May 9, 2025 • 19 mins
Jennifer Lawson is the President and CEO of Keep America Beautiful, a nonprofit focused on community beautification and environmental education. She holds a degree in Philosophy and Mathematics from the University of Virginia which then helped her jump start her career in community development and affordable housing advocacy in Northern Virginia. She previously led social change initiatives at Points of Light and the Make an Impact campaign at the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's rich from John Jaye rich On this CEO as
you should know. It's my pleasure to introduce Jennifer Lawson,
the President and CEO of Keep America Beautiful. This national
nonprofit is dedicated to inspiring and educating communities to improve
and beautify their environments through green and clean ways. Jennifer
graduated from the University of Virginia studying philosophy and mathematics,
(00:20):
which helped her then start her career with advocating affordable
housing and community development in Northern Virginia. Throughout her journey
of helping others, Jennifer has gained lots of experience in
leading programs to achieve social change through action, such as
Chief Civic Innovation Officer at Points of Light, executive sponsor
of Listen Learn Act to End Racism, and an advisor
(00:41):
to the National Trust for Civic Infrastructure. She also led
Make an Impact, a global campaign focused on energy efficiency
and environmental awareness with some of the nation's largest companies.
Join me in welcoming Jennifer Lawson, a remarkable advocate with
unwavering commitment to making a positive impact on communities and
the environment.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
So I'm a military brat, so where I am from
is a little bit of everywhere. My dad was in
the Air Force and we traveled around a lot and
ended up in the DC area in the late sixties,
so I call that home. I went to school there
and off to the University of Virginia after that.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
So I know that nonprofits have been a big part
of your life and you've done some amazing things. And
of course we're here to talk about keep America Beautiful,
what you've been in charge of as PRESIDENCYO for three
years now. But I always love to give people in
our serious context about you know, what did you want
to do coming out of school? Why did you get
into the industry that you did? So as you were
coming out of school, what did you want to do?
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Yeah, if you can think back, it was when mad
Men was the hottest TV show.
Speaker 4 (01:46):
Love that show.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
I was good with the words and good with the numbers,
so I thought advertising might be a great place for me,
and in fact it really was. And the story comes
all the way back around. But I had an opportunity
during that time to work with some of our clients
on the social side of what they were doing, so
(02:10):
how they connected to community. And so this is back
in the late eighties and early nineties and corporate social
responsibility and social impact as.
Speaker 5 (02:19):
Being centered in the business.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
These were concepts that really didn't exist quite yet, but
you had CEOs and organizations that were very passionate about
engaging in their community. And I was lucky enough to
start to thread that needle of how you go from
how the business interacts with its community and what that
means moving forward.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
So your resume is absolutely amazing. You've done so many
different things here, and I'm always interested in why people
join a certain company and what draws them to And
as I see Keep America Beautiful, I can see why
they were interested in you and all that you've done,
But why did you want to join them?
Speaker 5 (02:57):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (02:58):
You know, it was one of those opportunities I didn't
go looking for and I was approached by a.
Speaker 5 (03:05):
Recruiter.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
And do you ever have the moment where you look
at a job description or you look at an opportunity
and you think, oh, of course me right, So you
say it started in advertising, and the history of Keep
America Beautiful is really rooted in our nationally known advertising, right,
(03:27):
like the organization started with the crying Indian and inviting
Americans to pick up litter and give a hoot, don't pollute.
Speaker 5 (03:36):
And woe the woodpecker.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
The narrative of Keep America Beautiful is really rooted in
that advertising story. And then my career also took this
deep engagement in community and affordable housing and then the environment,
And so this job is really how do all of
those things come together. Volunteerism, community engagement, environment and issues
(04:01):
around the environment and climate change, and then of course
the iconic advertising. So it was a no brainer from
the beginning for me.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
And I can relate on a seventies latch key kid,
so I know exactly what you're talking about when it
comes to the marketing back in.
Speaker 4 (04:15):
The old days.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
With all that said, let's do this. Let's give people
a little context. But what exactly you do? But before
we get into specifics, I do want to talk about
mission and vision.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
What is that for Keep America Beautiful?
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Yeah, we believe that everyone deserves to live in a clean,
healthy and beautiful community. And for us, that means engaging
people in opportunities to help clean up their.
Speaker 5 (04:42):
Community, to make decisions.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
About how and where work needs to be done in
their community, to improve recycling rates, to improve education around
the importance of not littering, and then the whole green
side of the equation, which for us is about treat
planting and flowers and the power of beauty to really
(05:04):
drive improve health, drive action, and really help people get
inspired and to love where they live, which is very
very important to us.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Well, I love that, and you're starting to talk about it.
But if you were to give somebody a thirty thousand
foot view by what Keep America does and what you execute,
what would you tell them exactly what you do?
Speaker 5 (05:26):
Yeah, We through.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
A network of seven hundred and fifty affiliates across the country,
we help communities manage litter in their towns. We organize
volunteers for litter cleanups, We host recycling events, We provide
recycling education, litter education, and then we help plant trees
(05:49):
and flowers in parks and oftentimes in private streets and areas.
Responding to disasters from coast to coast, So that includes
litter cleanups along the oceans, includes cigarette litter prevention programs
because cigarette butts are not biodegradable, they are plastic, and
(06:09):
so we work very hard to get this most littered
item up and off the ground.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
So I'm not going to make any assumptions, but I'm
going to guess there are a lot of moving parts
in what you do with your team, and there's so
many different kinds of events and programs that you do.
What's it look like behind the scenes, behind the curtain
for a week as CEO and president of Keep America Beautiful?
Speaker 4 (06:29):
What does a week look like to you?
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Yeah, Well, it's a nonprofit, so there's about a third
of my week that's spent talking to donors and potential
donors about our vision in programs. Right, So pretty much
like a for profit CEO, your job is to inspire
people and raise the money. It's just who you raise
it from that might be a little bit different. So
certainly I spend about a third of my time on that.
(06:54):
Spend a third of my time, I think with our
affiliate network, hearing about the great work that's happening, finding
opportunities for partnership and working with them.
Speaker 5 (07:04):
To solve problems. And then you.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Know, I think there's how do you play with partners
in the field, So working with our corporate partners, Keep
America Beautiful is about eighty five ninety percent funded through
corporate partnerships, and so we work with those partners, you know,
some really big brands to get their employees out volunteering
to help solve challenges that they and their products have
(07:30):
with litter as well.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
So tell me a little bit about some of the
programs you have. Of course, you have the Great American Cleanup,
you have America Recycles Day, You've got Retreat, and then
you've got the Cigarette Litter Prevention Program. Can you talk
a little bit about each?
Speaker 5 (07:45):
Sure? Sure?
Speaker 2 (07:46):
So the Cigarette Litter Prevention Program is a partnership with
some of the tobacco companies to get cigarette butts off
the ground. You can right away if you're a business,
or there are other granting programs that actually set up
recycling centers for your cigarette butts. You can outside a
(08:08):
bar or something restaurant. You can put that cigarette butt
into the can. When that can is full, the company
organization neighborhood sends it off to our partners at TerraCycle,
who turn those cigarette cigarette butts into things like park benches.
Dollywood is one of our partners in this program, so
in their smoking section you put your cigarette butts. They
(08:31):
get shipped off to TerraCycle and New park benches come
back to Dollywood.
Speaker 5 (08:36):
It's a great love that.
Speaker 4 (08:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
The Retreat Program is a very special initiative that helps
communities recover both their treat canopy but also their community
relationships after disaster. So very often after a tornado and
we always or the wildfires or hurricanes, after the blue
tarps are off the houses and so the community is
(09:01):
starting to stabilize and rebuild, we work with community leaders
to replant tree canopy that's been lost. Unlike the local
governments that can only plant on government land or land
owned by school systems or something like that, we can
work with local neighborhoods to plant on privately held and
(09:24):
maintain land to replant tree canopy. And it's a two
year process that engages the volunteers, prepares for the planning,
and then keeps the volunteer engaged for about eighteen months.
And we don't plant those little tiny stub trees. We're
planning two year old saplings so that there is strength
and high levels of survivability of the trees that we plant.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
Jenny, I don't know if there are specific statistics that
you can talk about, and I won't hold you anything,
but I'm always being a sports guy, I'm always comparing
this person and that person and those stats of that
status when it comes to what we do. Hear you
and your team and getting everything going with all your programs.
How do we compare with the rest of the world
out there of what everybody's doing and trying to clean
everything up.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Yeah, you know, it's a mixed message, frankly. Right, there
are government initiatives happening in the EU and in other
other you know, multinational partnerships around the country that are
making great strides at policy level changes. There is opportunity
(10:31):
always for that level of policy change, you know. Here
in the US, I think nothing compares to the ability
for American citizens to get out in their communities, to
clean up litter, to care about their communities in ways
that we know from our research that bridge political and
(10:53):
social divides. This is something all of Americans can agree on.
Ninety percent think litter is a problem in their community
and they can do something about it. And so I
think nothing compares to what can happen when Americans put
their minds together, get out and volunteer and really take.
Speaker 5 (11:12):
Action in their local communities.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
As you know, Jenny, we talked to a lot of
president CEOs and entrepreneurs and leaders in this series about challenges,
and I know that for profits have their set of challenges.
I try to explain to our listeners when you're running
a nonprofit, it's how much harder because fundraising and there's
just so many moving parts to what you do. But
what that said, beside fundraising, what kind of current challenges
present themselves to you and your team currently?
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Yeah, you know, I think it is such a noisy
world right now. There are so many issues and challenges
coming to us from so many different directions.
Speaker 5 (11:48):
And finding a way to get.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Our message out in a way that's relevant and to
engage people. We have, as I said, this research that
we do with the folks at Harris Polls, and we
know from the latest survey that people are lonely. But
people also think that accomplishing something in their community, like
getting out and beautifying a local park, sounds like a
(12:14):
refreshing break. The data says eighty percent respondents thought that
this was a true statement.
Speaker 5 (12:20):
So there is noise, but there's.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Also a solution, and so it's how do we get
our solution out there?
Speaker 5 (12:26):
How do we say, go volunteer, get involved?
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Locally, whether it's picking up litter or cleaning up a park,
planting some trees, those things can help you and they
can help your community.
Speaker 5 (12:40):
At a very high level.
Speaker 3 (12:41):
Yeah, and that's well said. And I think what you're
talking about also acts of kindness. I don't think we.
Speaker 4 (12:45):
See a lot of those two things. So that would
be great, wouldn't it.
Speaker 5 (12:48):
Yeah, absolutely right.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Keep America Beautiful is an optimistic endeavor in a time
when we really need these things.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
So I want to talk about maybe great story. And
I imagine in the three years that you've been president
and CEO, that you've seen handfuls of really amazing things.
And I know that once again I reiterate running a
nonprofit is very hard work and it's just relentless and
then the fundraising and all the other things that go
with it. With that said, there's always things that you know,
this is why we get up every day something special happens.
(13:19):
Do you have a story in the three years that
you've been there that was really special to you and
this is why we kind of get up kind of
story for us?
Speaker 2 (13:26):
Yeah, you know, I think it comes out of Keep
Indianapolis Beautiful, which is one of our affiliates and they
have an amazing tree planning program in partnership with the
City of Indianapolis.
Speaker 5 (13:41):
They do a.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Lot of what we call brown space to green space,
so taking empty lots, cleaning those up, turning them into
pocket parts, or taking more abandoned parts and improving them.
We know that it has a positive impact on reducing
heat levels, temperature in those neighborhoods, improving the mental health
(14:03):
of the neighbors who live around those spaces. But in
research that Indianapolis did with the University of Michigan, we
saw a twelve percent reduction in gun violence and assault.
Speaker 4 (14:15):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (14:16):
That's huge, It's huge.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Yeah, twelve percent reduction is as good as any gun
violence prevention program that's out.
Speaker 5 (14:24):
There right now. Yeah, and you get all the tree benefits. Right.
So you want to talk about what makes you get
up in the morning.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Little did I know I was going to be talking
about strategies to fight gun violence.
Speaker 4 (14:35):
Wow, that is fantastic. I appreciate you sharing that.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
I did want to ask you about leadership and if
you can indulge us because there's a lot of future
entrepreneurs and leaders that listen to the series beside current CEOs.
And presidents, And I want to ask you about leadership
because without any assumptions, I imagine there's just a lot
of different people that you have to work with and agencies.
We talked about the fundraising, and it's probably always fluid
(14:58):
for you all the time with all the different people
and the messages and communication when it comes to leadership
in your job. And I know it's specific to your journey, Jenny,
but maybe just some leadership advice for all the people
that are listening out there.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
It's a great question, and I am forever looking for
advice from.
Speaker 5 (15:15):
Others, and that may be what I.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Focus on, which is, don't go the journey alone. Find
your posse, find folks who you trust and trust them,
reach out and be collaborative, seek advice from many sources,
and then at the end of the day, don't be
afraid to make.
Speaker 5 (15:39):
The decision right.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
I think I collect a lot of information, but I'm
also willing to make the decision. I think sometimes you
can contemplate to a point where you are you lose
the moment to be really effective. You wait too long
to make a decision, and the outcome from your decis
and changes not by the work at hand, but because
(16:03):
of the delay, so you know, get your advice and
then be willing to make a decision. You're not always
going to be right. You're going to have to correct,
but that's what the process is. For lately, I've been
following a lot, you know, the whole Vuka world and
now they're talking about for AI anyways, that the flux world,
(16:26):
which is decision making right now, is fast, it's liquid,
there's a lot of uncertainty, and it requires a lot
of experimentation, and I think that is exactly how we're
approaching sort of strategy and decision making in the short
run is being able to act quickly because your finances.
Speaker 5 (16:46):
Are in order, your messaging is an order.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
You know that where you're going, so that you can
be more nimble in response to just a very rapidly
changing environment right now.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
Well, that's really well said, and that is a great
say way for me of asking you about the future,
because I know that you and your team always looking
about what's next. So if it's next year, the next
couple of years, or a five year plan when it
comes to keep America beautiful, what are you looking forward
to and what are you working on?
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Yeah, so right now, we are in the middle of
what we call the Greatest American Cleanup, which is an
invitation to every American to help us pick up twenty
five billion pieces of litter twenty five pieces of time.
So all you have to do is go out pick
up the litter. Hashtag us at Greatest twenty five you'll
be a part of it. iHeart is actually one of
(17:33):
our partners in that initiative, and we're really grateful for that.
But as we move forward beyond to what to I say, so,
what's happening on July fifth, twenty twenty six, right because
this is all about getting ready for that big anniversary.
Speaker 5 (17:46):
What does the next day look like?
Speaker 2 (17:48):
And the conversation we're having is how much of what
we do is still relevant and essential to communities?
Speaker 5 (17:55):
And then where do you go from there?
Speaker 2 (17:57):
And I very much want to get back to being
an advertiser for Mother Nature. So how do we get
back in the business and as complex as it is
to be a communicator these days, how do we get
back in the business of being that number one voice
for Mother Nature?
Speaker 4 (18:15):
Understanding? Well, let's do this.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
I've really enjoyed the conversation, but I do want to
get some final thoughts from you and kind of recap
what we've talked about.
Speaker 4 (18:21):
Jenny, So the floor is yours. Go ahead.
Speaker 5 (18:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
I think that in this day people are lonely and anxious,
and there are solutions. Getting out in community, re engaging
with neighbors and friends and colleagues to do something active
and practical is an active optimism right now that all
of us could use. So one I invite people to
(18:47):
get engaged. I also think that things are going to
change pretty quickly right now, and being a nimble, flexible
leader in this moment is I think we'll serve all
of us very very well, and we are grateful to
continue to be a partner with business across America.
Speaker 5 (19:12):
Keeping America Beautiful is something worth.
Speaker 4 (19:14):
Doing, outstanding and well said.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
So let's give the website and if there's any social
media also, our listeners can follow you on. Let's give
that information everybody.
Speaker 5 (19:23):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
You can learn more about Keep America Beautiful at www
dot kab dot org and you can find all our
social channels there. We're across all the normal platforms and
we welcome your engagement and join us please for the
greatest American cleanup.
Speaker 3 (19:41):
Super well, Jenny, thank you so much for your valuable time.
Continue success to you and your team, and thank you
so much. I'm glad we could feature you on CEOs.
You should know, Dennis, thanks so much.
It's rich from John Jaye rich On this CEO as
you should know. It's my pleasure to introduce Jennifer Lawson,
the President and CEO of Keep America Beautiful. This national
nonprofit is dedicated to inspiring and educating communities to improve
and beautify their environments through green and clean ways. Jennifer
graduated from the University of Virginia studying philosophy and mathematics,
(00:20):
which helped her then start her career with advocating affordable
housing and community development in Northern Virginia. Throughout her journey
of helping others, Jennifer has gained lots of experience in
leading programs to achieve social change through action, such as
Chief Civic Innovation Officer at Points of Light, executive sponsor
of Listen Learn Act to End Racism, and an advisor
(00:41):
to the National Trust for Civic Infrastructure. She also led
Make an Impact, a global campaign focused on energy efficiency
and environmental awareness with some of the nation's largest companies.
Join me in welcoming Jennifer Lawson, a remarkable advocate with
unwavering commitment to making a positive impact on communities and
the environment.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
So I'm a military brat, so where I am from
is a little bit of everywhere. My dad was in
the Air Force and we traveled around a lot and
ended up in the DC area in the late sixties,
so I call that home. I went to school there
and off to the University of Virginia after that.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
So I know that nonprofits have been a big part
of your life and you've done some amazing things. And
of course we're here to talk about keep America Beautiful,
what you've been in charge of as PRESIDENCYO for three
years now. But I always love to give people in
our serious context about you know, what did you want
to do coming out of school? Why did you get
into the industry that you did? So as you were
coming out of school, what did you want to do?
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Yeah, if you can think back, it was when mad
Men was the hottest TV show.
Speaker 4 (01:46):
Love that show.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
I was good with the words and good with the numbers,
so I thought advertising might be a great place for me,
and in fact it really was. And the story comes
all the way back around. But I had an opportunity
during that time to work with some of our clients
on the social side of what they were doing, so
(02:10):
how they connected to community. And so this is back
in the late eighties and early nineties and corporate social
responsibility and social impact as.
Speaker 5 (02:19):
Being centered in the business.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
These were concepts that really didn't exist quite yet, but
you had CEOs and organizations that were very passionate about
engaging in their community. And I was lucky enough to
start to thread that needle of how you go from
how the business interacts with its community and what that
means moving forward.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
So your resume is absolutely amazing. You've done so many
different things here, and I'm always interested in why people
join a certain company and what draws them to And
as I see Keep America Beautiful, I can see why
they were interested in you and all that you've done,
But why did you want to join them?
Speaker 5 (02:57):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (02:58):
You know, it was one of those opportunities I didn't
go looking for and I was approached by a.
Speaker 5 (03:05):
Recruiter.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
And do you ever have the moment where you look
at a job description or you look at an opportunity
and you think, oh, of course me right, So you
say it started in advertising, and the history of Keep
America Beautiful is really rooted in our nationally known advertising, right,
(03:27):
like the organization started with the crying Indian and inviting
Americans to pick up litter and give a hoot, don't pollute.
Speaker 5 (03:36):
And woe the woodpecker.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
The narrative of Keep America Beautiful is really rooted in
that advertising story. And then my career also took this
deep engagement in community and affordable housing and then the environment,
And so this job is really how do all of
those things come together. Volunteerism, community engagement, environment and issues
(04:01):
around the environment and climate change, and then of course
the iconic advertising. So it was a no brainer from
the beginning for me.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
And I can relate on a seventies latch key kid,
so I know exactly what you're talking about when it
comes to the marketing back in.
Speaker 4 (04:15):
The old days.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
With all that said, let's do this. Let's give people
a little context. But what exactly you do? But before
we get into specifics, I do want to talk about
mission and vision.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
What is that for Keep America Beautiful?
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Yeah, we believe that everyone deserves to live in a clean,
healthy and beautiful community. And for us, that means engaging
people in opportunities to help clean up their.
Speaker 5 (04:42):
Community, to make decisions.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
About how and where work needs to be done in
their community, to improve recycling rates, to improve education around
the importance of not littering, and then the whole green
side of the equation, which for us is about treat
planting and flowers and the power of beauty to really
(05:04):
drive improve health, drive action, and really help people get
inspired and to love where they live, which is very
very important to us.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Well, I love that, and you're starting to talk about it.
But if you were to give somebody a thirty thousand
foot view by what Keep America does and what you execute,
what would you tell them exactly what you do?
Speaker 5 (05:26):
Yeah, We through.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
A network of seven hundred and fifty affiliates across the country,
we help communities manage litter in their towns. We organize
volunteers for litter cleanups, We host recycling events, We provide
recycling education, litter education, and then we help plant trees
(05:49):
and flowers in parks and oftentimes in private streets and areas.
Responding to disasters from coast to coast, So that includes
litter cleanups along the oceans, includes cigarette litter prevention programs
because cigarette butts are not biodegradable, they are plastic, and
(06:09):
so we work very hard to get this most littered
item up and off the ground.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
So I'm not going to make any assumptions, but I'm
going to guess there are a lot of moving parts
in what you do with your team, and there's so
many different kinds of events and programs that you do.
What's it look like behind the scenes, behind the curtain
for a week as CEO and president of Keep America Beautiful?
Speaker 4 (06:29):
What does a week look like to you?
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Yeah, Well, it's a nonprofit, so there's about a third
of my week that's spent talking to donors and potential
donors about our vision in programs. Right, So pretty much
like a for profit CEO, your job is to inspire
people and raise the money. It's just who you raise
it from that might be a little bit different. So
certainly I spend about a third of my time on that.
(06:54):
Spend a third of my time, I think with our
affiliate network, hearing about the great work that's happening, finding
opportunities for partnership and working with them.
Speaker 5 (07:04):
To solve problems. And then you.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Know, I think there's how do you play with partners
in the field, So working with our corporate partners, Keep
America Beautiful is about eighty five ninety percent funded through
corporate partnerships, and so we work with those partners, you know,
some really big brands to get their employees out volunteering
to help solve challenges that they and their products have
(07:30):
with litter as well.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
So tell me a little bit about some of the
programs you have. Of course, you have the Great American Cleanup,
you have America Recycles Day, You've got Retreat, and then
you've got the Cigarette Litter Prevention Program. Can you talk
a little bit about each?
Speaker 5 (07:45):
Sure? Sure?
Speaker 2 (07:46):
So the Cigarette Litter Prevention Program is a partnership with
some of the tobacco companies to get cigarette butts off
the ground. You can right away if you're a business,
or there are other granting programs that actually set up
recycling centers for your cigarette butts. You can outside a
(08:08):
bar or something restaurant. You can put that cigarette butt
into the can. When that can is full, the company
organization neighborhood sends it off to our partners at TerraCycle,
who turn those cigarette cigarette butts into things like park benches.
Dollywood is one of our partners in this program, so
in their smoking section you put your cigarette butts. They
(08:31):
get shipped off to TerraCycle and New park benches come
back to Dollywood.
Speaker 5 (08:36):
It's a great love that.
Speaker 4 (08:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
The Retreat Program is a very special initiative that helps
communities recover both their treat canopy but also their community
relationships after disaster. So very often after a tornado and
we always or the wildfires or hurricanes, after the blue
tarps are off the houses and so the community is
(09:01):
starting to stabilize and rebuild, we work with community leaders
to replant tree canopy that's been lost. Unlike the local
governments that can only plant on government land or land
owned by school systems or something like that, we can
work with local neighborhoods to plant on privately held and
(09:24):
maintain land to replant tree canopy. And it's a two
year process that engages the volunteers, prepares for the planning,
and then keeps the volunteer engaged for about eighteen months.
And we don't plant those little tiny stub trees. We're
planning two year old saplings so that there is strength
and high levels of survivability of the trees that we plant.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
Jenny, I don't know if there are specific statistics that
you can talk about, and I won't hold you anything,
but I'm always being a sports guy, I'm always comparing
this person and that person and those stats of that
status when it comes to what we do. Hear you
and your team and getting everything going with all your programs.
How do we compare with the rest of the world
out there of what everybody's doing and trying to clean
everything up.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Yeah, you know, it's a mixed message, frankly. Right, there
are government initiatives happening in the EU and in other
other you know, multinational partnerships around the country that are
making great strides at policy level changes. There is opportunity
(10:31):
always for that level of policy change, you know. Here
in the US, I think nothing compares to the ability
for American citizens to get out in their communities, to
clean up litter, to care about their communities in ways
that we know from our research that bridge political and
(10:53):
social divides. This is something all of Americans can agree on.
Ninety percent think litter is a problem in their community
and they can do something about it. And so I
think nothing compares to what can happen when Americans put
their minds together, get out and volunteer and really take.
Speaker 5 (11:12):
Action in their local communities.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
As you know, Jenny, we talked to a lot of
president CEOs and entrepreneurs and leaders in this series about challenges,
and I know that for profits have their set of challenges.
I try to explain to our listeners when you're running
a nonprofit, it's how much harder because fundraising and there's
just so many moving parts to what you do. But
what that said, beside fundraising, what kind of current challenges
present themselves to you and your team currently?
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Yeah, you know, I think it is such a noisy
world right now. There are so many issues and challenges
coming to us from so many different directions.
Speaker 5 (11:48):
And finding a way to get.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Our message out in a way that's relevant and to
engage people. We have, as I said, this research that
we do with the folks at Harris Polls, and we
know from the latest survey that people are lonely. But
people also think that accomplishing something in their community, like
getting out and beautifying a local park, sounds like a
(12:14):
refreshing break. The data says eighty percent respondents thought that
this was a true statement.
Speaker 5 (12:20):
So there is noise, but there's.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Also a solution, and so it's how do we get
our solution out there?
Speaker 5 (12:26):
How do we say, go volunteer, get involved?
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Locally, whether it's picking up litter or cleaning up a park,
planting some trees, those things can help you and they
can help your community.
Speaker 5 (12:40):
At a very high level.
Speaker 3 (12:41):
Yeah, and that's well said. And I think what you're
talking about also acts of kindness. I don't think we.
Speaker 4 (12:45):
See a lot of those two things. So that would
be great, wouldn't it.
Speaker 5 (12:48):
Yeah, absolutely right.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Keep America Beautiful is an optimistic endeavor in a time
when we really need these things.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
So I want to talk about maybe great story. And
I imagine in the three years that you've been president
and CEO, that you've seen handfuls of really amazing things.
And I know that once again I reiterate running a
nonprofit is very hard work and it's just relentless and
then the fundraising and all the other things that go
with it. With that said, there's always things that you know,
this is why we get up every day something special happens.
(13:19):
Do you have a story in the three years that
you've been there that was really special to you and
this is why we kind of get up kind of
story for us?
Speaker 2 (13:26):
Yeah, you know, I think it comes out of Keep
Indianapolis Beautiful, which is one of our affiliates and they
have an amazing tree planning program in partnership with the
City of Indianapolis.
Speaker 5 (13:41):
They do a.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Lot of what we call brown space to green space,
so taking empty lots, cleaning those up, turning them into
pocket parts, or taking more abandoned parts and improving them.
We know that it has a positive impact on reducing
heat levels, temperature in those neighborhoods, improving the mental health
(14:03):
of the neighbors who live around those spaces. But in
research that Indianapolis did with the University of Michigan, we
saw a twelve percent reduction in gun violence and assault.
Speaker 4 (14:15):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (14:16):
That's huge, It's huge.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Yeah, twelve percent reduction is as good as any gun
violence prevention program that's out.
Speaker 5 (14:24):
There right now. Yeah, and you get all the tree benefits. Right.
So you want to talk about what makes you get
up in the morning.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Little did I know I was going to be talking
about strategies to fight gun violence.
Speaker 4 (14:35):
Wow, that is fantastic. I appreciate you sharing that.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
I did want to ask you about leadership and if
you can indulge us because there's a lot of future
entrepreneurs and leaders that listen to the series beside current CEOs.
And presidents, And I want to ask you about leadership
because without any assumptions, I imagine there's just a lot
of different people that you have to work with and agencies.
We talked about the fundraising, and it's probably always fluid
(14:58):
for you all the time with all the different people
and the messages and communication when it comes to leadership
in your job. And I know it's specific to your journey, Jenny,
but maybe just some leadership advice for all the people
that are listening out there.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
It's a great question, and I am forever looking for
advice from.
Speaker 5 (15:15):
Others, and that may be what I.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Focus on, which is, don't go the journey alone. Find
your posse, find folks who you trust and trust them,
reach out and be collaborative, seek advice from many sources,
and then at the end of the day, don't be
afraid to make.
Speaker 5 (15:39):
The decision right.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
I think I collect a lot of information, but I'm
also willing to make the decision. I think sometimes you
can contemplate to a point where you are you lose
the moment to be really effective. You wait too long
to make a decision, and the outcome from your decis
and changes not by the work at hand, but because
(16:03):
of the delay, so you know, get your advice and
then be willing to make a decision. You're not always
going to be right. You're going to have to correct,
but that's what the process is. For lately, I've been
following a lot, you know, the whole Vuka world and
now they're talking about for AI anyways, that the flux world,
(16:26):
which is decision making right now, is fast, it's liquid,
there's a lot of uncertainty, and it requires a lot
of experimentation, and I think that is exactly how we're
approaching sort of strategy and decision making in the short
run is being able to act quickly because your finances.
Speaker 5 (16:46):
Are in order, your messaging is an order.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
You know that where you're going, so that you can
be more nimble in response to just a very rapidly
changing environment right now.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
Well, that's really well said, and that is a great
say way for me of asking you about the future,
because I know that you and your team always looking
about what's next. So if it's next year, the next
couple of years, or a five year plan when it
comes to keep America beautiful, what are you looking forward
to and what are you working on?
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Yeah, so right now, we are in the middle of
what we call the Greatest American Cleanup, which is an
invitation to every American to help us pick up twenty
five billion pieces of litter twenty five pieces of time.
So all you have to do is go out pick
up the litter. Hashtag us at Greatest twenty five you'll
be a part of it. iHeart is actually one of
(17:33):
our partners in that initiative, and we're really grateful for that.
But as we move forward beyond to what to I say, so,
what's happening on July fifth, twenty twenty six, right because
this is all about getting ready for that big anniversary.
Speaker 5 (17:46):
What does the next day look like?
Speaker 2 (17:48):
And the conversation we're having is how much of what
we do is still relevant and essential to communities?
Speaker 5 (17:55):
And then where do you go from there?
Speaker 2 (17:57):
And I very much want to get back to being
an advertiser for Mother Nature. So how do we get
back in the business and as complex as it is
to be a communicator these days, how do we get
back in the business of being that number one voice
for Mother Nature?
Speaker 4 (18:15):
Understanding? Well, let's do this.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
I've really enjoyed the conversation, but I do want to
get some final thoughts from you and kind of recap
what we've talked about.
Speaker 4 (18:21):
Jenny, So the floor is yours. Go ahead.
Speaker 5 (18:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
I think that in this day people are lonely and anxious,
and there are solutions. Getting out in community, re engaging
with neighbors and friends and colleagues to do something active
and practical is an active optimism right now that all
of us could use. So one I invite people to
(18:47):
get engaged. I also think that things are going to
change pretty quickly right now, and being a nimble, flexible
leader in this moment is I think we'll serve all
of us very very well, and we are grateful to
continue to be a partner with business across America.
Speaker 5 (19:12):
Keeping America Beautiful is something worth.
Speaker 4 (19:14):
Doing, outstanding and well said.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
So let's give the website and if there's any social
media also, our listeners can follow you on. Let's give
that information everybody.
Speaker 5 (19:23):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
You can learn more about Keep America Beautiful at www
dot kab dot org and you can find all our
social channels there. We're across all the normal platforms and
we welcome your engagement and join us please for the
greatest American cleanup.
Speaker 3 (19:41):
Super well, Jenny, thank you so much for your valuable time.
Continue success to you and your team, and thank you
so much. I'm glad we could feature you on CEOs.
You should know, Dennis, thanks so much.
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