On the Road with Route 3 Films - The Non-Profit Podcast

Here it is, our first podcast episode! This one features my friend and frequent collaborator, Shannon Durio. Shannon is the Managing Director at Prison Performing Arts. I have made films for her and the different Non-Profit organizations she has worked with over her career. Enjoy our chat about the work we do and those we serve.

Welcome to Episode #003! This time we feature client, collaborator and friend, Abby Berger of the Independence Center St. Louis. Abby has an incredibly important job at what I feel is one of the most vital non-profit organizations in the greater St. Louis region. Here is a little insight into what they do from their website:

"We believe in the dignity of work. Work is more than a paycheck – it’s an affirmation of self-worth. It provides financial independence, purpose, and connects us to our community. Adults with mental illness often face enormous challenges in finding and keeping jobs. Even with skills and the ability to manage symptoms, the stigma of mental illness is a barrier to hiring them. Many of our members didn’t have the confidence to apply for a job, until they came to our program. Others had a good job, even a successful career, before their mental illness emerged and caused them to lose their employment. The Independence Center is here to help members who are able, to get on a path to meaningful employment, from wherever their starting point may be."

Abby is the Business Development Manager but the title does not do justice to the many hats she wears at the Independence Center. She has her hands into everything from social media, video production with us here at Route 3 Films, Dancing with the St. Louis Stars, their biggest fundraiser and so, so much more. Take a listen to our wide ranging discussion from her early experiences as a volunteer in Jesuit Volunteer Corps to her beginnings in the mental health field to being at the helm of Dancing with the St. Louis Stars. Enjoy and share!

We sat down with the one and only Kathie Brennan, President of the Ozark Trail Association. I have known her for many years and worked alongside her in the woods of Missouri building hiking trail by hand. She has worked her way up the ranks in a male dominated field. She leads by example with passion, heart and good old-fashioned hard work! Enjoy our chat and learn more at OzarkTrail.com.

Welcome to Episode 006 of the Route 3 Films podcast. This is a special episode with an old friend, Jennifer Hodges. Where do I start...Jennifer and I worked side by side at the Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis putting on events large and small where we learned so many valuable lessons about customer service. Take a listen to our wide ranging discussion.

Here is episode five of On the Road with Route 3 Films. On this episode I talk with Kyle Williams of the Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition. All I can say is WOW! What a journey Kyle has had from his time in the military to his Development role now. This one is not to be missed. Learn more at https://www.foster-adopt.org/.

Kyle Williams is the Director of Development at the Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition, helping donors and foundations create lasting, systemic change in foster care and adoption through Coalition programs. He has worked as a fundraiser in foster care his entire career, and has been at the Coalition since 2016. Kyle graduated from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana with a B.A. in Anthropology, focusing on Archaeology.