Steve Gunther - President and CEO of Maryvale | Los Angeles Leaders - Los Angeles Leaders

Episode Transcript
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Narrator 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Los Angeles Leaders Podcast, where
we dive deep into the stories ofthe visionaries shaping the
future of our region.
Hosted by Christopher Luna,this podcast brings you
conversations with the moversand shakers driving innovation,
leadership and community impactacross Los Angeles.
Whether you're an entrepreneur,a community leader or simply

(00:21):
someone passionate about makinga difference, this podcast is
your gateway to the insights andinspiration you need to lead
and succeed.
Get ready to be inspired by theleaders making waves in Los
Angeles and beyond.

Narrator 2 (00:36):
In this episode, we welcome Steve Gunther, maryvale
president and CEO.
Steve Gunther has spent overfour decades transforming the
lives of young people andfamilies across Los Angeles.
From the classroom to theboardroom, his leadership has
shaped some of our region's mostimpactful social service
institutions.
As president and CEO ofMaryvale since 2009, steve has

(00:57):
expanded the organization'sreach, launching early childhood
education centers, mentalhealth and wraparound services,
and creating housing programsfor single mothers with young
children.
Before Maryvale, steve servedas Chief Operating Officer of St
Anne's, where he helped leadone of the most ambitious
expansions in the agency'shistory, including the launch of
a 126-seat early learningcenter, a transitional housing

(01:20):
program for young women agingout of foster care and the
co-founding of New VillageCharter High School,
california's first all-girlscharter school.
Steve also held leadership rolesat Girls and Boys Town of
Southern California and beganhis journey as a social worker,
rising through the ranks bystaying grounded in service
purpose and people.
A licensed clinical socialworker, steve holds a master's

(01:40):
in social work from USC, amaster's in management from
Claremont Graduate Universityand a bachelor's from Loy work
from USC, a master's inmanagement from Claremont
Graduate University and abachelor's from Loyola Marymount
.
He's also a lifelong musicianand spent 21 years directing
music ministry at St Rita'sCatholic Church, balancing
professional leadership withfaith, creativity and family.
Steve's story is one ofvisionary service, building

(02:01):
systems of care, empoweringyoung lives and leading with
heart.
Please welcome Steve Gunther.

Christopher Luna (02:08):
Welcome to Los Angeles Leaders.
I'm your host, christopher Luna.
Today I'm honored to have SteveGunther here with Mary Val.
It's a pleasure and we justheard your intro.
It's incredible the amount ofwork and your background that
you have, and it's all dedicatedto service.
So when I asked you to be onthis show, I'm curious to know
about your upbringing and howyou got so dedicated to service.

(02:31):
So please tell me a little bitabout your past and your
upbringing.
That's a big question.

Steve Gunther (02:39):
Well, I grew up.
I'm the oldest of four and grewup primarily in the area of
Whittier and was involved inactivities with church and got
involved in music early on,about seventh grade, and was

(02:59):
fortunate with my mom.
She was always findingopportunities for us to visit
convalescent hospitals, forexample, and to visit folks that
were in those hospitals thatdidn't get a lot of visitors, or
to do other kinds of servicework and then getting involved

(03:21):
in youth group and variousthings.
So I always had activities andopportunities growing up that
you know led me into, you know,helping others and serving
others.

I'm assuming your parents were very religious
or pretty active.

Yeah, you know, both my parents have been, you
know, very supportive of thatpart of my life and my
upbringing.
We were definitely involved inchurch.
My mom sang in the choir, wewent to mass regularly, I got
involved in youth group andmusic early on, and so a big

(03:59):
part of my life has centeredaround church and ultimately in
ministry, which is what I'vedone.
Primarily in my career is workin sort of ministry-oriented
organizations.

That's incredible.
When you're growing up, tell meabout your siblings.
What was the household like?

Well, there was four of us myself and then two
sisters and then my youngerbrother and we were pretty
active.
I mean, we were in in lots ofthings.
Um, you know, you knowathletics and and did you grow
up in california, in whittier Igrew up.
I grew up primarily in whittier,since about the age of four
matter of fact, my mom is stillliving in in that home that we

(04:37):
grew up in.
Um and uh went to st paul highschool in santa fe springs and
then eventually on to loyola mMarymount for my undergraduate
work.
So, yeah, I'm a SouthernCalifornia kid.

I have my kids in a Lutheran school and I
didn't grow up too religious.
My parents, I mean, werereligious, I mean Catholic, but
we weren't as active as weshould have been.
But with me and my family, mykids, I'm trying to do the
opposite.
Right, we're trying to go tochurch every weekend or every

(05:10):
Sunday and really guiding themthrough that, because I feel
like there's a need.
No matter what religion youbelieve in, there's still a need
to have that sense of traditionand the groundness and what we
learned growing up with that.
So it's definitely somethingthat I aspire to do with my kids
.
I think it's definitely needed.

Yeah, you know, especially in this day and age
right, there's so many, you know, conflicts and things coming at
us, and especially at our kids.
You know, try to have thatgrounding, you know, to have
that sort of center that you can, you can draw on.
I think is is really critical,and I mean it's easy, though, to
you know, to drift away fromthat.

(05:50):
It's easy to get caught up inthose other things.

Um, you know, I'm fortunate that that for the
majority of my life I was ableto sort of stay centered in that
, you know, there there was aperiod where I kind of drifted
away when I was in college for abit, um, but then had a pretty

(06:13):
powerful experience that sort ofyou know brought me back and
got me centered again oh no, amI?

am I okay to ask what that was about, or sure so?
So I um, as I had mentioned, Igot involved in in with youth,
youth group and music and you,and started playing the guitar
at church and at mass, and so Iwas involved in that through
junior, high and high school invarious ways, got to college
Eventually.
My first year I commuted fromWhittier to Loyola and then I

(06:39):
moved on campus my second yearand during that sort of first
week on campus they have all theclub fairs and everything, and
I um found myself reallyintrigued by rowing on the crew
team.
So I started rowing on the crewteam, uh, and I ended up doing
that for about a year and a half, and about a year and a half,

(07:02):
but so about mid-junior year, Igot to a point where I'd gotten
so obsessed with, uh, the rowingand the exercising and the
working out and other things.
And you know, just, collegelife, yeah, um, you know, and I
never.
I wasn't one that got into, Iwas never into heavy drinking

(07:23):
and drugs, that was just nevermy thing, but just all the other
distractions and things.
And so I found myself not asfocused on my faith, going to
church and there came a momentand I still kind of vividly
remember this and I still kindof vividly remember this where I

(07:43):
had this tremendous awarenessor sense of God's absence.
So kind of that oppositeexperience of somebody who all
of a sudden has this sense ofGod is really present.
For me it was the opposite.
I just had this incredibleawareness of this sort of
absence and it was startling ina lot of ways and and it led me

(08:10):
to very quickly, um, kind ofreprioritize and refocus.
And I remember, um, in sort ofin that moment or in those
moments, uh, sort of just layingdown in my dorm room and kind
of just saying, okay, god, youknow something's going on here,

(08:32):
right, and so that eventually Istopped rowing, kind of got
refocused, got back into some ofthe music and getting involved
in other things.

But do you think it had to be one or the
other?
I mean, it wasn't somethingbecause loyola marymount
university is a beautifulcollege.
It's very religious based.
Obviously they have a beautifulchapel there.
I mean, is this something thatyou're able to integrate into
your that you had?
You didn't have to step awayfrom rowing sure it.

Yeah, it didn't have to be one or the other, but
but I think the other part ofit was is I also was sort of
coming to the realization thatthat I wasn't really enjoying
the rowing as much andeverything that was involved
with it.
I mean, it was, it wasespecially early on, it was like
novel and it was this whole new, whole new thing.
But then it just kind of got toa point where it was becoming
more of a of a job and it waswas.

(09:23):
It just wasn't as as quite asenjoyable.
So I think all of thoserealizations started kind of
coming in.
It's like okay, where do I wantto devote my time and energy?
You know, where do I want tosort of spend the time that I
have and the time that I'm here,um, on this campus and in this
environment?
And so it was really just areprioritizing.
You know what was, what wasimportant and you also went to

(09:44):
Claremont.
I eventually did that.
I finished up at Loyola with adegree in psychology and a minor
in theology.
Wasn't quite sure what I wasgoing to do with that.
Had a wonderful professor inthe theology department who I
had been talking to and he wasfriends with a Dominican nun who

(10:08):
was teaching at San GabrielMission High School and he knew
that they were looking for areligion teacher.
So he introduced me to her andI went on an interview and
thought, yeah, teaching might be, this would be fun.
So I actually was hired toteach sophomore and junior
religion at San Gabriel MissionHigh School all girls and so I

(10:28):
graduated and I went and startedteaching.

And you're teaching.
For how many years?
Just a few years.

I taught for about three years, I think it
was.
But I came to a realizationafter doing that for a bit that
I really enjoyed working withthe girls, I enjoyed working
with the adolescents and withthat age group, but I wasn't
really enjoying the day-to-daylesson planning, grading papers.

The administrative.

Yeah, that part of the teaching, but I enjoyed
the age group and interactingwith them and working with them.

Did you have any other positions or roles in
your career prior to teaching?
Was there any other workexperience in college?

Yeah, I mean I was a resident advisor in
college.
I actually started working whenI was like 14 at Savon
Drugstore.

At 14?
At 14.

Wow, yeah, so I had done 14 at 14.
Yeah, so I had done differentthings.

Awesome, um, but um, what do your parents
think about you working at 14years old at a?

oh, it was.
It was with a relative, so itwas you know something that they
were funny.

One of my interviews he, he started, uh,
his, his father was in thegrocery industry as well and he
started working at his groceryand we tapped into that a little
bit because he learned a lotjust working in that environment
.

I think I ended up.
It was kind of a part-timething and God I don't remember
how long I did it now, but Istill, when I walk through the
store and I see people just sortof decide they don't want
something and they just put iton the shelf.
I found myself picking it upand moving it, or yeah, so, um

(12:09):
so yeah, so I had you know some,you know a few things that I
that I had done, but uh, youknow here I was so.

So teaching was kind of your first step to
your career.

Yeah, teaching was was that first step.
Um, that is, again came to therealization that I really
enjoyed working with the youthbut the teaching wasn't for me,
and so I started talking to somefolks that I knew through
church and as we talked throughwhat I enjoyed about teaching,
what I didn't enjoy, kind ofwhere I thought I'd like to go

(12:38):
professionally, somebodyrecommended that I should look
at social work and I shouldpursue getting an MSW.
And as I looked at that Ithought, yeah, that's pretty
much it.
So we had the opportunity to goto USC and get my MSW.
At the time there weren't a lotof social work programs, I

(12:59):
think.
At the time I think there mayhave only been USC and UCLA, and
we were living in Pasadena andUSC was closer.

I was just there yesterday, yeah yesterday.

Yeah, so, yeah, so I did that and, um, I had
also continued with my music so,yeah, you've been a musician
for 20 plus years.

Do you specialize in a certain
instrument?

or I play the guitar and I sing and um I uh
didn't really even start singinguntil I got towards the end of
my time in college, because Iwas didn't really think I could
sing and I was too nervous to doit and but I had some
opportunities with some friendswho wanted me to help out at
some weddings and things.
and one of them was at saintphilips in pasadena right after

(13:43):
we were graduating from Loyola,and one of the priests came up
to me afterwards and we werejust chatting and he found out
that I was going to be comingnearby and teaching at the high
school and so he started talkingto me about maybe coming and
taking over a choir on Sundayevenings, because they were
looking for some new direction.
And I actually made one of thesmartest decisions I've made in

(14:05):
my career and I told him to beinterested in it.
But I'm going to be starting toteach and I think I need to at
least get through a semester ofteaching before I take on
anything else.
And so I eventually in Februaryof 1985, started directing music
there and a few years later wasinvited to come to St Rita's in

(14:29):
Sierra Madre, and then I wasthere for about 21 years.
So music was something I wassort of doing simultaneously.
You never let it go.

To this day are you still?
I do not as often, but I dooccasionally have opportunity.
Now I got to look out for that.
I've got to check you out onguitar.

No, it's been a wonderful thing for a number of
reasons.
So, with a young family andstarting out, on one hand it
provided some additional income,which was wonderful, but more
importantly it kept us veryinvolved in church.
I always felt strongly that myinvolvement in that and the

(15:10):
example I was giving my kids inthat was important.

I've always wanted to learn how to play
guitar.
I remember my dad would get meguitar lessons.
It's one of those instrumentsthat you could just take
anywhere, right, you could becamping.
I always visioned campingbecause we would go camping a
lot, but I've always enjoyedthat instrument.
With my kids I'm trying to dothe piano because I feel like
piano is a good first step forthem, just to learn how to read

(15:35):
music.
But my son actually, he starteddoing bells at church.
Oh yeah, and that's beautiful.
I didn't realize how neat thatis.
We went to a university.
That's beautiful.
I didn't realize how neat thatis.
We went to a university, gotthe name it's in Irvine, I think
.
It's a Catholic university andthey had a bow choir there.
I didn't realize how big thatwas in some of these

(15:55):
universities.
It's big.

Yeah, actually we just got back from visiting my
daughter and her husband and ourgrandkids in North Carolina and
an Easter Sunday we went to aparish there in North Carolina
and they had organ and handbellsand brass and it was
spectacular.

Yeah, I never paid attention to it.
I didn't realize how beautifulit is just to see all the I mean
my son's young, young.
So just seeing all the kidswith these handbells and they're
quick to change them, and it'sa it's, it's not easy, because
each one has very specificthings that they're supposed to
be playing, and so it's very andand it's important because it
teaches them that responsibilitythey cannot miss, right, if

(16:41):
they miss a practice or an event, it's a big deal you're.

You're missing a whole note, right that's right,
each, each bell is a particularnote and each all of that comes
together to make the yeah, yeahit's, it's, it's incredible.

So, um, tell me about how you got involved in
your current organization.
How was that pitched to you?
Because, um, how did you getrecruited?

yeah, so so you know, I guess, to kind of maybe
complete the story.
So when I finished my msw Istarted working at saint anne's
at the time it's called saintanne's maternity home in los
angeles again working with youngwomen, um, and I did that for
about 10 years.
Um Left there, spent five yearsat Boys Town in Southern

(17:27):
California and then had anopportunity to go back to St Ann
.
I had about two or three peoplesend me notices or information.

(17:49):
Did you see this?
Are you interested?
And I originally wasn't.
I was sort of comfortable whereI was at.

Well, you're the chief operating officer at a
great organization.

Yeah, and we had been doing a lot of important
work in the five years that Iwas there and there was
certainly more to do.
But after about the second timesomebody sent me the five years
that I was there, and there wascertainly more to do.
But after about the second timesomebody sent me the notice, I
thought, well, maybe God'scalling me to at least consider
something.
So I sent off my resume and gota call almost immediately and

(18:22):
the process did.
I mean it was very quick andwhat I was told by one of the
sisters who was involved in thein the hiring was you know, when
they saw my resume it was sortof everything.
I mean, they she felt verystrongly that you know, I was
the person that that they werelooking for, and partly because
for most of maryvale's history,um, it's always been led by a

(18:45):
daughter of charity andcertainly for the 23 or so years
prior to my getting there ithad been one of the daughters.
So I was at the time that theywere hiring me I was going to be
the first sort of non-daughterof charity, non-religious, to be
in that position within theorganization.

But I think we're understating the magnitude
of this organization.
It's coming up on 107 years old, it's seven years.
Very traditional, veryimpactful.
I think it's one of the firstorphanages.

It was the first orphanage In Los.

Angeles.
What type of leadership skillsdo you have to?
Because this is I mean, I don'twant to say it's a business,
but I can't imagine, like theP&L and the process, the amount
of staff that you have.
There's a lot of operationsthat go behind the scenes.
Tell me a little bit about whatyou learned throughout that
process or how you view it now.

I've learned a lot.
I started out, you know, insocial work and very quickly, as
you know, as is not uncommon inthe field found myself moving
out of the direct service andinto more administrative roles
and realized that, you know,maybe I need to balance this

(20:03):
sort of social or clinical partof who I am and maybe get a
better understanding on thebusiness side, because I had not
really done any business.

Narrator 2 (20:13):
I mean psychology and theology right.

And then social work, and so I remember having a
conversation with my wife atone point and saying you know,
as I'm taking on more of thesesort of senior leadership roles,
it would really be helpful if I, you know, maybe could take
some classes or, you know, maybea certificate program.

What did you do?

Well, about a month after we had that
conversation, an opportunitycame across my desk for a
fellowship and a scholarship atClaremont Graduate.

Narrator 1 (20:43):
University.

And so I submitted and was selected and
got a full scholarship to goback and get a second master's
at Claremont.
So now I had the opportunity tosort of balance it and bring
that in.

Narrator 1 (20:57):
Because you're right .

Yeah, Mary Vell is a nonprofit, but it's a
multimillion-dollar nonprofit.

You're managing properties, facilities,
just the whole operation.

Staff contracts, programs, all of that.
So you need to have, and youwant to have that balance.

May I ask, just without having to do the
calculations in my head, whatage was that that you went back
to get your masters and you'regonna make me calculate that
real quick.

I was probably 37 at that point.

So you're really just starting your career
.
Now you've got theadministrative side.
You have obviously the passionand the mission behind what the
organization's about.
How do you bring that alltogether?
I mean, do you rely heavily,I'm assuming, on your leadership
, your CFOs, your COOs?
Tell me about that.

So it's yes.
So you know, obviously having astrong team because, for
example, I mean, I'm not afinance guy, right, I need to
have a strong CFO, somebody whoI can rely on and I can trust
who's going to really behandling that.
But I have to have enoughinformation and enough knowledge
to be able to, you know, tolook at a balance sheet and to

(22:19):
understand budgets and all thosethings.
But I think that's one of thekeys and one of the things I'd
like to think that I've donefairly well in my career made
mistakes along the way but isrecognizing that I can't do it
by myself and that I need tohave good people around me and
then not only having good peoplearound, but then trusting them

(22:41):
right and empowering them to dothe work right.

I think that's what makes you a good leader,
though A lot of people assumethat these leaders know
everything and have to beinvolved in every aspect of
their organization, but inreality, the way I see you is as
an inspiration, to inspirepeople that work for you or that
follow you to do great thingsright.
So that's what makes leadershipunique and that's why this

(23:08):
episode is Los Angeles leaders.
Like I'm trying to capture that.
How do we teach that to ouremerging leaders?
Because I think that to me,that that's it looks a little
foreign, like like wow, that'sincredible.
You're making it sound reallyeasy, but I know it's not.

You know.
I think it's important to knowyour limitations, it's important
to know your strengths and yourweaknesses.
For example, there was a pointin my first 10 years, when I was
at St Anne's, that there wassome real evolution going on
within that organization.
It had historically been amaternity home, so young women

(23:45):
would come while they werepregnant, would have the babies.
Many of the children at thattime were placed for adoption,
but once the mom left and wentto the hospital to deliver, they
didn't come back because wewere not licensed, you know, for
moms to come back with babies,but and it was just, you know,
to support them during theirpregnancy.

(24:06):
That began to change, and so wewere ready to develop and start
a program that was for moms withbabies, because many of the
young women that we werebeginning to serve were coming
through the foster care systemand so once they had their
babies they still needed a placeto go, and there weren't a lot
of those opportunities.
So we were going to start thisnew program for moms with

(24:31):
children, and I was given theopportunity at that point to be
the director of that program.
I'd been a social worker andhad been working clinically, but
I was given the opportunity,because I had helped to sort of
create the program, to then bethe director of it.
Great opportunity.
It was an opportunity, for youknow, to make some additional
money to support my family.

(24:52):
You know, a new challenge.
And so I did and we started it.
And started it and the need wasgreat and so the program took
off and we were serving a numberof moms and their kids.
But I began to realize prettyquickly that I wasn't equipped
to have a programmatic, you know, program design sort of

(25:21):
background.
So I found myself in a bit of acrisis and kind of really, you
know, wrestling with this andyou know doing a lot of praying
and said, okay, lord, what am Isupposed to do here?
Had a conversation with my wifeand said, look.
I said I don't think I'm theright person right now for this
program and for the organization.
I said this program is tooimportant for somebody to be

(25:43):
learning on the job.
So I went to, I had theconversation with my wife and
she said, well, do what you needto do.
And that was sort of myconfirmation.
It's like okay, I know what Ineed to do.
So I went to my boss and said,look.
I said I think I need to stepout of this program.
We need to get somebody in herewho's got the experience, who

(26:03):
can really build all of thesystems and all of the things
that are necessary.
But I had no idea what wasgoing to come next.
Right, I mean I didn't have aBig risk.
Yeah, I didn't.
I mean I knew that I needed tostep off out of the position but
I didn't have another job linedup at that point.
But again, it was too importantfor the organization at that

(26:26):
time and the direction thingswere going and the introduction
of this new program.
So I went to my boss and hadthe conversation and she said
are you sure?
And I said yeah, I'm absolutelysure.
The CEO of the organizationcalled me into the office and
he'd been in that position.
He'd been with the organizationat that point over 20, 25 years
.
He said, steve, you've got ayoung family.

(26:49):
He says are you really thinkingthis through?
And I said to him I said yeah,I said I'm absolutely at peace
with this, this is absolutelywhat I need to do.
And they said okay, again,still not knowing what was going
to come.
Yeah, and within a few days, myboss and one of the other
administrators sat down with meand said okay, you know, we

(27:11):
certainly respect that decision.
We recognize that we're goingto need to, you know, add a
position clinically as we'regrowing.
So they gave me the opportunityto step back into a clinical
position, to stay at theorganization, to continue to
support the effort in that way,and then we were able to bring
in somebody who could providethe kind of direction and

(27:33):
leadership that the programneeded at that time.
So it was a difficult decision.
It was a little scary because Ididn't know it was.
You know it was it was.
You know it was a difficultdecision it was.
It was a little scary cause Ididn't know it was going to come
, but in the end it all workedout and, I'd say, within six
months, my boss because ofthings that were going on with
her family and her husband, theywere moving out of state.

(27:55):
Next thing I know I had well,actually before that I had an
opportunity to to become theclinical director.
So I was doing clinical workand then part-time leading the
department.
So now, starting to take onsome of that management in a
different way and starting tolearn some of those skills,
eventually became the chiefprogram officer and then that

(28:15):
ultimately led to going back toClaremont.

So, god, just staying open to what I felt
needed to happen and notnecessarily knowing where I was
going, and you're not afraid tosay you don't know, you're not
afraid to say I need help, and Ithink that proves a lot to your
sense of leadership.
A lot of people may be afraidto show that side to them, but

(28:39):
you saw, it's for the greatercause of this organization.
Obviously, a lot of people arerelying on these programming and
you can't just hinder a programthat way.
So it was difficult for you tostep away from that, but I think
that you opened up the programto allow others to shine as well
.

Yeah, and for the program to succeed.

So when you're going and for the program to
succeed.
Yeah, yeah, so when you'regoing and you're mentioning your
wife, but at what point did youget married and start your
family?

We were married in 1987.
So we actually, when I startedleading the choir at St Phillips
, that was her parish and shehad a friend of hers who kind of
dragged her to the firstrehearsal and that's where we
met.
We actually didn't hit it offvery well.

37 years, almost 38 years.

Yeah, so we were relatively young and we started
our family pretty quickly andwe've had five children and now
two grandchildren.

And they're all over the world.

They're all over the world One's in Australia,
one's in North Carolina, therest right now are low?

Are any of them in service religion work?

So in different ways.
So my youngest daughter is aphysical therapist.
So my youngest daughter is aphysical therapist.
My oldest daughter, the middlechild, actually works for the
county of San Bernardino inchildren's services.
She worked in Arizona for awhile and came here, so she sort
of followed in my social workpath a little bit.

(30:13):
But then the boys, one's anattorney and one's in
construction management, sothey've each sort of found their
own path.

I know social work is very difficult,
especially when you're dealingwith adolescents and they come
from very different backgroundsand you hear all these stories
and there's a lot of greatorganizations, whether they're
foster care agencies or privateor public, obviously
organizations whether they'refoster care agencies or private
or public, obviously but it'ssuch a needed support because it

(30:45):
takes someone very strong andwilling to understand those
dynamics.
It's very sad to hear some ofthose stories.
And how do you help yourselfwith that?
Because I was approached toactually to join a um, a board
of one of the uh foster agency.
This was a long time ago andthey're and they're telling me,

(31:06):
like you're going to be showninformation, you're, we're going
to tell you what's going onwith some of these um children
and they gave me an example.
I'm like, yeah, I don't know, Ican't do that.
You know it's, it's, it's tough.
I have a friend that works insocial services and she's you
know she'll, she won't tell mespecifics, obviously, but it's
very hard.
Yeah, it's not.

It's not an easy job no, you know, you're, you're
, you're, you're walking besidefolks and you're, you're,
involved in the lives of folks,especially, you know, when
you're working with kids who, inmost instances, have
experienced multiple traumas,right, whether it's sexual abuse

(31:50):
or drug use in the home, orneglect, or having been removed
from their home.
I mean just one thing afteranother.
And so it can become, you know,very difficult, and I think that
you know the key is to find theability to kind of separate
yourself from that right, andyou know, and to find ways to,

(32:11):
you know, have outlets.
You know, and so, you know, forme the music was always a big
part of that right.
I always had this other sort ofother side of me that allowed
me to sort of step away from theintensity of the social work
and, you know, immerse myself inthe music and the prayer and
the in the ministry of on theother side, um, it's interesting

(32:32):
that you you mentioned thatbecause, as my daughter was
going into the work and wasstarting to work in arizona for
the county, we had those exactconversations, you know, and I
talked to her about making sure,you know, she kept, you know,
that distance that she'd be, youknow, didn't allow herself to
get too, um, you know,personally and connected with

(32:55):
that, and and we hadconversations and I encouraged
her to, you know, to talk aboutyou know her cases and things
that she was facing and she'sdone an excellent job of it.
But yeah, I've seen it eatpeople up.

Yeah, I mean, how do you turn it off?
Sometimes you come home and I'msure they're with their spouses
or their kids and they have acase that they're working and
it's tough because we've heardsituations in the county here
where things happen and it's alot of responsibility on those
caseworkers and social work.

Yeah, and again I think having outlets, having
ways that you balance your life,having a strong support group
around you, having colleaguesthat you're talking to, that
you're able to bounce things offof, that you're able to get
different perspectives on,you're able to process those
things.
Part of what we do at our workat Maryville is trauma-informed

(33:49):
work, but that also includes thework we do in supporting our
staff and giving them theresources.

Tell us more about.

Maryville.
So, as you mentioned, maryvilleis 170 years in January.
This coming January, daughtersof charity sponsored and so five
daughters traveled fromEmmitsburg, maryland, and
arrived in Los Angeles inJanuary of 1856.
And they lived and worked in ahome that was located where

(34:21):
Union Station is now downtown.
That work eventually becamewhat we know today as Maryville
also what was the St Vincent'sMedical Center.
So they started the firstorphanage and the first hospital
in Los Angeles and it evolvedand it was originally the
orphanage and they were in BoyleHeights for many years and then

(34:43):
finally moved to where our maincampus is today in Rosemead in
1953.
And over the years, programsand services evolved right.
So the orphanage eventuallytransitioned into a group home
and a residential treatmentprogram for children placed

(35:04):
through the Department ofChildren and Family Services in
probation so kids in foster carein the probation system.
And in 2020, we made a difficultdecision to actually close that
program.
Made a difficult decision toactually close that program.
There had been a lot of reformsand things that were being
initiated in the state aroundservices for kids in foster care

(35:25):
and it was having a prettysignificant impact across the
system.
Much of it good, some of itstill is a challenge, and it was
having a direct impact onprograms like ours, at least
larger sort of residentialprograms, and so it became
pretty clear to us, for a numberof reasons, that it was time to

(35:48):
close that program and move insome new directions.
So we did that and it wasunfortunate it was happening at
the same time that the pandemicwas occurring.
We had to lay off 150 staff.

How many staff do you have now?

We have 142 now, but that program at the time
represented about half of ouroperation.
It was a big part of who wewere and, of course, much of our
identity in the community.
A large amount of our outwardfundraising effort was built

(36:21):
around that program.
So it was a huge change, and itmeant that we had an
opportunity, though, to take agood look at where we'd been,
where we were and where we weregoing.
And, of course, with that wehad three buildings on our
campus that were now vacant,that had housed the residential

(36:42):
program.
So a big question was what arewe going to do with the campus?
How are we going to use theseresources that we have available
to us?
So we took the time to gothrough a pretty thorough
strategic planning effort.

Did you hire outside consultants, or how is
that?

yeah, we work with the consulting group, and
and literally the process wasabout a year.
I mean, we, we really took agood look at, you know, our
mission and our values and ourhistory and lots of
conversations out in thecommunity with County, you know,
with other, you know other,with county, with other

(37:20):
providers, with otherstakeholders in the community,
really trying to get a sense ofwhat are the needs in the
community.
Where might we have the mostimpact, make the biggest
difference?
At the same time, though, wewere continuing to operate our
early education programs, so wehad, at that time, two the one

(37:41):
on our campus in Rosemead thatwe can have right now 120 kids
in that program and 176 kids ina program up in Duarte and we
had also, in those years leadingup to that, we had begun to
provide community-based mentalhealth services.
So those programs werecontinuing.
The biggest question was whatare we going to do in terms of

(38:03):
campus and those facilities?
So we went through a verythorough process lots of
conversation, a lot of prayer, alot of discernment, a lot of
discussion and, fairly soonalong, we really began to focus
on a couple populations.
One was, you know, single moms,almost, you know, moms with
smaller children.
Uh, because of some of the workthat we were doing in early ed

(38:26):
and other things, and we werealso looking at college age kids
because there was a lot of,especially at that time.
There's a lot of discussionabout the need for housing or
kids that were trying to goingto school and were living in
their cars or couch, surfing,all those kind of things and so.
So in the end we decided to openwhat we call seat and house in

(38:48):
one of the vacant buildings onour campus where we now house
nine moms who have up to twosmall children under the age of
10.
It's a six-month temporaryhousing program that allows us
for the first time, to integrateall of our programs and
services around the moms right,so we're able to provide them

(39:08):
with the housing and all of theother supports that we want to
provide them, whether it's lifeskills classes, financial
literacy, parenting all thosekinds of supports and education
that we want them to get andtake advantage of when they're
with us.
But we have our early educationprogram on campus.
So if mom has children that arein that sort of zero to five

(39:30):
range, we can enroll them in theschool and walk them right
across campus and they get thebenefit of an excellent early
education program and then wehave our mental health services.
So all of that, we canintegrate and support the moms,
and it's been a tremendousprogram.

(39:51):
It's been open for a couple ofyears.

Yeah, I had the opportunity of visiting your
campus.
It's a beautiful property.
I mean, how many acres is it?

It's quite large, a little over 13.

So you did a beautiful tour and just to kind
of see the scope and themagnitude of this facility and
everything that you do and allthe lives that you touch.
I mean it was very inspiringand the services that you
provide to these individuals,because the idea right is there
has to be a long-term solutionright there.
We can't fix it all, but you'reassisting them and prepping

(40:30):
them like I saw the computerrooms, you're helping them build
their resumes, you're helpingthem get positions and you're
taking care of their kids whilethey're having to go to work.
So it's a beautiful transitionthat these moms need because
they need somewhere to feel safe.
A lot of these, you know otherlocations may not be as safe for
them and their kids.
So it's incredible.

Yeah, we are absolutely blessed with a
beautiful campus.
Right, I mean it's park, it'slike a park almost or, you know,
a college campus.
I mean it really is a beautifulspace.
And when you think about thebackgrounds, the stories of
these young women that arecoming into the Seton House
program, they are coming fromhaving at some point been

(41:15):
homeless or having been on theverge of or bouncing from place
to place or having greatuncertainty about you know,
where they might stay and, youknow, worrying about what their
next meal may be or how they'regoing to keep their children
safe.
And you know, one of the moms,early on in a conversation with
one of our staff, I think, saidit best.
You know she was talking to ourstaff and at one point she said

(41:39):
to him she says, I can breathe,I can breathe.
You know, she, for for thattime, for the, for the first
time in a long time, she didn'thave to worry about where she
was going to sleep, what she wasgoing to eat.
You know that if her childrenwere going to be safe, she, she,
was given the opportunity.
And this is what we, we tellthem.
Yeah, yes, it's a six monthprogram, but there's a lot that

(42:00):
can happen in six months.
This is the opportunity for youto take that deep breath, take
advantage of what we have toprovide you and really start
taking the steps to a betterlife right For you and for your
child.
And we're here to walk with youand to help you in that process

(42:20):
.

Yeah, I mean, what are some of your most proud
accomplishments at Maryvalesince the time that you've been
there?

So I think we have, we've been able to adapt
our programs or expand ourprograms to meet of today's
situation?

Yeah, the needs in the community.

So we've, you know, and and we've really
elevated, you know, our earlyeducation programs, we've
expanded them.
You know, we, as I said, weintroduced the community mental
health.
So we have a contract with theDepartment of Mental Health in
Los Angeles County for themental health services and
wraparound services sinceclosing the residential program.

(43:09):
And I think making thatdecision and making that
transition is one of the thingsthat I'm most proud of because,
as I've had folks say to to me,that's a decision that some
organizations would just beafraid to make and and, you know
, might not make unless theywere absolutely forced to make
it.
And we were able to come tothat place and make that

(43:34):
decision early on and, as itturns out, many other
organizations made a similardecision, you know, after us,
because of these changes thatwere going on.
But then, having gone throughthat, that transition, so we've
now, since closing that program,we've now opened two new
programs.
So Seton House is one, butwe've also opened a program

(43:55):
called Connections by Maryville,which is another mental health
program that focuses on mentalhealth and substance use for
adolescents or kids from 12 to17.
So it opens us up to serve abroader population of kids and
you have other locations.
Yeah, we have three locations.
We have our main campus inRosemead we opened in 2011,.

(44:15):
We opened a new large facilityup in Duarte and then we have
another early ed classroom inSouth El Monte.
Now, so long-term, we'd like toeven expand that geographically
.
Our hope is to try to.

I mean, it's an honor to really help carry a
legacy of 170 years.
I don't think a lot of peopleunderstand it's not like you're
out there promoting it.
You're a rare organizationbecause a lot of these
non-profits have to continuouslypromote, promote their services

(44:49):
right to help with the fundingand service.
But you guys are in a uniqueposition where it's a little
different but at the same timewe do have to help tell your
story because it is kind of ahidden gem, like you guys are.
I've been in that area so manytimes and I never knew it was
there.
So how do you help balance that?

so we've made a real effort in in that in that
way, you know, and in you knowwhen.
When I first arrived and thecampus was primarily the
residential program, we werehousing minors that were placed
through the courts.
So we purposely kept kind of alow profile in a lot of ways in
that regard, we wanted people tobe aware of who we were and

(45:33):
what we were doing.
But you and many others haveeither driven by or grew up in
the area and really had no ideawhat was behind the gates, what
was on the campus.
Since we've sort of moved intothese new programming and we've
moved into some new areas, we'vebeen making a really concerted

(45:54):
effort to find every opportunityto be able to tell the story
and make people aware of youknow who we are and what we're
doing.

What are some of your priorities for the next
10 years?

um, well, so right now our our main priority
is to expand our seat and houseprogram.
So, as I said, we the onebuilding we can house nine moms
with their children.
We have a large dorm buildingon campus that we are, in the
next month, hopefully going toactually start the renovations

(46:24):
to convert all that dorm spaceinto 20 more individual living
units, and we think that's goingto take us 12 to 18 months and
then we're going to be able tobasically triple the size of
that program and be able tohouse up to 29 moms with their
kids on the campus.
So that's been our biggestfocus over the last couple of
years and we're finally at theplace where we're going to

(46:46):
actually start to work, and sogetting that finished and then
getting that program expanded isa big priority right now
finished and then getting thatprogram expanded is a is a big
priority right now.

Have you ever thought about, uh, going back
into teaching like, maybe as anadjunct professor or like a
guest speaker, a lecturer, it it?

there there's been some opportunities to do
some of that.
I mean I, I do, you know, enjoythat sometimes I haven't really
thought about it as a as aprofessor, because I I don't
know what would be involved withthat.

Well, I mean, I think it's like I said, you're
faith-based, you're a leader,but you you're a ceo of a
massive organization, right, soyou bring a lot to the table.
I'm just curious to say I meanI wish I could have you here for
eight hours, kind of learn fromyou, right.
But like, what are some topsubjects or topics?

(47:35):
Like how could we inspire thisleadership, these skills, to
these emergent leaders to kindof help follow them in your path
?

Yeah, you know, I think some of the, some of the
lessons that I've learned alongthe way we've talked about,
about some of it, right For me,because my faith is such an
integral part, you know, of whoI am and I don't see it as being
separate in any way from thework that I do.
I mean even to the point whereI've spent most of my career
working in Catholicorganizations, right, I mean,

(48:05):
you know, starting with theteaching, right, and so that's
always been really important tome.
But that means that I have tolive that, as I described.
For example, the decision Imade when I was at St Anne's,
all of that was really based ontrying to live the faith that I
profess and trust.
I do believe in God, I dobelieve he's alive and active.

(48:29):
So, listening and following that, but even if that's not where
somebody's coming from, I thinkyou know being true to who you
are, knowing what's important toyou, right, knowing what your
values are and then makingdecisions and putting yourself
in positions that are consistentwith that.
You know, we see today, youknow, lots of organizations,

(48:51):
because of what's going on insociety, that are really put in
positions where they're eithergoing to you know, live up to
the values that they profess, orthey may drift away or or, you
know, go counter to that.
So I think it's you know, firstand foremost I think that's
that's really critical is youknow, knowing who you are,
knowing what's what, what yourvalues are, what's most

(49:12):
important to you, and thenfinding the opportunities to
really live that and then, ifyou stay true to that, even when
things get really difficult,ultimately you'll find a path, a
path forward.

It's beautiful because I think that's a common
thread that I see between allthese leaders that I've been
interviewing is that there's apassion and there is a center
right.
There is a mission that youhave and at the end of the day,
it's about giving back and it'sabout being a servant.
I think that when you're ableto find a role that aligns with

(49:52):
that passion, it's not work somuch, it's really just part of
who you are in your life, soit's unique.
A lot of people don't have thatopportunity.
A lot of people are justlooking for that day to day.
I mean just people that I know,or even like nieces and nephews

(50:13):
, like always keep that openmentality, because everywhere
you go is an interview.
It comes down to your character.
It comes down to who you are asa person.
I remember growing up I have hadfriends that would work like at
a department store and I wouldsay every interaction is an
interview, everyone you talk to,because you never know who they

(50:35):
are or who they become.
You may be recruited from here.
If they see that you'repassionate about folding the
clothes, even right, like you'repassionate about helping, um,
there's something more for you.
So I think a lot of emergingleaders are people who really
just want to get out of thatday-to-day or that nine-to-five
or that job that they reallyjust are not passionate about.
But I always say, take everyjob personal right and really

(50:59):
find a way to align it with whatyou're doing now.
Because when I was hiringemployees for a family business,
I loved hiring servers fromrestaurants because they know
how to serve right.
They're providing an experienceand a service to their client
and they're providing a goodservice to their client, right.
So it's those little thingsthat I'm trying to capture that

(51:23):
maybe you know, I think we allread these leadership books, but
it's hard to convey that andthat's what I'm trying to expose
from these skills that you havethat I don't even think you may
even think you know that youhave those skills.
But that's what I'm trying toexpose from these skills that
you have that I don't even thinkyou may even think you know
that you have those skills, butthat's what I'm trying to
capture.

You know it's as you in my story right, I started
out doing direct service,Started out as a social worker,
as a clinician, you know,working directly with, you know
these young women at St Anne andeventually moved up into
management and doing otherthings.
And so, even though I'm notdoing the direct work now, it's

(52:03):
so critically important that Ikeep in mind that my role, while
I'm not doing the directservice, ultimately supports and
allows that work to occur, andso I have significant
responsibility and obligation tomake sure that we're doing

(52:27):
things, or providing theresources or doing whatever we
can to allow the folks that wehire, that we put into those
positions, to be able to do itand to do it well, and that you
know that's not always easy,right?
And you know, finding folks thatembrace, you know, the values

(52:48):
of the organization, thatrecognize and can celebrate the
history of the organization andrecognize that you know we're
right in the next chapter.
I mean, that was theconversation we were having back
in 2020 as we started goingthrough a very tumultuous time,
and it caused a lot of fear andanxiety for folks whose jobs

(53:09):
weren't directly affected.
But gosh, if we close thatprogram, what about ours?
Is you know, is it going toclose?
Was sort of in people's minds,um, and and reminding them no,
this organization has beenaround a long time.
It's been through a lot ofdifferent seasons.
We're we're just going into anew season, right, we're going
to have the opportunity and theprivilege to write the next

(53:31):
chapter for the organization,and as long as we sort of kept
ourselves focused there, we wereable to kind of get through the
challenges and move forward insome pretty significant ways in
a short time.

With your team do you have monthly?
How close are you to your yourteam?
Because it's a big staff, right?
So I'm sure there's a lot ofdifferent layers, like how do
you continue to inspire them?
Because I'm sure you can't payeveryone great wages, right?
So the people who are hard toretain, they have to stay

(54:06):
grounded in that mission, right,because we have to remember why
we join these organizations andwhy we're passionate about what
we do.
Um, it's not always about themoney, but how do you continue
to inspire your team that way?

You know.
So you have to certainly workthrough the folks that you put
in place in the organization,right?
So you know I really focus.
We have what we call our seniorleadership team, which are all
the folks that are in the keypositions, whether they're
directing programs, directingdepartments or key positions
within departments.
That group now comes togethercollectively twice a month and

(54:46):
we use that time to remindourselves what is our mission,
what are our values.
We talk about those things.
We ask folks to give examplesof mission moments when they've
seen the mission lived out.
So we're constantly trying tofind ways to remind folks, to

(55:06):
keep them inspired.
We have a group of staff that iscalled the Mission Integration
Team and they come togetherabout once a quarter, sometimes
more often, and they planactivities around church seasons
, around holidays, around feastdays for our founders, like St

(55:27):
Vincent de Paul and so forth.
We've been around feast daysfor our founders, like St
Vincent de Paul and so forth, sothat we can continually be
reminding our folks of ourhistory.
What are our values, how are wetrying to live and integrate
these things?
So we really make a realconcerted effort to do that and

(55:48):
to do everything we can toappreciate our staff and and and
to support them and toacknowledge the the good work
that they're doing every day.
We've been very blessed.
You know, we've recently, uh,for example, uh, assemblywoman
blanca rubio selected us as hernon-profit of the year for her
district.
Um, and I attribute that withher in sacramento yeah, so we're

(56:10):
going to be up there later thismonth for that celebration, and
you know and we're, we're, youknow, we're certainly, you know,
honored that, that sherecognizes the good work you
know that that Maryville does inthe community and and and
selected us for that.
And the message to our staff isthat's because of all you right

(56:31):
, you know, you know, because ofthe work that you do, you know
we've been, yeah.

I mean you're, you're definitely a lot, not a
leader that we see very often.
You're, you're, you're behindthe scenes quite a bit.
Um, there, there's.
I'm trying to help amplify thatbecause I feel like you need to
be a little bit out more infront of the camera like this,
because you do inspire so much,and I think that the team needs

(56:59):
someone like you to help tellthat story, because a lot of
times those stories are notbeing told and you guys do such
great work we were just thrilled.

We had no idea that it was coming.
Great work we were justthrilled, we had no idea that it
was coming.
And so when we got the noticethat she had selected us, we
were, you know, certainlyhonored and excited.
And again, it's the result oflots of folks who work very hard
.

And how do you work with your community right
now, other partners, your donors, your board, like, how does
that work right now?
Other partners, your donors,your board, how does that work
right now?
Into your vision.

Well, as I said, I'm trying especially to focus
more and more outside theorganization.
So having opportunities likethis is wonderful and I'm
grateful to be here today andwe're looking for opportunities
to tell the story, to be in thecommunity.
We've gotten engaged with anumber of local city chambers

(58:00):
LA's chamber, san Gabriel Valley, economic Partnership I mean
groups maybe that you wouldn'tnormally think of.
A nonprofit like us might sortof move in those circles, but we
recognize how important it isto be connected to the business
community, to leaders in thecommunity, not only because of

(58:23):
potential financial support thatmay come our way, but
opportunities for those peopleto become involved with our
organization, the opportunitywhen we're needing to find
members for our board orwhatever those things are, or if
we have a specific challenge orsomething that we're facing.
The more of those relationshipsthat we have, the more that

(58:43):
we're connected in the community, the more resources we have
available to us.
So that has been a big push forus in these last years and
right now.

Yeah, and that's great when you work with
these organizations because youmeet so many people from so many
different areas and you neverknow.
But I think there's a sense ofsupport from whoever I meet.
It's like everyone really wantsto help and it's not always
financial.
A lot of it is resourceful.
Like you, you're going A lot ofit.

(59:15):
It is resourceful.
Like you, you're going througha lot of development.
Like I said, your campus is solarge and beautiful.
You still have a lot ofundeveloped acreage that you
have as well.
So it's always good to kind ofsee what the community needs to
be part of that, because youdon't want to just be in your
gated community and not knowwhat's going on externally.

Well, and there's kind of a thought in the
fundraising world that you wantto match the donor's heart with
the mission of the organization.
Well, the only way you can dothat is if you're out sharing
with people what your mission isand the work that you're doing,
and telling those stories andevery opportunity that I have or

(59:57):
that we have to do that.
You just never know who you'regoing to come across and who
might be at a particular pointin their life where they're
interested in getting involvedwith something or supporting
something.

Christopher Luna (01:00:09):
So I again I appreciate everything you do and
thank you for being here today.
Before I let you go, I justhave some quick, rapid uh
questions.
Um, what is the most meaningfulplace you visited?

Steve Gunther (01:00:22):
The most meaningful place I visited.
Oh my God, you didn't tell meyou were going to do this.

I didn't tell you, I didn't A lot of these
questions.
Yeah, you didn't this.

I didn't tell you a lot of these questions.
Yeah, you didn't.
Uh, the most meaningful place Ivisited, um probably assisi.
I had an opportunity to, totravel with the choir way back
and do a tour in europe and umwent to some really neat places,
but there was something aboutwalking in some really neat

(01:00:55):
places, but there was somethingabout walking in the town of
assisi where saint francis uhhad lived and and uh and to just
sort of have known and sort offelt that sense of that, that
presence and what you know,because I've got a real heart
for saint francis, I've alwayswow, yeah.

Have you ever been beside the Pope?

Any.
Pope yeah well, part of thatpart of that tour, we sang for
John Paul II at the Vatican asone of the general audiences.
Yeah, so that was.

It was a neat, a neat.
Two weeks I was in Europe whenhe passed away.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Thank you again for your time.
I appreciate it.
I look forward to working withyou more and kind of help
amplify your organization andyour mission.
I think that, like I said, youdo a lot of great work and I'm
happy that you're here to helpshare your story.
Well, thank you, I appreciateit Enjoying it.

(01:01:44):
Thank you.
Thank you for joining us.
You can find all theirinformation on the descriptions
and I look forward to the nextone.

Narrator 1 (01:01:53):
Thank you for joining us on this episode of
the Los Angeles Leaders Podcast,hosted by Christopher Luna.
We hope you found ourconversation as inspiring as we
did.
Don't forget to subscribe andleave us a review on your
favorite podcast platform.
Your feedback helps us bringmore of the content you love,
and be sure to follow us onsocial media for updates behind

(01:02:14):
the scenes content and to jointhe conversation Until next time
.
Keep leading, keep innovatingand keep making a difference.

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Steve Gunther - President and CEO of Maryvale | Los Angeles Leaders

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Steve Gunther - President and CEO of Maryvale | Los Angeles Leaders