Greater Seattle YMCA's CEO Loria Yeadon

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hey, good morning everyone. Welcometo the public Affairs show of your favorite
iHeartRadio station right here in Seattle,and I am going to speak about water
safety this summer in the Greater Seattlearea with the President and CEO of the
YMCA of Greater Seattle. Good morning, Lria Jayden's great to have you on

(00:22):
the show. Good morning. It'sgreat to be with you this morning.
The sun is signing, it's summer. It's just great to be here.
I really appreciate all the work you'redoing. And I'm looking at the YMCA
website and I see it looks likeyou becoming CEOs has kind of made history
for the YMCA. Tell me aboutthat. Yeah, I guess a bit

(00:44):
of history. I joined the organizationin twenty nineteen as the first woman and
the first person of color to eversit in that seat in the one hundred
and forty eight year history of theorganization. What So, kudos to the
y, kudos to the board,and kudos to those who trusted me to

(01:06):
run this organization. Well, it'sabout time, and so I'm so grateful.
Yeah, and I'm grateful for theboard. I mean, this is
not this I guess it was aboutme a little bit, and that I
came with the will and the skill, but it was about the board making
a decision to do things just alittle bit differently and to bring a different

(01:27):
lens to leadership. And I'm sopart of the board that we had at
the YMCA of Gritty Seattle. Ourfocus is equity and justice for all in
everything that we do across all communitiesin and around the Greatest Seattle area.
Lauria Jayden is on the phone withme from the YMCA. We are going

(01:49):
to talk about the YMCA being knownas America's swim instructor. It has been
for a long time. To tellme why it is so important. What
is going on around the Greater Seattlearea. We get a report of a
drowning or a death in water waytoo often. What do you think's going

(02:09):
on? Well, first and foremost, it's summer and in the greatest area,
in the Greatest Seattle area, we'rein a place where there's lots of
water. There are thousands of lakes, We're bordering the Sound and a lot

(02:30):
of parts of the Seattle area.And in the summertime, water is very
tempting. It's an attraction for youngpeople and At the same time, a
lot of the pools and a lotof the waterfronts with lifeguards being present have
been closed since the pandemic. Andthough there's this huge temptation for young people

(02:54):
to venture into the water alone withoutthere being lifeguards present, So that creates
that risk. But more so,a lot of our young people do not
know how to swim, they don'tknow water safety, and so that's our
biggest risk and that's something that wecan do something about. And that's why

(03:15):
we're talking to great people like youand iHeart Radio to help us get the
word out. This is an issuethat we can address as a community.
We can do that by getting youngpeople into swim lessons, we can get
families into water safety classes. Wecan raise the profile and make sure everyone's

(03:40):
aware of this risk and we havea community can do something about it.
Excellent, everybody on the phone fromthe why MCA of Greater Seattle, Lauria
Jayden, CEO, can you goover some basics of dues and don'ts for
people you know when they're near thewater. Absolutely, there are some key

(04:01):
water safety tips. First of all, for young people. We always encourage
parents to tell their young people,ask permission. Make sure that children are
always asking permission before going in ornear the water. That's super important.
It's not intuitive for young kids.They don't understand the risk, so you

(04:24):
start by just teaching them seek permissionfirst. Secondly, we encourage everyone never
swim alone. Children should only swimunder active supervision where there's a lifeguard present
or a responsible adult is watching withoutdistraction. So even those who are in

(04:45):
and around other folk who are swimming, you need to be paying attention as
a water watcher, not being distractedby your cell phone, but actually paying
attention. That's really important. Also, there should be and this is just
to amplify the prior point this vigilantsupervision. Always provide vigilant supervision for your

(05:08):
children whenever they are in or nearwater. And that's whether it's bad time,
whether they're in a pool, whetherat a waterfront. We cannot be
too trusting when kids are around water. Next, I would just point out
just holding their breath when they're inwater. That's not a good thing generally,

(05:31):
and this is not just for youngpeople, this is for adults as
well. Adults and children should avoidprolonged breath holding activities while swimming. As
this can be very very dangerous.And then for those who are inexperienced on
non swimmers, we always encourage folksto wear a Coastguard approved life jacket.

(05:57):
They're clearly marked and often when you'reat water front those life jackets are available,
look around for them. But ifyou're inexperience in a non swimmer,
we encourage you to wear those lifejackets. And then no rescue techniques.
This is the big one, andthis is where everybody can be involved in
case of an emergency. Use whatwe call the reach, throw and don't

(06:23):
go technique. Reach throw, don'tgo, go got it, don't go
out to them. That's right exactly. Okay, here we are. We're
asking you if you see someone whois struggling in the water, it's important
that you reach for them. Butyou don't get into the water yourself unless

(06:44):
you are this expert swimmer who istrained in savings and rescue someone in the
water. So reach, you canthrow that donut, you can put a
broom out and or some thing tothrow them a way to get to safety,

(07:04):
but don't get in the water yourself. Don't put yourself at risk that
way. So those are just someof the techniques that I would ask people
to keep in mind as they're thinkingabout water safety. I was a lifeguard
right out of college and thing thatwe learned was they're going to jump on
you in a panic. If yougo out to them, they're going to

(07:29):
jump on you and they may bringyou down. So that is something too
exactly. That is a really goodpoint. Thank you everybody. Is Laura
Jayden. She is the president andCEO of the YMCA of Greater Seattle.
What can this YMCA provide the publicas far as learning how to swim and
water safety? What's going on withyou guys, Yeah, thank you for

(07:54):
the opportunity to share about all ofthe great aquatics activities at YMCA's in and
around the Greatest Seattle area. Wehave thirteen physical branches and most of them
have pools where we offer swim lessons. This is for children. For adults,

(08:15):
we offer private swim lessons if that'sa preference, but we try to
get kids in the pool at avery young age before they get that fear
that many of us have which keepus out of the pools when we get
older. And I'm in that category. My story story and I forgot about

(08:37):
that. But my question right nowis how young do you kids in the
pool? Yeah, so we will. We will take them very very young.
It's really a question of what's theparents on comfort level. But if
they're able to walk, we canget them in the pool. We also
have classes where parents can bring theiryoung kids and be in the pools with

(08:58):
them, so mommy and me swimlessons and swim activities. So there is
an opportunity for kids almost at anyage. In terms of the swim lessons,
we do want them to be alittle older where they can take instruction,
but we have something for everyone,so we say come on down,

(09:18):
let us know your needs, willpair you up with the offerings. We
are offering thousands of swim lessons peryear. We do have financial assistance for
those who need that extra support.We are part of the Swim Seattle initiative
with the Mayor's Office and Seattle Parksand Rex where we are offering swim vouchers.

(09:41):
Our goal being to ensure that everykid by age ten knows how to
swim. So there are so manydifferent opportunities and if you already know how
to swim and you want to joinus as a swim instructor or a lifeguard.
We will train you. That trainingis free. There's a job waiting

(10:01):
for you once you're done with thattraining, and then you can move up
onto different levels. And we havea swim progression at the Y for swim
instructors and lifeguards. And it's soimportant, especially for communities of color,
to see more swim instructors and lifeguardswho look like them. And so we

(10:24):
are especially encouraging young people and adults. If you'd like to come in and
work for the y or volunteer,we welcome you too. But we want
to have our swim programs reflect thecommunity we're serving, and we need more
swim instructors and lifeguards from all communities. I can't believe you can get job

(10:46):
training for free. That is socool at the why you know? Right?
Absolutely? And here's the thing,young people, they get paid while
they're being trained. Oh even better, Yeah, great stuff. So we
are investing in our young people.We are investing in our staff. And

(11:09):
this is an investment in community too, because we want our community members to
feel comfortable and confident in the staffthat we have that they're entrusting their kids
too. So we take that toheart, so we're glad to do that
for young people. Laura Jayden isthe YMCA Greater Seattle President and CEO.

(11:33):
This is a subject very near anddear to your heart because you learned to
swim at an older age. Youwant to tell me the story about that.
Oh, sure, yes, it'squite a story. You know.
When I was off with the positionat the YMCA of Greater Seattle to run
the organization, my best friend inthe world, who happens to be the

(11:56):
dean at Mahary Medical School, shesaid to me, well, you know
you got to take this job becausethis is your calling. But you also
know that you can't be the CEOof the WHY and not know how to
swim. And she knows my historyand the fear that I had of water
growing up in the rural South,where there were no pools that I and

(12:18):
my family had access to to learn. So our technique for water safety was
fear. It was staying away fromthe water, realizing that if you ever
got into trouble in water, therewas no one who could save you.
So I have never learned how toswim. My parents did not learn how

(12:41):
to swim. Same thing for mysiblings. I think two of my siblings
learned later in life like I did. So my first act as CEO of
the Why was to learn how toswim. I actually started my swim lessons
even before day one on the jobbecause I reckonis how important it is to

(13:03):
represent what's possible. You know.Another statistic that I love to share is
that if parents don't know how toswim, their kids are only thirteen percent
likely to learn. So when wetalk about swim lessons, yes we're talking
about kids, but we're also talkingabout adults who need to set the example

(13:26):
for their children. So it's importantfor families, adults, and children to
take the plunge to learn water safety, to learn how to swim. And
so I took that plunge to encourageolder adults like me who want to inspire
others to take the plunge. SoI can now swim the full length of

(13:52):
the pool unassisted. I can jumpinto ten feet of water, go to
the bottom, come back to thetop. I can jump in and swim
to the side to save myself.I want to be a stronger swimmer one
day. Honestly, I'd love tobe a lifeguard. So there's an opportunity

(14:13):
to keep going. But my encouragementis take the plunge. It matters not
just for you, but for othersin your family and others in your community.
And I just have to say,it's so much fun in the water.
Have you found the fun part yet? Oh? Yeah. You know,
when you don't have that fear,the fun comes. It does,

(14:33):
and I have found that that fun. But I love seeing young people able
to enjoy the water. There's somuch to do and to experience in the
water. We have these fun aerobicclasses in our pools and to see people

(14:54):
really enjoying that without a fear ofthe water is really really special. Kids
go on to be competitive swimm andthey're really enjoying the water. They're getting
into diving, They're doing so manydifferent things in the water, water,
volleyball. There are so many funthings to do in the water if you
can overcome that fear and take theplunge. So yes, it was fun.

(15:16):
A is a component. What doyou think it was that the YMCA
instructor did for you to get youunafraid? Patience okay, and just encouragement.
Those are two big components, andjust step by step step the YMCA
has a very regimented program that's triedand true. Having done this thousands and

(15:43):
thousands of times a year, we'velearned how to show up for everyone who
shows up wanting to take instruction fromthe Y. So we take it step
by step. We meet people wherethey are and some of it is a
psychological and you got to talk througha few things. Here's a prime example.
If I can share this, thisis this is so exciting to me.

(16:07):
At our Matt Griffin y m cA in c Tech just south of
Seattle, we offer culturally responsive swimfor Muslim women and we have modesty curtains
installed at the pool so that whenswim instruction is being offered, we draw

(16:32):
those curtains so that we are weare being culturally responsive to that group.
At one point, we were evenoffering Bertini's for sale because those are the
that's the swim garb that Muslim womenreally wanted in order to feel comfortable in
the pool. So it's about meetingpeople where they are, addressing their barriers

(16:55):
and their needs and walking alongside ofthem as they take the water sea journey.
What a great story and congratulations ona personal level to you to take
on something that must have been prettyscary. You know, the older that
you get that it's harder to donew things. So congratulations, thank you.

(17:15):
Yes, but necessary. I thinkmore of us, more of us
getting involved. That way, wecan change our world, we can change
our community, and we can inspireothers. That's right, Lauria Jayden of
the Greater y MCA of Seattle,the CEO and president. There are thirteen
branches of the YMCA around the GreaterSeattle area. Do look it up and

(17:40):
get involved, learn how to swim, and get your kids having fun in
the water safely. Lauria, thankyou so much for your time. I
appreciate this so much and thank you. It's a pleasure.