S1, E95: Liddy Huntsman

Liddy Huntsman brings a unique perspective to Salt Lake City politics as she transitions from comedy stages to the campaign trail. In this captivating conversation, she opens up about growing up as the self-proclaimed "black sheep" of the politically prominent Huntsman family, sharing hilarious stories of hosting High School Musical dancers at the Governor's mansion and navigating life in the public eye.

After fleeing Utah to pursue comedy in New York and working at Saturday Night Live, Liddy's journey took unexpected turns through Washington D.C. and the Dominican Republic before the magnetic pull of Salt Lake City brought her home. "Salt Lake City is the black sheep of Utah," she explains, "and to understand a black sheep, you really have to understand what makes them a black sheep." This insight fuels her passion for building bridges in a city experiencing tremendous growth and change.

At the heart of Liddy's campaign for City Council is her commitment to addressing mental health challenges in the community. Having been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age seven, she brings personal understanding to discussions about chronic conditions and mental wellbeing. Her late-night research of police scanner calls revealed a startling statistic: 40% of 911 calls are mental health-related. This discovery sparked her mission to create better systems connecting law enforcement with mental health resources.

Liddy's approach to community building centers on authentic connection – bringing diverse lived experiences to leadership positions and creating spaces where people feel truly understood. Her vision for Salt Lake City acknowledges both its challenges and potential, embracing the uniqueness that makes it special. As she puts it, "I know what it has been, I know what it can be, and I want to be a part of that process."

Ready to hear more about Liddy's plans for Salt Lake City? Follow her campaign at electliddy.com and join the conversation about building a more connected, compassionate community where everyone feels they belong.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Long story short.
I ended up in New York workingfor Saturday Night Live.
I said I want to do the bottomof the bottom of the bottom of
the job.
My husband's Dominican, so welive down in the Dominican
Republic and I did a lot of workwith diabetes organizations
down there.
You know the biggest problem inUtah with mental health, the
biggest population thatstruggles with it are

(00:21):
middle-aged white men in ruralareas.
I'm on to something Like we'vegot to figure out this mental
health situation.
That's everywhere.
It's not just in Utah, becauseI believe Salt Lake City is the
black sheep of Utah.
To understand a black sheep,you really have to understand
what makes them a black sheep.

Speaker 2 (00:35):
What is up everybody and welcome back to another
episode of the Small Lake CityPodcast.
I'm your host, Eric Nielsen, andthis week's guest is Liddy
Huntsman, the daughter of theonce Utah governor, once
ambassador to China andpresidential candidate, John
Huntsman Jr.
Now Liddy is her ownself-coined black sheep of the
Huntsman family, growing up here, moving to New York to pursue

(00:57):
comedy, eventually joining SNL,getting married before moving
back to Salt Lake.
Now Liddy is someone who's seenand loved this city for so long
and is finally wanting to takeit into her hands and also fall
into the family business ofpolitics.
Now she's starting with localcommunity, especially around the
area that she grew up, to helpmake it better and make this
city a better place.

(01:17):
But great conversation with her.
She's someone I've known for awhile.
She was one of my sister's bestfriends in high school, so
always someone that I saw around, but not someone I got to
interact with a lot.
So great conversation with us,Definitely one you're going to
enjoy and hear more about how wecan make Salt Lake a better
place.

Speaker 1 (01:35):
I was just about to say it's okay, it's Friday, but
it's actually Monday.
So there we go, that's, not themost depressing phrase I've
heard of today.
I know it's definitely been themost Monday of Mondays.

Speaker 2 (01:45):
Well, because there's even a long weekend for me
because I had it was actuallykind of fun.
We had Visit Salt Lake throughthis content creator conference
on Friday, Cool, and so I waslike I'll take off work for my
side work.

Speaker 1 (01:57):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:58):
And it was fun because, like I mean A, to be
completely honest, like Iusually hate going to those
things, yeah.
Because it's usually peoplelike I don't know, just like an
energy I don't necessarily love.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And but thankfully one of myfriends that I partner in a lot
of content with Jordan Schmidt.
We've kind of realized like,okay, we both go to these things
, we at least we have one otherplace.
Yeah exactly no-transcriptExactly, and so it's fun, like

(02:32):
we talked about that, talkedabout some of the opportunities
for content creators.

Speaker 1 (02:35):
Were you with Ryan.
Is Ryan Mack?

Speaker 2 (02:37):
Wasn't he doing business at Salt Lake, which is
going to be Into three randomlike friends of siblings or
friends from like East Highspecifically.
Yeah, Okay.
So yeah, so Ryan.

Speaker 1 (02:49):
Mack was there, yeah.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
Because Ryan Mack, like six months ago, dms me on
Instagram.
He's like hey, man, loveeverything you've been building.
Yeah, you probably don'tremember Like, of course I
remember.
Yeah, like, yeah.
And so, which is wild, because,like, like, I also think, and
we'll come back to that in a secyeah, so I see, dms me and says
let's do this, we're havingthis thing.
Would you like to come?
I do, and I seem like dude, Ican't.
I don't think I've seen yousince, like after my mission.

(03:11):
Oh, yeah, I got home like 14years ago.
Yeah, yeah, so it's fun to seehim.
Which was so last week I hadsomeone text me, I mean from a
number I didn't have.
I was like hey, by the way,this is John Craycroft.
I don't know if you know me orremember me, but our moms used
to work together.
Your brother's my friend.
Like, yeah, I mean, that'sunique enough of a name and

(03:32):
Parker Craycroft is good enoughof a friend of mine.

Speaker 1 (03:34):
I'm like yeah, yeah, I remember, and I, of course, I
remember.

Speaker 2 (03:42):
And my memory is a blessing and a curse, like I can
remember everyone, everythinggood and the bad and the ugly.
But so I'm like yeah, of courseno.
Parker, like let's hop on acall.
So he talks about everythingthat his wife's doing, which is
amazing.
We're going to record pretty,uh, pretty soon.
And so it's kind of like wild.
Like I texted my sister who'sworks in medicine, cause usually

(04:09):
if someone comes to me it'slike oh, and be on the podcast,
yeah, let's workshop with this.
A couple people first.
Yeah, yeah, and I was like Ijust talked to, uh, john and
melinda craigcroft, she's like,or melissa craig, anyway, we'll
figure it out.

Speaker 1 (04:12):
Um do you?
Think that'd be good.
She's like oh absolutely yeah.

Speaker 2 (04:12):
So that was that one.
And then, and then you dm me.
I was like, hey, oh, my gosh,I'm running for office.
Yeah, well, the podcast will be.
I'm like, yes, because there'sa lot of things I do want to
talk to you about, because it'slike it was like a very unique
and niche experience in highschool Having, like John is one
of my really good friends, whilehis dad's the governor, living
in the governor's mansion.
Yeah, a lot of confused pizzadrivers.

Speaker 1 (04:33):
A lot of confused pizza drivers, a lot of confused
friends.
Every time someone would belike, what's your address?
603 East South Temple.
And they're like, all right,we'll be there.
And then they're like we'reoutside this government building
.
I'm like, yes, that's my house,come on in.

Speaker 2 (04:47):
Come on in, the highway patrolman will stop you.
He will open up the gate.
He will say your name.

Speaker 1 (04:51):
They will do a whole pat down everything.
But it's fine, come on in,we're having a great time.
We had a great Well.
Yeah, it was so fun If theWiles could talk in that house.

Speaker 2 (05:04):
When it's wild, because, like even just when,
because I can't remember if theytook out the bowling alley
before you guys moved in.

Speaker 1 (05:09):
Yeah, they did Okay, or else we would have destroyed
it.
Yes, in a good way, right yeah?

Speaker 2 (05:13):
Because I always remember, because we would
always go downstairs becausethat's where John's room was,
yeah, and he have like a TVgoing and was always playing
Travis, patrona, something ordirt bike, always, always.
And it was just so funnybecause, like I remember,
there's probably at least twodances where I mean again, like
the typical Utah, you have yourbefore activity, you have a
dance and your after activity myfavorite were the after
activities there yes yeah, yeah,I have a crazy story too about

(05:38):
when we lived in the governor'smansion.

Speaker 1 (05:39):
This is so relatable, let me just tell you, by the
way, just kidding.
Well, we went to east andthat's when High School Musical
was filming the first one, and acouple of like my friends got
to know some of like the backupdancers.
And let me know if you need topause.

Speaker 2 (05:58):
Just turn it on Focus .
All right, we're going to dothat.
What's happening?
No, we're good.

Speaker 1 (06:04):
But we met some of the backup dancers and I'm like,
oh, you guys should come have adance party at the governor's
mansion, right, thinking I wasso cool.
Whatever, my friends, this isbefore the movie came out, so
nobody, it did not blow up.
They're like, oh, a Disneymovie, and Disney movies are
filmed here all the time, so itwasn't a big deal, and so I
invited.
You know, all my friends Onlyfriend still to this day that

(06:24):
shows up is Alicia too.
I love her, and Tanner, butAlicia shows up.
All my other friends were likeoh, you know, what are you guys
doing?
I'm like I don't know, thesepeople are going to come over
and do a dance party.
Well, all my friends ditched meand I sat there with Alicia up
in the ballroom in thegovernor's mansion while they
did the entire high schoolmusical.
It was Troy, gabriella, all ofthem.

(06:45):
They did the entire.
My parents came home from anevent and they're like what the
hell is going on?
The house is shaking right Likethe whole high school musical,
you know, dance, like it was awhole performance.
And I'm sitting there and I'mlike I just invited them over to
like come and jam, or like youknow, and they literally did the
entire high school musicaldance for me.
I was like, well, it was veryinteresting.

(07:07):
But yes, that was aninteresting time in my life and
the governor's mansion had a lotof really interesting events.
I feel like like that,especially for our age group,
like my brother, and yeah, a lotof dances, a lot of sneaking
out, a lot of you know things Ican't talk about in public.

Speaker 2 (07:25):
But all good, um, but no, but it was also fun because
you were my stepsister beckycannon, one of her really good
friends in high school we'velaid basketball together exactly
yep, and so I was very excitedthat you reached out.
I think we had like one.
I was looking back at ourmessage history.
There was some other time thatyou'd reached out or replied to
something stupid that I posted.
But okay, because I'm excited,because it's like it's, it's fun

(07:47):
to see how, because, again,john, good friend of mine, yeah,
he went up to the pacificnorthwest after school.
Yep, I went with the pacificnorthwest after school.
Okay, so we actually never metup just because of kind of where
he was and I was.
He was on would be.

Speaker 1 (07:59):
I was down in seattle yeah, it was kind of very far,
very, very close, but farExactly.
Yes, it's a drive.

Speaker 2 (08:04):
And so he's like one, because he's he's still down in
Vegas.

Speaker 1 (08:07):
They just moved back up to would be oh yeah, I'm
trying to recruit him to comeback here after he's done with
flying jets and all that.
So we'll see.
I don't know, Fingers crossedRight and everyone either died
or left.
So you know, here I am.

Speaker 2 (08:22):
Insulting.

Speaker 1 (08:23):
Sorry, I'm very dark with my humor, but you know,
it's how I cope, but yeah, soyeah, I'm trying to recruit now
family to come back because Ilove Salt Lake.

Speaker 2 (08:32):
Yeah, yeah, and I'm the same way.
I left and saw everybody leaveand then all of a sudden all of
us came back.
So be like listen.
I still kind of need like alittle bit more time.

Speaker 1 (08:43):
I actually had a lot of people when I moved back here
.
They were like, oh my gosh,you're like you're moving back
to Salt Lake or whatever, andI'm like, why would I not this?
When you have experienced otherplaces, when you've been
stripped of your communityfamiliarity, things like that,
you come back to Salt Lake andyou're like I'm never leaving.
Like I'm never leaving.
This is the greatest place inthe world and I will always say

(09:04):
that to everyone I talk to.
But that's really why I'm likeback here, because I can't
imagine being anywhere else.
Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 (09:11):
And like, and it's fun too because, like, there's
been so many random parts ofyour family that have showed up
in my life at random times.
There's a lot of us.
Like I remember it was in eighthgrade, seventh or eighth grade
grade, seventh grade, in betweenthose probably.
But like one of my best friends, brad weaver, got me back into
tennis because I played when Iwas younger before the four
douglas with the jcc and that'swhen my parents would drop me
out there and be like listen,have fun, we'll be back.
And so I got back into it andsure enough there's.

(09:33):
I mean, we were probably likethe younger people there and, lo
and behold, one person was likehey, my name's abby, nice to
meet you.
Oh yeah.
So I was like hi, ab, my name'sEric.
And then he, as high school,came around.
I was like wait a minute.
You're like, wait, you're myold tennis friends.

Speaker 1 (09:46):
Yeah, he's like how are you, john?
Oh yeah, she was our tennisstar at East.
Yeah, such a small world.

Speaker 2 (09:52):
And then one memory I have and then we can get into
the fun stuff.
But I remember it was yourdad's going away party before,
or did I just cut?

Speaker 1 (10:01):
out yes, no, yeah, in 2009,.
I was in college, but that'swhen they left Utah.

Speaker 2 (10:06):
And so I get an invitation from John.
He's like hey, we're having ago-away party, like come show up
, and I don't realize it's likethe family going away party.
I think I was just John.
So I show up in like rippedjean shorts, like a blazer and
some sort of stupid shirtunderneath, and I walked in and
I was like oh no.

Speaker 1 (10:22):
Oh, no, I love it.

Speaker 2 (10:23):
But I'll never forget your dad Because you're like
Eric, like thanks for coming,yeah.
Looks me up.
He's like good to have you.

Speaker 1 (10:28):
Hey, he would have been offended if you wore
anything nicer than that.
So you know what.

Speaker 2 (10:38):
You're always good with us with ripped jeans.
I mean, like your dad and hiswhole aspect of him.

Speaker 1 (10:42):
Oh, yes, yes, of course, and I.
It's funny because when they'rein town they're always getting
stopped and they're like, ohyeah, we went to Highland
together.
Everything is Highland,highland, highland.
My mom still tells me about hertragic trauma, cheerleading
stories that haunt her, and I'mlike, oh my gosh, highland.

Speaker 2 (11:05):
I mean I went to because I know the main thing
that you're up to right now ismaking the decision to run for
office, and city councilespecially.
I can't remember the number,but downtown Salt Lake, district
three, district three, that'sright.
Someone actually texted me theother day who is a councilwoman.
She's like how do you feelabout your council person?
And I was like who is my?
It's you right?

(11:25):
She's like no, I'm like then Idon't know.
But yeah, but because I knowthat you've been I mean
obviously just your life ingeneral has been surrounded by
politics and entrenched in theworld of it but kind of want to
go back to even like those earlylike I mean not even early
necessarily, but like highschool memories of kind of like
how, when was like the firsttime that you realized like, oh,
politics is a part of my lifeand I have a seat at something

(11:45):
that most people don't?

Speaker 1 (11:48):
You know, I don't think I thought about that until
recently.

Speaker 2 (11:52):
OK.

Speaker 1 (11:53):
Because I was.
I was really, and I guess stillam we never go away, but I'm
really the black sheep of myfamily and so my trajectory of
life has been very differentthan a lot of my siblings, um,
where I was like you know what,no one.
I love humor.
I love the way that peopleconnect through humor and
teaching through humor.

(12:13):
And so I said, you know, I wantto get into comedy.
And I said no one in my familywould ever stoop that low to get
into comedy, stand-up comedy.
So you know, I was like no onewill want me in politics, no one
will want to do any, I'll justdo, you know, have my own voice
through comedy.
And that's kind of where Iwanted to find my own voice.
But I guess now comedy ispolitics so here I am.

Speaker 2 (12:35):
Yeah, that Venn diagram just keeps getting right
.
I'm late, I just can't help it.

Speaker 1 (12:39):
I'm just passionate and I'm vocal and I'll ask the
questions that nobody wants toask, and I'm happy to do one.
I'm happy, and I'll ask thequestions that nobody wants to
ask and I'm happy to do one.

Speaker 2 (12:46):
I'm happy to take one for the team.
Yeah, I mean, I also love thatlike kind of part of life, that
or not life.
But like the world we're in,where we kind of went through
these like late 2010s whereeverything had to be perfectly
curated, everything had to bebeautiful, and you open up
Instagram and everything isamazing and blah, blah, blah,
blah blah.
But now we've reached this timeof life, whether it's just what

(13:07):
the world has done to us.

Speaker 1 (13:09):
Well, it's rare to have authenticity.
Yes, and I think people arecraving authenticity and real
connection, and I think that'swhere you see a lot of the
issues that we're dealing with,and not just in Salt Lake City,
but I think in our country.
It's the lack of connection,right, authenticity and I think
social media plays a lot intothat of how we should be looking
, especially in Utah.

(13:29):
Women here, especially, have alot of things that we feel like
we have to keep up with.
Yeah, perfectionism.

Speaker 2 (13:37):
Yeah, it's entrenched in the culture and I mean it's
a physical representation, it'san easily identifiable physical
representation of that.

Speaker 1 (13:45):
Yes, yes.

Speaker 2 (13:46):
Because, like even with I mean I hate to talk about
good old Love Island, but likewhen Love Love Island, when
Vanna comes on and they're like21 years old, from Utah, you're
like I mean yeah, yeah, but youknow, what's so crazy is that I
was telling someone today.

Speaker 1 (14:00):
I was like, if you want to really understand the
heart of Utah, which I believeis Salt Lake City, it is Salt
Lake City.
I identify so much with SaltLake City because I believe Salt
Lake City is the black sheep ofUtah and if you to understand a
black sheep, you really have tounderstand what makes them a
black sheep, right, like thebackground of it and the culture

(14:20):
and the things and theexperiences.
And I think that Salt Lake Cityis the black sheep of Utah and
it's kind of always been thatway.
And that's why I find it sofascinating here in Salt Lake,
because I identify as being ablack sheep and beating to my
own drum but also having thatstrong community sense which is
so special about Salt Lake.

(14:41):
I mean, we haven't seen eachother in so long but we still
have like a connection becausewe are part of this bigger
community here.
That I think it's what life isall about.
And I think when you travel,when you, when you grow and
mature, right, you think of,like, what are the things that
mean the most to me?
For me it's communityfamiliarity, like where do I
belong?
Right, and everything haspointed back to Salt Lake City,

(15:04):
because this is where I'm from.
I'm born and raised here.
Right, I left, I fled the nest,I got to learn a little bit,
but now I'm raising my two boyshere, so, which has been really
fun.

Speaker 2 (15:15):
Exciting.
I totally get it too, because Iwas the same person that I mean
, I was definitely the blacksheep of my family, yeah, with
my family, yeah, and all Iwanted to do was leave, which
ironically, ended up in amission in Washington and then
came back and then left, live inSeattle for a few years, but
then came back.
Even then I was like I justdon't know, still I don't want
to buy a house, I want to dothis, and like I mean, lived in
a van for six months, 36 statessix months later, and I was like

(15:37):
I'm actually very excited to gohome now.
Yeah, because I can see, yeah,just all the life experiences.
Again.
Like I always joke that I'm aSalt Lake citizen, I'm not a
Utahan, because the further Iget away from Salt Lake, I'm
like love this for you, but likemy people are kind of back
there.

Speaker 1 (15:53):
Yeah, I don't go past 24 South, so yeah.

Speaker 2 (15:56):
Yeah, me and you both .

Speaker 1 (15:59):
Try not to no, I'm just kidding no-transcript.

Speaker 2 (16:31):
So my girlfriend's very involved in the running
community, okay, so I've beengoing to run clubs, I've been
going to like all of thesedifferent things, and it's wild
because I introduced myself likeoh, where are you from?
Like from here, like wait, likereally, like where, like yeah,
like salt, like there, and thenthere yeah, and like no way,
like we never meet anybody itwas never happened.

Speaker 1 (16:47):
We're like creatures that like are I don't know.
We need to get out more, Iguess yeah, we're also dying.

Speaker 2 (16:53):
Uh, so you lean into the black sheep of the family
like I'm going into comedy,whether you guys like it or not.
Yeah, I mean, what did thatlook like?
I mean, did you go?
I mean new york, one of the?
I was in New York, ok, and somy comedy.

Speaker 1 (17:05):
So when my dad ran for president in 2012.
Yeah, 2012.
Right when I was graduatingfrom college, right when Twitter
came out and I've always beenvery into, like, new tech and
more storytelling, and so Ithought what is the way?
Because I think politics, Ijust think it's so lame.
Right, like, how do you getsomeone who has no business

(17:26):
being in politics interested inpolitics?
Because, as Americans, we allneed to be involved in politics.
But it's how do you like tellthat story?
So I use the medium of Twitterand I started John 2012 Girls,
which was three my two oldersisters and myself.

Speaker 2 (17:40):
That's right, I forgot who it is already.

Speaker 1 (17:45):
But I was the one that was, you know, behind the
scenes and you know said alittle something about Mitt
Romney.
The next day I'm on the TodayShow.
I'm like, oh shit, Like Iprobably should like do so.
I need to like go be in acloset or something, I don't
know.
Anyway, so, going through this,we got, like you know, and then
we did the smoking video.
So back in 2012, there was thisbig smoking commercial of Herman

(18:06):
Cain's campaign manager wherehe was smoking a cigarette and
he blew it in front of thecamera and it was like this very
dramatic.
It was like one of these.
You're like this is a parody,Like this is not a real.
So I was like I'm obsessed withSaturday Night Live.
So I was like we have to make aparody of this commercial, Like
we have got to make a parody.
You guys, we have to do it.
My sister's like absolutely not, Absolutely not.

(18:28):
I was like I'm gonna write thescript, let's go.
And we ended up doing it andthat's kind of what set us kind
of going and kind of made us Idon't know storytelling
throughout the campaign.
But I was in that point.
I just graduated college.
I knew I was always funny.
I acted since I was little, butI was always like the fat girl

(18:49):
in the corner making all thejokes.
That's kind of how I framedmyself.
How kind of other people.
It was just the funny girl.
I didn't realize you could makea living off of comedy.
Like I had no idea, right, itwas like oh, comedy, you can
actually do that.
So after my dad's campaign Iactually moved back here to Salt
Lake and I started doing radiowith Jim DeBacchus, who was a

(19:10):
former senator here, and I lovetalking current events, but also
, like I was missing that humor,Right, Long story short.
I ended up in New York workingfor Saturday Night Live.
I was able to get an internship.
I said I want to do the bottomof the bottom of the bottom of

(19:30):
the jobs because I want tofigure out what I want to do and
I want to.
This is when I was 23.
So, like the world is youroyster, yeah, Like I don't care,
I'll do anything.
So I was like so I went andworked on this film that Colin
Jost was doing on his live,called Staten Island Summer.
Do not look it up on Netflix,Just kidding, Do it because my
name's on it, but it's reallyfunny.

(19:51):
It's kind of like a super bad,but it was Colin Jost who is at
Saturday Night Live.
It was about his summer beforehe went to Harvard at like the
swim club.

Speaker 2 (19:59):
And so so I remember his autobiography.

Speaker 1 (20:02):
Yeah, so, so I remember his autobiography.
Yeah, so, like it was filmed athis childhood house and like,
so I like lived in Staten Island.
I was, you know, basicallybusing.

Speaker 2 (20:09):
We really did put you at the bottom of the bus.

Speaker 1 (20:10):
Oh, I loved it.
You do a city to Staten Island Iremember they sent me to Staten
Island and I was like someone Igot in Texas.
They're like do you know how todrive a box car or a box cut
With a truck?
Yeah, a box truck, yeah, a boxtruck, yeah, yeah, and I'm a
really good driver.
And so I'm like, yeah, ofcourse.
And then, like I went to pickit up and I was like I cannot
drive this Are you kidding me InNew York City, I'm not doing

(20:33):
this yeah, so I had to do likebottom didn't think I was
talented enough to go on stage.
So I was like maybe I'll go inlike the producing route.
So that's kind of how thathappened.

(20:57):
And then, you know, life happens.
I met my husband and gotpregnant very fast and got
married and started a life withhim and we eventually ended up
in New York City and that'swhere I went to comedy school
and then I ended up going toimprov school and that's where I
went to comedy school and thenI ended up going to improv
school.
So for four years while we wereliving there, I was going from
dive bar to dive bar doing openmics and stand up and loved it.
It's like such a part of me andI've done it at Wise Guys and I

(21:17):
love you know.
But you know, utah is a littleobviously a smaller network of
people.
In the comedy scene, I mean Iknew everybody in New York
because it's a smaller network,um, of people.
And the comedy scene I mean Iknew everybody in new york, um,
because it's a smaller scene andyou're literally just bar
hopping every week, which Iloved, um.
But I really I think comedy forme it's like a way to teach
people things without you know,I don't know.
I like teaching, that's what Ido.

(21:39):
So then I went and got mymaster's in digital storytelling
because I love telling storiesand I think that people need to
probably get better atstorytelling, because that's, I
think, a big part of how youshare a message, how you connect
with people.
My big thing is connection.
Like we lack connection, right.
So I worked for a company whereI focused on friendships, so I

(22:00):
studied friendships.
What makes a friendship?
Why are people friends?
Right, and for me, somebodycame to me and said, hey, let's
target moms to be friends and Isaid, ok, but just because
you're a mom doesn't mean Igoing to be best friends.

(22:21):
Right, and so I think that it'slike but you have to get deeper
into why people connect.
And so I was diagnosed withtype 1 diabetes when I was seven
and I've been a huge advocatein the type 1 diabetes space,
but more for mental health.
Because when you deal with achronic illness, when you deal
with any issue right whetheryou've gone through a divorce,
whether you've gone throughcancer, whatever it is when you

(22:44):
meet somebody that has gonethrough the exact same thing as
you, you feel this like peace.
You feel this like connectionthat you don't have to explain
and that is so powerful.
I think it's the most powerfulemotion that anyone and I share
this story all the time.
So when I was in the DominicanRepublic my husband's Dominican,
so we lived down in theDominican Republic and I did a

(23:05):
lot of work with diabetesorganizations down there I went
to this little meeting.
It was in this like dirt, noelectricity, building Went in.
My Spanish was not great at thetime and I sat there in a group
of families in the DR agingfrom like two years old up to
high school, and every kid inthere had type one diabetes.

(23:27):
And I got up and I startedcrying and I had to, like, leave
the room and the CEO was likeor the head of the organization
was like are you okay?
What's going on?
I was like I may not understandwhat they're saying, but I hear
them, like I know what they're.
So it's like when you'veexperienced that type of
connection, it just makes youmore passionate to have other

(23:47):
people experience that type ofconnection, because I think
that's really what heals, and sofor me that's kind of
storytelling comedy.
I think that you know, comedyis a great way to share, like.
For me, comedy is a way for meto have my own voice and to
share my story the way that Iwant to.
I don't want other people toshare my story, I wanted myself

(24:10):
to tell it and so, yeah, that'skind of I don't know.

Speaker 2 (24:14):
I could talk all day about comedy and different
things, yeah, same, because Ilove, because comedy is a way of
just like disarming people ingeneral's, like she's like like
wine and dine them, get them allready, and then you're like, by
the way, bam, emotional punch,bam, he had a cool message, bam,
whatever it could be.
Yeah, and like I even rememberI mean one of my favorite um uh
comedy sketch well, not comedysketches, stand-up, uh routines

(24:35):
of all time is killing himsoftly by dave chappelle.
Yes, and it's wild because likeI mean, he talks a lot in there
about like police, yeah, andthen I remember, like, as police
brutality became a lot morevalid later in life, I was like
wait a minute, we've beentalking about this for a long
time.

Speaker 1 (24:49):
See, I think Chappelle is one of my favorite
comedians because he brings inlike current events and I my
favorite type of that's.
My favorite time of comedy iswhen you're able to talk about
current events real, real issuesin a way that people can
understand it and it'slight-hearted, right, because a
lot of the times everyone no onewants to talk about serious

(25:09):
things.
So how do you take a serioussubject and make a light-hearted
?
And that's why I love um on snlwhen they do the news and
current events, because it'slike, yeah, that would have been
my dream job, because I'm aconnoisseur of current events,
love current current events.
Could talk about anything,current events, love it.
But I think comedy is a way tomake it lighthearted and I like

(25:29):
that type of news because newsgets so dark and, yeah, I just
think we need more comedy, weneed more humor in the world and
if I can help people get moreinvolved in comedy, yeah, I love
it.

Speaker 2 (25:42):
Yeah, we got to get you to do open mic because, like
here's, the thing about me islike you meet a lot of people
and they're like oh, I'm scaredof public speaking, scared of
audiences.
No, yeah, give me a mic, I'lltalk about something.
As long as you don't turn itoff, I'll keep going.
Even turn it off, I'll probablystart yelling anyway, um, I
feel my most alive on stage and,um, I'm more of like an
introvert.

Speaker 1 (26:03):
I do very well like one-on-one and, but I do the
best on stage, which is reallypeople are like.
I find that so interesting thatyou feel most confident on
stage but may have more anxietyin like social spaces, right or
with a lot of people, and I knowI just feel free and I feel
like it's a nonjudgmental zoneand so I love comedy because
it's like get up, I say it's anaa meeting, but no one is sober.

(26:25):
Yes, that's what an open mic is, and I love it because
everyone's up there trying theirbest, putting themselves out
there and really what comedy is?
it's people's insecurities,things that make them
uncomfortable, is how they copewith it and how they talk about
it oh yeah so that's how, likefor me, I talk a lot about like
my upbringing, right, or beingmarried to someone from another

(26:46):
country and a different culture,right, and things that were
harder for me to kind of, youknow, go through Like I was,
like you know what I'm going toput comedy in and just make it
and heal it and like I just,yeah, that's kind of how to like
champion it as well yeahbecause, like, if you can laugh
at another, you can make otherpeople laugh at it.

Speaker 2 (27:04):
All of a sudden, like I mean, if you laugh at
anything, yep, it's almost likea I don't know why my, my brain
has been going to harry pottermetaphors recently, but it's
like it's all those commercials,it's like the booger in um
harry potter, like it becomesthe thing you're scared of the
most yep, but then you turn itinto like the thing that you
laugh at the most and all of asudden it's not this like
daunting thing anymore.
Because, like, I'm in a similarway, like I will always make

(27:25):
fun of I mean anxiety,depression, mental health, uh,
being the chubby kid in highschool I mean anything really
like.
It sounds like we have the exactsame problems as exactly um,
but I wish I was gonna say butoh, I was gonna say is, and it's
like wild with me and I don'tknow if you agree or not,
because it's either one or theother, but like the thought of

(27:47):
walking up onto a stage andthere's 10 seats and it's 10
people I know very well Pass.

Speaker 1 (27:52):
No, thank you Not doing it yeah.

Speaker 2 (27:53):
But if it's like a hundred or a thousand people
that I don't know, all of asudden, like there is no
individuality anymore, it's justlike a group.

Speaker 1 (28:01):
I get people all the time they're like invite me,
invite me to stand up orwhatever, and I'm like, yeah,
but I'm like such perfectionist,right Like I don't.
I'd rather like strangers judgeme and not laugh for me than my
like own friends or loved ones,or like I brought my mom to
like some dingy dark.
It was like one of the worstopen mics I'd ever been at.

(28:22):
I was like, oh my gosh, weprobably should like admit some
of these people Like it was likereally bad.
And my mom's like why are youlike, why do you do this?

Speaker 2 (28:31):
I'm like do you need money, Are you okay?

Speaker 1 (28:34):
I was like mom, because everybody is accepted
here.
I said it doesn't matter.
I said I've always wanted tofeel connected.
You know, growing up just beingdifferent, having diabetes,
looking differently, having todeal with different struggles
and other people, other peersLike.
For me, comedy is like myoutlet.

(28:54):
It's like my way to heal fromthat and to show that you're I
don't know different.
I love it.
But yeah, we're going to getyou to do open mic.
I know I need to just likeblock off a Wednesday and just
go with the line at Wise Guys.

Speaker 2 (29:03):
Yeah, I'll do it, but yeah, we're going to get you to
do open mic.
I know I need to just likeblock off a Wednesday and just
go with the line at Wise Guysyeah, I'll do it, I'll go with
you.

Speaker 1 (29:07):
I'll tell you, yes, we'll go do it Honestly.

Speaker 2 (29:10):
I might.
What do you count on that?
Yeah, so I mean, that's such aunique course of life Because
again you go, because I assumeyou met your husband in New York
.

Speaker 1 (29:29):
I.
So my husband and I both wentto college at University of
Pennsylvania in Philadelphia andhe was two years older than me.
So I did not meet him until ayear after I'd graduated, at
homecoming.
So we did not know each other.
But our friends, like we hadsimilar friend groups, so it
wasn't, he wasn't like a totalstranger and we connected and he
was from the Dominican Republicand I always was like I do not

(29:52):
want to date anybody in politics, get me away from politics.
God has his jokes because Imarried someone in politics but
in another country, got it.
So my husband is very involved,or at least he was.
He was um, so we lived in, so Imet him in philly, then we were
in dc where I had my first sonmoved to dominican republic and

(30:14):
then he was vice consul for thedominican republic in new york,
which was a big role, becausethe largest hispanic group in
new york are dominicans andpuerto ricans, like 1.4 million
Dominicans.
It's funny because you think inNew York you know, coming from
here there are no Dominicans.
Here it's maybe like 7,000Dominicans in Utah, but in New
York there are no Mexicans, andthat's I think it's people

(30:37):
realize they're like oh, you'relike, no, everyone around are,
they're Dominican and it's sucha beautiful culture and my kids,
you know, are bilingual andwe're sharing this beautiful
bicultural life.
And so my husband he's out ofpolitics now but yeah, so kind
of we live in the DR and therewas just I was aching to come

(30:58):
home, I needed to come home, andso I came home almost four
years ago, moved back cool, yeah, and it's been amazing since
yeah, yeah, there's, uh, becauseso on topic of one of your past
roles and bringing hispanicpeople in new york together.

Speaker 2 (31:18):
So tanner too, yeah, one of my good friends who was
once upon a time on a bumble umadvertisement maybe I knew
someone that did that for him.

Speaker 1 (31:26):
It might have been someone.

Speaker 2 (31:28):
And because it's funny, like I, because I went to
Spanish speaking mission inWashington, everybody's Mexican,
yeah.
Then I go visit him in New Yorkno one's Mexican.

Speaker 1 (31:36):
You can't understand their Spanish.

Speaker 2 (31:37):
It's like they have a mouthful of marbles.

Speaker 1 (31:39):
Yeah, it's, it's, it's very fast and it's a very
yeah Dominican Spanish, becauseI've tried to do like Duolingo,
I've tried to do like privateclasses, whatever, and it's like
very Spanish.
Dominicans have their wholeother, it's a whole other type
of language which I love.

Speaker 2 (31:54):
And now I usually go to Florida once a month-ish for
a day job and go talk to a bunchof Cubans Very different in
dialects and everything Verydifferent in dialects and
everything Very different yes.
So you make your way back toUtah after a couple different

(32:14):
stops along the way.
I mean, was your goal?
Because again I like how youhave these parts of like.
All right, I'm getting awayfrom here.
I don't want to do politics.
I hate this life of politics.
My husband.
Never say never, never marryanybody in politics, politics.

Speaker 1 (32:25):
This is why I do comedy, because my life is a
joke hey us not a bad one.

Speaker 2 (32:29):
I'd rather laugh through life than like be angry,
be like stoic through life orbe like my husband's stoic.

Speaker 1 (32:35):
That's why I have to bring the comedy.
No, my husband's very funny,but yes, yes.

Speaker 2 (32:39):
But so you come here and eventually I mean walk me
through that logical path of howyou're like, you know what time
to join the family biz.

Speaker 1 (32:48):
You know, family is everything to me everything.
And a big reason of moving backis that I feel like we have to
give back to what raised us, andmy grandparents were at their
end of life and nobody wasreally living here, and so I
just felt that I needed therewas something bigger in Salt

(33:09):
Lake for me to come back, and soI was their caretaker for
probably a year and a half, andso I was really just dedicated
to coming back.
Right, I was aching for this.
You know we'd have so manyconversations because the
Dominican culture is sobeautiful.
Right, I was aching for this.
You know we'd have so manyconversations because the
Dominican culture is sobeautiful.
Right, like, you can meetDominicans can be anywhere in
the world and they get together.
They have the same language,right, same music, culture,

(33:31):
everything.
And I was really like, what ismy culture?
Like, what is my identity?
Like where am I from?
I feel like I've been all overthe place, you know, and looking
at moving at other places Miamior wherever it's like okay,
where do we live, where do wesend our kids to school, who's
our community, where's ourfamily?
And it really was like, youknow what?

(33:52):
Salt Lake City.
That is the only place for me,like that is the only place I
belong, and so we really madethe jump And's been.
It's been a wild ride so far.
I never thought I would bewhere I am today, but it's kind
of crazy how I feel like my pathkind of put me exactly here.

(34:12):
So yeah, it's been, yeah, it'sbeen fun, um, but it's been
really exciting to move backhere right like growing, growing
up, while the city's alsogrowing up, and it's kind of
interesting, like we've talkedabout you come back and now our
friends are running the show.
So I have, you know, friendsnow that are doctors here,
friends that are teachers,friends that are doing local

(34:35):
business right In politics, allover the place, and you're like,
oh, wow, I'm part of something,like we're doing something, and
Salt Lake is just I feel likeit's on the cusp of something
really big and I think that'swhy it's not looking good here,
and you can tell there's beenbetter days and you want to be

(35:06):
like, hey, it's going to shapeup.

Speaker 2 (35:07):
You're like I have no idea how it's going to shape up
.
Actually, good luck.
And you see how many people areimmigrating from, or emigrating
from I mean, midwest, otherplaces and being like oh, salt
Lake, obviously.
And so it's interesting to talkto people of like oh, what
brought you here?
And all of a sudden, you havethis great appreciation for like
yeah, I mean grew up in ohio.
We didn't have mountains andnow I get to look at them every

(35:27):
day.
Yeah, where I grew up in aplace where all there was to do
is farm, and now I can actuallygo to a place where there's, I
mean, diverse jobs andopportunity and in 30 minutes,
in 30 minutes, like it's sounique and I could get like.
And also, nowhere is perfect.

Speaker 1 (35:41):
And I say this all the time Nowhere is perfect, but
I think Salt Lake, from therest of the places that are you
know other options or whateverSalt Lake is very unique and
once you live here and you'rehere, you realize how unique it
is and I'm just, I'm just happyto be part of the community, to
be honest, and I'm reallylooking forward to helping

(36:01):
whether it's in the privatesector or public sector helping
change, like I want to be partof this next chapter for Salt
Lake City Totally, because I'veseen it through.
It's like your sister.
I've seen it through everystage as long as I've been born,
right, but I've seen it throughgood, I've seen it through bad,
I've seen it through scarytimes and I want to be able to
help preserve it.

(36:22):
I think that's really likecoming back to Salt Lake.
You're like okay, I know whatit has been, I know what it can
be and I want to be a part ofthat process, and so I think
that's been a real reason whyyeah, why not get involved?

Speaker 2 (36:40):
right, like it's the most american thing you can do,
exactly, and we're there's likealways this voice of like oh, I
can't do it.
Right, someone else will takein another harry potter metaphor
.
So, because, like, there'salways these moments I run into
and like talk to people wherethey find themselves, into this
moment, and thankfully thepodcast has given me that
opportunity.
But there's all these times inlife you look around, you're
like, well, someone's gonna takecare.
Right, like, someone's gonna dothis.
And it's just like in harrypotter and the prisoner of
azkaban.
When harry's, after they'vetaken the time turner and gone

(37:01):
back, he's like, hey, my dad'sgonna show up, he's gonna catch
a patronus, right, percastapatronus, he's gonna save all of
us and everything's gonna befine.
He's like, if he's coming, he'scoming, he's coming like, never
mind, it was me, I'm the onethat had to do it.
Yeah, looking like, I mean likezooming out on Salt Lake over
the past 20, 30 years.
And you have, I mean theOlympics, you have all of this
mass growth.
I mean this emergence ofSilicon Slopes, this hockey

(37:23):
stick of entertainment andtravel Potential, mlb, exactly,
you see all of these thingshappening.
And I mean like talking to somepeople.
I mean especially like I'vedone.
I've like been talking to a lotof people about like Sugar
House and how it's changed, likebeen talking a lot of people
about like sugar house and howit's changed, like because I've
seen like the buildings change.
Of course I didn't understandbecause I didn't have the
context or knowledge or likeyeah able to participate in the
community in a meaningful waywhen I'm that young.

(37:43):
Yeah, like hearing from theirperspective, especially like
talking with chad hopkins, wherehe's like, oh, it used to be
kind of this like undergroundgrungy place and then the
olympics came.
They developed all this moneyinto it, all these chains came,
and then they kind of keptdeveloping and then now they're
kind of phasing their way outoutside of, I mean, the real
estate developers.
But everything else really therenow, yeah, is more or less like
local things yeah and so, inthe same way, we have this other

(38:06):
opportunity the olympics iscoming back where it's like,
okay, we've learned somethingfrom there.
I mean we learned.
I mean we have a freeway, weneed to have all this other
infrastructural change, we don'tneed all these community spaces
, and so I'm curious that wehave that springboard looking
forward that we can start tomake better decisions and face
all of that.
But then also, on like the moregranular side of things, I mean
it's interesting to talk to somany people about it, from, I

(38:30):
mean like Mayor Aaron Mendenhall, and then talking like Preston
Cochran from Other Side Villageand talking with, I mean like
Missy Grice and all the workthat she does.
I mean the list goes on and onand on, because so many people
are so likely to point theirfinger at one person and say
things aren't great, it's yourfault, yeah.
And then if you pay attentionto the problem or if you

(38:51):
actually are willing to scratchunder the surface, you're like,
oh, it's much more complicated.

Speaker 1 (38:53):
It's much more complicated.

Speaker 2 (38:54):
It's much more complicated.
It takes a lot more peopleworking together than we think.

Speaker 1 (38:59):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (38:59):
And so when, in reality, we like to poke at
these things and say, oh, it'ssomeone's fault, or like just to
have one person?

Speaker 1 (39:05):
It's easier to complain than do something about
it.

Speaker 2 (39:07):
Exactly, and so, when you can instead be like, all
right, we actually need peoplewho are going to work together
towards a common goal, becausesynergy is so real we need to,
and majority of things gettingdone is getting the right people
in the right room.

Speaker 1 (39:17):
Right, that's all it takes.
And I'm realizing that now,being here in Salt Lake and
trying to get my things done,and what I'm passionate about
and you know like I'm verypassionate about law enforcement
and like Salt Lake PD, right,like they can't take everyone
wants to point at them forwhat's happening downtown and
they can only take so much.
Right, because they're onlythere to, um, help with the law.

(39:41):
They're not there to help withmental health services, they're
not there to help withhomelessness.
So, um, yeah, you bring up areally good point of like, yeah,
it's easy to just point atsomeone, um, but, yeah, once you
start digging, you're like ohwait, it's not just one person,
it's like multiple entities anddifferent things of.
Yeah, so that's where, for me,I'm like such a I love puzzles

(40:02):
and when I see like a missingpiece, I'm like.

Speaker 2 (40:04):
Are you a new york times puzzle person?

Speaker 1 (40:05):
yes, okay yes, so like it's.
So it's hard for me to be like,sit back right and be like when
I'm like, oh wait, I actuallyfeel like I can do something, I
feel like I can help make thingsbetter, just given my lived
experience.
And I think a big part ofleadership within Utah is we

(40:25):
need to have more diversity andlived experiences in leadership,
right Like?
You can't have leadership thatall thinks the same way.
No community thinks the sameway.
No community has the sameperson all in the same row,
right?
So it's like how do we makedowntown more diverse with lived
experiences and how do we bringlived experiences to make a

(40:46):
positive impact and growingdowntown in a thoughtful way?

Speaker 2 (40:50):
yeah, so no, I mean, will always be a big believer in
diversity and everything.
Because, like every, there'sone place I won't name them just
because they suck but cicerogroup, they were terrible, just
kidding, I will blank it out.
But, um, because there's a guywho's I mean it was a very
conservative place, very likelds heavy place, and there's a
lot of like yo, we want thesmartest people.

(41:11):
I'm like a you don't realizethe subjectivity in that word
yeah, and then b, like ifeverybody's thinking the same,
then everybody has the sameblind spots, everybody has the
same biases and just theproblems continue to conflate on
top of themselves you're onlyable to cater to one audience
when you have such a small frameof mind and not other
experiencesyeah, and like I can't think of

(41:33):
the type of research it is, butit's, maybe we'll come to, maybe
it won't, but like, essentiallyit's a market research way of
gaining different messagestowards people or solutions to
be had, and so it's not.
You don't want all of themessages to be the same thing
and have this like, essentially,instead of a venn diagram,
everything overlaps, but insteadyou want everything to be as
mutually exclusive andcollectively exhaustive as

(41:55):
possible.
Right, because again, the morethey overlap, the more biases
that are there, the more samekind of thoughts, consciousness,
background, cultures, whateverit could be.
But if everybody bringssomething unique, then that's
when all of like, the power innumbers comes out, because
everybody brings someone uniqueto the table.

Speaker 1 (42:11):
That's why New York City is one of the greatest
cities besides Salt Lake.

Speaker 2 (42:14):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (42:14):
Because you have I mean, it's Ellis Island you have
how many cultures, how manylanguages, how many people from
different lived experienceswhere you're able to shape this
type of vibrant city which Idefinitely see Salt Lake in the
future being like that.
It has every reason to besuccessful.

Speaker 2 (42:34):
And it's like one thing I think about.
A lot is kind of like the likepeaks and valleys of like
American history.
Good example Detroit used to bethe capital of the richest city
in the world?
Yeah, and then it's not, andit's not looking good anymore.
That's why local politics is soimportant.

Speaker 1 (42:53):
Exactly.

Speaker 2 (42:54):
And so we like zooming out to like the United
States.
I mean you look at the citiesthat have been I mean tertiary
cities, secondary cities orprimary cities, and it's always
kind of had this ebb and flow.
And then I look now and I'mlike Salt Lake is pretty poised
to like just continue to go upthat list.
People keep moving here, peoplekeep staying here.
I could talk about that onnauseam.
But again, like we don't wantto have growing pains that we've
seen in the past, we want tocontinue to grow, to be a place

(43:16):
that people feel welcomed hereand have some sort of desire to
be here.
And again, less of those badreasons and more good reasons,
because again, when you put ithead to head with most places,
it's going to win.
But when you think about I meanagain, this new chapter that
you're facing with, I meanoutside of, like you mentioned
the police department and makingsure that they have the tools

(43:37):
that they need to, I mean, whatother things are you passionate
about bringing center stage?

Speaker 1 (43:41):
So my biggest thing that I'm passionate about, the
thing that I wake up at 2 am andI'm like I've got to figure
this out, working with Solid PDand then also working with
mental health on my family side,I've kind of seen there's a
massive gap between lawenforcement and mental health.
On, like my family side, I'vekind of seen there's a massive
gap between law enforcement andmental health.

(44:02):
When I was like grieving mygrandparents, I got into you
know, we all get into differentgrieving methods I started
listening to police scanners.
So that's when I, you know, andI still do today, every day I
will turn on for five.
I just like to understandwhat's going on.
But I started understandingpatterns with the 911 calls, 40%

(44:23):
are mental health calls.
So why are we not?
What are we doing about that?
Because you're wasting lawenforcement that they're only
trained to detain, they're nottrained to deescalate to detain,

(44:44):
they're not trained todeescalate, where 40% of a call
are of mental health or aproblem, we should really focus
on that problem.
And so what I dream about andthink about and really the big
reason why I'm running is I wantto figure out how do we get the
first mental health task forcewith downtown because public
safety needs to include mentalhealth.
I've gone out with 4th StreetClinic and, have you know, spent

(45:06):
time with unsheltered andunderstand that majority of them
are very complicated.
Each one has such a differentstory.
Right, there's a lot ofpopulations we don't understand
with the unsheltered 40 aresexual offenders.
What do you do with them?
They can't get jobs, they can'tget houses, so it's, it's.
There's so many layers.

(45:26):
Right to the problems thatwe're dealing with.
I just see a revolving door andmy goal, however I get there,
is to stop that revolving door.
How do we get it so that peoplecan get help right Like and
really help, and it's like afull, transformative thing.
So I think mental health is mybiggest passion.
I'm really working, hopefullyright now, on 988.

(45:52):
I really think so.
988 is a mental health 911.
So like 5,000 calls from 911had to be diverted to 988.
They're the ones that you cancall or text for mental health.
And you know the biggestproblem in Utah with mental
health, the biggest populationthat struggles with it, are
middle-aged white men in ruralareas.
So it's, how do you get to themright?

(46:15):
So I think 50% of dealing withmental health is first,
education.
Second is resources and how toget to them Right.
So my big push is like how dowe get people to understand in
the rural areas what 988 is Like?
988 can save your life Call ortext it, you know.
Like how do we get thatinformation?
So for me it's like education.

(46:35):
I really want to just teach andhelp people with resources.
So my family we just opened upthe Huntsman Mental Health
Crisis Center in South Salt Lake, which is a step in a very
positive direction, especiallywhen it comes to law enforcement
and mental health.
Example law enforcement picksup somebody and they take him to

(47:01):
the hospital.
They have to wait four or fivehours at the hospital ER room.
So that's four or five hours ofthis police officer not on the
streets not helping right when?
At Huntsman Crisis we now havea receiving center where cops
ambulance, they come, they dropoff somebody that needs help,
they can get a coffee, turnaround in five minutes and go
back to their job.
So it's like how do we figureout programs right to help,

(47:24):
whether it's through the budget,whether it's like are we
funding the right programs right?
So that's where I'm likecurious.
So I, that's where I'm like youknow what I'm just going to run
because I feel like there's I'monto something Like we've got
to figure out this mental healthsituation.
That's everywhere, it's notjust in Utah, it's an epidemic
everywhere and there's no reasonwhy Utah, you know, should be

(47:45):
last place when it comes todealing with homeless, when it
comes to dealing with affordablehousing, when it comes to
mental health.
So, yeah, that's really is mypassion, like if I could change
anything, if that's that's whatit would be Changing how law
enforcement views mental health.
And then also like the stigmaof mental health.
That's really what I dreamabout, what I talk about in my

(48:08):
sleep.
I'm talking to everyone aboutit.
That's really like my passion,yeah.

Speaker 2 (48:14):
I mean thank you because it is.
I mean, mental health willalways be something that's been
very important in my life, likeI've always been someone who's
struggled with mostly anxiety,but there's always been
depression in different parts ofmy life.
And, like, really like inanybody who I talk to who like
feels like they're beating theirhead against the wall or feel
like they just can't, likethey're just being held back and
they don't know why being heldback and they don't know why.

(48:36):
So I was like what do you like,eric?
What do you like?
What should I do?
Like therapy go?
to therapy yeah, because you cantell like sometimes you can't
see your own blinders untiluntil it's too late, exactly,
yeah and like unfortunately,I've also had like a lot of
friends pass away because ofmental health issues.

Speaker 1 (48:49):
Yeah, to help battle, you know you're my brother and
one of your very close friends.
That was the first person thatI knew in high school Bueller,
and that was really the firsttime that we had really dealt
with something like that Right,and now you see how much it is.
You know it's still becoming anepidemic.

(49:09):
And so I think for me incommunity building, like what is
a community without mentalhealth?
Right?
Like we need to educate schools.
Community without mental health?
Right, Like we need to educateschools.
I have two boys in school.
We are severely lacking inmental health education and
resources in elementary school,and that's where it starts.

Speaker 2 (49:30):
And like going back to your point of like community
being so important and how itdovetails so well with mental
health.
Because for me, like mentalhealth in order to I mean I like
what you're saying earlierabout shared experiences,
especially the more niche, andit dovetails so well with mental
health because, for me, likemental health in order, I mean I
like what you're saying earlierabout shared experiences,
especially the more niche andnuance that they are that
creates an instant way to haveconnectivity with people.
I mean like, for example, justin utah.
Like I mean I've gone throughmy own faith crisis from the

(49:51):
mormon church, I'm a divorcedperson and as soon as I talk to
a person about either one ofthose and there's like a couple
of boxes as soon as they checklike well, you get it.

Speaker 1 (49:58):
Like thank you, I don't have to share my story,
yeah.

Speaker 2 (50:01):
And like, unfortunately like not a lot.
I don't know why.
I think about it a lot, but itwas the old mayor, governor,
someone, and someone elsedecided to be a homeless for a
week.

Speaker 1 (50:10):
Yes, that was Ben McAdams.

Speaker 2 (50:13):
Yes, ben McAdams, of like could I do this?
Like could I actually?
Or would I?
And like.
The short answer is weshouldn't have to, but we can
still try to understand thesepeople, see where they're at,
understand these stories because, again, like your example of,
like the police scanner, themore time you spend with things,
the more you get exposed.
You start to put these patternstogether and understand what's
going on, to the point like, hey, we're doing this wrong,
correct, and how do we createthe system or update the system

(50:36):
in a way to help it?
So I live in Marmalade Districtand I take my dogs to my
district, great district.

Speaker 1 (50:42):
I used to live on Almond Street, right there.

Speaker 2 (50:44):
Great street yes.

Speaker 1 (50:45):
About.

Speaker 2 (50:46):
Marmalade.
I'm like right by, I'mtechnically right on Third West.

Speaker 1 (50:50):
Okay.

Speaker 2 (50:50):
But I'll take this out.
But like New TownhouseDevelopment, I like her little
bar Yep.
So I go to warm springs parkall the time.
Yep, one thing that's nice isnobody cares if your dog's off
leash, because there's a lot ofeveryone's off leash over there.
I'm gonna keep using that thankyou and like, because I like
don't get me wrong, like if Iever feel like, thankfully I'm a
person of like larger stature,so I never feel like scared,

(51:11):
like I didn't feel intimidatedor anything going through there
yeah but I never feel like I'min dain again because I used to
live in Seattle.
I've seen it all to be like,yeah, he's just having a minute,
Like yeah it's how he likecharging at me.
It's not about me.
Right, right, but at the sametime, like you see the signs of
like man.
It is such a mental healthissue and is kind of insane and
the only way a lot of people doget that I mean empathy, really,
or sympathy- is because theyhave a family member go through

(51:33):
it or a sibling go through it,because it's all about
connection.

Speaker 1 (51:49):
It's all about connecting right, and that's why
I love going out with 4thStreet Clinic and then.
I also love going out withpolice because it's like I would
.
I want to see both sides of thestory, because to fix a problem
, for any problem, you have tounderstand both sides of the
story.
So, and I mean the mental, Imean the unsheltered, the
homeless in Salt Lake, I mean itis a massive mental health

(52:11):
epidemic and fentanyl is notgetting cheaper, right, so they
have a lot of these differentissues, but I I'm very impressed
with our new chief, chief Red.
You know he, for example,pre-academy kids that are coming
in usually they have a couplemonths before they get their
badges and there's nothingreally for them to do shelters,

(52:39):
mental health places, communityjust to get like their eyeballs
on.
Like the other side of it,right, like how do we treat
these people when I'm arrestingthem?
How do I, you know?
So I think that that's a bigpart of it and I'm, you know,
really excited to be a part ofchanging law enforcement and how
they are viewed, because, atthe end of the day, they are the
lifeline to our community.
If your get home and your houseis broken into, who are you
calling the police?

(53:00):
If you have someone has a heart, who are you calling the police
, police, police.
So it's how do we strengthenthat part of the community?
Right?
Whether it's helping themreeducate, maybe it's, you know,
focusing more on mental health?
Right?
Because you know the largestmental health institutions in
the country are where LA jailand Rikers Island, which are

(53:22):
both what Jails, institutions,correctional facilities so
there's clearly a mental healthcomponent to it, right?
So it's how do you distinguishbetween someone that's a
criminal and someone who isgoing through a mental health
crisis?

Speaker 2 (53:37):
distinguish between someone that's a criminal and
someone who is going through amental health crisis.
So You've got to be triagedbefore.
Because, again, like we needthe police to do their job and
can't do their not job.
Right, but we need to figureout what that other side of the
job is and how do we create asystem around it.
Because, like I'm a big, likeone I don't want to call it
necessarily a pet peeve, butlike, one thing that bothers me
is like, when people are like,oh, I can never talk about my

(53:57):
mental health, and you're like,oh, I don't never tell someone I
have a therapist, I'm like,listen, if we're trying to get
over these stigmas, how do youthink this is going to change?

Speaker 1 (54:04):
It's just going to magically wake up one day and
they'll be like hey, by the way,like See, I'm very open about
all of my you know struggles andthings about mental health with
people with chronic illnesses,specifically type 1 diabetes,
because it is something that youit's a marathon that you can't
get out of and it's just a fightevery day.

(54:24):
And I remember when I was whenwas it 16 years old I went to my
parents and I was done and Isaid listen, I'm not taking
another shot tomorrow, I am nottaking.
You guys can't force me likeI'm done.
I've been doing this for 10years.
I'm coming up on 30 now, butthis was back then and that was

(54:45):
really, I think I kind ofunderstood mental health before.
Mental health was a name, right,like I had a lot of like sick
days, but those today would bemental health days, but those
today would be mental healthdays and really a part of
healing my anxieties and mentalhealth with a chronic illness
was to give back, and that's abig part, I think, of mental

(55:09):
health is giving back.
So, like for me, I created anational program where, when
you're first diagnosed withdiabetes as a child, you're
given a bag called the Bag ofHope and it shows you like you
can do this and it's deliveredWell before HIPAA.
It was delivered by anothertype one diabetic.
So that connection that Italked about earlier of like
walking in somewhere not havingto explain yourself, but you

(55:31):
have that deep connection,you're like you get it, you get
it.
That is the key to healing,right?
So that's kind of my dream isto kind of create that type of
connection and philosophy inlife into healing.
So it's like if you were tobring someone off the streets
and just connect them withsomeone or connect them to
healing, and everyone's veryindividualized.

(55:52):
So I just feel like that's whatpeople are missing is the
connection, yeah, and feeling,understood, feeling, understood,
feeling understood.

Speaker 2 (55:59):
And it's that individuality behind it Because,
like so much of the world istrying to find like, oh, what's
the silver bullet, what's thesolution?
What does everybody have to do?
Everybody's just well, what doI do next?
Tell me what to do?
Yeah, it's like well, it'sactually a lot more personal
than that.
Yeah, and so the more again,personality, individuality, that

(56:20):
you can get at that level ofjust having someone sit with
them, be like listen.
That's one thing I actuallyreally appreciate about the
Other Side.

Speaker 1 (56:25):
Academy is I'm obsessed with it.
I think the best programrunning right now in Salt Lake
City is the Other Side.
Yes, I think that their work, Imean, yeah, I think they're
going to take over Salt Lake ina good way.

Speaker 2 (56:41):
And it's fun to talk with them about how other cities
and communities reach out andlike, hey, how do we do this?
We're on a plane.
Tomorrow We'll come walk youthrough our playbook.

Speaker 1 (56:49):
It's brilliant, their programming is brilliant, and
that is the connection, though.
Right, you're giving people apurpose, you're giving people
another lease on life, and Ithink that people that have been
incarcerated a lot of them makemistakes in their early youth
or whatever, and they want asecond chance.
They want to be able to giveback, and I think that you know
we need 20 more programs likethat to help, and, again, people

(57:11):
just need a purpose at the endof the day, so, Especially if
someone says I've done this, youcan do this, oh yeah.

Speaker 2 (57:17):
People who I've done this, you can do this, oh yeah.
I mean again, like the otherside, is the private sector
coming in and helping with thepublic sector and creating, but
that's a community you need bothsides, and that's why they're
killing it.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (57:27):
I love them.

Speaker 2 (57:28):
So, lydia A, this has been great.
You're someone who I alwayslike, because I was I mean, I
was a freshman and you were asenior and your friends were
like my older sister.
I would see you and be like, oh, like, that's John's older
sister, abby's little sister,yeah, yeah, the middle child,
yes, and but it was fun to just,I mean, sit down and chat and
hear about all the fun thingsthat you're doing.

Speaker 1 (57:49):
It's so fun and I will say like the best part
about moving back is justreconnecting with people that
you've just known for a longtime.
So that's Small Lake City.

Speaker 2 (57:59):
Amen, but I want to end with the two questions I
always ask everybody at the endof each episode.
Number one if you could havesomeone on the Small Lake City
podcast and hear more abouttheir story and what they're up
to, who would you want to hearfrom?

Speaker 1 (58:10):
Oh, that's a good question.
I'm a really big fan of JavaJoes, yes, and I find those
brothers fascinating.
Okay, like they need a show.
I'm always like you guys needlike an office show, you know,
like a coffee comedy, like it'shysterical.
Yeah, I think they would befascinating.

(58:31):
They've been around for so longand, yeah, I love their coffee,
so I think they would be agreat, great, yeah, a great
story of how they built theirempire of java joes yeah, they
kind of java joes I used to.

Speaker 2 (58:44):
So when I got divorced and moved back to like
down to salt lake, uh, which waslike right in that cabriolet
area, I would go by java joes.
It was like golf in the morningand if I shoot, well, not
playing golf and I would go getmy frapp from uh java joes and
be like my little trophy and Igo home.

Speaker 1 (58:59):
So yeah, they're my therapist too there.
I love all the girls they likeare now my friends.
And yeah, I'm a Java Joes girl,so I'm about it yeah.

Speaker 2 (59:09):
And then, lastly, if people want to find out more
information about you, theorganizations you support and
create, or more about yourpolitical ticket, where's the
best place to find information?
So, more about your politicalticket.
Where's the best place to findinformation?

Speaker 1 (59:18):
So right now, my biggest fight right now is city
council, and so you can findmore information on electliddy
L-I-D-D-Ycom, and it'll sharemore about my story and my
beliefs and things that I hopefor the city.

Speaker 2 (59:32):
Yeah, liddy, it's been great.
Thank you so much.
Thank you, it was so fun To seeyou tackle these problems.
It means so much, not just tous, but to everybody.

Speaker 1 (59:41):
Yeah, well, it's a community effort, so I'm just
happy to be a part of it.
Yeah, thank you.

Speaker 2 (59:47):
Thank you.