Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home

Episode 64 Clint Davis - ”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

Clint Davis, Clinical Supervisor/Clinician at Clint Davis Counseling & Integrative Wellness, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:28 1. You are such an important mental health professional in this community, involved in so many aspects of helping our residents. Today I want to cover some of the different services you provide at Clint Davis Counseling. But before we jump too far in, I want to quickly share something with you and get your thoughts or reaction.
 
I have had a good bit of counseling throughout my life and believe that one of the key steps in therapy is just the process of sharing thoughts and feelings and getting them out on the table to be discussed. I feel like we’re hopefully doing some of that for our community with this podcast.
 
Do you believe that providing a space to air out thoughts and feelings is an important part of the counseling process?
 
3:37 2. One of our previous guests and friends of yours, Cassie Hammett, once said this in speaking about you,
 
“Clint helps people truly become who they were created to be, coaching people to have a sound mind and process through things from the past that may be affecting them now.”
 
Talk to me about the quote above and some of your particular approach and process.
 
8:46 3. I was at dinner with my parents and I told them I was having you on as a guest today. My dad said can you ask him a question for me. \
 
For someone who doesn't have a network of psychologists or counselors and feels like they need some help, what sort of recommendation do you have for the general public in terms of taking the first step in receiving some assistance?
 
15:54 4. On the Clint Davis Counseling & Integrative Wellness website, there is a list of the different services you provide. They are:
 
• Trauma Therapy/EMDR
• Marriages And Families
• Drug, Alcohol, And Sex Addiction
• Play Therapy
• Eating Disorders
• Creation Therapy
• Business Coaching And Counseling
• Groups And Educational Seminars
• Adoption And Foster Care Support
• Massage Therapy
• Anxiety and Depression
• Grief Counseling
• Temperament Analysis
• Nutritional Counseling
• Equine Assisted Psychotherapy
 
Would you mind maybe choosing three of the abovementioned services and providing a little more information about the work you do in those areas?
 
25:35 5. Maybe three or four weeks ago, we had Carolyn Hammond in here who is the new CEO of VOA. She said something that stuck with me.
 
We're now trying in schools with ACEs to teach teachers instead of asking a kid, "Why are you doing that?" to "What happened to you?"
 
How does ACEs factor in to your work?
 
31:45 6. I knew you were involved in a number of different organizations in town, that you regularly give talks and seminars and of course, that you provide counseling services. What I didn’t know before I began my research to prepare for today is that you also oversee a podcast entitled “Asking Why”.
 
You have done an impressive 90+ episodes to date. The description about you and the podcast says,
 
“Asking Why is a podcast hosted by Clint Davis, an army veteran, ordained minister and licensed psychotherapist. Clint has a masters in marriage and family therapy and is trained in trauma, and sex addiction. He is also the Director of Recovery for The Hub: Urban Ministry which helps rescue men, women, and children out of human trafficking and poverty. Clint owns his own Counseling and Integrative Wellness Center, with 3 locations, with over 25 professionals from a wide range of modalities.”
 
Tell me about the podcast, how it started, how often you record it and anything else you would like to mention about this other important aspect of your work. 38:58 7. How does one know I've gotten enough therapy?
 
42:18 8. In general, should a male seek a male counselor and a female seek a female counselor?
 
50:05 9. As you look around, talk about some of the things you see that concern you the most about the state of our community?

Episode 63 Laura Gauthier - ”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

Laura Gauthier, Program Director at The Bridge Alzheimer's & Dementia Resource Center, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:28 1. Laura, you are the Program Director at The Bridge Alzheimer’s & Dementia Resource Center, a local non-profit organization helping families in Northwest Louisiana travel the bumpy road of Alzheimer’s and dementia. You are filling a critical need in our community.
 
Let’s start here today. For the lay people like me, can you explain the difference between Alzheimer’s and dementia?
 
1:16 2. At The Bridge, you provide resources, education and support services for our residents living with dementia. Can you talk about some of the different programs and services you provide at The Bridge?
 
3:07 3. At the Bridge, you prioritize and serve our caregivers. I read a statistic that about 40% to 50% of caregivers end up passing away before the person they’re caring for, due to not prioritizing their own health and wellbeing.
 
Can you talk about some of the different ways you support our caregivers?
 
5:55 4. Currently in Louisiana, there are 92,000 people who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and that number will increase by 20% in the next two years.
 
Why are more and more people being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s? What are some of the main contributors?
 
7:56 5. Are there things people can do potentially to help prevent getting dementia or Alzheimer’s?
 
9:08 6. As we get older, we naturally become more forgetful and have a more difficult time recalling information. As our loved ones watch our behavior or as we monitor ourselves, how are some ways to tell the difference between the natural course of aging and early signs of dementia or Alzheimer’s?

Episode 62 Sister Sharon Rambin - ”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

Sister Sharon Rambin sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:31 1. Sister Sharon, you have been a longtime advocate for accessible healthcare for children in Shreveport-Bossier. You once said, “A healthy community thrives.”
 
Today I want to talk about some of your impactful work and touch on the inspiring life of service you have led.
 
Let’s start here today. How did you first become aware that providing accessible healthcare to children in Shreveport-Bossier was such an important need in our community?
 
4:37 2. Your path to becoming a nun is not the most traditional I have ever come across. After graduating from LSUS, you worked in public relations before joining Channel 3 where you ultimately became a news producer.
 
You once said,
 
“I think all of us have a call to ministry. Growing up in Shreveport and Bossier, I’ve been given so much, and I’d like to return as much as possible.”
 
How did you come to make the decision that your life’s work would be giving back to our community?
 
7:37 3. In 1998, along with the Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows, you founded the Renzi Education and Art Center. Talk to me about the beginning of Renzi, how you got involved in that project and how you knew it would serve such an important need in our community.
 
9:55 4. You have also spent your career advocating for the elderly and disabled in our community. Your mother was a nurse in Holy Angels’ baby nursery for several years and it was here that, as a child, you were introduced to the needs of disabled children and the life of religious Sisters.
 
Talk to me about your early memories of Holy Angels and, from your perspective, how we are doing as a community in taking care of our elderly and disabled?
 
13:10 5. This wasn’t one of my planned questions. But listening to you speak I have to ask you, and it’s a question I’ve asked some previous guests.
 
I feel like we’ve become, maybe here or a lot of places, we’ve become such a me community rather than a we community. As someone who is so community-minded, what kind of advice or what sort of recommendations would you potentially offer to help us maybe transition from a me community to a we community?
 
16:21 6. As you look around our community now, what concerns you the most? And what seems more challenging today than at other times in your more than thirty years of serving our community?
 
19:27 7. Lastly, on the other side of the last question, what seems better today and makes you optimistic about the future of our community?

Episode 61 Carolyn Hammond - ”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

Carolyn Hammond, President and Chief Executive Officer of Volunteers of America North Louisiana, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:29 1. In February of last year, after more than 12 years of service, you became the President and Chief Executive Officer of Volunteers of America North Louisiana, or VOA as many people know it.
 
VOA is one of the most important nonprofits in the Shreveport-Bossier community, offering more than 40 different programs for our residents.
 
At VOA, you serve four distinct populations – children and families, veterans, individuals with disabilities and seniors.
 
VOA has been described as a church without walls and I can’t imagine our community without the impactful work you do. We could talk for hours and just scratch the surface on all you do at VOA. But what I’d like to do today is at least create some more awareness of how you’re serving our children and families, our veterans, our individuals with disabilities and our seniors.
 
Let’s start with our veterans. Can you talk about some of the current programming VOA offers to provide better service to our veterans?
 
5:48 2. Similarly, can you provide some information about the programs VOA offers to serve those in our community with disabilities?
 
10:49 3. Our aging population, our seniors, also benefit greatly from programming overseen and provided by VOA. Can you talk about some of the ways VOA serves our seniors?
 
14:28 4. Then, of course, VOA does a tremendous amount of work for our children and families with programs like The Lighthouse and Communities in Schools. Can you speak about a few of these programs?
 
49:33 5. As you look around our community, what are some of the things that concern you the most?
 
52:08 6. On the flip side, on a more positive note, what are some of the things you see improving that make you optimistic about our community’s future?

Episode 60 Dr. Heather Carpenter - ”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

Dr. Heather Carpenter, the Director of INAR, the Institute for Nonprofit Administration & Research at LSU Shreveport, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:29 1. Heather, you are the Director of INAR, the Institute for Nonprofit Administration & Research at LSU Shreveport.
 
INAR was established in 2001 to conduct research and disseminate knowledge about nonprofit organizations and social research. INAR offers nonprofit education programs, professional development seminars, and quality research and statistical analysis to clients.
 
My goal today is to make people better understand INAR and the important role it is playing in our community.
 
Let’s start here. What nonprofit certificates and degrees does LSUS currently offer and how will its offering expand beginning this fall?
 
4:49 2. You once said, “Plentiful job opportunities exist in the nonprofit sector as 8% of the Louisiana workforce is employed at nonprofit organizations. Those opportunities exist locally as well, with approximately 2,000 nonprofit organizations employing nearly 20,000 workers in the Shreveport-Bossier area.”
Can you talk about how many nonprofit degree programs, similar to what INAR offers, exist locally and in the state?
 
8:00 3. You also once said, “My mission and passion is to help people run more effective nonprofit organizations.”
 
One of the ways that INAR achieves the above is by providing consulting services to existing nonprofits and to people wanting to start a nonprofit.
 
Can you talk about the consulting services offered by INAR?
 
11:53 4. Many people locally know the name LANO which stands for Louisiana Alliance for Nonprofits. I know you partner a great deal with the LANO office out of Baton Rouge.
 
My first question is, does LANO still have an office locally?
 
13:32 5. In September of this year, nonprofit professionals from across the state will descend upon LSU Shreveport’s campus for the Statewide Conference For Louisiana’s Nonprofits. This conference is the result of a partnership between INAR and LANO.
 
Talk to me about what we can expect from the September 20 conference?
 
17:18 6. Lastly, let’s talk about another aspect of your partnership with LANO. Thanks to a generous grant from the Carolyn W and Charles T Beaird Family Foundation, INAR is currently hosting a capacity building cohort for nonprofit leaders in the Shreveport-Bossier region.
 
Talk to me if you could about the cohort, how it works and why this is such an important offering to our nonprofit community.

Episode 59 Orlando Medellin - ”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

Orlando Medellin, Head Soccer Coach for Bossier High School, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:33 1. Orlando, you are the Head Soccer Coach for Bossier High School and so much more.
 
Let’s start here today. What country are you originally from and when did you first arrive in Shreveport-Bossier?
 
1:01 2. How did you end up at Bossier High, originally as a student?
 
2:06 3. You once said, “I love Bossier. I went to Bossier. I graduated from Bossier. I bleed green.”
 
One of the goals of this podcast is to help people develop more pride about the Shreveport-Bossier community by highlighting the positive and important work happening all around us.
 
Talk to me about your pride for Bossier City and your pride for Bossier High School. Where does that come from and how did you develop such strong feelings for this community and the high school you attended and where you are now the coach?
 
5:25 4. This season your team at Bossier High reached the finals of the state championship, only the third Bossier Parish soccer team ever to play in a state championship game.
 
Talk to me about your team this season and the type of players that mostly made up this year’s team.
 
10:24 5. Each week, the local radio station Kiss Country 93.7 shines a light on one of our local residents and they recently honored you. The letter that got you the award said the following:
 
“I’ve played sports my entire life and have had some great coaches, but I have never seen a man and his wife do so much for the players. A lot of his high school players are Mexican or Central American immigrants who can barely speak English. When they arrive at his school, many have very little means, even feed themselves. Some don’t even have families with them. All of his players know that they can call, and he will help them at the drop of a hat. Whether it be by feeding them, getting them jobs, getting them clothes, loaning them money from his own pocket to pay bills until they get paid, helping them find housing, or even letting them stay at his house with his family, he’s there. I have personally seen him give his own belt to one of his players who did not one. I have seen him drive to New Orleans to speak at an immigration hearing on behalf of one of his high school players on Friday to then drive all night to be at a travel soccer game for his younger kids in Dallas Saturday morning. And all he asks of his players is to remember that when they get in a position to help someone, they do the same.”
 
As someone who coaches so many of our young kids on and off the field, what are some of the lessons you hope to instill in the young people who spend time with you?
 
17:37 6. As you look around our community, what are some of the things that concern you the most?

Episode 58 Greg Lott -”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

Greg Lott, Executive Vice President/Northwest LA Division President of Progressive Bank, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:32 1. Greg, you are involved in so many aspects of our community, as involved as anyone I know. Let’s start with your professional life and then move into some of the work you do as a board member with other organizations.
 
You are the Executive Vice President/Northwest LA Division President of Progressive Bank. How did you first get into banking?
 
4:10 2. You once said, “If you look at our profession, banks exist to help people, they exist to help businesses grow, and they exist to help improve our community…I think, collectively, we all do a good job to meet those needs.”
 
Talk to me about Progressive Bank. I know we have a number of different banks in our community. Does each bank have its own core business? And if so, what is Progressive’s main focus and area of expertise?
 
8:26 3. As I mentioned earlier, you are deeply involved in giving back to this community. Let’s talk about some of the organizations with whom you work, beginning with NLEP or the North Louisiana Economic Partnership.
 
I know there is new leadership at NLEP and that they are involved in numerous, great initiatives. Talk to me about NLEP and why this organization is important for the betterment of our community.
 
13:46 4. You are also involved with DSDC or the Downtown Shreveport Development Corporation. Talk to me about DSDC and similar to above, why this organization is vital to the future success of our community.
 
16:19 5. And you are the current Vice-President/President Nominee of Rotary. What is the role Rotary is playing in our community?
 
21:20 6. As you look around at the community, what concerns you the most?
 
23:52 7. Lastly, what makes you optimistic about our future?

Episode 57 Dr. Bob Elder - ”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

General Bob Elder sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:30 1. General Elder, in 2009 after 33 years you retired from the Air Force as the Commander of the 8th Air Force and US Strategic Command’s Global Strike Component. I want to talk today about all the amazing work you have done and what the focus of your work is today.
 
Let’s start here if we can. For those who may not know what the 8th Air Force is, can you talk about it and its different roles and responsibilities?
 
8:25 2. In a similar manner, for those who may not know what US Strategic Command is, can you talk about it and its different roles and responsibilities? 10:34
 
3. Let’s talk cyberspace for a second. You were the first commander of Air Force Network Operations and led the development of the cyberspace mission for the Air Force.
 
Can you talk about some of this work? And, for us lay people, what does “the development of the cyberspace mission for the Air Force” mean?
 
20:11 4. I believe this is current.
 
You are on staff at George Mason University as a research professor with the Volgenau School of Engineering. You currently conduct research in the areas of command and control, deterrence, escalation control, competition short of armed conflict, crisis management, and international actor decision-making.
 
Can you talk about what the above means and some of the current work you are doing in your role at George Mason?
 
27:21 5. Let’s talk Barksdale Air Force Base for a minute. How important is this base within the overall US Air Force and operations?
 
29:54 6. It has been suggested to me that there are growing needs and business opportunities locally to support the type of work taking place at Barksdale. I would like to spend the remainder of our discussion here.
 
First, what businesses currently exist today in our community that are supporting needs at Barksdale?
 
36:32 7. Lastly, as you see it, what are the gaps that still exist in our community in order for us to best support the evolving needs at Barksdale and for the military as a whole?

Episode 56 Dr. Sheila Asghar - ”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

Dr. Sheila Asghar, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology at LSU Health Shreveport, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:41 1. Dr. Asghar, you are a Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology at LSU Health Shreveport. One of your areas of expertise is something that affects every single person in our community, SLEEP.
 
I would like to discuss both pediatric and adult sleep with you today. You see patients who present a wide range of symptoms because of sleep difficulties and sleep disorders.
 
Let’s start here today to give people a sense of the type of cases that you see.
 
A 5-year-old is seen in your clinic. Mother says that he has a hard time breathing at night and snores loudly. During the day he is inattentive and almost hyperactive. Mother denies daytime sleepiness.
 
Walk me through some of the steps you might take to diagnose the above case.
 
6:52 2. I have heard you speak about a variety of factors that might assist someone, child or adult, who consistently has difficulty sleeping. I have heard you suggest, among other things, a Worry Diary, Melatonin, Teas and Lavender Oils.
 
Can you outline some aspects of what you would consider Good Sleep Hygiene?
 
14:04 3. We are all spending more time, children and adults, in front of our screens. Can you share some recommendations around screen use? For example, how long before we go to bed should we turn off our computers or phones?
 
18:09 4. I’m hearing more and more about people, children and adults, going to sleep labs and participating in sleep studies. Talk to me a little if you could about what sleep labs and sleep studies are. And how do you determine that someone needs to go to a sleep lab or undergo a sleep study?
 
24:43 5. I am also hearing of more cases of Tourette’s. Can you tell me a little about Tourette’s syndrome? What age is it typically first diagnosed and what are some symptoms that might suggest a possible case of Tourette’s?
 
34:00 6. I’m curious, what would be the results of maybe going a year or an extended amount of time not addressing chronic, poor sleep or repetitive bad sleeping?
 
39:10 7. Lastly, I commonly hear people talking about Sleep Apnea and CPAP devices. A few questions here – would you mind defining sleep apnea? How is it typically diagnosed, does it exist in children and adults and is it curable?

Episode 55 Kristi Gustavson - ”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

Kristi Gustavson, Chief Executive Officer of the Community Foundation of North Louisiana, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:32 1. As I was preparing for our discussion, I came across an article where you were talking about a story you once heard about a professor walking into class one day and announcing to the students that there would be a pop quiz. The teacher then proceeded to hand each of the students a piece of paper with a black dot in the middle and asked the students to describe what they saw. Each student described the dot: its size, color, and/or location on the page. Not one student described the space around the dot.
 
Reading this story I couldn’t help but think about one of the recurring themes of this podcast – which is how do we move from a “ME” community to more of a “WE” community? Or in other words, how do we focus more on those around us and this community we are all a part of and that we all share.
 
At community foundation, I think you do this as well as anyone. So, let’s start here today. Could you share some guidance or thoughts on how we get more people to move from me to we?
 
3:49 2. Kristi, you serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the Community Foundation of North Louisiana, one of the single most important organizations in our community. We will focus on some of your specific initiatives over the next hour but for the lay people out there who may not know what the Community Foundation is, could you briefly describe its function and its role and responsibility as you see it for our community?
 
6:18 3. One of the aspects of Community Foundation I most admire is how data driven you are in your approach to understanding where our community needs you the most and prioritizing the grants and initiatives you oversee to tackle our most pressing and complex issues.
 
One of the key tools in your approach is Community Counts, an annual report card on the quality of life for the Shreveport-Bossier area. Data is tracked and collected in six categories – Population, Economic Well-Being, Human Capital, Health, Social Environment and Physical Environment – and compared to 9 other peer communities similar in size and geographic location as well as the Monroe MSA. Those communities are Jackson, MS, Chatanooga, TN, Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR, Lafayette, Huntsville, AL, Kileen-Temple, TX, Montgomery, AL, Columbus-GA-AL and Roanoke, VA
 
Talk to me about the Community Counts process and how you use the data it provides to make resource allocation decisions.
 
11:06 4. One of the biggest days of the year for you is Give For Good. Tell me a little about Give For Good, how it works and when it is this year.
 
16:03 5. Community Foundation of North Louisiana brings people and resources together to solve problems and enhance our community. In the last few years, you have done some extraordinary work to address some of our community’s challenges and shortfalls around early education.
 
You once said, ““Early childhood education is critical for a young person’s brain development…We know now from research that 90 percent of a child’s brain develops before the age of 5.”
 
You established the Early Childhood Education Fund to expand access and enrollment in quality early childcare by providing scholarships for children ages 0-3. Thanks to generous donor support and a 1:1 match from the state of Louisiana, you have secured over $2 million for this initiative.
 
This was a transformative achievement. Tell me the state of the fund today. Is the state still providing a match and do you have the funds you need to provide all the scholarships requested?
 
35:59 6. The Early Childhood Education Fund was a major undertaking, a major focus of the Foundation since you became the CEO and has been a major success.
 
Talk to me about some of the initiatives you have your sights set on now.