them and harm. And I think that that's why
I'm here today, because I think Any Baby Can does
an amazing job of helping kids and families to reach
all of their potential that every child has when they're born.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Why did you want to be CEO of Any Baby Can?
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Any Baby Can is a really amazing organization. It's been
around for forty two years. I'm forty three, so we're
about the same age. It was funded by doctor maryan Sokel,
who is one of my personal heroes. She's an amazing
woman that has founded a lot of organizations in San
Antonio that served children and families. And so when this
(03:57):
opportunity came open, I had been working on homelessness and
LGBTQ advocacy and I was looking for an opportunity to
kind of move back into my public health roots. This
seemed like an amazing fit and just a fantastic organization
that really has done so much for our city.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
How long have you been with the company now, I've.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Been here for three months and one week.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Okay, oh right, Well, at the time of the recording
of this podcast, three months one week. Now, within those
first three months, within those three months and that one week,
what are you most proud of regarding the company.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
What has really blown me away about Any Baby Can
is that everyone that I've talked to about Any Baby
Can has a story of how it has touched their lives.
And we so we are having air conditioning problems and
I was trying to find somebody to work on that,
and I happened to call a company and the man
who answered the phone was like, Oh, y'all served me
through your bereavement program twenty years ago when I lost
(04:53):
my child, and he was like, I'll come out personally.
And so I think the reach that this organization has
had over its existence is stunning. How many people's lives
it has touched and how much good it has done
for our community over that time period has really just
blown me away.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
What are the chances right at the pick up the
phone trying to get the AC fixed and the person
that answers happens to have been touched by this organization?
That's amazing. What goals do you have for the company?
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Well, I think we're a forty year old organization and
I think we're ready for a little bit of modernization.
So nonprofits are amazing and that if you give us
a dollar, well stretched as far as it can. But
that means a lot of times our internal systems they
need some refreshments. And so I think one of the
things that we're looking at doing is moving our systems
that serve parents into the modern age. Parents now that
(05:45):
have little kids, they're in their twenties, some of them
are in their late teens. They aren't looking for things
to be mailed to them on paper. They want to
be texted information. So we're working on how we can
communicate with people the way that they want to be
communicated with now as to how you know, we received
information a few years ago. Our goal is really to
do the best that we can, reaching the most people
(06:06):
with the most information. About twenty three percent of families
have a child that has a special health care need.
There is a huge need for these services, and we
just want to reach as many kids.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
As we can, and that's a good point. At least,
you know, within the Hispanic community, which I'm a part of,
our community, one at times doesn't ask for help, but
when they do, they don't know where to find the
help or even just ask the right questions to you know,
find get on the right path to find the help.
So making it simple, easier or effective to find these
(06:41):
services through technology, through social media, through texting, that I
think you know would obviously clearly would make a huge impact.
What did your fifteen year old self imagine you'd be
doing right now? Because you know, I don't. I've I've
never met anyone who, you know, at a young age
said would say I'm going to be a CEO of
XYZ company in the future. Right, easily start off with
(07:02):
I'm gonna be a doctor. I'm a lawyer, I'm a firefighter,
I'm get an astronaut. But at fifteen, did you imagine
yourself in this role?
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Well, I'm still deciding what I'm going to be when
I grow up. I think when I was fifteen, ridiculous
is a ridiculous thing. I wanted to be a large
animal vet.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
And so that's a ridiculous that's great, taking care of elephants.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
I love cows, Charles, Yes, it's like that was my
big dream. It turns out I was not great at biology,
so I think that doing this I'm better at it.
But I think, you know, the great thing that we
do in our work is we get to ask that
same question to kids and families. Now we get to
ask our kiddos who are They might have some challenges,
(07:42):
but we still know that they can go on and
they can achieve their dreams. And so that's the work
that we do.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Is there a habit that you seem to not be
able to kick? And then the reason I asked that is,
you know, as we as we dive into these podcasts
with these episodes CEOs, you should know, you know, we
like to ask CEOs the questions like this because the
listener probably just has this idea of well, CEO is
like this and they don't have any issues there. They're
(08:07):
brilliant people who are great at what they do. That's
why they're in their roles. But at the end of
the day, we're all we're all people with you know,
same issues. But so, is there a habit that you've
just not been able to kick yet?
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Yes, I drink enough diet pepper doctor pepper to like
float a swimming pool like it's it's intense. We have
like a line ONEm in our budget. So yeah, I
think that that's my big vice, which I'll take it
of the vices that are left.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Who would want to kick that habit? So good?
Speaker 2 (08:35):
If I ever moved out of Texas, it a real problem.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Whatever you do, don't move to Waco. Yeah, Ryan, that's
still of the plants, is right? Okay? If you were
a food, what food would you be?
Speaker 2 (08:46):
So my family teases me that I'm the bean Queen.
It's the most ridiculous thing. But I I'm vegetarian and
so I always cook beans, and that is that is
my nickname. I actually have a sticker they made from you.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Really.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Yes, it's ridiculous.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
You and my mom probably get along. She's all about lentils.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Oh yes, my kids.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Yeah, and will always will always tell me in Spanish me,
she's right, she is right, Yes, absolutely, I know your
mom knows, she knows, she knows it. And I have
to listen, you know, she's mom. If you had no deadlines,
what project would you focus on right now?
Speaker 2 (09:25):
So I have two projects that I would work on.
I think one. I decided during the pandemic that I
was going to learn how to quilt. And I set
this ambitious goal of making a wedding quilt for my
sister in law, and I started it and it's now
sits in pieces haunting me. So I would I would
finish that. And then I think from a work perspective,
(09:49):
I'm really passionate about understanding the history of the places
that I work. I really love nonprofits because I think
the people that do this work are all incredible people.
People who found nonprofits are a unique breed, and so
I would love to do a true history, if any
baby can. I think every time I talk to somebody,
I really do. So many people that I talked to
(10:09):
tell me something that they did with the organization, and
I'm like, we need all of this written down, we
need pictures, We need to be able to share this.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
Yeah, tell a story. Yeah, so people have a clear
idea of what this is and how it benefits them.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
And I think a road map for you know, we
as a city have struggled with how we serve children
for a very long time. My family is born and
raised in San Antonio. My grandfather went to work at fourteen,
at a drop out of school because his family was
very poor and they could not they could not take
care of themselves unless he worked. And I think that
that's the story of a lot of families in San Antonio.
(10:43):
So the organizations that have been here for that amount
of time, they have a story to tell about how
we can try to fix these problems.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Absolutely, if you could choose anyone in the world to
become friends with, who would you choose and why?
Speaker 2 (10:59):
So when I was thinking about this, I would love
to be friends with Julia Child, even though she's.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
No longer Oh okay.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Because she seems hilarious. Yes, and I think I would
love to just cook with her and have her teach
me all of the things so fun.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Fact, I recall as a kid, her program would be
on what is it repeats or whatever on TV, and
I recall watching just you know, summer break. The TV
would be on, and there's here today We're cookie, you
know whatever. I don't want to do a terrible impression,
but you know it was great. Yeah, thank you, But yes, Julie,
that would be that would be very cool. That would
(11:35):
be fun, That would be entertaining to cook with her. Fine, Yeah,
what's the oddest job you ever took to earn a buck?
And this says a lot about a CEO, by the way,
because again, I think a lot of folks have this
misconception that like, well, CEOs get to the top and
they didn't have to struggle, and like, no, we all
start somewhere. I'll give a perfect example. I my first
job was burg king. I flip burgers, actually drive through
(11:56):
and flip burgers as well. And here I am now
on the radio. But we'll you're what's the oddest job
you ever took?
Speaker 2 (12:02):
So this is there's a little backstory to my weird job.
When I went to grad school, I moved to New Orleans.
I had impeccable timing. I moved in two thousand and four,
and we all know what happened in two thousand and five, Katrina.
So I evacuated from New Orleans and I was staying
temporarily in Houston, and where I was working had gut destroyed,
and so all of a sudden, I needed to find
(12:24):
a job. So I took a job. I already had
an a graduate degree and I was halfway through a
master's degree. And I took three jobs while I was
working in Houston. Wow, because it was like, all of
a sudden, I don't have an income. So I got
to figure this out. So I was working at Target,
I was working at Borders, and then I was also
working for FEMA going around and interviewing people at the
(12:46):
different shelters that were set up for Katrina refugees, and
so I drove all over Houston. I learned a whole
bunch about a city that I didn't know at all
before I moved there unexpectedly, but I learned a lot
about that and customer service definitely is some of the
hardest work I've ever done.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Yeah, but that experience real quick, interviewing people refugees affected
by the hurricane. What was your major takeaway from having
those conversations with those folks.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Well, I think one of the things that the hurricane
taught a lot of us is how fragile our daily
lives are and how much we actually have to rely
on each other to have the systems that help people
when a crisis happens. So Katrina was an unusual event
and then an entire city got displaced. So you had
people that had, you know, lived middle class lives, had
(13:38):
always had everything that they needed, all of a sudden
for the first time in their lives being in a
shelter and having nothing, and it was very shocking for people.
And that work really influenced the rest of my career.
I ran a shelter when I worked for Riasis, and
it was the same thing where you had people that had,
you know, lived in their community in Guatemala and Duras
(13:58):
for generations and all of a sudd and there was
a word at their doorstep they didn't expect and their
life was upended. And I think that that's my grandmother
used to say, there before the grace of God go
I and I think what I always took from that
phrase is that we all rely on each other, even
if we don't know it. And that's why we have
to do this work and build these systems, because you
never want to be the person who needs to ask
(14:19):
for help, but we're probably all going to need to
at some point in our life.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
True, that is true, and that experience and you just
mentioned it, How does it motivate you? How does it
drive you? Now? At any baby can and getting these
services in this message out to the communities and the
families that need it.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
I think it's one of the greatest privileges of my
life to be able to support parents in doing what
they know they need to do for their children. Yesterday
we were talking about our organization and I said, at
the end of the day, Any Baby Can is a
love story because it's the story about how much parents
love their children that they will do anything they can
to get their child what that child needs. If their
(15:03):
child is born and has an unexpected healthcare need, something
that they never thought they were going to deal with.
The amazing dignity and power that you see in our
parents who take everything that they have and learn how
to serve their child and get what their child needs.
It's really moving.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Now. Any Baby Can also needs help. What are some
of the events that happened throughout the year to support
this organization and keep it going in order to provide
these these services for families and communities.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
So every September we have our Angel Affair, which is
our gala where we invite community to come have a
great time with us and support the organization. We're also
having our Butterfly Memorial in February every year, which honors
our parents who have lost a child over the course
of the year. And that's one of our programs that
we don't have as much attention on, but it's really important.
(15:56):
We'd have a fifteen percent increase in infant mortality in
Texas in the last year, and that program, unfortunately has
been our fastest growing program, and so we have that
in February, and then in April we have one of
our most fun events, which is the Walk for Autism,
where we have you know, ten thousand people come out, kids, families,
(16:17):
everybody gets to come out and celebrate the members of
their family who are on the autism spectrum and really
just celebrate the joy that is having a child who
brings all of these different gifts to the world.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
Where can we find this information, these dates for these events.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
You can also follow us on any of the social
media's and you can also find us at our website
which is www dot anybabycan essay dot org.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
One quick question, I had to have a question. You
were talking about books earlier, and again I go back
to the whole thing about you know, the misconception about
CEOs and this and that. But you got to learn,
you gotta read, you got to you know, polish your skills.
I think a lot of folks nowadays, including myself, consider
ourselves entrepreneurs. I did have a business at one point
had to shut it down, but I think all entrepreneurs
(17:04):
go through that right start a business doesn't go well
close it down next. One of my biggest challenges at
which I see here you enjoy actually, but one of
my biggest challenges is reading, like I sitting down and
actually just like getting into a book and learning something
out of it. Right, My challenge is I space out,
my mind starts to wander, I can't focus, I get bored.
(17:25):
I move on something else. But one, I want to
know what are you reading now? And then two how
do you stay focused on a book? Or what do
you look for in a book to keep your attention?
And then I guess what subject matters do you look for?
Speaker 2 (17:40):
So how do I stay focused on a book? I
have always been such an avid reader since I was
a little kid. My family would tease me because I
would start reading and they would talk to me and
I wouldn't hear them. So I think that it's just
the way my brain works. It's the most fun thing
for me. I read everything. So you said, you know
that CEOs are we have some sort of misconception. I
(18:02):
read trash, I read, I read, I read, you know,
professional development, Like if it's a book that's popular, I'll
probably read it. I'm part of a romance novel club,
like I mean there is. I think the great thing
about reading is that an we can all find something
that fits with us. So I'll recommend books to people
and they'll be like, I didn't like it, and I'm like,
(18:23):
that's cool, there's something else out there for you, right,
So for me, I think it's just an opportunity. If
you think about a book, it's like, you know, for
twenty bucks, you can get somebody who's been an expert
at something at their entire life, all of their wisdom
in one book. Yeah, so that's amazing.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
Yeah, that's a good point.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
I'm reading The Twelve Week Year right now because.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
I have that, do you. Yes. I stopped that page
like three because I was just like, I zoned out.
But I see the benefits. I've seen other folks who
have benefited from it because they just knock out so
much work within those twelve week periods. But how's it
working out for you?
Speaker 2 (19:00):
I'm in the middle of it. I'm getting ready to
make an ambitious plan because I really love to have
kind of all of the things, goals and objectives. We're
in the middle of us with any baby can and
then I also have kids and a wife who's a firefighter,
and our schedule is a mess. So I think I
laminate things in color code things, So I think it's
a great book for that.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Done, Jenny, I'm going to I promise, I'm going to
start the book again. I'm going to finish it. I
will put together my twelve week plan. Yes, Jenny Hickson,
the CEO of any Baby Can, thank you so much
for coming in today and being part of this podcast series.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Yeah, thank you so much for having me. I really
appreciate it.
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