S4,E13 - Corporate Leadership Team

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This is Talk CNY, a semi-monthly podcast by CenterState CEO, recording in the production studio at CenterState's INSPYRE Innovation Hub. CenterState CEO is Central New York's premier leadership and economic development organization. Join us as we meet the people and explore the projects driving the regional economy forward.

This is Talk CNY presented by NBT Bank. I'm Katie Zilcosky, Director of Communications at CenterState CEO and your host for Talk CNY. Well, typically, on this episode we have our corporate leadership team take over, and we feature a very special guest host.

Hi, I'm Elle Hanna, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications at CenterState CEO and your guest host for this special episode of Talk CNY, presented by NBT Bank. One of the exciting parts of my job is being able to tell the stories of the people, the businesses, and the projects moving our community forward. So with that tradition, today I am joined by the members of the CenterState CEO corporate leadership team to tell a little bit about what we are seeing behind the scenes. Thank you for joining us today and we'll get started with a few introductions.

Rob?

Hi, I'm Rob Simpson, the chief executive here at CenterState CEO.

Hello everybody. My name is Dr. Johanna Rogers. I'm Senior Vice President for Racial Equity and Social Impact here at CenterState CEO.

Hi, I'm Kevin Schwab. I lead our Strategy, Policy and Planning team and also things that fly.

I'm Jess Abbott. I'm the Senior Vice President of Member and Business Experience.

Andrea Hahn, Senior Vice President of Administration and Human Capital.

Hi, I'm Ben, Senior Intern.

Hi, I'm Nora, Senior Vice President of Inclusive Growth and not Ben's boss.

Ben, always, always.

It has been a whole year since we last got together to talk about all things that we have seen from CenterState CEO's perspective. We are now in the INSPYRE Innovation Hub by CenterState CEO that last year we were so excited to see come online and open. So starting off with that in mind, Nora, what are some of the big projects, including INSPYRE, that have really marked this past year?

Yeah, so we would be remiss if we didn't talk about our $32 million building that is full and accepting clients. We did a lot of work pre-opening to think through the programming we wanted to do here, how we wanted to communicate to the community, the rebrand of this place, shout out to you, and really open up the aperture of what small business incubation and innovation looks like in Central New York and now that we're in this moment with Micron and all the supply chain and all that stuff that's happening. Beyond INSPYRE, I think we've been doing a lot of little duck-like stuff under the water. People keep seeing it's exciting to see the trees come down, but the work that we're doing now is really to position the region to be successful in execution on this. So whether that's talking to supply chain companies, whether that's TTM opening their new facility, there's just a lot of really exciting stuff, a ton of workforce.

I know it's going to annoy you. I can't find just a thing, but it's a lot of really good work by the team to get us ready.

And it feels like there's just been a ton of work. Juhanna, from your perspective, what do you see as the big moment of the past year?

Seeing this building come to fruition, I think literally, physically, the space, but also thinking back to a few years ago when we won the JP Morgan Chase Challenge, and we were talking about technology and the tech ecosystem and bringing people into it and seeing that morph into some of the work that continues to happen here. It's just like, wow, we didn't just see the building get built. We saw expansions of programs. We saw staff grow, new leadership come into the space to help continue to bring those programs to the community or to students at the STEAM school. And so I think it's a physical building, which is also great in full, but it also for me was like, huh, a culminating moment of something that started. And my second moment would be ON-RAMP. I think we're a year to the day exactly that Dr. Carlene Lacey took her role and leading some of that community engagement work.

They just had a meeting around with the advisory council today and them talking about the graduation and just what's happening there. I think what this team and CenterState support of that work is also probably a huge 2025, 2026 moment for me.

Yeah. And Andrea, you talk about ON-RAMP, you talk about INSPYRE, your team has been leading quietly behind the scenes those projects and many others. How about you? What has been the moment for you in 2025-2026?

I'm taking a different approach. All of these things are fantastic. To get to the operations side, many companies and individuals have gone through change. We've done a new financial management system, which is going to change the way we do things, and it already is, but it's knowing the struggles and understanding them and having all of your support as we move through it. So it's a big thing. It makes a good change when you get through the struggles and the challenges, but it also develops an organization to a higher level in which we always strive to do.

Absolutely. And Rob, talk about change. There's been a number of changes over the year, but your role has effectively changed and shifted. Tell us a little bit about that.

I mean, first, what I would say is just thanks to all of you for being a part of a team that enables us to think about how we best use our skill sets going forward. I think for a number of years I've probably been using some of my skills in ways that aren't in offering the maximum amount of value to the organization and the community. I'm really thrilled to be in a position now where I get to do what, frankly, I love to do, where hopefully I can support all of you the most, which is to think about the big picture, think about where this region is going, think about the global market forces, how we continue to position ourselves as a region to capture them. Think about the partnerships and the coalitions and the resources we need to champion that. Think about how we generate new revenue streams for CenterState CEO so we can expand our work and impact and pull more partners in.

Those things are things that, as you can tell, I get excited about. I'm so proud of this organization. I'm so proud of each and every one of you and just deeply grateful to be able to be one of your colleagues and be given the dispensation to try something new with our leadership that I think, I hope, in just a couple of short months, we're already seeing how it can pay off for all of us.

When you think about the past year or even the last handful of years, there's so many things that have been rewarding about this work. For me, it was about a week ago, I was talking to a kid who I've seen grow up, our neighbor, he just graduated high school. And I said, "So what's your plan? What's next for you? " And he said, "I want to get a job on the construction side of Micron." And it was just one of those really rewarding moments where yes, Micron has seemed so real for I think a lot of us for a couple years, but to have it kind of trickle into what I call the real world in that way and in our future employers, employees, that was probably one of the most rewarding things for me recently. But, Jess, I want to maybe toss it to you.

What's been rewarding about this work for you?

Honestly, I'm actually going to talk a little bit about some of, to Andrea's point, the internal stuff. What's been really rewarding for me is I stepped into a new role about six months ago, and I've been able to work with the membership team, and we've had internal promotions. We've been asking a lot. There's Micron moments happening all across the region. So we've been asking a lot more of some of my colleagues and some of the folks on the team, and seeing them get it. The membership team is mission-minded. They're here for the same reason as all of the folks on the programmatic side, and seeing their knowledge base expan, and watching them step into areas that they find exciting and watching them kind of light up and take on these projects that they make their day harder, but probably more rewarding, that has been the most exciting part for me.

Great. And Ben, for you, as you have stepped into this new role for you, what's been the most rewarding moment?

I mean, there's been a thousand rewarding moments, both personally, professionally, for me for the past year taking a leap and doing all this work. It's been probably the most rewarding thing. I've got 17 that I want to talk about, but the most rewarding thing is that everybody around the, this isn't a table, the dais, whatever we're going to call this, has supported me. They have stepped up and stepped into new responsibilities, whether it was real and discussed ahead of time or if they just raised their hand and said, "I know this thing needs to get done, and I'm going to lean in because it's not part of my job, but it's what the organization needs." To me, that's been the most rewarding. And it's a little cliché to say that the people around you are the most rewarding things, but it's the reality of this organization is we have a fantastic mission, but that mission does not get accomplished without the people here and without the people within all the walls of the different organizations and buildings that we exist in on a daily basis.

The other thing that's been rewarding for me, and I don't think we talk about this enough, but the community is beginning to step up on where we are going as an organization, but where we are going for our economy. And we've been saying this for a while. We have to change as a community. We have to change our mindset. We have to change from a deficit mindset to a growth mindset. And I think people are beginning to do that. We're not 100% there yet. We got more work to do, but you see it every single day with members we interact with, with people that come in for our training programs, with small businesses that want to take that first leap and creating a new business for the first time. People are beginning to, I think, understand that we are in a different place as a community, and they're beginning to lean in ways that I've been doing this nearly 20 years and I have not seen before, crazy as it is.

And so to me that is both rewarding, but it's super inspiring that what we thought was going to happen is beginning to happen. And we're now here at a place where we can support people as they're taking that next step, taking that leap into something better for themselves.

That's great. And Schwab, you have also stepped into a new role. You were interim last year. What has the year been like for you?

First of all, the team that I have the great fortune of working with every day, not only sitting here with me, but specifically on our Strategy, Policy and Planning team, could be dropped into any market anywhere in the country, anywhere around the world, and likely be among the very best at what they do. It is an incredible blessing to be able to come to work with folks like this every day, with the heart, with the minds, with the sense of purpose to do this work. And that all just becomes even clearer when you get a chance to step into a role where you're leading that team. From sort of the outside looking in, this last year I think has really stood out for what we have seen as a team being real in the direction of this market actually taking firm tangible hold. And I don't just mean seeing trees being cleared and shovels in the ground up in Clay.

I mean, we are now looked at as the strongest performing market economically in New York by quite a bit. For much of last year in terms of job performance, employment performance, Syracuse was in the top 10 in the country for how our economy was performing among mid-size and large metros. That's not a, it's going to happen. It is happening. And that's -

Say it one more time.

It is happening.

It is happening.

It's not in the future. It's happening now. And I think to see the numbers back that up tangibly over the last year was one of the most rewarding things for folks who are as mission-driven as the people in this organization.

I want to kind of follow on that because one of the things that I think sets us apart as an organization and has always been kind of our guiding force is yes, we've planned for something. As we see it come to fruition, we don't say like, "Well, great for us." We keep looking ahead. We keep looking to that next horizon. And so I would say as we look out to that next horizon, Johanna, what are you seeing? What's the thing that's coming that we have to be ready for?

I think the thing that we have to be ready for is the influx of talent, the influx of talented people. As we talk about the economic growth and the positionality that we have here some of the markets related to drone technologies in relation to chips, in relation to the supply chain around those things, but also in relation to all of the community services that are going to need to support those individuals living and growing here. And so I think when I look out to the horizon, I'm seeing, and I think we're positioning, we're having the conversations about a really eclectic group, a culturally diverse group of people calling Central New York Home and seeing themselves reflected in the community that is representative of the folks that are already here. It's going to only expand. And I am hopeful that it's going to expand in a way that turns the tide around some of our systemic poverty issues.

At least that's what I'm committed to and a number of folks sitting here with me that are also committed to it in that this just doesn't happen for a few, but this happens for as many people as possible. And those who it happens for are going to support the folks that are like the high school student you just mentioned that wants to work on the construction site or the interns that are working around the city for the summer. They're going to have to begin. And I think when Ben says the community is standing up, I think we're having some of those really tough conversations, and we need to be.

That's how we get to that all people prosper part. Yes.

Right?

I see that coming. And, Jess, there's the first part of that mission statement, which is businesses thrive. So what do you see from that perspective?

I think what is, I'm just going to personally and a little bit selfishly say is exciting for me is that one of you alluded to earlier, we have known this was real for quite some time. And our members are excited, and they want to get plugged in, and they don't want to miss the moment. They want to make sure that they're upskilling, upscaling, sizing up, and that they are able to meet this moment in a way that doesn't pass them. And we have just been in a bit of a holding pattern as some of the things that Nora alluded to of just the behind-the-scenes stuff that it takes to get a project this size off the ground and other large projects off the ground at the same time. What's exciting for me is I have been coming from a place of just wait or I promise soon.

And now it feels like the meetings that I'm having, I'm able to immediately turn around and say, "Hey, welcome to market. I have 10 people who both want to meet you and are exactly who you need to meet. And hey, are you looking to purchase this new facility to be able to meet this moment? Here's somebody from Ascend who can help you with that. And here's two banks that are interested in helping." And so we've had that whole network in place, but everybody's just been eagerly waiting. And so both for the benefit of the business community and for myself personally, I am thrilled to be able to start saying yes and making some of those connections as we are kind of out of a big part of the wait and see.

Yeah, we are kind of moving into that next phase. And Ben, what do you see as part of that new phase?

I was just on another interview, and they were asking me the same question. And I told them that it's the most exciting moment for us as an organization and a community because it's real. You drive down 31, and you can see real construction happening. In a couple days, there will be a cement pouring that is going to indicate that the next phase of that construction's happening. But I also told this interview that it's the scariest thing in the world, right? Because it's real and new people are going to be moving here, and they're going to need housing, and new companies are going to be trying to locate here and they're going to need a space to locate, and they're going to need people to hire. And they're going to need all the support that goes with moving into a new community. Some of those companies are foreign companies that have never operated in the United States and need to understand all the dynamics of operating here.

And you're going to have people locally that have expectations that all these jobs are being created, and they want to connect with those job opportunities. We have the systems and the programs in place to do it. We have to make sure that we are activating those and pushing people through and making sure they're as successful as possible. So we've talked about this before, but I think the reality of it for us is there's a lot of pressure now to deliver. And it's a privilege to have that pressure and to be able to deliver on it, but it is a lot of pressure. We feel it on a daily basis as a team and as an organization. And I think the community's beginning to see that now that it is real, we have to do this in a way that is equitable, that's sustainable, that creates opportunity for everybody, that preserves affordability.

And doing those four things in an environment where you're growing is a super difficult thing to do. Many communities aren't able to do it in growing communities. I think we're incredibly well positioned to be able to do it, but it's going to be a challenge. It's going to be a challenge for the next decade. So buckle up folks.

But I don't think we have ever been the kind of team who has shied away from a challenge. In fact, we tend to lean in harder. And housing is a great example of one of those things where we can't afford to miss that opportunity.

Rob, as you alluded to in your op-ed this morning, data centers might be another opportunity that we can't afford to not take the time to be thoughtful and strategic about some of the things that are on the horizon. So what out there is for you?

Listen, I think New York State's done a really incredible job. I think Central New York's played a really important role in helping to reposition all of Upstate New York for the future economy. Thinking about microelectronics and semiconductor manufacturing and yeah, artificial intelligence, new energy generation, nuclear. We haven't even talked about nuclear yet. That's one of the things I'm really excited about is the ability to help site a new nuclear power facility in Oswego County, a community that's been home to nuclear power safely and reliably as a partner for 40 years, 60 years, and who's eager to welcome another facility that can help support some of the energy intensive projects that we're doing like a TTM or a Micron and beyond. Those are wonderful, but let's bring it back to the human level. We talked about housing for a second. A couple of weekends ago, I was at home watching a World Cup soccer game with my son, and he started asking me some questions that were a little, just different, than the questions you normally get from your 14-year-old.

And finally, I stopped him. I was like, "Hey, bud, what's going on? " He was fiddling with his fingers. You could tell he was anxious. And he's like, "Dad, I'm really proud of you and everybody for the work you did to bring Micron here." He's like, "But I am nervous that by the time I graduate from college, I won't be able to afford a house here." And it's like, oh, wow. What a gut punch. I literally left Upstate New York because people told me I had to, to make something to myself. Came home with a goal of trying to bring jobs back. And now the possibility that my own son, who I want to have opportunity here, might leave because he can't find, not a job, but a home. That to me is our work encapsulated into a human metaphor. We have to get that right for all of the community members who live here today, for the people who might want to come and join and be a part of what's happening for our children, for our families.

Yeah, that's pressure. But it's also, you know what? I would rather know that right now, when there are still eight years before he graduates college. So we have time to work on it and solve for those problems. And I know this team and all the rest of our folks at CenterState and all of our partners in the private sector and public sector, we understand the stakes. We know what we have to do, and now we just have to go out and execute.

Also, your son is really smart.

He's precocious. He's thinking

Ahead. Tell you what I was doing at 14. It's not that.

But I do want to kind of pull on some of that because a lot of that is where our policy work comes into play. So, Kevin, what's the can't miss for you?

So as we look ahead, there are a couple answers I have to that question. And in one version of that, it always comes through as what keeps you up at night still. And there's a ton. But the biggest one is what Rob just mentioned. It's housing. We've done a lot in that space. The year that Micron announced there were 375 or so permits issued for new units of housing here in Central New York. I'm happy to say that the market's responding. And last year it was 2,375. So we're getting to where we need to be, and yet we're still behind. So when you ask what are the things we have to do, housing is the top of just about any list because it affects everybody. But we also have a chance, and it has to be top of mind in everything we do to make a real dent in poverty and issues of equity across Central New York.

Here in Syracuse, in some of our rural areas, there is a chance for everybody to benefit from what's happening, but only if we're intentional about it. And because we know it's coming, we have time, not a lot of time, but we know that there are steps that we can take to make that happen. That is both the greatest opportunity and the thing I'm most excited about and the thing I'm most nervous about at the same time.

And Nora, I think that kind of leads into so much of your team's work, right? You think about inclusive growth. What keeps you up at night? What's the can't miss for you?

A lot of things keep me up at night. Just look at my sleep score.

43.

But I think Kevin hit it. We've seen communities that have had an opportunity and have fumbled. Not necessarily messed up, but they didn't do it as well as maybe they should have or some people didn't get to come along with that with their growth and their prosperity. And I think that coupled with the historic legacy of this community, where people just, things left, and they still have that mindset. And we have seen what that did to this community. And that's partly why we are in some of those bad lists, not the good lists Kevin was talking about, but the bad lists around poverty, is because of those mistakes that we made as a community. So, thinking, about the totality of all of that is really what keeps me up at night. And then thinking through the workforce development and how do you capture people who have never, not even think about a semiconductor, haven't even thought about a job in a factory or someone who's going to go to the building trades for the first time, like your little buddy.

I think about my nephew who has a data science degree. What's he going to go do? The types of jobs that we're going to see are so radically different from what we've had before, too. And kudos to the workforce team and all of our partners around thinking through those strategies differently because we have to because it hadn't worked. So those are the things. It's the how that keeps me up.

And I think you think about the how, it's not just the how are we doing our forward-facing work, but Andrea, your team supports our ability to do all of the work inside and outside of the organization. So what for you is the can't-miss?

The big thing for me to piggyback off of Nora is we always say the Micron moment, but it's your moment.

The opportunities and the way people think of things is going to change and it's going to be so different in so many good ways. Different restaurants, you've never worked, you never thought of those things. So it's an opportunity to meet your moment, and I don't want to lose that. I think internally we're also meeting the moment because we're getting pushed to do things that we haven't done. We're venturing out from one pocket we worked in, and now we're doing things outside of that pocket. It's pushing us, it's letting us learn, and it's letting us grow. And that's what this community is open to do.

We have a lot more to talk about coming up, but, first, we're going to hear from our presenting sponsor, NBT Bank.

NBT Bank.

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We'll be back right after this from NBT Bank.

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We're back with more from the corporate leadership team of CenterState CEO. Thank you all for being here today.

Jess, I'm going to start this one off with you because one of the things that we have been very intentional about this year is stop talking just about membership or just talking about our clients, but really talking about how these two groups interact through our network. And also you think about the broader community. If you were to be able to talk directly to those folks, what would you want them to know about this corporate leadership team and our entire team at CenterState CEO?

Yeah, I think I have the benefit of coming in sort of on the backside of some of the growth and reorg that happened at this organization. And so we were still a little siloed because everybody was trying to figure out what that silo looked like for them. And one of the things is we have a broad network. Of course, we're going to have members and clients and that's going to be internal nomenclature and also how people know where they fit in. But ultimately, the idea of this is no matter where your business is at, we have something for you. If you are trying to start a new business, we have something. You can take advantage of our programmatic work through our being a client. If you're a more established business and you're looking to be plugged into the network, you can join us in membership.

And then outside of that is, wherever you come to us, there are about 10 other places we can take you. So people might come to me because they want a business connection, and that's great. But in getting to know them, I might realize that there's an opportunity for them to maybe apply for a CFA or maybe there's something that is really holding up their ability to move a project forward. And so, whatever thing you think about us or the team in general, I would just push you to ask the person you know the best, what else is out there that you aren't taking advantage of? Because I think that even when I try to do... I come from a little bit more of a corporate strategic partnerships and trying to do a tight two on CenterState CEO I have learned is impossible. So you're usually getting the greatest hits that we think you need, but I would just encourage people to ask more questions because there's likely somebody here who can support the thing you didn't know we could do.

It's been interesting to watch just how you and Kevin actually work really closely together to support so many of our members and make some of those connections. So, Kevin, I would say to you, what do you wish folks knew about this organization?

Well, I think Jess nailed it on the breadth of what we were able to offer across our network and to those who are in our network. The other thing that I think is kind of fascinating is to watch as we are in this period of growth, how that network is growing geographically, too.

We are seeing folks who have not been active or interested in Central New York and in Syracuse looking at this market now in ways that they never have before or maybe they left 40 years ago as a company and are looking to come back. So they're There's a level of activity that is happening across the work we're doing because of the moment that we are in that I think people may not necessarily realize. Internally, I sort of touched on the level of talent that is available to folks and the passion that is carried by our team. I don't know if people really see the depth of that, but it's impressive to be around and for those who know how to help that work for their business and who we are able to engage with, it's producing real dividends, and it's rewarding.

Ben, as the person kind of leading in on some of that, what do you think?

I go to a lot of conferences nationally, speak on a lot of panels and a lot of cohorts and I don't mind saying this at all and it's going to embarrass some of the people here, but Center State is constantly looked at as an expert in this space. And as a organization from outside the area, organizations from outside the area, look at CenterState has figured out how to do the work and do it right and do it well and do it effectively and meet the goals it sets forth and do it at scale, all of the things. And we don't want to take credit for that locally. That doesn't make any sense. We're not hardwired like that, but I want this team to hear, and I want our entire team to hear that we are a nationally respected organization for doing this work well, and it's because of the people sitting around me on the dias and it's people that are within the staff that do all of this work.

And sometimes it's Rob gets credit for writing an op-ed and positioning the organization strategically on an issue, but there's like seven people that touch that op-ed that don't get credit for it. They don't do it because they want credit, but they do it because they know it's important for the organization or mission and support for the community. And there's a thousand of those things happening within the organization on a daily basis.

In one sentence, what gives you hope for the future of Central New York?

Right now, the redevelopment of this community, we are not waiting on it. We're attacking it.

Rob, what about you?

We have reinserted ourselves into the global value stream, and that gives us a chance to make people's lives in Central New York materially better. And that is a gift for all of us, and we need to honor it and deliver on it.

Juhanna, what about you? In one sentence, what gives you hope for the future of Central New York?

The young people. They are...

We're young.

I am young. And I mean the people that are coming out of the high schools, the folks that I see walking into the rooms at ON-RAMP. The rooms I've walked in over the summer with interns that are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed about employment opportunities. They are seeing something. And I think that is a really, really good sign and a reminder for us to keep our heads down and keep drilling.

Nora, I'm going to give you the last sentence here.

I think people are, and we said this a little bit, but in the little tangible ways that we see people understand what's coming and happening and believe it, that's the thing that I like because you can't we've said for decade, two decades, four decades, oh, this is that or it can't happen here or this, that, the other. And then for the past four or five years, we're like, no, it's happening. It's happening here. But now people see it and believe it and that's what's actually going to make it work.

We've been very serious and we are not a serious crew.

Wait, this is serious?

What

Do you mean?

We're going to lose more.

Yeah. We're going to do something from our miniseries, which is the Rapid Fire section of questions. First question, who amongst us is the biggest optimist? I would say Rob. Me. And Juhanna.

I was going to say Dr. J.

Yeah. Yeah. It's between those two.

You guys can arm wrestle. You can arm wrestle for it.

I still believe in Santa Claus.

For the win.

What do you mean still?

Now I'm going to initially put myself in this category for the next question, but I know I'm not alone. So where are my fellow early risers? Who amongst us is going to answer the email by 5:00 AM?

Elle planted this question. Let's be very clear. Elle, Andrea, Jess.

Get out of here. Records show that I am rarely still up at 5:00 AM.

Yeah, I've obviously gone to bed at least an hour before that.

There are those of us who are definitely answering the text messages or the emails at 10:00 PM. And then there's the rest of us who are filling in at 5:00 AM. This is the real plant, Kevin. What's your favorite CenterState CEO event?

The Annual Meeting.

I thought you were going to say the State of the Airport.

Yeah, look, the Annual Meeting is, I mean, it is a wonder that our comms team pulls off every single year. It's a great event. I mean, we had people fly in to attend our annual meeting this year who have locations elsewhere who are like, "No, no, no. You want to understand what's happening in Central New York? Come to this event. You want to leave inspired, come to this event." We might even let Rob say a few words, but yeah, you're welcome, Elle

I mean, I would say I'm going to throw you guys for a loop for a second. I'll say our December Investor Meeting and Signature Access. I love it because it gives us a chance at the end of the year before the holidays to see our fellow collaborators, the private sector folks who support the organization, our public sector partners, and just be in a room together to talk about what we accomplished during the course of the year and maybe talk a little bit about what we're excited about. That event, just for whatever reason, has a different energy to it. And I, as an introvert who puts myself into very extroverted situations on a daily basis, I actually really love being around people at that event.

One of my favorite events is actually a smaller event. It's Network with Purpose that happens up at Oswego County. It was a brainchild of some of the large employers up there and the team up there. We talk a lot about people coming into market and finding new jobs. And you have a family often when you do. And so this is a networking event that is specific to life providers. Who's your pediatrician? Where do you get your haircut? What soccer team is your kid going to play on? What do you want to do in your free time? And it is a true community networking event where we tend to do a lot of business-to-business events. And it's just an awesome room to be in and to see. And our large employers that sponsor that work up there really like it as well.

Juhanna?

I'm going to say our graduations. Today I was in a conversation about ON-RAMP as well as Upstart. And so some of the community members who attended the graduation, not the actual graduating individuals, but community members that attended them, just talked about how empowering it was for them to understand our work and the impacts of our work on some of the folks in our community who are looking for opportunities and some of them recognizing individuals that they supported along the way maybe some years ago. And here they are reconnecting again in this moment that is putting these individuals on a path for growth. And I think we do that in some of the workforce development work that we do. We do it in the small business entrepreneurial arena. And I think those seeds, when we get the opportunity to say, "You completed this, you have knowledge and information to take you to the next step." I think that's some of the best times I have.

Umrit, anything to add?

I actually don't have a specific event. I think it's pushed me to open my eyes to areas that I wouldn't have looked down that path. So we've had speakers and presentations and people that are all different. And so you either learn something more, you add something more, or you're just developing yourself a lot more than you were when you started.

Yeah. And the final question, so feel free to jump in. What's the one word you would use to describe this team?

Eclectic.

August.

Grit.

Committed.

Playlist. Oh.

That is a good playlist.

I'll wrap it up with passionate, so much passion for the work.

What about you there, words?

Well, thanks.

Word lady.

Word lady would go with brilliant because I personally think every one of our colleagues is absolutely brilliant.

That's it. We're very fortunate. We have a great team. I love working with every one of you.

Thank you for joining us for this special edition of Talk CNY, presented by NBT Bank. We hope that you will like and subscribe wherever you get your podcast, and join us next time for our new episode.

Talk CNY, presented by NBT Bank, is recorded in the production studio at Center State's INSPYRE Innovation Hub. Talk CNY is available on all major podcast platforms or centerstateceo.com. Additional content and clips can be seen across CenterState CEO's social media channels. For new episode reminders, be sure to subscribe in your favorite podcast listening app and don't forget to leave a quick review or five-star rating. Thanks for listening to Talk CNY, presented by NBT Bank.