April 6, 2024 • 51 mins
We continue the candidate interviews as part of the Vote in Leander series. Join us for a conversation with Anna Yelaun candidate for City Council Place 6 in Leander's 2024 election cycle. @leaninleander Did you know that this podcast has a Supporters Club? By becoming a supporter of the show you can play an active role in helping me to continue producing the content that focuses on Leander, Texas. Join today!
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Episode Transcript
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(00:01):
This past week, I had theopportunity to speak with a couple more candidates,
one of which was Anna Yolan,who is running for Place six on
the Leander City Council. Join mefor that conversation now on Lean and Leander
(00:22):
and we're back here once again atthe Lantern Media Studios. I am Andrew
Nadine, your host here at Leanand Leander, and we continue with the
Vote in Leander series, and todayI have the candidate for Place six known
as Anna Yalan. Yes, Hello, Anna, Hello, good morning,
(00:44):
good morning. So nice of youto make the time here today. I
know that we had to kind ofwork around some schedules. So I really
really do appreciate your flexibility and yourwillingness to participate. I really really do.
I know this is not the normalthing for a lot of folks.
Know when you, when you allas candidates make the time, I'm very
appreciative. I really do appreciate it. So Anna, you and I don't
(01:07):
know each other. We just mettoday, right, so we're going to
kind of take the the get gettingto know you approach. You shared a
little bit with me before we started, But let's start with where you're from,
because you're obviously not from Texas,right, Yeah, I'm growing up
in Uzbekistan is a Postiviate Union country, Okay, so so Ituzbekistan, that
(01:34):
is where is that in relation toI know a lot of people have some
familiarity with like the Ukraine. Right, So in proximity to the Ukraine?
Are you south of the Ukraine?Incis? Now it's South Middle Asia Okay,
it's called Middle Central Asia. Soclose to Kazakstan, Turkmenistan, Jikistan,
(01:57):
so those countries, okay, Justso people are a little bit more
familiar with and that geography. Thatthat geography, that region. I'm not
super super attuned to. Interesting fact, the biggesta was the in the middle
of Silk Road. Yes, andthe capital was Summer count Okay. It's
(02:17):
historic, very historical and interesting.It is now very touristic city. A
lot of people kime and watch andit's like Summer count It's the beautiful cities.
UNESCO support them very much. I'llhave to add that to my list.
(02:40):
Yes, right, so guys,you should come and so this is
like very very very historical, interestingcities. No, I would imagine.
I would imagine. So when didyou make your way to the United States.
Like what what was that? SoI'm again I'm growing up in Uzbekistan.
(03:02):
So I graduated school there and afterI decided to get my education in
university. And so I went toRussia and I got my education in like
(03:22):
I got my master's degree in jazphysics. It also was like interesting story,
all my stories very interesting. Soand I got my master's degree in
all in university, I'm a master'sdegree in jeat physics. So and also
(03:43):
I'm start comparing my engineering education withfinancial stuff and started to work and decided,
so I need to improve my educationduring my working staff and I decided
to keep going and I got mypage degree in Moscow State Universities. Oh
(04:11):
okay, all right? And afterwhen I going like up and up in
my career, and I had alot of employer employers, so I decided
I need my MBA degree to bevery good in business administration field. And
did you come here to the Statesto start that process? No? No,
(04:32):
no. I also did my MBAdegree executive and a degree in Moscow.
So I had work in a financialfield like chief financial officer in Moscow
during twelve and a half. Yeah. Wow, So and how I decided
(04:56):
I decided to move to United States. Also interesting story, So I have
been almost all around the world,sounds like, yeah, because the situation
in Russia and twenty eight was notgood. So it's like crisis again.
(05:20):
So I started to travel a lot. I have been everywhere in Asia,
in Amy's so in Africa also,And one day we decided to celebrate our
new year in the United States andwe started to travel. Started travel to
(05:45):
the United States. So first placewhich was like I visited it was Houston.
Yeah, because it was a directflight from Moscow to Houston. I
remember that. So yeah, andthere was a lot of because I was
in Houston for twenty eight some oddyears. There was I remember it was
(06:12):
I can't remember the specific name ofthe association, but it was a US
Russia kind of like a chamber ofcommerce. They still have, right,
right, And so I mean oiland gas is obviously that's the thing in
Houston, right, so that myclassmates, yeah, still working in Houston
(06:34):
in oil and guess so and specificin Jeff physics because it's like one of
the most important department in oil andgas. So and after Houston, we
are going went to California and Isaw Santa Barbara. Oh yeah, I
(06:55):
love Santa Barbara. Yeah, andit's a beautiful city. I called my
parents say, okay, now Iknow I feel yeah, very good.
So this is like so I willtry. And of course my parents say,
if you want to try, tryright. So I returned back to
(07:18):
Russia and it was twenty fourteen,so it starts kind of the beginning of
a conflict between Russia and Ukraine.And I understood, So I have to
move because I can support Russia inthis conflict. So I'm more in the
(07:42):
Ukrainian site. And so I justpacked right and go right. Well,
so and I moved first to SantaBarbara and I got my Lisa students.
These are first and I decided touh start learn English. So this is
(08:09):
my thought language. Third, yes, so you speak Russian, who's back?
And English? Okay? Is therea big difference between Russian and hwsbeck,
I mean there is really, becauseit's a group so Turkish okay,
all right, all right, thatmakes sense, that makes sense. I'm
going to have to bone up onUzbekistan because I don't know that much about
(08:31):
the country, right, So yeah, so some of these questions will be
very naive perspective, So I apologize. So it's good. I love like
all stories every time, So allmy stories very interesting. No, absolutely,
I just even a few minutes thatwe spoke before we started here,
I was like, Okay, yeah, you're gonna have a lot of good
(08:52):
stories. That'll be that'll be goodfor me, and that'll be good for
our audience to get to know youa little bit, because obviously, you
know, your your journeys that havebrought you to Leander are journeys that I'm
certain have informed you, uh inin many different ways on you know,
how you would approach really any problemor any solution. You know, from
(09:16):
that perspective, you have a veryunique life journey that has brought you here,
and one that I think would Ithink it's fair to say, and
and you know, some people maynot agree with me saying it necessarily this
particular way, but it is anAmerican story at the end of the day,
right, because you've you've come toAmerica, right, and and you've
(09:37):
gone through the process of becoming acitizen in our country, which can be
arduous. I mean for those ofus who were fortunate enough. I'm I'm
an I'm a son of an immigrant. Right, so my my my parents
came from Mexico, right, butI was born here, right, So
I've always been an American from thatperspective. Uh so my journey was shorter,
(09:58):
but I would I I wasn't.You know, don't we don't have
lineage in America, right, wedon't have generational you know, experience.
And I know many friends. Ihave many friends who in Houston were going
through the exact same process that youwere going through, right. And Houston
is probably one of the most multiculturalcities in the United States, Right,
(10:22):
so you have a great opportunity toreally get exposed to all sorts of people.
And then in your industry, oiland gas, that's very diverse.
There's a ton of people from allover the world just because of the industry.
Right, it's just necessary. Soyou were telling me, and I
think this is a nice thing totalk about. You just I think within
the last year, right, Yes, it received your American citizenship. Right,
(10:45):
So congratulations on that, Right,I mean, that's an achievement,
that is a that is I'm familiarenough with it to know that's not an
easy process. It takes time.It takes time, and in the middle
of US has happened COVID, right, so I'm waiting a little bit longer
than other people. And also,so interesting story. I met my husband
(11:13):
here in the United States. I'mnot coming with my husband with my family,
so we met here in California,Irvine. Okay, I also was
it sounds like another good story story. And so also in Irvine, I
(11:33):
opened my first academy for kids.It was Russian speaking kids around parents are
from Postiviet Union countries. And sowhen we decided to move to Texas,
and it smelled like the biggest town. First my game here and I told
(11:58):
Sasha, my husband, like mychildhood. Really that's interesting. Was that
Central Texas then, or so Austinwhen you guys came here to live,
you were in the Austin area.No filst became for Sasha's business trip because
Texas Film Commission invited him. Okay, yeah, so it was interesting coastal
(12:20):
story. And when Rick Ferguson,by any chance, I'm not familiar,
Okay, I have to ask yourhusband. I have to ask you because
I know I know several people,especially if he was here in Austin.
I know several people who work withthe Texas Film Commission, you know,
just something I happened to have runacross. Have to ask him, I
(12:41):
have to ask him on the wayout, because that would be a very
small world. Yes, and soafter those we decided we have to move
to here. So you end upin the Austin area. How did Leander
end up being your choice? Was? Was it the affordability housing? Was
it location to your work? Whatbrought you? So? First we moved
(13:03):
in Texas and parented apartments. So, and it's also very interesting story because
we lost of everything during the winterstore so the snowpocalypse, right, there's
a really bad storm. So andit was like very bad situation because we're
(13:24):
shooting our movie Chariot with Malkovich inArkansas and people call us and say,
okay, guys, you have nohome. So this is why you were
living in an apartment at the time, or yeah, we lived in apartment.
So what happened there was it wasit snow related? Was it fire?
(13:46):
So it's just tree was frozen,okay, okay, like felt and
so some pipe is broke and it'slike yeah, yeah, yeah, it
was like everything and so and wedecided to starting to build our house,
(14:09):
and I choose Trevisa, Okay,yeah, no, really nice areas.
And it's also interesting story because everythingwas delayed and our house built like almost
one and a half year. Yeahyeah, and so that was probably still
a COVID related right right. It'salso showed us how we have to looking
(14:35):
forward because COVID shown up all ofus, so we have to little beat
the good dot what's happened after somethinghappened like five years, ten years,
And so again my decision about runningto the office was like compared with this,
(15:01):
because so now what the issues soBlake Travis mm hmm, so in
very situation. Yeah, and ifwe're will keep using Blake Travis, maybe
in five year it will be gone. Yeah. No, I think that's
a that's a genuine that's a genuineconcern. I think for for all of
(15:24):
Central Texas. It's not necessarily specificallyLeander issues. Yes, yes, yes,
of course, because it troubles me. And from my perspective, again,
when I look at that, Iunderstand and I don't know how much
we'll talk about this, but Iunderstand that. You know, all right,
So let's let's take into account thatthere that's a really hard thing to
necessarily predict. Right, And inthe past, decisions were made that you
(15:50):
know, have been whether you believeit or not, all of these decisions
have been made in the past havecontributed in one way or another to the
situation that we're in now, whetherthere were decisions made in Leanne, or
in the state of Texas, orin the United States or in the world
at large. Right, because climatechange is something that is it is real.
It's not something that you can argueit has happened. You can maybe
(16:12):
argue how much humans have had todo with it, right, that's a
reasonable position to take. In myopinion, I happen to think that we've
done a lot to contribute to that. Right. So you end up in
a situation where again you look atthe lakes here in Austin, both man
made, right, and so nowit comes down to how are we managing
(16:33):
that resource? Right? Yes,And it's concerning in the sense that it's
the one thing that I kind oftake note of when I watch the weather
here in Houston or in Austin,because it's the one thing that really concerns
me. And no offense to anymeteorologists out there, they never get the
weather, right, So I don'treally listen for the weather, but I
(16:55):
always attune to the level of waterin the lakes, right, And both
of those lakes are well below fiftypercent right now, So that is concerning,
right, Is it manageable? Possibly? Right? And if we if
we do get a you know someof these climate rivers that are coming over
(17:15):
the United States right now. Againit's this is being filmed a little bit
before the eclipse, So there's aconcern about you know, oh, it's
gonna be raining on Monday. Butthe if we get that type of rain
and it's consistent, then yeah,that's going to help a lot. But
at the end of the day,to your point, I think it's a
concern from a resource perspective and thecontinued growth in the Austin area and and
(17:38):
again in Leander. You know,we were one of the fastest we are
one of the fastest growing cities inthe US, So those resources start to
really play a big role in howwe plan. To your point again of
looking towards the future, So I'llmake an assumption here and then correct me
if I'm wrong, But it soundsto me like what motive, what's motivating
you to throw yourself into the publicsquare, which is what you've done is
(18:03):
a concern about the future. Right. I think that's maybe a motivating factor
for you. Is that fair?Yes? So? Because so average age
again here in London close to myage it's middle thirteen, no, okay,
saw and people have the same aage, most of them kids like my
(18:32):
daughter, yep. So and weshould look forward. No, I agree.
I agree. I think that's kindof a little bit of an indicator
for you as well in that oneof the things that you have done,
and I remember from your bio,I need to pull it up really quick
so I can speak to it correctly. But these are some of the some
(18:57):
of the I would say service oriented, uh, aspects of what you've done
in your lifetime. Right, Yes, where you had started the the Russian
school in in in California, andthen here I'm assuming here in Texas.
Uh, it's the math Kangaroo USA, which I think is really fascinating.
(19:19):
So tell us a little bit aboutthat. Yeah, so math Kingaroo Usay,
it's not just competition in US,it's a worldwide competition. Okay.
So here in the United States wehave brunch Marv Kangaroo USA. So it's
Olympic and Advice Advanced Math competition,so for kids who also look forward in
(19:45):
the future. So and I'm astate director here, I present Texas here.
So last year my students won worldwideor just in tech national and I
put thinking Texas on the map.Very nice, very nice? How many?
(20:07):
How many you said there's a branchhere in Texas? Are there multiple
locations that feed into like one Texasgroup. So it's a lot of right
now already school private schools who providedthis competition. So the most kids who
(20:32):
attend its elementary school. So westill have a huge problem here with middle
schoolers and high schoolers because the percentageis like two of three presented percentage from
whole ah students. So but itdoesn't matter, we keep going. It
(20:55):
was this year my aides Olympia whichI provided, So this year I provided
Olympia here in Leander in public library. So the in person was one hundred
students and online also compete seventy fourstudents. Okay, it's almost two hundred
(21:18):
kids competing in this. How arethey aged? Is it age bracketed to
where? Okay? So it's fromfirst grade until twelfth grade. So for
high schoolers's very interesting because the universitycan get credit if you ranked top twenty
(21:38):
in national Okay, so students whodo participate, and it sounds like there's
maybe a little bit of a ofa drain, would say for your older
students comparatively. Again, you've beendoing this for about eight years, it
sounds like, right, so weare you are your k through let's say
(22:03):
five as there a strong participation there, can you look forward and see Okay,
right now we have a few,you know, twelve grade or high
school age, but in five yearswill have that many more because they're already
participating now, right, And soour goal to show kids how they can
improve the skills logic stuff, andit will help in the future. No,
(22:30):
No, absolutely to get scholarship orcreated in university. No, No,
for sure. Now it's very veryimportant one hundred percent agree with the
there, especially given I mean,your experience and your background obviously would lend
you to the math part, right, So you're very familiar with those areas.
And I can see and I've alwaysfelt this way that you know,
(22:53):
are we hear a lot about stemand things of that nature. So there's
a little bit more of an emphasison it now, but I think we
did kind of as a country overall, we moved away from some of that,
right, just by the nature ofthe development in the United States towards
more of a service oriented economy.Right, it's because of what we're becoming
(23:15):
as a country. However, Ithink there's a sea change right now in
my opinion, just based on technologyand the advent of AI and piece of
that nature. Mathematical skills are goingto be tantamount to success for the next
couple of generations at least, i'dsay, until the robots take over.
(23:36):
And then once the robots take over, we can go back to service industry,
right, because we'll have the robotscook our food. And so it
was very interesting in the beginning myeducation. So I imagine one day I
will be tibernetic and I will createdrobots. But after I decided to go
to other fields, but still everythingthe robot. Yeah, that's my heart.
(24:02):
No, that's interesting, that's interesting. Now. I'm a big fan
of robots myself too. I thinkit's I think it would be if done
properly, right, it's a it'sa great boon for humanity as a whole,
because a lot of the more.Yeah, I'd say even if you
(24:22):
just look at it from the thetasks that need to be completed, the
repetitive tasks manufacturing things of that naturecould very easily be modified to take advantage
of roboties, right. I thinkit's just it's a natural progression because human
(24:44):
beings are generally lazy and we don'twant to do those things, right.
I mean, let's be honest,that's what it is. Is we're lazy,
we don't want to do it,so we find we're creative enough that
we find ways to be able toget away with that. I think that's
fascinating. I think it's really neat. Okay, So I think we've talked
a little bit about like some ofyour background and whatnot, so help us
(25:06):
understanding, Souse. You and Iwere chatting a little bit about something and
I don't want to feature this necessarilyper se because it's very expansive and that
we would do it a disservice.But you did mention a recently published comparison
done by the Leander Foundation, andfull transparency here, folks, I sit
on the board for the Leander Foundation. Carlos Saint James did this work.
(25:30):
Yeah, he did ask me tolook at it, and I'll come clean
here. I only looked at itbriefly. I think I had one little
comment for him, I asked himwhere he was getting his source data.
But other than that, I reallyhave not read it. So I'm reading
it with you at the same time. And I thought it was interesting some
of the comments that you made,even walking in on how that's helping inform
you someone who's again stepping into apublic square and making yourself, you know,
(25:56):
available for you know selection if youwill. What are you finding there?
Like what, how how is thatinforming you? What? What do
you find interesting in that in thatparticular document. So first, I'm very
appreciated, Carlos. Yeah, Ithink it's fine. It's like it's like
very best for all of us,for all candidates. So so first,
(26:22):
of course, it's about my goals. It's all information here, and I
was so happy because when I startedto read and review, uh, this
document, so I said, like, okay, I'm on the right way,
okay, because one of my goalsis economical improvement here, so it's
(26:48):
very important because how it looks rightnow, So there residential development and commercial
development it's imbalance, agreed. Soit's like huge difference between so and first
of what we should to do here, do like make a process more easy
(27:11):
for commercial development and bring more businesseshere. So and it will help all
sales that tanks base for our city. Also, it can bring a lot
of people here. So for example, I know a lot of my age
(27:33):
group, they they won't traded jobhere. Oh yeah, the vantage I
think it would be from the demographics. I completely one hundred percent agree,
and I'm I'm constantly again. Iwas on the Economic Development committee in over
the last term. I think Ithink we flipped in October, But that
(28:00):
was one of the things that cameup quite often. And sometimes that conversation
is a little bit too oversimplified fromthat perspective, because a lot of the
a lot of the retail or serviceoriented retail that we see coming to Leander
now, the restaurants and the fastfood chains and things of that nature.
To be perfectly honest, that's goingto come anyway. It's to your point,
(28:22):
the more people, the influx ofpeople, then it builds enough of
a demographic that is looking for convenience, right, yes, so that you
end up with you know, again, the fast food or the or the
fast casual, however you want toframe it, those types of restaurants are
going to happen anyway. The developersfrom that perspective have recognized that, so
(28:45):
you already see them building up partsto support that. Right, I think
your point, and again, correctme if I'm wrong, But what we
were looking at was more from adevelopment perspective. Economically developing a it's about
diversity of economy, right, becauseyou cannot have an economy that's overly reliant
(29:07):
on one sector. Right. Itend to have and this is my opinion,
humbly submitted, and I'm speaking strictlyfor myself, I tend to think
we're a little imbalanced there as wellright now, because we're heavily reliant on
service industry. And that may workout okay, Right, Typically you're okay
there. But if there were tobe any lesson learned from the pandemic,
(29:33):
it's that the overreliance on a serviceindustry is precarious because those businesses will close.
They won't survive, right, Theycan't survive those types of downturns.
They're not equipped to do that.Whether you know whether it's because of their
you know, their franchises. Youknow, they reliant on other larger you
know, distributors and things of thatnature. That that's a precarious situation to
(29:59):
be and so you want to havea little bit more diversification, right,
And so entertainment also, Yeah,no, I think like entertainment, I
think that there's opportunity there. Yeahno. And and you talked a little
bit about like your your your daughter, right, your daughter, and you
know the the opportunity here that youknow, there is a generational opportunity in
(30:22):
Leander in my opinion because to yourpoint, the demographics here indicate that.
So how do we keep not thatwe want to keep them, right,
that's not the right word, buthow do we encourage our children to stay
in this area? Right? It'swith informed developments? Right, right?
So give me some ideas, giveme some thoughts there, like what would
(30:44):
you what would you see or whatwould you like outside of Trader Joe's,
which I think is I think that'sspot on. But other than that,
what what would be your idea oflike what type of businesses do you think
we should encourage? So also becauseI'm teacher and I'm working with parents,
so I every time hearing again it'slike three four kids family, they need
(31:08):
day care, so huge line andwait list for all day cares here,
So we need more daycare businesses here. That makes sense. So also entertainment
opportunity movie theaters, so some spotfor play zones, like for example around
(31:32):
Rock they open Kalahari, but it'sso far from here, so we use
Crossover for athletics stuff. We needsomething here also in London because people who
live in the North of Leander.Also it's takes time to go to Crossover.
(31:55):
And I also bring my daughter toCrossover for ice skate practice, and
we go every day going to roundRog for off uce practice. So and
I'd like to have here all thisopportunity again, so we use our pediatrician
(32:17):
in Austrian so we need more medicalprofessional staff here. So are my dentist
in Cedar Park. I need ourdentists here close to us. So and
in my perspective, it's not justlike we should do this for tap space
(32:45):
or something like this. It's ifyou can reach all your staff what you
need in ten minutes, also willhelp us to solve traffic problems. Yeah,
no, I agree, it's likeall staff dependent are there, right,
(33:06):
So if Grocier's store here, theycare here, so I don't need
to use my car twenty thirty minutesto go to other cities. So you
can solve all this and also jobopportunities. I agree, I agree,
And that's where I was going togo next is I think what you're talking
(33:29):
about is again creating more localized jobopportunities and small business is one of the
things that again it's a it's ahuge, if not the largest driver of
local economies in cities of the typethat Leander is and will be right,
Yes, Leander is never going tobe a center of commerce. It's just
(33:53):
not it's not intended to be.We are a you know, we're outside
of Austin, where you know,a suburb if you will of Austin saw
this in Houston. You would probablyknow this from from your experience and exposures
in California, right. You knowLa in California, like that's where everything,
(34:15):
that's where all the all the corporateheadquarters are. But nobody lives in
LA. They live everywhere around LA. And I think you see the same
thing happening. It's the same thingin Houston. I mean you probably experence
that to a degree in Houston,the Central Business district in Houston, downtown
Houston. You know, you've seenebin flows there. I was there when
(34:36):
there was the big downturn in oiland gas. That's what prompted the city
of Houston to diversify the number ofand the types of businesses that they have.
Still heavily reliant on oil and gas. Now, let's not make no
there's no question about that. Weknow that that's case. But they did
diversify enough that they were able tomanage the subsequent downturns in the economy.
(34:59):
Like the economy and Houston diversified enoughto be able to withstand that. I
think that's one of the things herein Austin, in the Greater Austin area
that there's a lot of I wouldsay, pretty good diversity, very tech
reliant, you know. I mean, you know, tech has been the
main driver in the Austin area forforever, and it's only recently that it
(35:22):
becomes very obvious to more people,right, But Austin had always been a
hub of tech innovation, and youcan go all the way back to Texas
industries. You know that that thatwas in Austin. Right, that's happening
here. So that's been a bigdriver for a lot of the a lot
of the growth. And now thattech is what it is, it is
(35:43):
the big driver for the growth here. So from a small business perspective,
we've talked a little bit about serviceorientation, right, the service industry,
you know, restaurants and and youmentioned some smaller business type of opportunities in
childcare and in uh in, incommunity and entertainment and whatnot, what other
(36:05):
small business You're a small business owner, right, I mean, so that's
so you have that experience what haveyou? And we should probably go back
how long have you been in Leandernow? Because I just realized I haven't
asked you that? So uh inTexas for you and now two and a
(36:27):
half years here in Leander? Okay, all right? And you your your
main occupation, like what you dofor a living right now? Is the
the kangaroo, the math kangaroo oris something else? I'm teacher in the
Meme Academy, middle schooler teacher.Okay, Okay, I'm doing so.
(36:51):
I tryed to be not but likeI have line honest, so and Texas
stated marv in Guru and also Ihave my own academy with advanced mark and
signed. So then in in thatparticular regard, do you do you actively
(37:15):
say this? Do you actively recruitfor your academy? Are you looking for
students to bring in or do theyjust come to you because they're looking for
that type of education? Yes?Okay, So it's the latter. You're
not out there, you're not outthere with a you see, you seem
like you're a really good math student. Why don't you come over here?
Now, I'm just kidding kind ofthis. So and also you just mentioned
(37:36):
about tech here in Austin area,like sub Austin areas. So if we
return to California, so Silicon Valley, it's tech and educational stuff. M
hmm hmm. And it's compared whatto should to do here and we can
(37:57):
create up here in Yonder yeah,now like fake and advance program to improve
and so it can bring a lotof people here. Yeah. Now,
I agree we've talked about because it'salso comparing uh huh. We've talked about
so in the past. Again,and I'm relying here a little bit on
(38:21):
the conversations we've had in the EconomicDevelopment Committee. We've talked about Austin Community
College, which is obviously right hereoff of one to eighty three, and
you know the opportunity to leverage that. We've also talked about incubators, right,
so you're probably familiar with a coupleof incubators. I would think,
right, I think that's a greatidea for Leander area because it not only
(38:43):
would offer an opportunity to allow companiesto grow and find their space, right,
it would also be flexible enough thatif the economy were to shift to
another area of tech or whatever itmight be. Because right now, I
would say the the primary drivers areobviously artificial intelligence, right, Yes,
(39:06):
the chip manufacturing is another area.And then you would look at I would
say, arguably space and and andand and you can kind of see that
out here, right and you've gotFirefly. You got a couple of space
oriented businesses, right, But whereare the support mechanisms for that? Where
are the where are the the thethe vendors for those companies are you know,
(39:31):
I I don't know of and maybethey exist, but I don't know
of a source here in in inthe Greater Austin area. I know that
Samsung's building, there's and and stufflike that. But there are companies that
build and provide other services within thosespaces. Right, I think that's a
great opportunity here in Leander because ofthe proximity. And I would argue because
(39:54):
of the train too. I meanit would you would allow people to not
necessarily live in Leander, but cometo work in the her And that's okay
too. This is so also verylike vuluable, too much valuable, vulnerable
to mind here. So we shouldbring more interesting projects to here and people
(40:17):
will come and spend money here.Oh yeah, no, for sure,
So not just for leaving for spendingmoney to get some stuff from Leander,
and we can put for example,Santa Barbara also a very small city.
It's on the map. So whatI exactly want to do put Leander on
(40:42):
the map. You talked a littlebit when we were chatting before we started.
I think you were talking mostly aboutyour daughter and her participation in athletics.
Right, you had some ideas theretoo, So help help people,
help explain that thought there. Rightnow, people understand what you're what you
(41:02):
were talking to me about as itcomes to because you mentioned Olympic level and
I'm curious as to what you meanby that, So we have very good
opportunities and capabilities because here also againbecause in Cedar Park Crossover. So my
(41:24):
daughter figure skater, So your maincoach one of the best coaches. She's
Olympian and Japanese Olympian and she wasworld champion a couple of times. So
now the coach my daughter. Soand also we have like a couple other
(41:50):
coaches, they're all from US team. And also we have very good team
coaches in Houston. Yes. So, and it's give me idea to put
Ariana like volunteer to Winter Olympic Games. So next in Milan. And I
(42:15):
received letter from Milan Olympic volunteering team, so they accept her. Oh great,
So she is going to Milan andwill be part of the volunteer cruise
assisting with the figure skating. Yeah, that's awesome. So, and this
is so important to show young athleteshow it's look in the future, sure
(42:39):
to their goals. So also veryinteresting fact, I have one of my
best friends from California. So andwe all know the twenty twenty eight will
be Olympic game in Los Angeles.So and she work also in the small
(43:01):
city mission Villaham and they propose programto bring all water sports in Mission viah
Okay, so and most of watercompetition will be in Mission Villa. Hum.
Right, so it's like interesting viewhow we can solve some problem.
(43:27):
And my idea to create young athleticgroup and send them to be volunteering in
twenty twenty eight and so how itlooked like of course here in Texas we
have a lot of Olympia, famousOlympium, not just figure skating, right,
(43:49):
agreed, shooting and some right yes, so and it's will help kids
to understand their goal and yeah,I think that's a exchange experience. So
I'm like about this, So weshould show our kids and like young parents
(44:12):
also opportunity we can use. Thisis look like it's too far, but
if you try, you can receivethis. I think those are some really
really good ideas. And I thinkwhat's interesting in my opportunity to speak with
candidates such as yourself and again,thank you so much for making the time,
is that you start to see wheresome of these ideas are coming from.
(44:37):
Right, And you know what Iwhat I want to try to do
here on the podcast is again givepeople a little bit of an insight into
who you are and how you think. And I think one of the things
that I can take away from ourconversation today is that there's a lot of
creative thinking to what it is thatyou're proposing. And some of these proposals
might seem a little bit you know, out of reach today, but when
(44:58):
you start to frame it the waythat you just did. Right, So,
if we were to say, startan effort to organize a program,
and maybe it originates in Leander,maybe it doesn't, but regardless, that
would start to provide a resource orprovide a repository where people who would be
(45:22):
interested, athletes who would be interestedin for parents who would be interested in
having their children participate in these typesof programs to where they would have at
minimum exposure to Olympic level of competition. And it might be the one thing
that inspires those athletes and those volunteersto really push themselves to be able to
(45:46):
achieve that in the long run.Right. I think that's and I think
that's a theme that I get fromyou overall. Right, you know,
I can see that your mind worksvery much towards a future state. I
think is a fair way to kindof that You're thinking right, and I
think that's good. I think that'sa good voice to have in the conversation.
(46:07):
So I appreciate you making some timehere for me today. It really
was a great conversation and your storiesare fantastic. I definitely have to spend
some more time with you, justlearning a little bit more about Uzbekistan.
But beyond that we have a littlebit of time here. I want you
to tell people where they can findyou, Like, where can they find
your information? How can they findout more about you? What's your website?
(46:30):
What kind of social media presence doyou have? Everything? So my
website on ylanfo Leander dot com.So I have the same name social media
their Instagram, Facebook on the elanfor Leander, yees. My mail is
(46:54):
on the Ylan edgemail dot com.Saw my phone five one two seven free
is nine six two seven free.Okay, all right, So that's happy
like to speak with obviously, Imean, you're the second candidate who's given
out their phone number, which Istill find I mean, I think it's
(47:15):
a great idea. I just findit a little a little crazy, but
it's okay. So I'm happy tospeak with old people and hear their request
first, also because it's important forall candidates not just figure out about us
a city problem like in the liketo say, just like so, we
(47:44):
need to hear our people right,our citizens what they need. So and
I'm work with people with patents soand also with Sasha's stuff, my husband
Sasha so. And we have otherparents, women who bring kids to the
(48:07):
sport. So I know a lotof requests and the first is like safety,
education, economic improve and of courseeveryone want water right in some right
right and you want Trader Joe's too. Yes, all right, Well again,
(48:30):
Anna, thank you so so much. This has been a tremendous pleasure.
I really have enjoyed meeting you,and hopefully you listener and viewer have
learned a little bit about Anna andlearned what is motivating her to make herself
available for you know, your vote, and and and and she hits on
a key point there at the end. You have to participate. So as
(48:53):
of this taping, you can nolonger register to vote. But if you
have registered to vote, we definitedefinitely want you to get out and vote.
The early voting will start on Apriltwenty second, and then the May
fourth Star Wars May the fourth bewith you is the day that the vote
will actually take place, So it'sreally really important to the future of Leander
(49:14):
that you make your voice heard.And if Anna is the type of a
person who appeals to you and youlike what she's talking about, then you
know, obviously learn about her she'sgiving you her websites, learn about the
other candidates. That's been the effortthat we've been making here at Voting Leander
to give you as much information aswe can about the people who are actually
running and then do your research,you know, find out about the topics
(49:37):
that they find their passion with andwhat they feel is important as we move
forward as a city. So Iencourage you to do that again. Anna,
thank you for your time here today, and that'll wrap it up for
the Vote in Leander series. Wecertainly hope that we have an opportunity to
speak to the last candidate we haven'thad a chance to talk to, but
(49:57):
I'm certainly hoping to get that donehere before early voting commences. But again,
we appreciate it and look forward toWe've seen you guys around town and
hopefully having a couple of conversations aboutthe series. So I hope this is
helpful and again, thank you foryour time. Thank you. That's it
for today, folks. Thank youand we'll see you. The next one
(51:00):
is one of my favorite. ILove N
This past week, I had theopportunity to speak with a couple more candidates,
one of which was Anna Yolan,who is running for Place six on
the Leander City Council. Join mefor that conversation now on Lean and Leander
(00:22):
and we're back here once again atthe Lantern Media Studios. I am Andrew
Nadine, your host here at Leanand Leander, and we continue with the
Vote in Leander series, and todayI have the candidate for Place six known
as Anna Yalan. Yes, Hello, Anna, Hello, good morning,
(00:44):
good morning. So nice of youto make the time here today. I
know that we had to kind ofwork around some schedules. So I really
really do appreciate your flexibility and yourwillingness to participate. I really really do.
I know this is not the normalthing for a lot of folks.
Know when you, when you allas candidates make the time, I'm very
appreciative. I really do appreciate it. So Anna, you and I don't
(01:07):
know each other. We just mettoday, right, so we're going to
kind of take the the get gettingto know you approach. You shared a
little bit with me before we started, But let's start with where you're from,
because you're obviously not from Texas,right, Yeah, I'm growing up
in Uzbekistan is a Postiviate Union country, Okay, so so Ituzbekistan, that
(01:34):
is where is that in relation toI know a lot of people have some
familiarity with like the Ukraine. Right, So in proximity to the Ukraine?
Are you south of the Ukraine?Incis? Now it's South Middle Asia Okay,
it's called Middle Central Asia. Soclose to Kazakstan, Turkmenistan, Jikistan,
(01:57):
so those countries, okay, Justso people are a little bit more
familiar with and that geography. Thatthat geography, that region. I'm not
super super attuned to. Interesting fact, the biggesta was the in the middle
of Silk Road. Yes, andthe capital was Summer count Okay. It's
(02:17):
historic, very historical and interesting.It is now very touristic city. A
lot of people kime and watch andit's like Summer count It's the beautiful cities.
UNESCO support them very much. I'llhave to add that to my list.
(02:40):
Yes, right, so guys,you should come and so this is
like very very very historical, interestingcities. No, I would imagine.
I would imagine. So when didyou make your way to the United States.
Like what what was that? SoI'm again I'm growing up in Uzbekistan.
(03:02):
So I graduated school there and afterI decided to get my education in
university. And so I went toRussia and I got my education in like
(03:22):
I got my master's degree in jazphysics. It also was like interesting story,
all my stories very interesting. Soand I got my master's degree in
all in university, I'm a master'sdegree in jeat physics. So and also
(03:43):
I'm start comparing my engineering education withfinancial stuff and started to work and decided,
so I need to improve my educationduring my working staff and I decided
to keep going and I got mypage degree in Moscow State Universities. Oh
(04:11):
okay, all right? And afterwhen I going like up and up in
my career, and I had alot of employer employers, so I decided
I need my MBA degree to bevery good in business administration field. And
did you come here to the Statesto start that process? No? No,
(04:32):
no. I also did my MBAdegree executive and a degree in Moscow.
So I had work in a financialfield like chief financial officer in Moscow
during twelve and a half. Yeah. Wow, So and how I decided
(04:56):
I decided to move to United States. Also interesting story, So I have
been almost all around the world,sounds like, yeah, because the situation
in Russia and twenty eight was notgood. So it's like crisis again.
(05:20):
So I started to travel a lot. I have been everywhere in Asia,
in Amy's so in Africa also,And one day we decided to celebrate our
new year in the United States andwe started to travel. Started travel to
(05:45):
the United States. So first placewhich was like I visited it was Houston.
Yeah, because it was a directflight from Moscow to Houston. I
remember that. So yeah, andthere was a lot of because I was
in Houston for twenty eight some oddyears. There was I remember it was
(06:12):
I can't remember the specific name ofthe association, but it was a US
Russia kind of like a chamber ofcommerce. They still have, right,
right, And so I mean oiland gas is obviously that's the thing in
Houston, right, so that myclassmates, yeah, still working in Houston
(06:34):
in oil and guess so and specificin Jeff physics because it's like one of
the most important department in oil andgas. So and after Houston, we
are going went to California and Isaw Santa Barbara. Oh yeah, I
(06:55):
love Santa Barbara. Yeah, andit's a beautiful city. I called my
parents say, okay, now Iknow I feel yeah, very good.
So this is like so I willtry. And of course my parents say,
if you want to try, tryright. So I returned back to
(07:18):
Russia and it was twenty fourteen,so it starts kind of the beginning of
a conflict between Russia and Ukraine.And I understood, So I have to
move because I can support Russia inthis conflict. So I'm more in the
(07:42):
Ukrainian site. And so I justpacked right and go right. Well,
so and I moved first to SantaBarbara and I got my Lisa students.
These are first and I decided touh start learn English. So this is
(08:09):
my thought language. Third, yes, so you speak Russian, who's back?
And English? Okay? Is therea big difference between Russian and hwsbeck,
I mean there is really, becauseit's a group so Turkish okay,
all right, all right, thatmakes sense, that makes sense. I'm
going to have to bone up onUzbekistan because I don't know that much about
(08:31):
the country, right, So yeah, so some of these questions will be
very naive perspective, So I apologize. So it's good. I love like
all stories every time, So allmy stories very interesting. No, absolutely,
I just even a few minutes thatwe spoke before we started here,
I was like, Okay, yeah, you're gonna have a lot of good
(08:52):
stories. That'll be that'll be goodfor me, and that'll be good for
our audience to get to know youa little bit, because obviously, you
know, your your journeys that havebrought you to Leander are journeys that I'm
certain have informed you, uh inin many different ways on you know,
how you would approach really any problemor any solution. You know, from
(09:16):
that perspective, you have a veryunique life journey that has brought you here,
and one that I think would Ithink it's fair to say, and
and you know, some people maynot agree with me saying it necessarily this
particular way, but it is anAmerican story at the end of the day,
right, because you've you've come toAmerica, right, and and you've
(09:37):
gone through the process of becoming acitizen in our country, which can be
arduous. I mean for those ofus who were fortunate enough. I'm I'm
an I'm a son of an immigrant. Right, so my my my parents
came from Mexico, right, butI was born here, right, So
I've always been an American from thatperspective. Uh so my journey was shorter,
(09:58):
but I would I I wasn't.You know, don't we don't have
lineage in America, right, wedon't have generational you know, experience.
And I know many friends. Ihave many friends who in Houston were going
through the exact same process that youwere going through, right. And Houston
is probably one of the most multiculturalcities in the United States, Right,
(10:22):
so you have a great opportunity toreally get exposed to all sorts of people.
And then in your industry, oiland gas, that's very diverse.
There's a ton of people from allover the world just because of the industry.
Right, it's just necessary. Soyou were telling me, and I
think this is a nice thing totalk about. You just I think within
the last year, right, Yes, it received your American citizenship. Right,
(10:45):
So congratulations on that, Right,I mean, that's an achievement,
that is a that is I'm familiarenough with it to know that's not an
easy process. It takes time.It takes time, and in the middle
of US has happened COVID, right, so I'm waiting a little bit longer
than other people. And also,so interesting story. I met my husband
(11:13):
here in the United States. I'mnot coming with my husband with my family,
so we met here in California,Irvine. Okay, I also was
it sounds like another good story story. And so also in Irvine, I
(11:33):
opened my first academy for kids.It was Russian speaking kids around parents are
from Postiviet Union countries. And sowhen we decided to move to Texas,
and it smelled like the biggest town. First my game here and I told
(11:58):
Sasha, my husband, like mychildhood. Really that's interesting. Was that
Central Texas then, or so Austinwhen you guys came here to live,
you were in the Austin area.No filst became for Sasha's business trip because
Texas Film Commission invited him. Okay, yeah, so it was interesting coastal
(12:20):
story. And when Rick Ferguson,by any chance, I'm not familiar,
Okay, I have to ask yourhusband. I have to ask you because
I know I know several people,especially if he was here in Austin.
I know several people who work withthe Texas Film Commission, you know,
just something I happened to have runacross. Have to ask him, I
(12:41):
have to ask him on the wayout, because that would be a very
small world. Yes, and soafter those we decided we have to move
to here. So you end upin the Austin area. How did Leander
end up being your choice? Was? Was it the affordability housing? Was
it location to your work? Whatbrought you? So? First we moved
(13:03):
in Texas and parented apartments. So, and it's also very interesting story because
we lost of everything during the winterstore so the snowpocalypse, right, there's
a really bad storm. So andit was like very bad situation because we're
(13:24):
shooting our movie Chariot with Malkovich inArkansas and people call us and say,
okay, guys, you have nohome. So this is why you were
living in an apartment at the time, or yeah, we lived in apartment.
So what happened there was it wasit snow related? Was it fire?
(13:46):
So it's just tree was frozen,okay, okay, like felt and
so some pipe is broke and it'slike yeah, yeah, yeah, it
was like everything and so and wedecided to starting to build our house,
(14:09):
and I choose Trevisa, Okay,yeah, no, really nice areas.
And it's also interesting story because everythingwas delayed and our house built like almost
one and a half year. Yeahyeah, and so that was probably still
a COVID related right right. It'salso showed us how we have to looking
(14:35):
forward because COVID shown up all ofus, so we have to little beat
the good dot what's happened after somethinghappened like five years, ten years,
And so again my decision about runningto the office was like compared with this,
(15:01):
because so now what the issues soBlake Travis mm hmm, so in
very situation. Yeah, and ifwe're will keep using Blake Travis, maybe
in five year it will be gone. Yeah. No, I think that's
a that's a genuine that's a genuineconcern. I think for for all of
(15:24):
Central Texas. It's not necessarily specificallyLeander issues. Yes, yes, yes,
of course, because it troubles me. And from my perspective, again,
when I look at that, Iunderstand and I don't know how much
we'll talk about this, but Iunderstand that. You know, all right,
So let's let's take into account thatthere that's a really hard thing to
necessarily predict. Right, And inthe past, decisions were made that you
(15:50):
know, have been whether you believeit or not, all of these decisions
have been made in the past havecontributed in one way or another to the
situation that we're in now, whetherthere were decisions made in Leanne, or
in the state of Texas, orin the United States or in the world
at large. Right, because climatechange is something that is it is real.
It's not something that you can argueit has happened. You can maybe
(16:12):
argue how much humans have had todo with it, right, that's a
reasonable position to take. In myopinion, I happen to think that we've
done a lot to contribute to that. Right. So you end up in
a situation where again you look atthe lakes here in Austin, both man
made, right, and so nowit comes down to how are we managing
(16:33):
that resource? Right? Yes,And it's concerning in the sense that it's
the one thing that I kind oftake note of when I watch the weather
here in Houston or in Austin,because it's the one thing that really concerns
me. And no offense to anymeteorologists out there, they never get the
weather, right, So I don'treally listen for the weather, but I
(16:55):
always attune to the level of waterin the lakes, right, And both
of those lakes are well below fiftypercent right now, So that is concerning,
right, Is it manageable? Possibly? Right? And if we if
we do get a you know someof these climate rivers that are coming over
(17:15):
the United States right now. Againit's this is being filmed a little bit
before the eclipse, So there's aconcern about you know, oh, it's
gonna be raining on Monday. Butthe if we get that type of rain
and it's consistent, then yeah,that's going to help a lot. But
at the end of the day,to your point, I think it's a
concern from a resource perspective and thecontinued growth in the Austin area and and
(17:38):
again in Leander. You know,we were one of the fastest we are
one of the fastest growing cities inthe US, So those resources start to
really play a big role in howwe plan. To your point again of
looking towards the future, So I'llmake an assumption here and then correct me
if I'm wrong, But it soundsto me like what motive, what's motivating
you to throw yourself into the publicsquare, which is what you've done is
(18:03):
a concern about the future. Right. I think that's maybe a motivating factor
for you. Is that fair?Yes? So? Because so average age
again here in London close to myage it's middle thirteen, no, okay,
saw and people have the same aage, most of them kids like my
(18:32):
daughter, yep. So and weshould look forward. No, I agree.
I agree. I think that's kindof a little bit of an indicator
for you as well in that oneof the things that you have done,
and I remember from your bio,I need to pull it up really quick
so I can speak to it correctly. But these are some of the some
(18:57):
of the I would say service oriented, uh, aspects of what you've done
in your lifetime. Right, Yes, where you had started the the Russian
school in in in California, andthen here I'm assuming here in Texas.
Uh, it's the math Kangaroo USA, which I think is really fascinating.
(19:19):
So tell us a little bit aboutthat. Yeah, so math Kingaroo Usay,
it's not just competition in US,it's a worldwide competition. Okay.
So here in the United States wehave brunch Marv Kangaroo USA. So it's
Olympic and Advice Advanced Math competition,so for kids who also look forward in
(19:45):
the future. So and I'm astate director here, I present Texas here.
So last year my students won worldwideor just in tech national and I
put thinking Texas on the map.Very nice, very nice? How many?
(20:07):
How many you said there's a branchhere in Texas? Are there multiple
locations that feed into like one Texasgroup. So it's a lot of right
now already school private schools who providedthis competition. So the most kids who
(20:32):
attend its elementary school. So westill have a huge problem here with middle
schoolers and high schoolers because the percentageis like two of three presented percentage from
whole ah students. So but itdoesn't matter, we keep going. It
(20:55):
was this year my aides Olympia whichI provided, So this year I provided
Olympia here in Leander in public library. So the in person was one hundred
students and online also compete seventy fourstudents. Okay, it's almost two hundred
(21:18):
kids competing in this. How arethey aged? Is it age bracketed to
where? Okay? So it's fromfirst grade until twelfth grade. So for
high schoolers's very interesting because the universitycan get credit if you ranked top twenty
(21:38):
in national Okay, so students whodo participate, and it sounds like there's
maybe a little bit of a ofa drain, would say for your older
students comparatively. Again, you've beendoing this for about eight years, it
sounds like, right, so weare you are your k through let's say
(22:03):
five as there a strong participation there, can you look forward and see Okay,
right now we have a few,you know, twelve grade or high
school age, but in five yearswill have that many more because they're already
participating now, right, And soour goal to show kids how they can
improve the skills logic stuff, andit will help in the future. No,
(22:30):
No, absolutely to get scholarship orcreated in university. No, No,
for sure. Now it's very veryimportant one hundred percent agree with the
there, especially given I mean,your experience and your background obviously would lend
you to the math part, right, So you're very familiar with those areas.
And I can see and I've alwaysfelt this way that you know,
(22:53):
are we hear a lot about stemand things of that nature. So there's
a little bit more of an emphasison it now, but I think we
did kind of as a country overall, we moved away from some of that,
right, just by the nature ofthe development in the United States towards
more of a service oriented economy.Right, it's because of what we're becoming
(23:15):
as a country. However, Ithink there's a sea change right now in
my opinion, just based on technologyand the advent of AI and piece of
that nature. Mathematical skills are goingto be tantamount to success for the next
couple of generations at least, i'dsay, until the robots take over.
(23:36):
And then once the robots take over, we can go back to service industry,
right, because we'll have the robotscook our food. And so it
was very interesting in the beginning myeducation. So I imagine one day I
will be tibernetic and I will createdrobots. But after I decided to go
to other fields, but still everythingthe robot. Yeah, that's my heart.
(24:02):
No, that's interesting, that's interesting. Now. I'm a big fan
of robots myself too. I thinkit's I think it would be if done
properly, right, it's a it'sa great boon for humanity as a whole,
because a lot of the more.Yeah, I'd say even if you
(24:22):
just look at it from the thetasks that need to be completed, the
repetitive tasks manufacturing things of that naturecould very easily be modified to take advantage
of roboties, right. I thinkit's just it's a natural progression because human
(24:44):
beings are generally lazy and we don'twant to do those things, right.
I mean, let's be honest,that's what it is. Is we're lazy,
we don't want to do it,so we find we're creative enough that
we find ways to be able toget away with that. I think that's
fascinating. I think it's really neat. Okay, So I think we've talked
a little bit about like some ofyour background and whatnot, so help us
(25:06):
understanding, Souse. You and Iwere chatting a little bit about something and
I don't want to feature this necessarilyper se because it's very expansive and that
we would do it a disservice.But you did mention a recently published comparison
done by the Leander Foundation, andfull transparency here, folks, I sit
on the board for the Leander Foundation. Carlos Saint James did this work.
(25:30):
Yeah, he did ask me tolook at it, and I'll come clean
here. I only looked at itbriefly. I think I had one little
comment for him, I asked himwhere he was getting his source data.
But other than that, I reallyhave not read it. So I'm reading
it with you at the same time. And I thought it was interesting some
of the comments that you made,even walking in on how that's helping inform
you someone who's again stepping into apublic square and making yourself, you know,
(25:56):
available for you know selection if youwill. What are you finding there?
Like what, how how is thatinforming you? What? What do
you find interesting in that in thatparticular document. So first, I'm very
appreciated, Carlos. Yeah, Ithink it's fine. It's like it's like
very best for all of us,for all candidates. So so first,
(26:22):
of course, it's about my goals. It's all information here, and I
was so happy because when I startedto read and review, uh, this
document, so I said, like, okay, I'm on the right way,
okay, because one of my goalsis economical improvement here, so it's
(26:48):
very important because how it looks rightnow, So there residential development and commercial
development it's imbalance, agreed. Soit's like huge difference between so and first
of what we should to do here, do like make a process more easy
(27:11):
for commercial development and bring more businesseshere. So and it will help all
sales that tanks base for our city. Also, it can bring a lot
of people here. So for example, I know a lot of my age
(27:33):
group, they they won't traded jobhere. Oh yeah, the vantage I
think it would be from the demographics. I completely one hundred percent agree,
and I'm I'm constantly again. Iwas on the Economic Development committee in over
the last term. I think Ithink we flipped in October, But that
(28:00):
was one of the things that cameup quite often. And sometimes that conversation
is a little bit too oversimplified fromthat perspective, because a lot of the
a lot of the retail or serviceoriented retail that we see coming to Leander
now, the restaurants and the fastfood chains and things of that nature.
To be perfectly honest, that's goingto come anyway. It's to your point,
(28:22):
the more people, the influx ofpeople, then it builds enough of
a demographic that is looking for convenience, right, yes, so that you
end up with you know, again, the fast food or the or the
fast casual, however you want toframe it, those types of restaurants are
going to happen anyway. The developersfrom that perspective have recognized that, so
(28:45):
you already see them building up partsto support that. Right, I think
your point, and again, correctme if I'm wrong, But what we
were looking at was more from adevelopment perspective. Economically developing a it's about
diversity of economy, right, becauseyou cannot have an economy that's overly reliant
(29:07):
on one sector. Right. Itend to have and this is my opinion,
humbly submitted, and I'm speaking strictlyfor myself, I tend to think
we're a little imbalanced there as wellright now, because we're heavily reliant on
service industry. And that may workout okay, Right, Typically you're okay
there. But if there were tobe any lesson learned from the pandemic,
(29:33):
it's that the overreliance on a serviceindustry is precarious because those businesses will close.
They won't survive, right, Theycan't survive those types of downturns.
They're not equipped to do that.Whether you know whether it's because of their
you know, their franchises. Youknow, they reliant on other larger you
know, distributors and things of thatnature. That that's a precarious situation to
(29:59):
be and so you want to havea little bit more diversification, right,
And so entertainment also, Yeah,no, I think like entertainment, I
think that there's opportunity there. Yeahno. And and you talked a little
bit about like your your your daughter, right, your daughter, and you
know the the opportunity here that youknow, there is a generational opportunity in
(30:22):
Leander in my opinion because to yourpoint, the demographics here indicate that.
So how do we keep not thatwe want to keep them, right,
that's not the right word, buthow do we encourage our children to stay
in this area? Right? It'swith informed developments? Right, right?
So give me some ideas, giveme some thoughts there, like what would
(30:44):
you what would you see or whatwould you like outside of Trader Joe's,
which I think is I think that'sspot on. But other than that,
what what would be your idea oflike what type of businesses do you think
we should encourage? So also becauseI'm teacher and I'm working with parents,
so I every time hearing again it'slike three four kids family, they need
(31:08):
day care, so huge line andwait list for all day cares here,
So we need more daycare businesses here. That makes sense. So also entertainment
opportunity movie theaters, so some spotfor play zones, like for example around
(31:32):
Rock they open Kalahari, but it'sso far from here, so we use
Crossover for athletics stuff. We needsomething here also in London because people who
live in the North of Leander.Also it's takes time to go to Crossover.
(31:55):
And I also bring my daughter toCrossover for ice skate practice, and
we go every day going to roundRog for off uce practice. So and
I'd like to have here all thisopportunity again, so we use our pediatrician
(32:17):
in Austrian so we need more medicalprofessional staff here. So are my dentist
in Cedar Park. I need ourdentists here close to us. So and
in my perspective, it's not justlike we should do this for tap space
(32:45):
or something like this. It's ifyou can reach all your staff what you
need in ten minutes, also willhelp us to solve traffic problems. Yeah,
no, I agree, it's likeall staff dependent are there, right,
(33:06):
So if Grocier's store here, theycare here, so I don't need
to use my car twenty thirty minutesto go to other cities. So you
can solve all this and also jobopportunities. I agree, I agree,
And that's where I was going togo next is I think what you're talking
(33:29):
about is again creating more localized jobopportunities and small business is one of the
things that again it's a it's ahuge, if not the largest driver of
local economies in cities of the typethat Leander is and will be right,
Yes, Leander is never going tobe a center of commerce. It's just
(33:53):
not it's not intended to be.We are a you know, we're outside
of Austin, where you know,a suburb if you will of Austin saw
this in Houston. You would probablyknow this from from your experience and exposures
in California, right. You knowLa in California, like that's where everything,
(34:15):
that's where all the all the corporateheadquarters are. But nobody lives in
LA. They live everywhere around LA. And I think you see the same
thing happening. It's the same thingin Houston. I mean you probably experence
that to a degree in Houston,the Central Business district in Houston, downtown
Houston. You know, you've seenebin flows there. I was there when
(34:36):
there was the big downturn in oiland gas. That's what prompted the city
of Houston to diversify the number ofand the types of businesses that they have.
Still heavily reliant on oil and gas. Now, let's not make no
there's no question about that. Weknow that that's case. But they did
diversify enough that they were able tomanage the subsequent downturns in the economy.
(34:59):
Like the economy and Houston diversified enoughto be able to withstand that. I
think that's one of the things herein Austin, in the Greater Austin area
that there's a lot of I wouldsay, pretty good diversity, very tech
reliant, you know. I mean, you know, tech has been the
main driver in the Austin area forforever, and it's only recently that it
(35:22):
becomes very obvious to more people,right, But Austin had always been a
hub of tech innovation, and youcan go all the way back to Texas
industries. You know that that thatwas in Austin. Right, that's happening
here. So that's been a bigdriver for a lot of the a lot
of the growth. And now thattech is what it is, it is
(35:43):
the big driver for the growth here. So from a small business perspective,
we've talked a little bit about serviceorientation, right, the service industry,
you know, restaurants and and youmentioned some smaller business type of opportunities in
childcare and in uh in, incommunity and entertainment and whatnot, what other
(36:05):
small business You're a small business owner, right, I mean, so that's
so you have that experience what haveyou? And we should probably go back
how long have you been in Leandernow? Because I just realized I haven't
asked you that? So uh inTexas for you and now two and a
(36:27):
half years here in Leander? Okay, all right? And you your your
main occupation, like what you dofor a living right now? Is the
the kangaroo, the math kangaroo oris something else? I'm teacher in the
Meme Academy, middle schooler teacher.Okay, Okay, I'm doing so.
(36:51):
I tryed to be not but likeI have line honest, so and Texas
stated marv in Guru and also Ihave my own academy with advanced mark and
signed. So then in in thatparticular regard, do you do you actively
(37:15):
say this? Do you actively recruitfor your academy? Are you looking for
students to bring in or do theyjust come to you because they're looking for
that type of education? Yes?Okay, So it's the latter. You're
not out there, you're not outthere with a you see, you seem
like you're a really good math student. Why don't you come over here?
Now, I'm just kidding kind ofthis. So and also you just mentioned
(37:36):
about tech here in Austin area,like sub Austin areas. So if we
return to California, so Silicon Valley, it's tech and educational stuff. M
hmm hmm. And it's compared whatto should to do here and we can
(37:57):
create up here in Yonder yeah,now like fake and advance program to improve
and so it can bring a lotof people here. Yeah. Now,
I agree we've talked about because it'salso comparing uh huh. We've talked about
so in the past. Again,and I'm relying here a little bit on
(38:21):
the conversations we've had in the EconomicDevelopment Committee. We've talked about Austin Community
College, which is obviously right hereoff of one to eighty three, and
you know the opportunity to leverage that. We've also talked about incubators, right,
so you're probably familiar with a coupleof incubators. I would think,
right, I think that's a greatidea for Leander area because it not only
(38:43):
would offer an opportunity to allow companiesto grow and find their space, right,
it would also be flexible enough thatif the economy were to shift to
another area of tech or whatever itmight be. Because right now, I
would say the the primary drivers areobviously artificial intelligence, right, Yes,
(39:06):
the chip manufacturing is another area.And then you would look at I would
say, arguably space and and andand and you can kind of see that
out here, right and you've gotFirefly. You got a couple of space
oriented businesses, right, But whereare the support mechanisms for that? Where
are the where are the the thethe vendors for those companies are you know,
(39:31):
I I don't know of and maybethey exist, but I don't know
of a source here in in inthe Greater Austin area. I know that
Samsung's building, there's and and stufflike that. But there are companies that
build and provide other services within thosespaces. Right, I think that's a
great opportunity here in Leander because ofthe proximity. And I would argue because
(39:54):
of the train too. I meanit would you would allow people to not
necessarily live in Leander, but cometo work in the her And that's okay
too. This is so also verylike vuluable, too much valuable, vulnerable
to mind here. So we shouldbring more interesting projects to here and people
(40:17):
will come and spend money here.Oh yeah, no, for sure,
So not just for leaving for spendingmoney to get some stuff from Leander,
and we can put for example,Santa Barbara also a very small city.
It's on the map. So whatI exactly want to do put Leander on
(40:42):
the map. You talked a littlebit when we were chatting before we started.
I think you were talking mostly aboutyour daughter and her participation in athletics.
Right, you had some ideas theretoo, So help help people,
help explain that thought there. Rightnow, people understand what you're what you
(41:02):
were talking to me about as itcomes to because you mentioned Olympic level and
I'm curious as to what you meanby that, So we have very good
opportunities and capabilities because here also againbecause in Cedar Park Crossover. So my
(41:24):
daughter figure skater, So your maincoach one of the best coaches. She's
Olympian and Japanese Olympian and she wasworld champion a couple of times. So
now the coach my daughter. Soand also we have like a couple other
(41:50):
coaches, they're all from US team. And also we have very good team
coaches in Houston. Yes. So, and it's give me idea to put
Ariana like volunteer to Winter Olympic Games. So next in Milan. And I
(42:15):
received letter from Milan Olympic volunteering team, so they accept her. Oh great,
So she is going to Milan andwill be part of the volunteer cruise
assisting with the figure skating. Yeah, that's awesome. So, and this
is so important to show young athleteshow it's look in the future, sure
(42:39):
to their goals. So also veryinteresting fact, I have one of my
best friends from California. So andwe all know the twenty twenty eight will
be Olympic game in Los Angeles.So and she work also in the small
(43:01):
city mission Villaham and they propose programto bring all water sports in Mission viah
Okay, so and most of watercompetition will be in Mission Villa. Hum.
Right, so it's like interesting viewhow we can solve some problem.
(43:27):
And my idea to create young athleticgroup and send them to be volunteering in
twenty twenty eight and so how itlooked like of course here in Texas we
have a lot of Olympia, famousOlympium, not just figure skating, right,
(43:49):
agreed, shooting and some right yes, so and it's will help kids
to understand their goal and yeah,I think that's a exchange experience. So
I'm like about this, So weshould show our kids and like young parents
(44:12):
also opportunity we can use. Thisis look like it's too far, but
if you try, you can receivethis. I think those are some really
really good ideas. And I thinkwhat's interesting in my opportunity to speak with
candidates such as yourself and again,thank you so much for making the time,
is that you start to see wheresome of these ideas are coming from.
(44:37):
Right, And you know what Iwhat I want to try to do
here on the podcast is again givepeople a little bit of an insight into
who you are and how you think. And I think one of the things
that I can take away from ourconversation today is that there's a lot of
creative thinking to what it is thatyou're proposing. And some of these proposals
might seem a little bit you know, out of reach today, but when
(44:58):
you start to frame it the waythat you just did. Right, So,
if we were to say, startan effort to organize a program,
and maybe it originates in Leander,maybe it doesn't, but regardless, that
would start to provide a resource orprovide a repository where people who would be
(45:22):
interested, athletes who would be interestedin for parents who would be interested in
having their children participate in these typesof programs to where they would have at
minimum exposure to Olympic level of competition. And it might be the one thing
that inspires those athletes and those volunteersto really push themselves to be able to
(45:46):
achieve that in the long run.Right. I think that's and I think
that's a theme that I get fromyou overall. Right, you know,
I can see that your mind worksvery much towards a future state. I
think is a fair way to kindof that You're thinking right, and I
think that's good. I think that'sa good voice to have in the conversation.
(46:07):
So I appreciate you making some timehere for me today. It really
was a great conversation and your storiesare fantastic. I definitely have to spend
some more time with you, justlearning a little bit more about Uzbekistan.
But beyond that we have a littlebit of time here. I want you
to tell people where they can findyou, Like, where can they find
your information? How can they findout more about you? What's your website?
(46:30):
What kind of social media presence doyou have? Everything? So my
website on ylanfo Leander dot com.So I have the same name social media
their Instagram, Facebook on the elanfor Leander, yees. My mail is
(46:54):
on the Ylan edgemail dot com.Saw my phone five one two seven free
is nine six two seven free.Okay, all right, So that's happy
like to speak with obviously, Imean, you're the second candidate who's given
out their phone number, which Istill find I mean, I think it's
(47:15):
a great idea. I just findit a little a little crazy, but
it's okay. So I'm happy tospeak with old people and hear their request
first, also because it's important forall candidates not just figure out about us
a city problem like in the liketo say, just like so, we
(47:44):
need to hear our people right,our citizens what they need. So and
I'm work with people with patents soand also with Sasha's stuff, my husband
Sasha so. And we have otherparents, women who bring kids to the
(48:07):
sport. So I know a lotof requests and the first is like safety,
education, economic improve and of courseeveryone want water right in some right
right and you want Trader Joe's too. Yes, all right, Well again,
(48:30):
Anna, thank you so so much. This has been a tremendous pleasure.
I really have enjoyed meeting you,and hopefully you listener and viewer have
learned a little bit about Anna andlearned what is motivating her to make herself
available for you know, your vote, and and and and she hits on
a key point there at the end. You have to participate. So as
(48:53):
of this taping, you can nolonger register to vote. But if you
have registered to vote, we definitedefinitely want you to get out and vote.
The early voting will start on Apriltwenty second, and then the May
fourth Star Wars May the fourth bewith you is the day that the vote
will actually take place, So it'sreally really important to the future of Leander
(49:14):
that you make your voice heard.And if Anna is the type of a
person who appeals to you and youlike what she's talking about, then you
know, obviously learn about her she'sgiving you her websites, learn about the
other candidates. That's been the effortthat we've been making here at Voting Leander
to give you as much information aswe can about the people who are actually
running and then do your research,you know, find out about the topics
(49:37):
that they find their passion with andwhat they feel is important as we move
forward as a city. So Iencourage you to do that again. Anna,
thank you for your time here today, and that'll wrap it up for
the Vote in Leander series. Wecertainly hope that we have an opportunity to
speak to the last candidate we haven'thad a chance to talk to, but
(49:57):
I'm certainly hoping to get that donehere before early voting commences. But again,
we appreciate it and look forward toWe've seen you guys around town and
hopefully having a couple of conversations aboutthe series. So I hope this is
helpful and again, thank you foryour time. Thank you. That's it
for today, folks. Thank youand we'll see you. The next one
(51:00):
is one of my favorite. ILove N
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