Episode 62: Leading with Conviction with Amena Karim
“So my goal is, my parents have always taught me, that whatever you want for yourself and your family, you need to also want the same for your friends and for your coworkers and for your community.” - Amena Karim
Failed it! Fam, we'd like to introduce you to our guest, Amena Karim, an award-winning health equity activist who truly leads with conviction when it comes to what she believes in and supports. She has worked with startups and tech companies to raise money for BIPOC communities.
In today’s episode, Amena talks to us about:
Her role in helping BIPOC communities
Creating Feeding South Shore/Chicago Families
Using tech companies to help disenfranchised communities
Putting implementation and action into what you support
Links from show discussions:
About the Guest: Amena is an award-winning health equity activist, a master relationship builder in Brazil oriented leader with an evidence-based orientation with more than 15 years of experience at technology marketing and community engagement, she has demonstrated experience working with startups and enterprise technology organizations, where she is accustomed to wearing many hats. Now in 2020, she raised more than $500,000 to support food insecure, BIPOC communities.
About the Host: Erin Diehl is the founder and Chief “Yes, And” officer of improve it! and host of the failed it! Podcast. She’s a performer, facilitator and professional risk-taker who lives by the mantra, “get comfortable with the uncomfortable.” Through a series of unrelated dares, Erin has created improve it!, a unique professional development company that pushes others to laugh, learn and grow. Her work with clients such as United Airlines, PepsiCo, Groupon, Deloitte, Motorola, Walgreens, and The Obama Foundation earned her the 2014 Chicago RedEye Big Idea Award and has nominated her for the 2015-2019 Chicago Innovations Award.
This graduate from Clemson University is a former experiential marketing and recruiting professional as well as a veteran improviser from the top improvisational training programs in Chicago, including The Second City, i.O. Theater, and The Annoyance Theatre.
When she is not playing pretend or facilitating, she enjoys running and beach dates with her husband and son, and their eight-pound toy poodle, BIGG Diehl.
You can follow the failed it! podcast on Instagram @learntoimproveit and facebook, and you can follow Erin personally on Instagram @keepinitrealdiehl here. You can also check out improve it! and how we can help your organization at www.learntoimproveit.com. We can’t wait to connect with you online!
Episode 62 Transcription
Amena (00:00):
I will be damned if I'll allow someone or people get in my way when I know that the majority of the people in this community are hurting. And usually if we're hurting, I know that there are thousands of others that are in the same boat. So my goal is, my parents have always taught me, that whatever you want for yourself and your family, you need to also want the same for your friends and for your coworkers and for your community.
Erin (00:29):
Yes.
Amena (00:30):
The only way that you advance is the only way that you can progress. And to be honest with you, when you are in it and you see it, you're more authentic and people really will accept you and understand what you're going through and want to support you.
Erin (00:45):
Hey friend, are you a leader who is career-focused, goal-driven and possess a life long learner mentality? Do you dream about achieving your goals and spend hours Googling how tos and gurus? Does a side-effect of your awesome, might I add, personality include perfectionism, the dreaded imposter syndrome and the ever-present fear of failure? Well, you've landed in the right place. We just became virtual BFFs. I'm Erin Diehl, the founder of the improv training company improve it! And a recovering perfectionist turned failfluencer. Inspired by the improv rule, there are no mistakes, only gifts, this podcast is the creative outlet you need to not only motivate you, but the people that you lead. Through interviews with corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, and even comedians, you'll walk away becoming a more empathetic boss by realizing that failure is a part of the journey and you must fail in order to improve. In the scene of life, we all have our own unique gifts that we bring to the world, and it is our mistakes that help to wrap them. Welcome to failed it!
Erin (02:05):
Hello failed it! Family. I am thrilled to have today's guest with us. We have an amazing woman in our midst. Please welcome to the failed it! Podcast Amena Kareem, community activist, hero, and state director at Unite Us, welcome Amena.
Amena (02:25):
I am so thrilled and just incredibly honored to join you this morning. I really am! This is going to be a really great conversation.
Erin (02:35):
I agree, and I just think I researched you. I've looked at your background and I can't wait to hear all about the work that you're putting into this world. You're bringing so much light and love and just good. So failed it! Family, get ready because you're in for a very nice treat. So, all right, I'm going to start by reading your resume here or your resume. Are you ready? I'm going to read every single word on your resume to the failed it! Family, no. I'm going to read your bio here. And I just want you to take it in, Amena, cause you've done some great stuff. So Amena is an award-winning health equity activist, a master relationship builder in Brazil oriented leader with an evidence-based orientation with more than 15 years of experience at technology marketing and community engagement, she has demonstrated experience working with startups and enterprise technology organizations, where she is accustomed to wearing many hats. Now in 2020, she raised more than $500,000 to support food insecure, BIPOC communities. Welcome to the show, Amena!
Amena (03:48):
I am here and ready to go. I'm totally leaning in this morning with you.
Erin (03:52):
I know we both said before the show I'm I'm your morning cup of tea slash coffee.
Amena (03:58):
Absolutely!
Erin (03:58):
Yes, you're my morning cup of coffee. It's early failed it! Fam, but we're doing it. We're here to talk about failure bright and early. Um so let me start by this what's one thing or one fun fact that we couldn't find about you from your resume, your Instagram or your LinkedIn profile.
Amena (04:14):
Yeah, so really quickly my mother, my late beloved wonderful mom used to be a ballroom dancer and she used to teach a lot of ethnic, international dancing to primarily to disenfranchise communities with children. And she did that for maybe 25, 30 years. So because of her love of ballroom dancing, I became actually enthralled as well. And I used to do a lot of Afro-Cuban Afro Latin salsa dancing as well as other international dancing. And so I did that for a number of years, myself. And I enjoyed it quite a bit. So that's one fun fact that you probably wouldn't find anywhere.
Erin (04:59):
Can you still like bust a move today. Like you can still do that, right? Because you don't lose that.
Amena (05:04):
You don't lose it, but what's happening now. It's a little bit different back in the day where, you know, in that community, the salsa community, it's, it's, it's non generational. So you can basically dance on the floor with someone that's 90 years old or someone that's 15 years old. So it's not like unfortunately how we are in our regular just the modern kind of dancing now where everything is so just, you know, hyper, sexually, you know, at the, has that sexual orientation to it. If you're dancing maybe off of, you know, Brittany Spears and I love her or Janet Jackson or J-Lo or Beyonce, you have to have, you have to be a certain age, right. And have a certain look.
Amena (05:50):
And that culture is not like that. It's just anyone can dance and enjoy themselves. However, I've noticed over the last maybe decade or so that it's very choreographed, you know, all the arm routines. And so it makes a little bit more like a heavy lifting cumbersome when you're dancing and it's not as just very natural, but with that still being said, I haven't danced in a long time, but it's that spirit that you get when you hear that music, when you hear like you know, Mark Anthony or the latest Celia Cruz and you just, it's just wonderful. And I remember looking at the beautiful ballroom dancing on WTTW with my mom and and just, I just enjoyed it. And so it still brings a lot of light, you know, in me. And at some point I will get back to that. My daughter is now headed off to college, so I can kind of find me again. And just some of the things that I used to do before I became a mom.
Erin (06:52):
Yes, I have a two-year-old I can relate. Okay.
Amena (06:55):
Exactly!
Erin (06:59):
That is so cool. That is so cool. And you're right. It is, I actually danced my entire life till I was about 23. Haven't, you know, the kids are on the ticky Tucky and you know, I just haven't, I haven't dabbled either myself and I think it's just such a beautiful art form and you're right. When you hear Mark Anthony, when you hear that music come on, you just, it just fuels your soul. It really does. So speaking of fueling your soul you recently just started a new position as the state director at Unite Us. Can you tell us a little bit more about what you're doing now and then what drew you to Unite Us?
Amena (07:40):
Of course! So Unite Us is a social determinant of health technology company? And we're committed to building healthier communities as well as closing health equity gaps throughout communities across the United States. There are two gentlemen that started it in 2013 that were military veterans. They were trying to help their, their veterans with support and resources and found that the, you know, the world in which they were in is a very disparate system in terms of getting help and support. And so they took that orientation has scaled it across all the states and most states rather. And so there are over 8,500 partners that we have across the country that consist of, and, you know, included, but not limited to, healthcare providers community-based organizations nonprofits, social care providers as well, all trying to provide support wraparound services for individuals. So what does that all mean? If I'm an individual and let's say, I, I go to my food bank and I discuss, you know, I lost my job as well. Not only my food insecure, but I lost my job. And by the way, losing my job, I may also lose my home.
Amena (08:58):
So this network allows you to be able to send and receive electronic referrals across the network that consists of all these awesome organizations that provide housing and clothing and food and transportation and employment and mental health and a lot of social care services because we know that the future is rooted in the communities. We live and work in our communities. We don't do hospitals. And we all know that the current model that is today is not working. And 80% of all of our social determinants are not in the hospital. Only 20% is clinical clinical care. The other 80%, especially if you live in certain zip codes in Chicago was a report that was just out by the Chicago sun times is also by the Chicago department of health that African-Americans have a 9.2 years lifespan, shorter life span than all the other populations in the Chicago land area.
Amena (10:02):
And it's been in some zip codes is even I'm sure even wider. And those social determinants are whether it's a high unemployment, if I don't have enough money to go from, you know, from my home to my, to see my doctor, then there's the transportation gap. There are also socioeconomic issues it's dealing with employment and education and all, all the other social determinants that just yesterday, unfortunately in south shore, which is a community in which I live in, we just had a mass shooting that is, those are chronic you know, stressors on people who are not a part of that. Right. But, but you hear more gunshots, then you hear birds chirping so they can play a lot on your mental health. It creates trauma and stress. And, and so if you already have a lot of pre you know conditions such as maybe lupus or diabetes or hypertension, what it does, unfortunately, it's a combustible mix of a situation that just will become even more exacerbated.
Amena (11:12):
And we all saw that through the pandemic. So my role with this great organization is to really connect with healthcare and social care providers, as well as nonprofits and community-based organizations and enable them to connect within this network across all the communities in Illinois and provide those wraparound services to individuals and families to get them the services that they need. Cause they're not going to find that in just, you know, a hospital setting, right? So that's my goal. And, you know, I, it was really an extension of what I was doing just from a micro level. During the pandemic, my sister and she still is very ill, was gravely ill. She had been in the intensive care for about nine months and they had just released her university of Chicago just released her. And I don't know, maybe about three weeks later, I had to do a resuscitation on her.
Amena (12:12):
I had never gone through that before in my life. 9 1, 1 operator was so awesome later she won the red cross award because I searched her, nominated her for a hero award because without her just her expertise and her intuition in terms of telling me what to do over the phone. But what I realized is not only was my sister in this grave situation on top of that, we lived in a former food desert for six years. So if a grocery store had just opened maybe three months going into the pandemic and we couldn't find a, a delivery service platform to deliver in the community, and you're already dealing with a community that had already had a high mortality rate, we actually had one of the highest in the Chicago area. So my goal as my parents have always taught me that whatever you want for yourself and your family, you need to also want the same for your friends and for your coworkers and for your community, the only way that you advance, it's the only way that you can progress. And to be honest with you, when you are in it and you see it, you're more authentic and people really will accept you and understand what you're going through and want to support you.
Erin (13:30):
Sure.
Amena (13:31):
Yeah. And so what I went through that with my sister, which was very traumatic for the family and I'm sure it was even more traumatic for her, was to really actually dive a little bit deeper and find out what could I do for my community. And then Chicago lands as a whole within the black indigenous people of color community, because that's where a lot of, unfortunately, a lot of the, you know, disenfranchised communities where there's higher unemployment, there's a, you know, higher colored rates. And, you know, it just, unfortunately the zip codes here sometimes predetermine your health. And so I, you know, use my marketing and communication expertise.
Amena (14:13):
And I reached out to Instacart and the policy manager there Mr. Kelly, and we talked about joining forces and then supporting a business, Eva jacobowsky who owns local market foods in south shore was one of the first she actually is the only grocery store within that footprint. We sat together and we talked about how can we repurpose and redesign her business specifically, you know, during the pandemic to do three things, one was to deliver food until we actually had a with Instacart. So we basically transmitted her employees and to delivery drivers right now. Every week we were delivering about 500 grocery bags per you know, every week for months, it was called feeding south shore. We deliver it to the most vulnerable populations. So that was basically you know, the elderly people who were on maybe snap ahead, no connectivity online, obviously, right?
Amena (15:24):
If you, if you, if you have a if you don't have a delivery platform, how can you use your snap cards? Right. And then a lot of the delivery platforms were not actually accepting snap cards, right? So that was an issue. And then children obviously didn't have the kind of resources they needed. The school system is not set up to feed a community long-term right. So, you know, short term they have and they did a great job with really actually responding in real time. But the food I wanted to make sure that the foods that we provided was A culturally appropriate and B healthy, because what we didn't want to do was deliver food that contribute to already people that already have diabetes. Right. And so really understanding the culture, really understanding the people and then actually having those that dialogue.
Amena (16:22):
And so I worked with the videographer and we, we had these documentaries that we put together and we interviewed hundreds of families. And what we learned from all of that was that they had even more deeper social determinants of health challenges. And that is, Hey, I don't have computers in my home. I can't see a doctor. They're not allowing us in there. How do I connect with my doctor if I don't have a computer? So then I connected with PCs for people and had them to support me as well as the other organizations that I worked with and partner with. And we deliver computers to these families that we're also delivering food to. And then also, yeah, and then Instacart stepped in and said, you know what, we're going to accelerate this partnership, even though it takes weeks to set up all these food skews online, but they accelerated the the partnership, which was the first, you know, the first of its kind.
Amena (17:22):
And what we did was create a blueprint for how the private and public sectors are supposed to come together and support a community. And I really want to thank also Verizon, you know, they stepped in and supported, donated, you know, $25,000-30,000. And then from that, and because of that, then the media was really interested in how communities can move forward and progress and just the kind of activities. And because of that, then I had all these private donations that just poured in from Canada, from, you know, people that didn't want to, they wanted to remain anonymous from nonprofits. So it just became really, I stepped out of it personally from my, it started with my sister. I got out of the way and really wanted to focus on just a larger you know, swath or to scale it so that we really support communities, not just the south shore, but communities outside of south shore that had similar issues.
Amena (18:28):
And so it started with feeding south shore, and then we called it feeding Chicago families because it included schools and hospitals and rescue centers for women who were you know, physically abused and just all kinds of organizations. Re-Entry people who just came, you know who were obviously incarcerated, came back into the workforce, and trying to find jobs and needed computers needed food. And what I learned is just, they make it happen. Like let's reduce some of the rhetoric. You hear, you hear people who have good intentions, but sometimes they don't move the needle.
Erin (19:09):
Amena, let me stop you right there. Cause you moved the needle. Can you, can you see that? Can you see how you just moved this needle for, for so many communities, sorry to interrupt you. But I had to stop because I was like, did you hear what you just said, but did you hear the impact of lives that you just created in a year? Did you hear that?
Amena (19:31):
You know what? I was in such an, I was so in the thick of it, meaning I was getting up every, you know, few days out of the week at seven o'clock in the morning, you know, putting grocery bags together, I really couldn't see and feel, I couldn't see the impact because I was so in it every day, you know what I mean? And it was only until I actually started filming individuals originally. They didn't want to go on camera for humility and I get it, you know, people, their jobs now they're standing in a food line or and when I started hearing all these people, I mean, when, I mean people from different backgrounds. So from a 90 year old to a woman, who's, you know, in her thirties who just lost her job and has a child that's in grade school to, you know, grandparents that you know, were retired, but didn't have enough means to, you know, go all the way through, in terms of the pandemic, because they had to spend extra money, right.
Amena (20:32):
Everyone who was spending extra money on, on food and electricity and all, you know, things that you didn't plan for. So all these stories were told in such a impactful, genuine, authentic way that it allow me to do is really create a narrative control the narrative in the black and brown communities, because oftentimes you get these stories and I get it on one side of the ledger, you know, I'm not live, I don't have this Disney lens where you know, all is good, right. So I know that on one side of that ledger, yes, there are things that we have to work on as a community in terms of getting the crime rates down, getting the unemployment rates lower and making sure that people have quality of life. That's one side of the ledger. The other side is that there are people who just want to be able to walk up and down their community, go to a grocery store or, you know, have that experience like we have on a north side of Chicago where you don't even think about, you know, being shot, right. Or you don't think about not having more than one store to go to for food because there's, there's so much, they have this, you know, economic development in, in communities, across Chicago on the other side, it's almost like a tale of two cities.
Erin (21:56):
It really, I mean, really is. And a lot of people listening to the show, some live in Chicago. Now we have a very wide knit, you know, nationwide audience based on the pandemic. But I will say, if you haven't been to Chicago, it is, it's two completely different cities on two sides of the city. So, sorry, keep going. Cause I wanted you to feel this. I mean, I wanted you to realize what you've done because our audience is primarily leaders in corporate America. Right? And I think the pandemic made everybody stop and say, okay, what am I doing? Am I prioritizing the right things? Am I helping the right people? Am I helping myself is my mental health okay? And you not only were selfless in this act, you literally, you know, helped your sister, which ultimately led to helping hundreds of thousands of people. And now you've got this awesome, awesome, awesome community that is serving other communities. And it's scalable. And you're doing all of this because you saw a need and you said, I need to fill it.
Erin (23:06):
Overachiever, perfectionist, career minded, focused. Did those words resonate with you? It's Erin, you're recovering perfectionist turned failfluencer here. And I want to give a shout out to all my type a leaders out there who are failing it left and right. And this quote, unquote, new normal too. Those words are growth, but they are unfortunately true. So that's why myself and team have decided to celebrate F words at work. That's right. We at improve it! Are throwing a F word party. That's F as in Frank, and we can bring that party to you and your team. Now our newest virtual offering F words at work is a virtual keynote delivered by yours truly. You need a way to engage 50 plus or even hundreds of your team members via zoom. Our one hour F words at work note, we'll do just that. Now, unlike our workshops, where we are in and out of breakout rooms, this keynote is a way to appeal to the masses. I don't want you to worry because it is still uber interactive and the F words may not be what you think. So with the notion that failure, plus the frequency of failure equals the fundamentals of success. I'll take you and all of the other recovering perfectionist of your organization on a virtual journey filled with laughs, learning and levity. Reach out to us at learntoimproveit.com on our contact us page to learn more. And I cannot wait to drop some F-bombs with you.
Erin (24:53):
Can I ask you a question really quick? What would you say to a member of the failed it! Family who is a corporate leader right now who has something standing in their way and their community may be their organization, their team. What would you tell somebody in the failed it! Family who's listening, who is listening to this story and is like, oh my God, she did all of this in a year because I wanted you to feel what you did. I mean, it's crazy. It's an, it's a year and a half and you've created this community. You've, you've used your marketing background to work with huge brands like Verizon and Instacart. And you've rallied a group of people to help others. And that's just, that's a short period of time to do something so amazing. So what would you tell somebody listening today who wants to do the same thing for their organization or their community? What's an action item you would tell them to do right away to get started?
Amena (25:47):
Yeah, I would say three things. So first you have to be passionate about whatever it is that you want to go into. Right? So whatever that is, and I can't, and I can't tell you, but even if it's just that one thing that you really want, and you say, you know what, I can't do it because there are, you know, people on the left people on the right people on the center that may create barriers for me, or maybe I don't have enough money or maybe I don't know the right people or whatever that is. I will tell you, and please hear my words. You don't really need it. This is a quote by the great Shirley Chisholm. And I live it every single day. You may not have a seat at the table so you bring a folding chair. And what I mean by that is you don't allow anyone to get in your way and tell you what you can and cannot when you know, it's the right thing, because I will tell you when I first started with feeding south shore, and there is if you can, if you, for all of their listening, if you want to get the tape was through the freedom of information act. I had a hard time getting it off, off, you know, get the train moving because the, some of the people didn't feel as though it was, I'm also a special service area commissioner for my area. And my, my job is to support and help the businesses in south shore, which is a predominantly African-American community. The median household income is about $26,000, which is half of the city's average.
Amena (27:32):
It's about 38% of people living below poverty. And before the pandemic was about 60% of risks for food security. So we got a lot of, you know, there's, there's a lot of issues going on. However, the community for anyone that wants to ever come here, if you, if you just look at it on its you know, face value where we're only seven minutes away from the downtown area, we are only five minutes away from the museum of science and industry. When we're nestled among golf courses maybe five minutes away from the Obama presidential center if it if they ever get that started.
Erin (28:13):
Right? It's been a moment, it's been a moment.
Amena (28:14):
And beaches. So if you just look at it and I can see literally the golf course, if I walk three feet from my door, I can, I can see it, beautiful community. And I thought about it and I said, I will be damned if I allow someone or people get in my way. When I know that the majority of the people in this community are hurting. And usually if we're hurting, I know that there are thousands of others that are in the same boat. So I'm going to also get out of my way and not put up barriers, perceived barriers for me, and I'm going to do whatever I need to do to get results. I'm a very results oriented person, and I'm very process oriented as well. And what I mean by that is nothing just happens randomly. You do have to plan. You have to, if you can put some metrics, especially if you're asking for, for funding if you have it, tell a great story and have supporting evidence, and then you just move forward, you take your folding chair and you go forward.
Amena (29:22):
Yeah. Create those barriers. Cause sometimes you can create it yourself as well because you, you think who am I, I'm not, you know, I'm not the mayor or I'm not this, you know, we elected politician or I'm not, you know, someone and everyone knows I don't have a lot of money and you just start coming up with all these barriers for yourself. In addition to other people who may also throw some, you know, some balls in there as well. Right? So what you don't want to do is just have all these barriers that you create. You want to have a clear conscious, you know what's out there, you know the evidence I just quoted some of these numbers to you, right? Low-Income community on the cusp of 60% of risks for food security. I have the numbers. I know, I knew what we needed to do.
Amena (30:12):
I needed to tell a great story. I had willing business partners in the community to support like local market foods and the south shore chamber of commerce and special service area,commissioners SSA 42. I knew that I had to get that done. And I just stepped out of the way I created a plan and I moved forward and I just kept scaling it. And I told my story and I created my narrative and I stayed consistent with my message. It never wavered. So whether I was talking to the media, talking to a politician, talking to someone in the community who really needed support, the messaging stayed consistent. So no matter what it was always consistent. And so to me, I think that was my recipe. And, you know, because of that, you know, brown university actually would be re interviewing me a little bit later today.
Amena (31:06):
Cause they want to know about that or university of California at Berkeley interviewed me for their research uh last I think now two months ago now and then the university of Illinois. So it's, it's actually just having, having that vision and then actually implementing it. You can have the best ideas, but if you don't execute flawlessly and then have people, the right people with you on your journey, then it becomes a little gray. And I'm not saying you're not going to have, you know, bumps in the road because that is just life and you will fail at it.
Erin (31:46):
That's it! That's it.
Amena (31:50):
You just keep going and, you just continue to improve.
Erin (31:52):
Oh, let me stop you right there. Romaine, because you just hit on a title that I like improve it. Okay. I got to say this. I mean, what I'm hearing you say, and just to kind of get this to our failed it! Family is just stay consistent, have a plan, bring, get the right people on the bus and then drive that bus. And if you got to go off road, go off road a little bit, right. And figure it out, get back on the road and figure out what to do next time or what you did that you won't do next time. So you stay on that path. And I mean, consistency is so key. I think that's so true for so many leaders out there who have a vision, but they just don't have the roadmap. And so they give up because it's seems impossible, but what you've is really create that vision. Tell you figured out your story. I love that you said, you know, I have these data points. I told that story time after time after time. And it's so cool. Look at what you're doing. I mean, first of all, I mean, you're on the failed it! Podcast. Then you get to talk to brown university. I mean, what a day? Okay. Now brown is definitely cooler than us cooler than us. But I think this is just such a testimony of getting out of your own way and saying, you know, I'm not going to give these barriers or these limiting beliefs to myself. I have a passion and I have competence and I'm going to lead with conviction. And I believe in this project, so I'm going to continue to keep pushing forward. And I just think that's such a lesson for all of us, because as you said, you had so many bumps in the road, there's so many fails, I'm sure on the day to day that you had to overcome to just keep moving forward. But when you get those people on video saying how you've impacted their lives, I'm sure that it's all worth it right in the end because you knew what the end goal was.
Amena (33:45):
Absolutely. And the one thing too, I, what I learned is that sometimes when you're going after something, it may even change into something even bigger, even yes. Something more larger than what it is. So I always said that I'm not a food bank, right? Because there are some awesome, awesome, fantastic food banks with hundreds of trucks and thousands of employees and volunteers across the country, right? That's not me. That's, that's not what I was doing. Right. My goal was health inequities, closing health equity gaps. And if you talk about health equity, that includes food, of course, but it also includes other social determinants, which is why I was able to connect with other partners, such as PCs for people, for computers, for a tele-health, right? Because that's a health issue. If you don't have computers talking to these individuals and then working with the citizen app, for people who may not be familiar with the citizen app, that's a real-time app that gives you alerts that's going on in your community.
Amena (34:52):
Right. I connected with them doing the civil unrest because the businesses work when, when I tell you that the business, businesses were completely damaged, they were gone because we did so much, we had so much good wheel. Local market foods was maybe impacted less than 3% because the community said, look here, they are delivering food to us here. They are supporting the community. We had all these great community organizations to basically have this human ring around the store. We had community people that sit in this store is not going to go down, even with the larger stores when they completely folded. Right. whether it was Jewels in Chicago, target closed, even whole foods had closed. I mean, these are larger massive stores. This little store wasn't touched. And we were the only one still open during the pandemic.
Erin (35:55):
Wow I just got chills like that because I can imagine you said there were a ring of people, community leaders, just standing outside of the store, protecting the store because literally the store was protecting everyone in that community.
Amena (36:09):
You got it. So like organizations like the neighborhood news network Alliance, the NNA was Chrysler where they're the largest black, black club organization. They partnered and say, Hey, we're not going to allow this store to vote either because we've been fighting so hard to get the store, to come to the community. And then just to kind of go back with the citizen app, I reached out to them and said, Hey, these businesses were very vulnerable. What can we do now moving forward so that they don't become as vulnerable as they once were. Meaning when the looting was happening, a lot of stores didn't know that the looting was happening right next door to them right down the street. Right. But if you are getting these real time alerts from a business district perspective, that means you can close your doors, right. Or you can ask for additional security, you can tell the customers in your store, we're going to keep our doors closed.
Amena (37:00):
So you don't have to go out and get harmed. So the citizen app designed a special platform for me, for the business district in south shore, so that they can communicate with each other and they can send and receive these alerts. That's what's happening within their footprint so that each of them can make their own actionable decisions, whether or not they keep their doors closed. If there's another major, you know, looting episode that happens. So all of this happened within the same time. Cause remember the pandemic happened like around March or April when most people were really kind of understanding what was happening. And then unfortunately we had the George Floyd fallout that was in May?
Erin (37:44):
Our second pandemic, right? That was our second pandemic.
Amena (37:48):
Right! All of this was happening all around within, you know, two, three months timeframe of each other. And so that's why I truly believe that a lot of these companies, particularly the tech companies can really use their intelligence and their, you know, their their bandwidth to help these disenfranchised communities. Because oftentimes African-Americans have N on the Latin X community have a higher propensity and adoption rate of using their products to begin with. So why not comport yourself as a corporate citizen and really give back and not just the, you know, we support black lives matter or we, we support it, but then what, but what are you actually doing? Like, I want to see some action. I want to see some actual implementation and supporting of policies and really driving home. You know, these, all these health inequities that are happening in the communities. That's what I look at.
Erin (38:48):
Such a good point.
Amena (38:48):
What are you really doing right?
Erin (38:51):
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Amena (38:52):
It's a good story to tell kale. And I, and I do think it is a blueprint for how communities can hold people accountable, hold companies, accountable businesses, accountable, hold ourselves accountable and just continue to move forward and not look back.
Erin (39:08):
Oh my God. Okay. You are an angel on this earth. Okay. And so many leaders listening today, that is the soundbyte of all sound bytes. I mean, that is, that is it. And it's just holding ourselves accountable, holding other people and leaders and companies and organizations accountable for the actions and making the world that we want to live in. Right. And making. So taking that on a microcosm level, as a leader, in an organization, making an organization that you want to work with, or work for making and creating a team that you want to see succeed and help grow and add to that team and diversify that team. So it, it looks and feels like the people in this world and, and we help people with not only our words, but our actions. And what you just said to me now is just so beautiful. You're doing it. You've done it on a macro level, not a micro level. So congrats to you. I'm just thrilled that we know you. And I'm so thrilled to know the work that you're doing. And to introduce that to the failed it! Family today, because it's crazy what you've done, and you're not looking back. And I will say this, you know, this is something interesting. I think that I hope you get to do soon. Improve it! The company that I founded, we were just plugging forward, plugging forward, plugging forward since 2015. I mean, I did not take a day to stop and reflect. I was like, what's next? What's next? What's next? And then for us, we were completely in-person business. So we had to shut down when the pandemic happened. And then we had to figure out how to become virtual. And luckily we did, but it was in those moments of pause where I was able to take a step back and really reflect on the beauty of the work that we've been able to provide to so many people.
Erin (40:55):
And I hope that you get that moment. I want you to keep moving forward because the world needs you. But I hope you get a moment to just take a step back and kind of open the yearbook of your last year and a half and just see, you know, the work that you've done. I'll sign your yearbook if you want, but it's beautiful. You're doing so much great work for Chicago. And just for every community who's listening, you can take these key takeaways that you've given us and apply them. So let me ask you this, this wouldn't be the failed it! Podcasts if I didn't ask you a couple of questions specific to failure. So what would you do even if you knew might fail?
Amena (41:35):
Oh, well, okay. So if I know that I'm going to fail, I don't continue on that path. I have to still stop, pause, reflect, figure out what, how can I tweak it? And then I, I go on another path, but, but if I'm still passionate about it, maybe the process that I'm, that I'm using needs to be improved or tweaked. But if it's, but if I know that it's for the better good of the world is for, you know, it's going to improve the world it's going to make the world a better place. And it's the right thing to do. Then I'm still going to keep the spirit of it. But I may just change the steps or the process. You know what I mean?
Erin (42:18):
I do. And I love that. Yeah. Because the spirits, what keeps you moving forward? So I love that. Yes, because failure is a part of the journey. That's what we believe. There are no mistakes, there are only gifts. So anything that happens to us in terms of a bump in the road, like you've encountered, becomes a part of that story and it's just material to help move us forward. It really is!
Amena (42:44):
And life would be so boring if you were just perfect. Right. Who wants to hear a perfect story?
Erin (42:53):
I'm a recovering perfectionist, failfluencer. Okay. That's where I'm at. So I totally get it. I totally get it. I'm like my nails chipped right now, who cares, you know.
Amena (43:04):
It's always a great story to tell and there's usually, you know, bumps in the road and how that person overcame their challenges. And that's the beauty of life. There is no such thing as a perfect journey or perfect road to travel on. And so if you keep that in mind, but always have, you know, just be genuine and authentic and be differentiated in what you're doing. Remember at the top of the conversation, I said, I'm not a food bank and I'm not. And so I never went in that direction, but what I do, what I wanted to do is to make sure that I underscored that there were health inequities.
Amena (43:44):
And how do we, how do we improve that? And that's the message, right? If I just said, I'm just going to be delivering food. Okay. Well then how does that make you different from, you know, all these other great organizations? Well, I'll tell you a little bit story about what's happening in my community. And then you'll see why it's a health inequity, whether there's a health crisis, actually that goes beyond just food and food plays a role, but it's not the only starring role. There are so many other moving parts and that's the differentiation, that's the narrative, that's the consistency with your messaging.
Erin (44:20):
And that's so important. And it's so true. I mean, that's, what has I think, and forgive me if I'm putting words in your mouth here, but I really believe that that differentiated you in such a way that it's created almost like a ripple effect and a magnet to your work, because that is the message. It's not a food bank. It's, we're helping health and social inequities. And I think that's what I mean, the work that you have given to others to help PR help volunteer with help work with you on imagine how you're impacting the people who work with you too. I mean, they see the lives that they're changing every single day. So. Okay. Well, I mean we've made it to something special. We got one more thing. There's a little improv here. There's a little thinking quickly on your feet. It's called the failure lightning round. Okay. So, this is fun. So I'm going to ask you a series of questions and I want you to, as fast as you can respond with one word answers, okay. Know that you cannot fail. But if you say more than one word, I'm going to give you this fail yeah. No hyphens, just one word. People like there's a hyphen. I'm like, no hyphen. Okay. You can't fail though. This is total for fun, but this is it's really fast. And we're going to go quick. Are you ready for the failure lightning round? All right, here we go. I mean, okay. One word to describe your early career.
Amena (45:52):
Oh my gosh. I would say um.
Erin (45:54):
Fail yeah!
Amena (45:54):
If you knew what I had to go through, tenacity.
Erin (46:00):
Okay. Okay. One word to describe where you're currently at in your career.
Amena (46:05):
Fulfilled.
Erin (46:06):
One word to describe your future self?
Amena (46:09):
Bright.
Erin (46:10):
One word to describe your favorite boss.
Amena (46:13):
Resourceful.
Erin (46:14):
One word to describe your least favorite boss.
Amena (46:18):
Antagonistic.
Erin (46:19):
And one word to describe your fashion style? Just want to hear this one.
Amena (46:24):
Individual.
Erin (46:25):
One word to describe your speaking style.
Amena (46:30):
I try to be clear. So clear, sorry.
Erin (46:32):
Clear, fail yeah. I mean a fair here and one word to describe this interview.
Amena (46:38):
Soulful.
Erin (46:39):
Oh, okay. Golf clap. You nailed it. You nailed it. You didn't fail it. Oh my gosh. Amena, tell the field that family how they can find you.
Amena (46:51):
Yeah. And you can find me on LinkedIn Amena. That's a, as in apple, M as in mother, E N A like a man with an a at the end, Amena. And then the last name is Karim. It's K a R as in red. I am as a mother, Kareem, you know, I can tell you the other, you know, social sites, but LinkedIn is fine, I think is probably the best way to go.
Erin (47:16):
Okay. And follow her because I also found this video that we're going to link to in the show notes of you being interviewed about the work that you're doing. So I want to share that with the failed it! Family Too, because it just gives a really great picture of what you've done for the south, for community, and now Chicago as a whole and more communities to come. So, Amena, thank you so much for you because you were a light in this world. I want you to, to, to thank you for, for taking your seat at the table and for being a voice to so many, the world needs more Amena.
Amena (47:57):
Oh my gosh. Thank you so much. That's very kind of you.
Erin (48:01):
I mean it, and then I just want to say to our failed it! Family fail yeah, fail yeah, absolutely.
Amena (48:09):
And keep moving.
Erin (48:11):
That's it. Hey friends, thanks for tuning into failed it. I am so happy. You were along for the ride. If you enjoyed this show, please head on over to iTunes, leave us a five star review and subscribe to the show. So you never miss an episode. New episodes drop every Wednesday. Now, if you're really feeling today's show, please take a screenshot and tag me on Instagram at keeping it real deal and share it to your stories so we can bring more people to the failed it! Family. I'll see you next week, but I want to leave you with this thought, what will you fail at today and how will that help your future successful self? Think about it. I'm so proud of you and you are totally failing it. See you next