June 11, 2025 • 34 mins
The moment disaster strikes, our truest selves emerge. When the LA wildfires swept through communities in January 2025, Kate Jerkens didn't hesitate. Before the flames had even crested the hill behind her home, her teenage daughter had already texted asking if her friend's evacuating family could stay with them. No deliberation needed—just immediate, unquestioning welcome.
This profound conversation explores what happens when offering help isn't a choice but an instinct. Kate, Chief Business Officer for Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, shares raw stories of early personal losses that shaped her understanding of community resilience: "picking yourself back up, putting one foot in front of the other, and doing your damn best every day." From opening her partially-renovated home to displaced families to watching teenagers channel trauma into community service, Kate reveals how Los Angeles showed up for itself in ways that defied stereotypes.
Beyond the initial emergency response lies the heart of this episode—what happens three months later? When the texts stop coming, the GoFundMe campaigns slow down, and people return to their lives, who's still checking in? Kate advocates for "three-month reminders" to reach out to those still rebuilding, still grieving, still processing trauma long after public attention has moved on. These delayed check-ins, she suggests, might be the most meaningful support we can offer.
The conversation weaves through profound questions of intergenerational resilience, systemic preparedness, and finding hope amid multiplying crises. Kate's optimism rests largely in today's youth, who "don't take shit from anyone" while demonstrating remarkable compassion and action. She also finds strength in her "found family"—the networks of support that sustain us when biological families are distant or gone.
Send that text message. Make that call. Set that reminder. Because true community resilience isn't just about the immediate response to disaster—it's about showing up again and again, long after the cameras have moved on and the ashes have cooled.
You can read more about how Kate and her family showed up for others at this Substack post.
Shared Ground is produced by Sean Knierim and Allan Marks. Thanks to Cory Grabow, Kara Poltor, Corey Walles (from The Recording Studio) for your support in launching this effort.
For more stories of resilience & rebuilding, kindness & generosity: visit shared-ground.com and subscribe to Sean's substack. We invite you to share your own stories of resilience at the Shared Ground website - whether in response to the January fires in LA or other situations.
Follow us at seanknierim.substack.com, Instagram, or wherever you listen to podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc).
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Kate Jerkens (00:10):
Thanks for having me, guys.
Sean Knierim (00:12):
Can you tell us a little bit about you?
Who are you?
What are you bringing here tous today?
However, you want to answerthat.
Kate Jerkens (00:17):
My name is Kate.
I am Kate Jerkens, I waspreviously Kate Lynch and have
been in Los Angeles since 1997when I attended UCLA, met my
husband and have created my lifehere, and I am the chief
business officer for UncleNearest Premium Whiskey and a
mom of three well, four, becausewe have a dog and loving wife
(00:38):
of Allan Jerkens, who we areabout to celebrate 20 years of
marriage with 20 years.
Allan Marks (00:42):
That's wonderful, congratulations, wow.
Yeah, I don't look old enoughto have 20 years of marriage
with 20 years.
Sean Knierim (00:48):
Yeah, I don't look old enough to have 20 years of
marriage under my belt, rightguys?
Allan Marks (00:55):
They were married at the age of 8, with a
childhood romance that worked,but it makes me question, though
if you've gone through 28 yearsof marriage, you have some of
20 years of marriage.
You have some idea, though,about what resilience might be
right, because relationshipsalso require it.
Kate Jerkens (01:08):
Absolutely.
I mean, yeah, we're divingright into it.
I mean, when he and I firststarted dating within two months
of us starting dating, my11-year-old cousin was killed in
an accident at a birthday partyin Northern California and I
was at a UCLA football game andhad to.
He had to jump right in withsome of my best friends to
(01:31):
figure out how the heck to getme on a plane and get me home
and then a week later how tosupport me in the funeral and
all of that kind of stuff.
So he and I have been he and Ihave definitely been at
resilience for a while.
About four months later hisstepdad passed away from cancer.
So I'd say we went through acouple of the big trials and
tribulations pretty early on inour lives, and so we've seen
each other ugly cry and ourfamilies do ugly things too.
(01:51):
So I think that kind of sealedthe deal a little bit.
Sean Knierim (01:55):
So, Kate, we're asking everyone who's coming on
these episodes, like how wouldyou define resilience?
You can define it in terms ofstory, which you just did, but
how would you try and define theword?
Kate Jerkens (02:04):
Gosh, I got a warning on this and it's still
hard for me.
I just think of resilience asjust picking yourself back up
and just putting one foot infront of the other and just
doing your damn best everysingle day.
Sean Knierim (02:14):
So that's an individual set of resilience.
So where we wanted to start theconversation is how you
personally, your family, showedup for others.
As we think back to January andthe fires that swept through
Pasadena or through Altadena andthrough the Palisades, you
showed up right away.
Can you think back to what youwere seeing in early January, as
(02:35):
you were seeing these firescoming down the hill?
Kate Jerkens (02:37):
Oh gosh.
The first glimpse of the firefrom our yard was just like oh,
this is just another one ofthose LA fires.
And within a few hours we knewit wasn't.
And probably within 20 minutesor half an hour of the fire
starting to burn, reese, my now17-year-old daughter, texted and
said can Maria and her familycome to our house?
I don't even know that that wasasked.
I think it was more of like Iwant to give them a solution
(02:58):
right away because Maria'sscared.
And from that moment on we werein touch with with you guys and
with friends of ours in SantaMonica and, to be honest, we had
just we had just renovated ourhouse.
We had a second story and sofrom our bedroom we could kind
of gauge how the fire wasbuilding and it was terrifying
and the wind was terrifying, andknowing you guys had left and
(03:18):
so many others had left, andthen watching the news and
seeing cars stuck trying toleave the Palisades, it's one of
the scariest things I've everseen in my lifetime.
To be honest.
It felt like a true Armageddon.
And then the reports of firesbreaking out everywhere.
You can choose to be a littlebit frozen.
I think we were a little frozenthat night until we were given
an opportunity to help, whichwas to encourage my best friend,
beth and her family to come andstay at our house.
(03:40):
They were in Santa Monica inthat kind of 50 50 zone and you
know our house was not in goodcondition yet, but we brought
them in.
Sean Knierim (03:46):
You say renovated, we were renovating you were
renovating, which will come intothis story.
Kate Jerkens (03:51):
So they, beth and her husband and their two small
kids, came and moved intoReese's room, which was not
quite done, and Reese movedupstairs and Kellen moved here,
and these are all lessons for usin helping others and community
.
Sean Knierim (04:02):
Do you remember what went through your head when
you offered Beth and her familythat Like?
Was it an immediate come here?
Is it like?
I don't know what the hell I'mdoing, but come on over.
Kate Jerkens (04:10):
It wasn't even.
I didn't even ask Alan.
It was more of like they'recoming over and he's like, yeah,
of course they are, and thatwas it just was the most logical
.
You know it's funny.
My kids call her Aunt Beth andthey call and Kellen, my
youngest, who's eight is alwaysconfused about like are they
really his cousins and his auntsand uncles versus his blood
(04:31):
aunts and uncles?
And we don't really try to maketoo much distinction because
they're family to us and therewas just no other.
Sean Knierim (04:37):
But you're in family.
I know people who have familythat still would have been
thinking like, do we invite himor not?
But you guys didn't.
Why do you just make that move?
Kate Jerkens (04:46):
That's just an innate thing, I will say.
I thinking back to like growingup or thinking about my you know
I can't give like greatexamples, but I think even going
back to that time when mycousin died, when I was 21 years
old he was the only child of myaunt and uncle and an entire
community we are from a smalltown showed up and I watched a
(05:06):
lot of great examples and myaunt and uncle, I would say, are
also great examples of twopeople who lost their only child
way too early and then havelived their life since then
helping people Like in themiddle of him.
He was declared brain dead.
They kept him alive and donatedall of his organs.
You know, watching your son inthat position, like.
So I think there's been a lotof selfless acts and a lot of
(05:27):
things and they didn't have thatplan you don't plan for your
son to die ever but they wereable to make a decision like
that in a heartbeat without eventhinking twice.
And so I think I've had a lotof examples since that moment of
community showing up.
Allan Marks (05:39):
In a way, too, when you talk about it being innate
and something you do withoutthinking twice.
I mean it's sort of like nothelping, not being there is not
an option.
Kate Jerkens (05:47):
It feels wrong.
It is wrong.
Allan Marks (05:49):
But it also feels like you don't.
It's not that you're choosingto do something or not doing
something.
You're just doing what you haveto do.
Kate Jerkens (05:56):
Yeah, that's exactly what you're just doing.
Sean Knierim (05:58):
We've talked a lot about choice on this podcast in
different episodes.
You just automatically do itversus choosing to go ahead and
do it.
Kate Jerkens (06:06):
Yeah, it wasn't a big, there's no conversation,
it's kind of like.
So the next example would bewhen we figured out the next day
that you had lost your homeReese, my daughter, marie's, one
of their besties, that's whatthe kids are saying.
It was going to her and sayingcry, you can keep crying, and
then you need to stop and youneed to get in the car and you
need to pick up your friends andyou need to go to Target and
(06:27):
Sephora and then you're going toshow up with Maria and you're
just going to be there and justbe like that's just kind of who
we are.
There wasn't a question.
It wasn't like Alan, I was likethis is what the plan is.
What you're feeling was.
It was overwhelming and I thinkbetween myself and Jackie and
(06:47):
some others we were able to saylike what do you need?
And when you just said just canyou just come here to the hotel
and we can talk about it, itwas like well, that's easy.
Sean Knierim (06:54):
I woke up that morning of the 8th with 750
unread text messages on and Ithought the first people I
thought about were the moms thatwe showed up to kindergarten.
We moved to Los Angeles the daybefore kindergarten started for
my daughter, for Maria, andthese moms showed up for us from
the very beginning.
They're the most competent,kind humans in the world, at
(07:16):
least in my world.
Kate Jerkens (07:17):
A little quirky.
Sean Knierim (07:18):
Well, yeah, there's some quirk and we bring
that too, but I called you firstgoing, kate, can you just come
and help?
And you showed up.
Your daughter and the two othergirls that Maria met first when
we moved here showed up.
So we're sitting 13 years afterwe show up in town and the
people who showed up for us dayone walked into the Westin at
the LAX.
Kate Jerkens (07:37):
But think about it with your family too.
I think about how Maria andthose girls and all of a sudden,
I mean Maria's barely dried hereyes from losing her house and
now she's like we're going to doa clothing drive, Right.
So there's a lot of that in youas well, and I think there's.
I think our children havelearned a lot from us, and
that's resilience, Right.
Like the ability to be like OK,this really sucks for me, but
(07:59):
it's going to suck for a lot ofother people even more.
So, like, let's just go dosomething.
Sean Knierim (08:02):
And Alan, you were part of that clothing drive.
You saw some of these youngwomen show up.
Allan Marks (08:07):
It was amazing to see them.
You know they're 16, 18.
My daughter's 21, but she, youknow they were the teenagers in
Pali High in particular werejust very.
I was impressed that they werein tune with their own feelings
of trauma and loss.
They weren't denying that.
They were channeling it, though, into being of service.
Kate Jerkens (08:26):
I'm so hopeful for this generation.
Like I, am a huge fan of mychild.
Like and your kid, I mean, ifanyone's going to save us, it's
going to be them.
They don't.
Am I allowed to swear on thisSure?
Yeah they don't take shit fromanyone honestly as of now we are
now a full swearing podcast.
Sean Knierim (08:42):
Thank you, Kate Jerkins, for bringing that to
our audience.
Kate Jerkens (08:49):
You can leave it to me to always drop the first
one.
I'm here for you.
But they don't, and they stickup for what's right and they do
the right thing for the mostpart, and they do stupid stuff
too.
But I think this generation isgoing to.
I have so many hopes for them.
I hope the rest of us can helpthem and give them that
opportunity.
You know what I mean.
This generation.
There's so much hope in thisgeneration, but they also have a
lot of fear because whatthey're seeing around them is
(09:10):
not how they want this world tobe.
Allan Marks (09:12):
So hopefully they can channel that For sure, and
of course I mean they'reformative the last five, ten
years.
They're looking at politicalpolarization.
They're looking at theexistential threats of climate
change.
They live through COVID and youknow the case of the people who
have been harmed by extremeweather events, not just the
fires in LA.
But we look at Asheville, youknow North Carolina, we look at
Gulf.
Coast and, of course, overseas.
(09:33):
It's been a very difficult time.
I read an interesting piecewhere it said look, you know,
we've had these things happen,we had wars and we had the
Spanish flu, and we had thingsin the 18th century and so on,
and they went through this wholelist of stuff and recessions,
but we've never had them allwithin a six year period.
And that for people who are nowin their late teens or early
(09:55):
20s.
That's most of what they knowand that's that's really, really
challenging.
So when I see their hope andtheir real activism, it's really
inspiring.
Kate Jerkens (10:03):
I totally agree.
It's funny you saw the COVIDpiece, I mean five years ago,
like what a different situationwe were in.
I don't even know that we'veall processed it all, but they
lived right through it and hadto come out on the other side
and get back to normal.
Sean Knierim (10:15):
Our girls celebrated birthdays by
drive-bys, as they sat in theirdriveways and we waved and threw
a present, and then you wouldspray it down with something.
Kate Jerkens (10:25):
Wipe it with Clorox bleach, but we're all
still here, we're all stillstanding and I think in a lot of
ways a lot of people are a lotcloser, families are a lot
closer.
Maybe there was a lot of goodthat came out of all that.
I think that's true I thinkabout for my own self.
Growing up, I mean, I didn'tknow really any kind of fear
until 9-11.
And that was in my 20s.
9-11 is like that pivotalmoment for me, that sort of
(10:47):
changed our lifetime right,because that was the first time
on American soil to seesomething like that and it was
just so real and so raw.
But it was in my 20s, peoplewere in their 30s and 40s.
I think our kids haveexperienced so much in just such
a shorter period.
Allan Marks (11:00):
Once I remember I saw to talk about you know in
his generation.
Where were you when PearlHarbor happened and they all
knew, everyone knew and 9-11 wasvery similar and they all had
one formative thing.
Sean Knierim (11:11):
Our kids probably have six.
Kate Jerkens (11:14):
Right, yeah, and COVID was just.
If you're in California, covidwas just this ongoing like
rolling.
Allan Marks (11:21):
I want to come back to something else you mentioned
before, which is community, andbecause one of the things, of
course, is there are a lot offamilies that didn't receive 750
texts right.
There are a lot of people thatare unseen or didn't have the
same social networks or capacity.
What have you?
Both in the Palisades andAltadena?
It was interesting to me.
I was talking to some people ata nonprofit in Hollywood called
Big Sunday and they receiveddonations to help people.
(11:43):
I mean, nonprofits are reallythe link that get us governments
as well, and I think the cityof LA and county of LA, of
course, deserve some credit forhow they responded.
Initially, with some of theservice centers that were set up
A lot of people told me howwell those were run but for a
lot of the nonprofits too, as away for people to channel their
gifts.
Sean Knierim (11:59):
Yes.
Allan Marks (12:00):
And they received donations not just locally.
They got donations with trucksfrom Dallas, texas.
They had donations coming infrom Washington State, I mean
from all over.
People were saying we want tohelp people who have lost their
homes or are evacuated andthreatened.
What have you?
And finding then the outreachto the people that again
otherwise wouldn't have had thehelp, I think was a really
(12:20):
important part of that communitypiece.
Kate Jerkens (12:22):
I'm so proud of Los Angeles.
People love to hate on thiscity, they love to hate on LA
and, yes, all of those trappingsare there.
But boy, do we show up.
Everybody showed up and I wasjust impressed by everybody.
You know businesses and thepeople.
There wasn't a person I wastalking to, especially in that
first week and weekend thatwasn't that weekend out doing
(12:44):
something, right, yeah, what ofmaking meals, gathering clothing
, whatever it was, and I, whowas not affected, like we were
completely fine.
The amount of people I know inmy life that don't live in Los
Angeles that reached out saying,kate, what are we supposed to
do?
And thankfully they did,because most of them were
cleaning out their closets andasking where to send their stuff
and I was like, okay, that'snot helping anymore.
Sean Knierim (13:07):
It was an interesting.
Kate Jerkens (13:08):
Like don't do that .
Sean Knierim (13:09):
As we think about those first couple of weeks,
like I remember my, I waslooking through straws.
I was really focused in on whatam I doing with my family.
Every time someone asked mewhat do you need, it hurt and I
didn't know how to answer it.
Or I tried to answer and ithurt again.
So we channeled all of thoseover to you, to Jackie, to Beth,
to Natalie and some other folksthat were helping us, and you
(13:30):
were looking through the funnelof these offers coming through.
Is there anything you rememberfrom that?
Kate Jerkens (13:42):
Like what were you seeing?
As all those people were comingto you with ideas or questions,
just a huge desire to help,people felt very helpless and
wanted to do anything and Ithink it also shows a lot of
people don't know what to do.
What is help?
You were offered so many placesto stay and we vetted a few and
you know there's so many.
That's for a different time.
But like people wanted to giveyou stuff and I brought you guys
stuff and I also said if youdon't want this, bring it back.
And I appreciate that you guysdid Right, like there was just
(14:03):
people were just giving andgiving and it felt like for you
it was like you couldn't keep upwith all of it.
You know it was.
It was an overwhelm ofgenerosity and your friends and
family and felt like people youhadn't heard from in a minute
were like no, I'm here now.
What are we going to do?
Right, it was just.
It was everybody came out ofthe woodwork and you saw that on
a GoFundMe level or whatever,you could see just the mass of
(14:24):
people coming out to want tohelp.
Sean Knierim (14:25):
You became a conduit to help direct the
things that we couldn't use toothers, and that was a neat
opportunity.
It's like there were a fewpoints where you, like I know
that person got impacted andwhatever came then got
distributed out to everyone elsein the community.
Kate Jerkens (14:40):
And you had, you know, even the links we found to
help find housing that I had on, you know, my kids' soccer
teams.
They had people looking forhousing so I'd been put in touch
with links and then I couldsend them around.
And you guys had a really goodexperience with the Airbnb piece
, right, and so I was able totell people, no, it is working,
(15:02):
like be peace, right.
And so I was able to tellpeople, no, it is working, like
be patient, do it, try it again,you know.
So there was a lot of learningcoming from that and selfishly,
I really I just I said it to youguys the night we all gathered,
but you guys allowing us tocome like it helped me.
Think that's a piece that youhave to understand is there was
no burden.
It didn't.
Nothing felt burdensome.
In fact, it was helpful.
Sean Knierim (15:15):
You're welcome for my mail still being delivered
to your house.
As a matter of fact, katebrought an entire bag of mail.
Despite my best efforts,everyone still thinks I live.
Kate Jerkens (15:25):
It makes us feel popular that we get so much mail
.
Allan Marks (15:27):
But let's talk about Three Months Long for a
second, because we've talkedabout the immediate aftermath
and we've talked about thecommunity outpouring One of the
things that happens and I'vetalked to friends who are from
Hawaii.
My I've talked to friends whoare from Hawaii.
My sister actually lived onMaui for seven years not during
the Lahaina fires but longer agobut still has friends there and
people six months a year aftera disaster, there are still
people displaced.
There are still people thatcan't go back to a home.
(15:48):
There's renters that won't havea place that they can go back
to because that's not going tobe rebuilt and they don't have
the rights to do that.
So they're looking for housingin an already expensive, tight
housing market.
You know GoFundMes are neededand they're strong for a very
short window and then they sortof taper off.
How do you maintain the caringin ways that are constructive
longer term?
Kate Jerkens (16:07):
To be honest with you, I've been thinking about
this a lot and don't feel likeI'm particularly good at the
three month out right, because Ifeel like I live very much in
the now, right now.
I think it's just consistentlythe check in, you know.
I feel with you, Sean, like Ifeel like we kind of had a wrap
up when you invited all of usover to your house, but I don't.
I've checked in with you hereand there because I don't want
you to feel like you've been inband.
(16:27):
You know you guys have beenabandoned and your story is not
over Right.
Like there's still going to bea search for somewhere to live
in the relative near future.
Sean Knierim (16:34):
We just found out today that we're looking for
another place on August 1st.
We've been blessed with a placefor six months, which we got to
share with a number of familiesthat really showed up and
helped.
Both of you were there tocelebrate with us, and it
continues.
It gets quiet after a while.
Kate Jerkens (16:49):
Yeah, and that's something I worry about.
We were just talking about adear friend who's just had a big
emergency and it's like, okay,how do we gather around them but
ensure that they feel supportedfor longer than just that
initial push?
I have another friend who'sgoing through cancer right now
and I delivered food two weeksago.
But I have to remember likethat, that wasn't, that's not,
that's not it, and I thinkthere's that.
We're a very short term, shortsighted society too.
(17:12):
As great as we are as community, we can all show up.
We're not meant to stick toanything for too long.
So we've got to figure that out, I think, myself included.
Sean Knierim (17:19):
I've got a question for you, and this might
be just as hard as what isresilience.
So, kate, you and your familyare extraordinary at supporting
others.
You are so good at being therefor others.
You've your kid shows up for mydaughter all the time.
How are you at accepting helpyourself, like I sucked at it
and you helped me learn how todo it, and a lot of times you
told me Sean, shut up, just letme help.
(17:41):
There was a lot of but for you,there is for many years, but for
you, kate, what have youlearned about yourself, about
accepting help?
Kate Jerkens (17:49):
I think in times of need, I'm okay with it.
Um, I don't know that I'malways clear about it.
I'll be.
I mean, I've I've had severalinstances in the last.
I lost both my parents in thelast six years and in the
moments of them, supporting themwhile they were sick or in
those moments where they weredying, accepting any help or
having anyone around was nothelpful, and I think people
understood that.
It's the days after where Ithink, to be honest, it's not
(18:11):
even about like anyone asking meif I wanted help.
It was just food showed up andthings showed up and my best
friend showed up with all myfavorite foods and stuff.
So I'm good with that.
But I will say to your point,it's always the time a few weeks
after it's kind of like theweek after your wedding where
you're like all these things,where once kind of after a
funeral leading up to a funeral,I think people feel really full
of life and like I can figurethis out and so everyone loved
(18:33):
him or her so much.
And it's the days followingthat everyone kind of goes back
to their normal lives and you'restill stuck in the reality.
That part's really hard.
Sean Knierim (18:41):
I was writing about this on a long flight home
last night, about the friendsthat are showing up now that I
would not have expected.
Not that I wouldn't think theywere kind or generous, but
they're not the people that Iwould have guessed.
That would keep showing up inaddition to the ones that I
would have thought, and it'sinteresting.
Allan Marks (18:58):
Some of that may be because we tend to confuse
strength of relationship withstrength of character.
Sean Knierim (19:02):
We talked about this on another episode.
Some people have gone throughthese and recognize that three,
four months on is exactly thetime to reach out and offer some
strength.
Kate Jerkens (19:12):
I don't think you know before having had these
losses, I don't know that I wasgreat to.
You know I don't have any bestbest best friends that have lost
their parents in the last fewyears.
But I would say, with havingany types of loss, I don't know
that I was great at it, but nowI feel like I get it and I like
to offer help when it comes tovery specific stuff, especially
my mom who had a longAlzheimer's journey.
(19:34):
Like now, I want to give what Ididn't have.
Sean Knierim (19:42):
I didn't have it only because no one, no one else
around me had dealt with itbefore.
I feel like now, if someonegoes through a hard time in my
life, I almost want to set athree-month reminder of I agree
with write them, reach out tothem, send them a text just to,
because you forget it's not overbecause our lives have a way of
keeping.
They keep flowing.
Kate Jerkens (19:56):
Yeah and yeah, and I think it's important with our
kids.
It's like I've noticed thatwith my kids, especially my
middle guy.
It was a few months after mymom and my dad, like where he
kind of was like he had somemoments of maybe acting out or
acting a little differently, andwhen you got down to the core
of it he was just still missingthem and we'd kind of stopped
talking about it.
Allan Marks (20:13):
Right, you know Right, right.
Kate Jerkens (20:14):
That makes sense, and some of the stuff just needs
to keep coming up to thesurface Right, and I think that
I think that's where we're atwith these fires and it's like
such a like having thisconversation right now.
I want to go out and send a fewtext messages and call a few
folks.
Sean Knierim (20:24):
Well, I'd encourage anyone listening to
this.
A text is going to make a bigdifference.
Kate Jerkens (20:30):
Text that says you don't need to respond.
I think that's the other piece.
Like I'm just checking in, justknow that I love you.
Or you know a friend of ourswhose husband's in the hospital
right now.
Like I expect no response, Ijust send her voice messages and
stuff that says I love you andI get a heart back.
I know it's heard, but I don'tneed a response.
It's just like you want peopleto know, just letting people
know that you're there.
You know yeah.
Sean Knierim (20:52):
So, kate, you have a family, our board membering,
our leaders in your communityand everything you guys touch
and you're helping now the restof us that needed your help and
you've got a big job that youalso have to show up for.
Can you talk about thesedifferent layers of who you are?
How are you able to kind ofpush forward professionally
while you're spending so manycalories, you know, raising your
(21:13):
kids and your dog?
Kate Jerkens (21:15):
I don't have enough calories to be honest
with you, this is just one ofthat's enough.
That's almost harder thanresilience.
For me it's, it's just doing,crescendoing towards harder and
harder questions um, I think,first of all, I work from home,
so my office is in my home.
That changed my whole life whenI started working from home in
2015, so it's been nearly 10years.
That changed a lot for me.
I am a really chatty person.
I'm an extrovert by nature.
So, being the office I workedin hospitality for over 15 years
(21:38):
and being in my office andbeing with my team there like I,
those were long days, mostlybecause I made them long, you
know.
I mean, the expectation inhospitality was to be on
property at least 10 hours, butyou're always there longer.
You're entertaining, you weretelling jokes, you were taking
care of guests and all that kindof stuff.
I feel like my work is veryefficient when I work from home
and I feel like the key tosuccess and my CEO, who I we
(21:59):
always joke about, who has thebetter husband, but like but not
in a mean way, more of like no,today it's Alan.
No, today it's Keith.
Like we always have theseconversations.
We have the best partners.
There is no way to do what I dowithout my husband.
There's just there's no way.
And Fawn, my CEO has been Iwill miss quote her but it is
like some of your mostsuccessful, but it is like some
of your most successful, some ofthose successful people have to
(22:20):
do with the partners that theychose in their lives, and I do
believe that that iswholeheartedly a big part of why
I am where I am today and why Ican do.
What I can do is I have apartner that is in it.
Allan Marks (22:26):
Yeah, I like that.
I mean there's zero chance Icould have had my career if it
weren't for my wife.
I mean she just, and how longhave you guys been married, Alan
?
Kate Jerkens (22:41):
A, A long time, 28 years, 28 years, yeah, it makes
a difference.
There has to be somebody thatcan pick it, that can pick up
the pieces, you know, and for welaunched so the chief business
officer for Uncle Neera'sPremium Whiskey.
We launched in 2017, but westarted working on it in 2016.
I'd say the first two years Itraveled hundreds of thousands
of miles.
I was, I was on the road nearlyevery week and we had a one
year old at the time, and thatwould have been impossible
without Alan being willing to doit and having you know, at that
(23:02):
time I also still had myparents who could come and help,
and so there was a lot ofthat's a big life's gotten more
complicated since we lost someof that family help for us, and
that's we've had to lean in oneach other more.
But then, you know, as thathappens, your oldest gets older
and drives now Right.
So now Reese is where I maybedidn't.
She's.
She's a big part of support forus as well right now, and I
(23:22):
don't want to talk about herleaving us in a year and a half,
because it will.
Not only will we just miss herimmensely, but it's a dynamic in
our you know, in our house thatwe'll miss so much.
Allan Marks (23:31):
So good for her though.
Kate Jerkens (23:33):
She'll miss you too, but still yeah you too, but
still, yeah, she'll barely missand I want her to go far and
like go live her life.
Allan Marks (23:39):
Yeah, there's something to be said for that
independence discovery.
Kate Jerkens (23:42):
Yeah, and I know she'll take no prisoners, so I'm
not worried about her.
Sean Knierim (23:51):
So the other night I'm sitting at dinner I came
home late after a work eventInto the kitchen, walks your
daughter and just sits down andstarts talking to me as though
she's an adult, asking she is anadult, right?
She's taller than I am, soshe's more adult than I am in
terms of height.
And she just starts asking mequestions and how am I doing?
And she asked about the tattoo.
She wanted to see it.
And then she starts askingabout all this stuff and it's
extraordinary.
So, as you talk about the hope,seeing these kids like the way
(24:12):
that you've raised your daughterand that you've helped raise
ours really helps me with someof that hope.
We talked a lot about kind ofthis near-end community and our
individual selves.
But, kate, as you think aboutwhat we've learned from the
fires, what we learned fromCOVID, what we're seeing around
the world, how is resiliencelike?
What do we need to do as awider community, not just the
people we know or that we'redirectly connected to, but the
(24:35):
rest of Los Angeles?
You talked about being proud ofthis area, anything we learned
in the last few months that wemight want to hold on to in the
coming years.
Kate Jerkens (24:43):
Truly just like pure kindness and a smile and a
hello, and how are you?
And talking to people.
I felt like when the fires werehappening it was sort of this
like open mic night everywherewe went, where you could be in
line at the grocery store andjust have a conversation with
somebody, or the checker.
You had something to talk about.
Then I find some of that goesaway and I catch myself like I'm
listening to a podcast whileI'm shopping at Whole Foods and
(25:04):
I haven't talked to the checkerwhat I like.
But you know, during the firesor when things are happening,
you're like, how are you doing?
Allan Marks (25:12):
Has it been crazy here?
Are you?
You know like there was others,Are you?
Kate Jerkens (25:14):
evacuated, you know, and I think we just all
have to just continue to wrapeach other around with kindness
and patience.
It's so hard right now becausethis country and even the
community are so dividedpolitically and with all these
things, and it feels likeeveryone's trying to rile us up
all the time.
Keep unrialed and just likepractice, like literal, everyday
kindness, like less honking ofyour horn, you know like why are
(25:35):
you in so much of a hurry?
Allan Marks (25:36):
Well, it's not just that, it's also the goodwill of
assuming the other person youknow benefit of the doubt is
doing the best they can, asopposed to the cynicism of
assuming that they're not.
Kate Jerkens (25:45):
Like what if that person is just like having a bad
day?
Or what if they just lost theirparent and their driving and
maybe they shouldn't be, butthey aren't paying attention or
you know, so they didn't hit,they didn't hit the gas quick
enough on the green light.
Like why are we in so much of ahurry?
You know, maybe that give thema minute.
Sean Knierim (25:59):
And Alan, that that point you made, I think, is
really powerful.
If we can assume that the otherpeople are doing their best, no
matter whether it's theabsolute best they can do, the
best they can do right now, thenthat kind of opens the door for
curiosity.
Allan Marks (26:13):
It does, and I'll also point out I mean I don't
actually think I'm very good atthat.
I think I wish I were.
Sean Knierim (26:23):
When are you better, when are you better at
that?
Or do you think during the weekthere are times that you are
better or worse at assuming thebest in others?
Allan Marks (26:27):
It kind of depends on how I'm reacting to what I
feel are stressors, demands,professional or otherwise.
If I feel like I'm doing a goodjob, being responsive, then I'm
probably a lot likely to bemore tolerant of others, and if
I'm not happy with myself and myperceived shortcomings of
responsiveness, then that'sprobably the times that I'm less
patient with others.
Sean Knierim (26:45):
Oh, my gosh, my inbox right now after the fires.
I really resonate with whatyou're saying.
Allan Marks (26:50):
Yeah, because, remember, you wanted to respond
to everybody right away and youcouldn't.
Sean Knierim (26:53):
Yeah.
Allan Marks (26:53):
It just just not time and that does impact, then
that does raise the cortisol.
It, you know, it makes thatthat.
You know, if we that emotionalquotient harder, it just makes
it harder to balance ourselvesand then be able to be available
to balance others.
Sean Knierim (27:07):
And then how long are you able to give yourself
grace, or accept grace or giveit to others Like is it three
months after the fires, is itsix months, is it 36 days?
Allan Marks (27:17):
Well, that's the difference between something
which is temporary and somethingwhich is transformative.
Sean Knierim (27:21):
And I actually do.
Allan Marks (27:22):
Well.
I do think, actually, if youlook at, if you look at
collective, communal responsesto a natural disaster that can
have there's always the fingerpointing, of course, the blame
of you know this that Somebodyshould have done better.
Usually it's the government.
People like to do that becauseit's sort of removed from them.
I would say it's interesting.
There was an ecologist that Iheard speaking at UCLA who made
a very good point.
(27:43):
He said it is true that climatechange contributed to this
right and extreme weather eventsand you know their severity.
They're somewhat unpredictablewhen they're going to happen,
but when they do, they're goingto be worse and there'll be more
of them.
You know, we can see that andwe can look at the strength of
these winds, we can look at thisdryness of the soil, the fact
that this fire occurred duringwhat is not usually the typical
fire season, no-transcript, ahuman desire.
(28:22):
People want to go back to theway it was.
By the same token, if you'redesigning things systemically
and you're looking at, you knowthis is a naturally fire prone
region for millennia.
But if you look at, adding onto that land use choices and
climate effects, building backthe way it exactly was would be
a mistake.
So then there's equity justice,property planning issues, all
of which come into play.
Sean Knierim (28:43):
With humans involved, like it's not a
separation between that humanpersonal piece and the systemic
design that you're talking about.
Allan Marks (28:51):
And to bring it back.
That's where this idea of therebeing maybe a longer runway for
a community to realize we'reall in this together and to have
sympathy and empathy for thepeople who have lost their
businesses and lost theirproperty, lost their homes, lost
the memories that go with that,but then to do it in a way
where this doesn't keeprecurring, because we don't want
, every five years or every twoyears or every ten years, for
more families to go through thesame thing.
And there are other parts ofSouthern California, not just
(29:14):
Altadena and Pasadena, or theWoolsey Fire area from six years
ago, what have you.
There are other areas that aregoing to be prone to this, and
so what can we do now to preventthings like that?
Given the nature of the builtenvironment, that's really
interesting and, I think, goodopportunity for people to
collaborate on communalsolutions, because we are all in
this together.
Kate Jerkens (29:34):
It's going to just take time, and I think that's
something that a lot of us don'thave is the patience for it.
You can't just go and rebuildand redo where we were at, I
mean visually.
When I think about the fires, Ithink about people trying to
get out of that community, andthat's just the scariest thing
People with busloads of kids andthings like that.
So it's like there's so muchthat needs to be figured out
before that community iscomplete.
Allan Marks (29:52):
So you mentioned a minute ago cars, burnt out cars
and one of the reasons images ofafter fires like this are so
poignant is the ones that havethe burnt out cars seem to
attract a disproportionateamount of attention Because they
beg these questions Well, whathappened to the people whose car
that was?
Well, where are they?
Did they get out?
Why is that car there and whyis it burnt out?
Kate Jerkens (30:14):
It's all powerful right, though, too, there's
something about them it's like,yeah, they're also an extension
of our personality.
They are right, an abandonedcar an abandoned one like
there's a huge story behind it.
Sean Knierim (30:22):
It's always middle of sunset and what I find in
some of the stories I tell topeople that want to hear what it
was like in the palisades.
There's this one story of ayoung woman that maria's a
soccer team with that we're at.
I'm actually hoping we'll get achance to talk to her on the
podcast.
She went back to her house byherself an 18 year old young
woman to save her bunny to packher go bag and she took a left
(30:44):
on Sunset instead of a right togo down to Mescal and she had to
leave her car on the side ofthe street.
When Maria and I drove back toour house Maria goes, that's her
car, so she pointed it out.
It was still on the side.
She had to get out of her carfour miles away from where she
thought her mom was and I thinkthis is the story and ran down
as the fires were comingdirectly towards that part of
(31:05):
sunset and she was going bypeople who were getting out of
their nice cars that were in anice home, right.
She was getting by the peoplewho were pushing their elderly
uncle in a wheelchair.
There were nannies and therewere gardeners and there were
people who owned the houses thismass of humanity going down the
hill as fire was coming afterthem, and each one of them have
a really neat story.
So that would be.
Allan Marks (31:26):
That would actually be kind of a neat story.
Kate Jerkens (31:28):
I would talk to the teachers.
I can't get over the elementaryschools.
I can't get over those.
And there's stories about Ithink it was Marquez that that
day the principal and assistantprincipal had been asked to be
at a meeting that wasn't oncampus, so they weren't there
and children on all thosecampuses saw more than you could
imagine from what I understand,and a lot of people on those
campuses had to make decisionsabout people's children very
(31:50):
quickly, and almost everythingthat I've heard from all of
these various elementary schoolsthe way the teachers reacted,
the way other people likeparents reacted I mean there's
nothing scarier than having toget little kids we're talking
these are kindergartners fouryear olds, five year olds, up to
you know, 11 year olds,panicking brothers and sisters
trying to find each other andgetting them out of the
Palisades safely, like givingparents enough time to get there
(32:10):
and then finally saying nope,this isn't working anymore,
we're putting them in buses orwe're walking them out.
Sean Knierim (32:15):
You guys keep tracking where we're going
Marquez, St Matthews were righton that Bienvenida strip where
the fire came directly down thehill.
Kate Jerkens (32:21):
I mean just, it's an actual miracle that all those
teachers kept all those kids sosafe and got them back to their
parents and there's no storiesof not like that and now those
teachers are figuring out how toteach those kids in different
environments.
Sean Knierim (32:35):
Yeah, and they're really doing an extraordinary
job in my assessment, I agree.
Allan Marks (32:40):
So, kate, what makes you most optimistic and
hopeful now?
Kate Jerkens (32:43):
I think back to our kids For me also, just some
of the people I surround myselfwith, my friends and even my
coworkers.
I just feel really upliftedfrom them and a lot of found
family that I have now.
You know it's a weird thing.
I'm 45.
I'm not young and I'm not old.
I'm right in the middle to nothave my parents any longer.
Those are people that I wouldcall to brag about my kids or to
(33:04):
ask advice from, and so I'vehad to really Find those people
for myself, and I have, and Ithink the people I've surrounded
by myself with they make meoptimistic and I feel very
fulfilled by those relationshipsand it's every day.
It's with the people I workwith, it's with my kids.
It's with people like Sean andhis family and I love my kids'
friends too, you know like intheir families.
Sean Knierim (33:27):
If you're looking at the broad, broad picture and
looking at things I know this isnot a political podcast, but
you know it's not easy to, soit's really about the people
you're surrounding yourself withon a daily basis and try not to
(33:48):
be, you know, too close with ortaking up too much in from the
doomsdayers, because that's justnot helpful right now.
Kate Jerkens (33:51):
I don't know if you saw this, but as you were
talking especially about yourparents, like tear just started
coming down my own ears yeah,your tears can come from
wherever you live.
Sean Knierim (33:54):
They come from lots of.
They're squeaking out all over.
I hear your pain, so we gavethe opportunity for that.
Kate, I'm optimistic because Iget to be in a world where you
are raising kids like what youhave.
Thank you for being here withus on this podcast.
Kate Jerkens (34:09):
Yeah, amen, I'm going to go call my friends now.
Allan Marks (34:13):
Check on your friends guys.
Kate, thank you so much.
Thank you Really appreciate it,so fun.
Sean Knierim (34:15):
This has been another episode of Shared Ground
, a podcast about resilience andcommunity.
Allan Marks (34:21):
Follow us on your favorite platform or learn more
at sharedgroundcom.
Sean Knierim (34:26):
That's shared-groundcom.
Thanks for having me, guys.
Sean Knierim (00:12):
Can you tell us a little bit about you?
Who are you?
What are you bringing here tous today?
However, you want to answerthat.
Kate Jerkens (00:17):
My name is Kate.
I am Kate Jerkens, I waspreviously Kate Lynch and have
been in Los Angeles since 1997when I attended UCLA, met my
husband and have created my lifehere, and I am the chief
business officer for UncleNearest Premium Whiskey and a
mom of three well, four, becausewe have a dog and loving wife
(00:38):
of Allan Jerkens, who we areabout to celebrate 20 years of
marriage with 20 years.
Allan Marks (00:42):
That's wonderful, congratulations, wow.
Yeah, I don't look old enoughto have 20 years of marriage
with 20 years.
Sean Knierim (00:48):
Yeah, I don't look old enough to have 20 years of
marriage under my belt, rightguys?
Allan Marks (00:55):
They were married at the age of 8, with a
childhood romance that worked,but it makes me question, though
if you've gone through 28 yearsof marriage, you have some of
20 years of marriage.
You have some idea, though,about what resilience might be
right, because relationshipsalso require it.
Kate Jerkens (01:08):
Absolutely.
I mean, yeah, we're divingright into it.
I mean, when he and I firststarted dating within two months
of us starting dating, my11-year-old cousin was killed in
an accident at a birthday partyin Northern California and I
was at a UCLA football game andhad to.
He had to jump right in withsome of my best friends to
(01:31):
figure out how the heck to getme on a plane and get me home
and then a week later how tosupport me in the funeral and
all of that kind of stuff.
So he and I have been he and Ihave definitely been at
resilience for a while.
About four months later hisstepdad passed away from cancer.
So I'd say we went through acouple of the big trials and
tribulations pretty early on inour lives, and so we've seen
each other ugly cry and ourfamilies do ugly things too.
(01:51):
So I think that kind of sealedthe deal a little bit.
Sean Knierim (01:55):
So, Kate, we're asking everyone who's coming on
these episodes, like how wouldyou define resilience?
You can define it in terms ofstory, which you just did, but
how would you try and define theword?
Kate Jerkens (02:04):
Gosh, I got a warning on this and it's still
hard for me.
I just think of resilience asjust picking yourself back up
and just putting one foot infront of the other and just
doing your damn best everysingle day.
Sean Knierim (02:14):
So that's an individual set of resilience.
So where we wanted to start theconversation is how you
personally, your family, showedup for others.
As we think back to January andthe fires that swept through
Pasadena or through Altadena andthrough the Palisades, you
showed up right away.
Can you think back to what youwere seeing in early January, as
(02:35):
you were seeing these firescoming down the hill?
Kate Jerkens (02:37):
Oh gosh.
The first glimpse of the firefrom our yard was just like oh,
this is just another one ofthose LA fires.
And within a few hours we knewit wasn't.
And probably within 20 minutesor half an hour of the fire
starting to burn, reese, my now17-year-old daughter, texted and
said can Maria and her familycome to our house?
I don't even know that that wasasked.
I think it was more of like Iwant to give them a solution
(02:58):
right away because Maria'sscared.
And from that moment on we werein touch with with you guys and
with friends of ours in SantaMonica and, to be honest, we had
just we had just renovated ourhouse.
We had a second story and sofrom our bedroom we could kind
of gauge how the fire wasbuilding and it was terrifying
and the wind was terrifying, andknowing you guys had left and
(03:18):
so many others had left, andthen watching the news and
seeing cars stuck trying toleave the Palisades, it's one of
the scariest things I've everseen in my lifetime.
To be honest.
It felt like a true Armageddon.
And then the reports of firesbreaking out everywhere.
You can choose to be a littlebit frozen.
I think we were a little frozenthat night until we were given
an opportunity to help, whichwas to encourage my best friend,
beth and her family to come andstay at our house.
(03:40):
They were in Santa Monica inthat kind of 50 50 zone and you
know our house was not in goodcondition yet, but we brought
them in.
Sean Knierim (03:46):
You say renovated, we were renovating you were
renovating, which will come intothis story.
Kate Jerkens (03:51):
So they, beth and her husband and their two small
kids, came and moved intoReese's room, which was not
quite done, and Reese movedupstairs and Kellen moved here,
and these are all lessons for usin helping others and community
.
Sean Knierim (04:02):
Do you remember what went through your head when
you offered Beth and her familythat Like?
Was it an immediate come here?
Is it like?
I don't know what the hell I'mdoing, but come on over.
Kate Jerkens (04:10):
It wasn't even.
I didn't even ask Alan.
It was more of like they'recoming over and he's like, yeah,
of course they are, and thatwas it just was the most logical
.
You know it's funny.
My kids call her Aunt Beth andthey call and Kellen, my
youngest, who's eight is alwaysconfused about like are they
really his cousins and his auntsand uncles versus his blood
(04:31):
aunts and uncles?
And we don't really try to maketoo much distinction because
they're family to us and therewas just no other.
Sean Knierim (04:37):
But you're in family.
I know people who have familythat still would have been
thinking like, do we invite himor not?
But you guys didn't.
Why do you just make that move?
Kate Jerkens (04:46):
That's just an innate thing, I will say.
I thinking back to like growingup or thinking about my you know
I can't give like greatexamples, but I think even going
back to that time when mycousin died, when I was 21 years
old he was the only child of myaunt and uncle and an entire
community we are from a smalltown showed up and I watched a
(05:06):
lot of great examples and myaunt and uncle, I would say, are
also great examples of twopeople who lost their only child
way too early and then havelived their life since then
helping people Like in themiddle of him.
He was declared brain dead.
They kept him alive and donatedall of his organs.
You know, watching your son inthat position, like.
So I think there's been a lotof selfless acts and a lot of
(05:27):
things and they didn't have thatplan you don't plan for your
son to die ever but they wereable to make a decision like
that in a heartbeat without eventhinking twice.
And so I think I've had a lotof examples since that moment of
community showing up.
Allan Marks (05:39):
In a way, too, when you talk about it being innate
and something you do withoutthinking twice.
I mean it's sort of like nothelping, not being there is not
an option.
Kate Jerkens (05:47):
It feels wrong.
It is wrong.
Allan Marks (05:49):
But it also feels like you don't.
It's not that you're choosingto do something or not doing
something.
You're just doing what you haveto do.
Kate Jerkens (05:56):
Yeah, that's exactly what you're just doing.
Sean Knierim (05:58):
We've talked a lot about choice on this podcast in
different episodes.
You just automatically do itversus choosing to go ahead and
do it.
Kate Jerkens (06:06):
Yeah, it wasn't a big, there's no conversation,
it's kind of like.
So the next example would bewhen we figured out the next day
that you had lost your homeReese, my daughter, marie's, one
of their besties, that's whatthe kids are saying.
It was going to her and sayingcry, you can keep crying, and
then you need to stop and youneed to get in the car and you
need to pick up your friends andyou need to go to Target and
(06:27):
Sephora and then you're going toshow up with Maria and you're
just going to be there and justbe like that's just kind of who
we are.
There wasn't a question.
It wasn't like Alan, I was likethis is what the plan is.
What you're feeling was.
It was overwhelming and I thinkbetween myself and Jackie and
(06:47):
some others we were able to saylike what do you need?
And when you just said just canyou just come here to the hotel
and we can talk about it, itwas like well, that's easy.
Sean Knierim (06:54):
I woke up that morning of the 8th with 750
unread text messages on and Ithought the first people I
thought about were the moms thatwe showed up to kindergarten.
We moved to Los Angeles the daybefore kindergarten started for
my daughter, for Maria, andthese moms showed up for us from
the very beginning.
They're the most competent,kind humans in the world, at
(07:16):
least in my world.
Kate Jerkens (07:17):
A little quirky.
Sean Knierim (07:18):
Well, yeah, there's some quirk and we bring
that too, but I called you firstgoing, kate, can you just come
and help?
And you showed up.
Your daughter and the two othergirls that Maria met first when
we moved here showed up.
So we're sitting 13 years afterwe show up in town and the
people who showed up for us dayone walked into the Westin at
the LAX.
Kate Jerkens (07:37):
But think about it with your family too.
I think about how Maria andthose girls and all of a sudden,
I mean Maria's barely dried hereyes from losing her house and
now she's like we're going to doa clothing drive, Right.
So there's a lot of that in youas well, and I think there's.
I think our children havelearned a lot from us, and
that's resilience, Right.
Like the ability to be like OK,this really sucks for me, but
(07:59):
it's going to suck for a lot ofother people even more.
So, like, let's just go dosomething.
Sean Knierim (08:02):
And Alan, you were part of that clothing drive.
You saw some of these youngwomen show up.
Allan Marks (08:07):
It was amazing to see them.
You know they're 16, 18.
My daughter's 21, but she, youknow they were the teenagers in
Pali High in particular werejust very.
I was impressed that they werein tune with their own feelings
of trauma and loss.
They weren't denying that.
They were channeling it, though, into being of service.
Kate Jerkens (08:26):
I'm so hopeful for this generation.
Like I, am a huge fan of mychild.
Like and your kid, I mean, ifanyone's going to save us, it's
going to be them.
They don't.
Am I allowed to swear on thisSure?
Yeah they don't take shit fromanyone honestly as of now we are
now a full swearing podcast.
Sean Knierim (08:42):
Thank you, Kate Jerkins, for bringing that to
our audience.
Kate Jerkens (08:49):
You can leave it to me to always drop the first
one.
I'm here for you.
But they don't, and they stickup for what's right and they do
the right thing for the mostpart, and they do stupid stuff
too.
But I think this generation isgoing to.
I have so many hopes for them.
I hope the rest of us can helpthem and give them that
opportunity.
You know what I mean.
This generation.
There's so much hope in thisgeneration, but they also have a
lot of fear because whatthey're seeing around them is
(09:10):
not how they want this world tobe.
Allan Marks (09:12):
So hopefully they can channel that For sure, and
of course I mean they'reformative the last five, ten
years.
They're looking at politicalpolarization.
They're looking at theexistential threats of climate
change.
They live through COVID and youknow the case of the people who
have been harmed by extremeweather events, not just the
fires in LA.
But we look at Asheville, youknow North Carolina, we look at
Gulf.
Coast and, of course, overseas.
(09:33):
It's been a very difficult time.
I read an interesting piecewhere it said look, you know,
we've had these things happen,we had wars and we had the
Spanish flu, and we had thingsin the 18th century and so on,
and they went through this wholelist of stuff and recessions,
but we've never had them allwithin a six year period.
And that for people who are nowin their late teens or early
(09:55):
20s.
That's most of what they knowand that's that's really, really
challenging.
So when I see their hope andtheir real activism, it's really
inspiring.
Kate Jerkens (10:03):
I totally agree.
It's funny you saw the COVIDpiece, I mean five years ago,
like what a different situationwe were in.
I don't even know that we'veall processed it all, but they
lived right through it and hadto come out on the other side
and get back to normal.
Sean Knierim (10:15):
Our girls celebrated birthdays by
drive-bys, as they sat in theirdriveways and we waved and threw
a present, and then you wouldspray it down with something.
Kate Jerkens (10:25):
Wipe it with Clorox bleach, but we're all
still here, we're all stillstanding and I think in a lot of
ways a lot of people are a lotcloser, families are a lot
closer.
Maybe there was a lot of goodthat came out of all that.
I think that's true I thinkabout for my own self.
Growing up, I mean, I didn'tknow really any kind of fear
until 9-11.
And that was in my 20s.
9-11 is like that pivotalmoment for me, that sort of
(10:47):
changed our lifetime right,because that was the first time
on American soil to seesomething like that and it was
just so real and so raw.
But it was in my 20s, peoplewere in their 30s and 40s.
I think our kids haveexperienced so much in just such
a shorter period.
Allan Marks (11:00):
Once I remember I saw to talk about you know in
his generation.
Where were you when PearlHarbor happened and they all
knew, everyone knew and 9-11 wasvery similar and they all had
one formative thing.
Sean Knierim (11:11):
Our kids probably have six.
Kate Jerkens (11:14):
Right, yeah, and COVID was just.
If you're in California, covidwas just this ongoing like
rolling.
Allan Marks (11:21):
I want to come back to something else you mentioned
before, which is community, andbecause one of the things, of
course, is there are a lot offamilies that didn't receive 750
texts right.
There are a lot of people thatare unseen or didn't have the
same social networks or capacity.
What have you?
Both in the Palisades andAltadena?
It was interesting to me.
I was talking to some people ata nonprofit in Hollywood called
Big Sunday and they receiveddonations to help people.
(11:43):
I mean, nonprofits are reallythe link that get us governments
as well, and I think the cityof LA and county of LA, of
course, deserve some credit forhow they responded.
Initially, with some of theservice centers that were set up
A lot of people told me howwell those were run but for a
lot of the nonprofits too, as away for people to channel their
gifts.
Sean Knierim (11:59):
Yes.
Allan Marks (12:00):
And they received donations not just locally.
They got donations with trucksfrom Dallas, texas.
They had donations coming infrom Washington State, I mean
from all over.
People were saying we want tohelp people who have lost their
homes or are evacuated andthreatened.
What have you?
And finding then the outreachto the people that again
otherwise wouldn't have had thehelp, I think was a really
(12:20):
important part of that communitypiece.
Kate Jerkens (12:22):
I'm so proud of Los Angeles.
People love to hate on thiscity, they love to hate on LA
and, yes, all of those trappingsare there.
But boy, do we show up.
Everybody showed up and I wasjust impressed by everybody.
You know businesses and thepeople.
There wasn't a person I wastalking to, especially in that
first week and weekend thatwasn't that weekend out doing
(12:44):
something, right, yeah, what ofmaking meals, gathering clothing
, whatever it was, and I, whowas not affected, like we were
completely fine.
The amount of people I know inmy life that don't live in Los
Angeles that reached out saying,kate, what are we supposed to
do?
And thankfully they did,because most of them were
cleaning out their closets andasking where to send their stuff
and I was like, okay, that'snot helping anymore.
Sean Knierim (13:07):
It was an interesting.
Kate Jerkens (13:08):
Like don't do that .
Sean Knierim (13:09):
As we think about those first couple of weeks,
like I remember my, I waslooking through straws.
I was really focused in on whatam I doing with my family.
Every time someone asked mewhat do you need, it hurt and I
didn't know how to answer it.
Or I tried to answer and ithurt again.
So we channeled all of thoseover to you, to Jackie, to Beth,
to Natalie and some other folksthat were helping us, and you
(13:30):
were looking through the funnelof these offers coming through.
Is there anything you rememberfrom that?
Kate Jerkens (13:42):
Like what were you seeing?
As all those people were comingto you with ideas or questions,
just a huge desire to help,people felt very helpless and
wanted to do anything and Ithink it also shows a lot of
people don't know what to do.
What is help?
You were offered so many placesto stay and we vetted a few and
you know there's so many.
That's for a different time.
But like people wanted to giveyou stuff and I brought you guys
stuff and I also said if youdon't want this, bring it back.
And I appreciate that you guysdid Right, like there was just
(14:03):
people were just giving andgiving and it felt like for you
it was like you couldn't keep upwith all of it.
You know it was.
It was an overwhelm ofgenerosity and your friends and
family and felt like people youhadn't heard from in a minute
were like no, I'm here now.
What are we going to do?
Right, it was just.
It was everybody came out ofthe woodwork and you saw that on
a GoFundMe level or whatever,you could see just the mass of
(14:24):
people coming out to want tohelp.
Sean Knierim (14:25):
You became a conduit to help direct the
things that we couldn't use toothers, and that was a neat
opportunity.
It's like there were a fewpoints where you, like I know
that person got impacted andwhatever came then got
distributed out to everyone elsein the community.
Kate Jerkens (14:40):
And you had, you know, even the links we found to
help find housing that I had on, you know, my kids' soccer
teams.
They had people looking forhousing so I'd been put in touch
with links and then I couldsend them around.
And you guys had a really goodexperience with the Airbnb piece
, right, and so I was able totell people, no, it is working,
(15:02):
like be peace, right.
And so I was able to tellpeople, no, it is working, like
be patient, do it, try it again,you know.
So there was a lot of learningcoming from that and selfishly,
I really I just I said it to youguys the night we all gathered,
but you guys allowing us tocome like it helped me.
Think that's a piece that youhave to understand is there was
no burden.
It didn't.
Nothing felt burdensome.
In fact, it was helpful.
Sean Knierim (15:15):
You're welcome for my mail still being delivered
to your house.
As a matter of fact, katebrought an entire bag of mail.
Despite my best efforts,everyone still thinks I live.
Kate Jerkens (15:25):
It makes us feel popular that we get so much mail
.
Allan Marks (15:27):
But let's talk about Three Months Long for a
second, because we've talkedabout the immediate aftermath
and we've talked about thecommunity outpouring One of the
things that happens and I'vetalked to friends who are from
Hawaii.
My I've talked to friends whoare from Hawaii.
My sister actually lived onMaui for seven years not during
the Lahaina fires but longer agobut still has friends there and
people six months a year aftera disaster, there are still
people displaced.
There are still people thatcan't go back to a home.
(15:48):
There's renters that won't havea place that they can go back
to because that's not going tobe rebuilt and they don't have
the rights to do that.
So they're looking for housingin an already expensive, tight
housing market.
You know GoFundMes are neededand they're strong for a very
short window and then they sortof taper off.
How do you maintain the caringin ways that are constructive
longer term?
Kate Jerkens (16:07):
To be honest with you, I've been thinking about
this a lot and don't feel likeI'm particularly good at the
three month out right, because Ifeel like I live very much in
the now, right now.
I think it's just consistentlythe check in, you know.
I feel with you, Sean, like Ifeel like we kind of had a wrap
up when you invited all of usover to your house, but I don't.
I've checked in with you hereand there because I don't want
you to feel like you've been inband.
(16:27):
You know you guys have beenabandoned and your story is not
over Right.
Like there's still going to bea search for somewhere to live
in the relative near future.
Sean Knierim (16:34):
We just found out today that we're looking for
another place on August 1st.
We've been blessed with a placefor six months, which we got to
share with a number of familiesthat really showed up and
helped.
Both of you were there tocelebrate with us, and it
continues.
It gets quiet after a while.
Kate Jerkens (16:49):
Yeah, and that's something I worry about.
We were just talking about adear friend who's just had a big
emergency and it's like, okay,how do we gather around them but
ensure that they feel supportedfor longer than just that
initial push?
I have another friend who'sgoing through cancer right now
and I delivered food two weeksago.
But I have to remember likethat, that wasn't, that's not,
that's not it, and I thinkthere's that.
We're a very short term, shortsighted society too.
(17:12):
As great as we are as community, we can all show up.
We're not meant to stick toanything for too long.
So we've got to figure that out, I think, myself included.
Sean Knierim (17:19):
I've got a question for you, and this might
be just as hard as what isresilience.
So, kate, you and your familyare extraordinary at supporting
others.
You are so good at being therefor others.
You've your kid shows up for mydaughter all the time.
How are you at accepting helpyourself, like I sucked at it
and you helped me learn how todo it, and a lot of times you
told me Sean, shut up, just letme help.
(17:41):
There was a lot of but for you,there is for many years, but for
you, kate, what have youlearned about yourself, about
accepting help?
Kate Jerkens (17:49):
I think in times of need, I'm okay with it.
Um, I don't know that I'malways clear about it.
I'll be.
I mean, I've I've had severalinstances in the last.
I lost both my parents in thelast six years and in the
moments of them, supporting themwhile they were sick or in
those moments where they weredying, accepting any help or
having anyone around was nothelpful, and I think people
understood that.
It's the days after where Ithink, to be honest, it's not
(18:11):
even about like anyone asking meif I wanted help.
It was just food showed up andthings showed up and my best
friend showed up with all myfavorite foods and stuff.
So I'm good with that.
But I will say to your point,it's always the time a few weeks
after it's kind of like theweek after your wedding where
you're like all these things,where once kind of after a
funeral leading up to a funeral,I think people feel really full
of life and like I can figurethis out and so everyone loved
(18:33):
him or her so much.
And it's the days followingthat everyone kind of goes back
to their normal lives and you'restill stuck in the reality.
That part's really hard.
Sean Knierim (18:41):
I was writing about this on a long flight home
last night, about the friendsthat are showing up now that I
would not have expected.
Not that I wouldn't think theywere kind or generous, but
they're not the people that Iwould have guessed.
That would keep showing up inaddition to the ones that I
would have thought, and it'sinteresting.
Allan Marks (18:58):
Some of that may be because we tend to confuse
strength of relationship withstrength of character.
Sean Knierim (19:02):
We talked about this on another episode.
Some people have gone throughthese and recognize that three,
four months on is exactly thetime to reach out and offer some
strength.
Kate Jerkens (19:12):
I don't think you know before having had these
losses, I don't know that I wasgreat to.
You know I don't have any bestbest best friends that have lost
their parents in the last fewyears.
But I would say, with havingany types of loss, I don't know
that I was great at it, but nowI feel like I get it and I like
to offer help when it comes tovery specific stuff, especially
my mom who had a longAlzheimer's journey.
(19:34):
Like now, I want to give what Ididn't have.
Sean Knierim (19:42):
I didn't have it only because no one, no one else
around me had dealt with itbefore.
I feel like now, if someonegoes through a hard time in my
life, I almost want to set athree-month reminder of I agree
with write them, reach out tothem, send them a text just to,
because you forget it's not overbecause our lives have a way of
keeping.
They keep flowing.
Kate Jerkens (19:56):
Yeah and yeah, and I think it's important with our
kids.
It's like I've noticed thatwith my kids, especially my
middle guy.
It was a few months after mymom and my dad, like where he
kind of was like he had somemoments of maybe acting out or
acting a little differently, andwhen you got down to the core
of it he was just still missingthem and we'd kind of stopped
talking about it.
Allan Marks (20:13):
Right, you know Right, right.
Kate Jerkens (20:14):
That makes sense, and some of the stuff just needs
to keep coming up to thesurface Right, and I think that
I think that's where we're atwith these fires and it's like
such a like having thisconversation right now.
I want to go out and send a fewtext messages and call a few
folks.
Sean Knierim (20:24):
Well, I'd encourage anyone listening to
this.
A text is going to make a bigdifference.
Kate Jerkens (20:30):
Text that says you don't need to respond.
I think that's the other piece.
Like I'm just checking in, justknow that I love you.
Or you know a friend of ourswhose husband's in the hospital
right now.
Like I expect no response, Ijust send her voice messages and
stuff that says I love you andI get a heart back.
I know it's heard, but I don'tneed a response.
It's just like you want peopleto know, just letting people
know that you're there.
You know yeah.
Sean Knierim (20:52):
So, kate, you have a family, our board membering,
our leaders in your communityand everything you guys touch
and you're helping now the restof us that needed your help and
you've got a big job that youalso have to show up for.
Can you talk about thesedifferent layers of who you are?
How are you able to kind ofpush forward professionally
while you're spending so manycalories, you know, raising your
(21:13):
kids and your dog?
Kate Jerkens (21:15):
I don't have enough calories to be honest
with you, this is just one ofthat's enough.
That's almost harder thanresilience.
For me it's, it's just doing,crescendoing towards harder and
harder questions um, I think,first of all, I work from home,
so my office is in my home.
That changed my whole life whenI started working from home in
2015, so it's been nearly 10years.
That changed a lot for me.
I am a really chatty person.
I'm an extrovert by nature.
So, being the office I workedin hospitality for over 15 years
(21:38):
and being in my office andbeing with my team there like I,
those were long days, mostlybecause I made them long, you
know.
I mean, the expectation inhospitality was to be on
property at least 10 hours, butyou're always there longer.
You're entertaining, you weretelling jokes, you were taking
care of guests and all that kindof stuff.
I feel like my work is veryefficient when I work from home
and I feel like the key tosuccess and my CEO, who I we
(21:59):
always joke about, who has thebetter husband, but like but not
in a mean way, more of like no,today it's Alan.
No, today it's Keith.
Like we always have theseconversations.
We have the best partners.
There is no way to do what I dowithout my husband.
There's just there's no way.
And Fawn, my CEO has been Iwill miss quote her but it is
like some of your mostsuccessful, but it is like some
of your most successful, some ofthose successful people have to
(22:20):
do with the partners that theychose in their lives, and I do
believe that that iswholeheartedly a big part of why
I am where I am today and why Ican do.
What I can do is I have apartner that is in it.
Allan Marks (22:26):
Yeah, I like that.
I mean there's zero chance Icould have had my career if it
weren't for my wife.
I mean she just, and how longhave you guys been married, Alan
?
Kate Jerkens (22:41):
A, A long time, 28 years, 28 years, yeah, it makes
a difference.
There has to be somebody thatcan pick it, that can pick up
the pieces, you know, and for welaunched so the chief business
officer for Uncle Neera'sPremium Whiskey.
We launched in 2017, but westarted working on it in 2016.
I'd say the first two years Itraveled hundreds of thousands
of miles.
I was, I was on the road nearlyevery week and we had a one
year old at the time, and thatwould have been impossible
without Alan being willing to doit and having you know, at that
(23:02):
time I also still had myparents who could come and help,
and so there was a lot ofthat's a big life's gotten more
complicated since we lost someof that family help for us, and
that's we've had to lean in oneach other more.
But then, you know, as thathappens, your oldest gets older
and drives now Right.
So now Reese is where I maybedidn't.
She's.
She's a big part of support forus as well right now, and I
(23:22):
don't want to talk about herleaving us in a year and a half,
because it will.
Not only will we just miss herimmensely, but it's a dynamic in
our you know, in our house thatwe'll miss so much.
Allan Marks (23:31):
So good for her though.
Kate Jerkens (23:33):
She'll miss you too, but still yeah you too, but
still, yeah, she'll barely missand I want her to go far and
like go live her life.
Allan Marks (23:39):
Yeah, there's something to be said for that
independence discovery.
Kate Jerkens (23:42):
Yeah, and I know she'll take no prisoners, so I'm
not worried about her.
Sean Knierim (23:51):
So the other night I'm sitting at dinner I came
home late after a work eventInto the kitchen, walks your
daughter and just sits down andstarts talking to me as though
she's an adult, asking she is anadult, right?
She's taller than I am, soshe's more adult than I am in
terms of height.
And she just starts asking mequestions and how am I doing?
And she asked about the tattoo.
She wanted to see it.
And then she starts askingabout all this stuff and it's
extraordinary.
So, as you talk about the hope,seeing these kids like the way
(24:12):
that you've raised your daughterand that you've helped raise
ours really helps me with someof that hope.
We talked a lot about kind ofthis near-end community and our
individual selves.
But, kate, as you think aboutwhat we've learned from the
fires, what we learned fromCOVID, what we're seeing around
the world, how is resiliencelike?
What do we need to do as awider community, not just the
people we know or that we'redirectly connected to, but the
(24:35):
rest of Los Angeles?
You talked about being proud ofthis area, anything we learned
in the last few months that wemight want to hold on to in the
coming years.
Kate Jerkens (24:43):
Truly just like pure kindness and a smile and a
hello, and how are you?
And talking to people.
I felt like when the fires werehappening it was sort of this
like open mic night everywherewe went, where you could be in
line at the grocery store andjust have a conversation with
somebody, or the checker.
You had something to talk about.
Then I find some of that goesaway and I catch myself like I'm
listening to a podcast whileI'm shopping at Whole Foods and
(25:04):
I haven't talked to the checkerwhat I like.
But you know, during the firesor when things are happening,
you're like, how are you doing?
Allan Marks (25:12):
Has it been crazy here?
Are you?
You know like there was others,Are you?
Kate Jerkens (25:14):
evacuated, you know, and I think we just all
have to just continue to wrapeach other around with kindness
and patience.
It's so hard right now becausethis country and even the
community are so dividedpolitically and with all these
things, and it feels likeeveryone's trying to rile us up
all the time.
Keep unrialed and just likepractice, like literal, everyday
kindness, like less honking ofyour horn, you know like why are
(25:35):
you in so much of a hurry?
Allan Marks (25:36):
Well, it's not just that, it's also the goodwill of
assuming the other person youknow benefit of the doubt is
doing the best they can, asopposed to the cynicism of
assuming that they're not.
Kate Jerkens (25:45):
Like what if that person is just like having a bad
day?
Or what if they just lost theirparent and their driving and
maybe they shouldn't be, butthey aren't paying attention or
you know, so they didn't hit,they didn't hit the gas quick
enough on the green light.
Like why are we in so much of ahurry?
You know, maybe that give thema minute.
Sean Knierim (25:59):
And Alan, that that point you made, I think, is
really powerful.
If we can assume that the otherpeople are doing their best, no
matter whether it's theabsolute best they can do, the
best they can do right now, thenthat kind of opens the door for
curiosity.
Allan Marks (26:13):
It does, and I'll also point out I mean I don't
actually think I'm very good atthat.
I think I wish I were.
Sean Knierim (26:23):
When are you better, when are you better at
that?
Or do you think during the weekthere are times that you are
better or worse at assuming thebest in others?
Allan Marks (26:27):
It kind of depends on how I'm reacting to what I
feel are stressors, demands,professional or otherwise.
If I feel like I'm doing a goodjob, being responsive, then I'm
probably a lot likely to bemore tolerant of others, and if
I'm not happy with myself and myperceived shortcomings of
responsiveness, then that'sprobably the times that I'm less
patient with others.
Sean Knierim (26:45):
Oh, my gosh, my inbox right now after the fires.
I really resonate with whatyou're saying.
Allan Marks (26:50):
Yeah, because, remember, you wanted to respond
to everybody right away and youcouldn't.
Sean Knierim (26:53):
Yeah.
Allan Marks (26:53):
It just just not time and that does impact, then
that does raise the cortisol.
It, you know, it makes thatthat.
You know, if we that emotionalquotient harder, it just makes
it harder to balance ourselvesand then be able to be available
to balance others.
Sean Knierim (27:07):
And then how long are you able to give yourself
grace, or accept grace or giveit to others Like is it three
months after the fires, is itsix months, is it 36 days?
Allan Marks (27:17):
Well, that's the difference between something
which is temporary and somethingwhich is transformative.
Sean Knierim (27:21):
And I actually do.
Allan Marks (27:22):
Well.
I do think, actually, if youlook at, if you look at
collective, communal responsesto a natural disaster that can
have there's always the fingerpointing, of course, the blame
of you know this that Somebodyshould have done better.
Usually it's the government.
People like to do that becauseit's sort of removed from them.
I would say it's interesting.
There was an ecologist that Iheard speaking at UCLA who made
a very good point.
(27:43):
He said it is true that climatechange contributed to this
right and extreme weather eventsand you know their severity.
They're somewhat unpredictablewhen they're going to happen,
but when they do, they're goingto be worse and there'll be more
of them.
You know, we can see that andwe can look at the strength of
these winds, we can look at thisdryness of the soil, the fact
that this fire occurred duringwhat is not usually the typical
fire season, no-transcript, ahuman desire.
(28:22):
People want to go back to theway it was.
By the same token, if you'redesigning things systemically
and you're looking at, you knowthis is a naturally fire prone
region for millennia.
But if you look at, adding onto that land use choices and
climate effects, building backthe way it exactly was would be
a mistake.
So then there's equity justice,property planning issues, all
of which come into play.
Sean Knierim (28:43):
With humans involved, like it's not a
separation between that humanpersonal piece and the systemic
design that you're talking about.
Allan Marks (28:51):
And to bring it back.
That's where this idea of therebeing maybe a longer runway for
a community to realize we'reall in this together and to have
sympathy and empathy for thepeople who have lost their
businesses and lost theirproperty, lost their homes, lost
the memories that go with that,but then to do it in a way
where this doesn't keeprecurring, because we don't want
, every five years or every twoyears or every ten years, for
more families to go through thesame thing.
And there are other parts ofSouthern California, not just
(29:14):
Altadena and Pasadena, or theWoolsey Fire area from six years
ago, what have you.
There are other areas that aregoing to be prone to this, and
so what can we do now to preventthings like that?
Given the nature of the builtenvironment, that's really
interesting and, I think, goodopportunity for people to
collaborate on communalsolutions, because we are all in
this together.
Kate Jerkens (29:34):
It's going to just take time, and I think that's
something that a lot of us don'thave is the patience for it.
You can't just go and rebuildand redo where we were at, I
mean visually.
When I think about the fires, Ithink about people trying to
get out of that community, andthat's just the scariest thing
People with busloads of kids andthings like that.
So it's like there's so muchthat needs to be figured out
before that community iscomplete.
Allan Marks (29:52):
So you mentioned a minute ago cars, burnt out cars
and one of the reasons images ofafter fires like this are so
poignant is the ones that havethe burnt out cars seem to
attract a disproportionateamount of attention Because they
beg these questions Well, whathappened to the people whose car
that was?
Well, where are they?
Did they get out?
Why is that car there and whyis it burnt out?
Kate Jerkens (30:14):
It's all powerful right, though, too, there's
something about them it's like,yeah, they're also an extension
of our personality.
They are right, an abandonedcar an abandoned one like
there's a huge story behind it.
Sean Knierim (30:22):
It's always middle of sunset and what I find in
some of the stories I tell topeople that want to hear what it
was like in the palisades.
There's this one story of ayoung woman that maria's a
soccer team with that we're at.
I'm actually hoping we'll get achance to talk to her on the
podcast.
She went back to her house byherself an 18 year old young
woman to save her bunny to packher go bag and she took a left
(30:44):
on Sunset instead of a right togo down to Mescal and she had to
leave her car on the side ofthe street.
When Maria and I drove back toour house Maria goes, that's her
car, so she pointed it out.
It was still on the side.
She had to get out of her carfour miles away from where she
thought her mom was and I thinkthis is the story and ran down
as the fires were comingdirectly towards that part of
(31:05):
sunset and she was going bypeople who were getting out of
their nice cars that were in anice home, right.
She was getting by the peoplewho were pushing their elderly
uncle in a wheelchair.
There were nannies and therewere gardeners and there were
people who owned the houses thismass of humanity going down the
hill as fire was coming afterthem, and each one of them have
a really neat story.
So that would be.
Allan Marks (31:26):
That would actually be kind of a neat story.
Kate Jerkens (31:28):
I would talk to the teachers.
I can't get over the elementaryschools.
I can't get over those.
And there's stories about Ithink it was Marquez that that
day the principal and assistantprincipal had been asked to be
at a meeting that wasn't oncampus, so they weren't there
and children on all thosecampuses saw more than you could
imagine from what I understand,and a lot of people on those
campuses had to make decisionsabout people's children very
(31:50):
quickly, and almost everythingthat I've heard from all of
these various elementary schoolsthe way the teachers reacted,
the way other people likeparents reacted I mean there's
nothing scarier than having toget little kids we're talking
these are kindergartners fouryear olds, five year olds, up to
you know, 11 year olds,panicking brothers and sisters
trying to find each other andgetting them out of the
Palisades safely, like givingparents enough time to get there
(32:10):
and then finally saying nope,this isn't working anymore,
we're putting them in buses orwe're walking them out.
Sean Knierim (32:15):
You guys keep tracking where we're going
Marquez, St Matthews were righton that Bienvenida strip where
the fire came directly down thehill.
Kate Jerkens (32:21):
I mean just, it's an actual miracle that all those
teachers kept all those kids sosafe and got them back to their
parents and there's no storiesof not like that and now those
teachers are figuring out how toteach those kids in different
environments.
Sean Knierim (32:35):
Yeah, and they're really doing an extraordinary
job in my assessment, I agree.
Allan Marks (32:40):
So, kate, what makes you most optimistic and
hopeful now?
Kate Jerkens (32:43):
I think back to our kids For me also, just some
of the people I surround myselfwith, my friends and even my
coworkers.
I just feel really upliftedfrom them and a lot of found
family that I have now.
You know it's a weird thing.
I'm 45.
I'm not young and I'm not old.
I'm right in the middle to nothave my parents any longer.
Those are people that I wouldcall to brag about my kids or to
(33:04):
ask advice from, and so I'vehad to really Find those people
for myself, and I have, and Ithink the people I've surrounded
by myself with they make meoptimistic and I feel very
fulfilled by those relationshipsand it's every day.
It's with the people I workwith, it's with my kids.
It's with people like Sean andhis family and I love my kids'
friends too, you know like intheir families.
Sean Knierim (33:27):
If you're looking at the broad, broad picture and
looking at things I know this isnot a political podcast, but
you know it's not easy to, soit's really about the people
you're surrounding yourself withon a daily basis and try not to
(33:48):
be, you know, too close with ortaking up too much in from the
doomsdayers, because that's justnot helpful right now.
Kate Jerkens (33:51):
I don't know if you saw this, but as you were
talking especially about yourparents, like tear just started
coming down my own ears yeah,your tears can come from
wherever you live.
Sean Knierim (33:54):
They come from lots of.
They're squeaking out all over.
I hear your pain, so we gavethe opportunity for that.
Kate, I'm optimistic because Iget to be in a world where you
are raising kids like what youhave.
Thank you for being here withus on this podcast.
Kate Jerkens (34:09):
Yeah, amen, I'm going to go call my friends now.
Allan Marks (34:13):
Check on your friends guys.
Kate, thank you so much.
Thank you Really appreciate it,so fun.
Sean Knierim (34:15):
This has been another episode of Shared Ground
, a podcast about resilience andcommunity.
Allan Marks (34:21):
Follow us on your favorite platform or learn more
at sharedgroundcom.
Sean Knierim (34:26):
That's shared-groundcom.
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