![[Moms Unfiltered] Inside Itineris with Lauren Eaton](https://img.transistor.fm/2AG1_Nfp_7B09_FfF3Me1Bo9bUnCl8nEcO8cxW7rmr8/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:800/h:800/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9iZDFi/N2ViYzliNDA5MWE1/NmM0YmNlMjdjY2M5/ZjBiMS5qcGc.webp)
Zuryna Livermore: Welcome to
Operations Unfiltered, the podcast
that takes you behind the scenes of
influencer and talent management.
I'm your host and your favorite
marketing project manager, girly Zuryna.
This episode is really special
to me because I get to highlight
some of the great work happening
right here in Baltimore.
Too often we hear about the challenges our
city faces, but today I'm excited to shine
a light on the people and organizations
who are making an impact, creating
opportunities, and more importantly,
they're leading with their heart.
On this episode, I had the pleasure
of sitting down with Lauren Eaton, the
executive director of Itineris, which is
a non-profit dedicated to helping autistic
adults live full and meaningful lives.
Lauren shares her journey into leadership.
She also talks about what a day in the
life looks like for an executive director.
And how community connection
fuels the mission at Itineris.
So whether you're interested in
leadership, nonprofit work, or just
wanna feel inspired by what's possible
when passion meets purpose, stay
tuned for this amazing conversation.
So without further ado, let's
get into this week's episode
of Operations Unfiltered.
Thank you so much for joining me
I love chatting with people and
having these organic co connections.
And I actually met you through another
person that I interviewed from the Dr.
Nancy Grasmick in Leadership
Institute, which led me here.
So welcome.
Thank you.
Lauren Eaton: Thank you for having me.
I'm so happy to be here.
Zuryna Livermore: Yes.
And so for those of you who don't know,
can you tell us a little bit about who you
are and what organization you represent?
Lauren Eaton: Yes.
My name is Lauren Eaton.
I'm the executive director of Itineris,
and we're a nonprofit in Baltimore
City that supports autistic adults in
leaving in living full and meaningful
lives throughout their lifespan.
Zuryna Livermore: I love that.
So I met you guys or heard about the
organization through my work with the
Associated Black Charities program,
Lauren Eaton: Okay.
Zuryna Livermore: I love that program
because it truly equips us with the
know-how or the tools that we need to
serve on nonprofit leadership boards.
And I'm so happy to be able to s.
Support a nonprofit organization
by being on their board and being
on the executive advisory board.
But it's not very often that I get
to chat with the executive director.
So can you take me on a day in the life
of the executive director at Itineris
and what that looks like for you?
Lauren Eaton: Yes.
So full disclosure, I stepped
into this role July 1st, so I have
about two months of experience as.
Executive director of Itineris.
However, before filling this role I was
the senior director of operations, so
overseeing all of our client programming
six different departments who provide
around the clock all different types
of support for autistic adults.
So have been in a leadership role in
some capacity at Itineris since 2016,
but have only been in the executive
director role for about two months now.
And most of it is very.
Similar in the sense like when people have
asked so far, like, oh, how is it going?
Or, you know, how are you
feeling about your new role?
The way that makes the most sense to
me is that it's same but different.
So it's not necessarily more or less
or easier or harder or drastically
different in terms of what you're doing.
It's more just where your focus is and.
What you're responsible for,
that's a little bit different.
So I feel like I can speak to this
a, this was kind of my routine even
before stepping into this role.
I guess that's what I was trying to say.
I'm definitely a morning person, like
an early morning person, and usually,
Zuryna Livermore: you.
I aspire to be you.
Lauren Eaton: yeah.
I feel like it came out of
necessity more than anything,
but I do genuinely enjoy it.
But yeah, typically wake up around five.
What I love about that time of day is that
I'm the only person awake in my house and
most of the, the world hasn't started yet.
So I feel like it gives me like
a two hour heads up and I try to
get either like things that are
urgent for that day done or just.
Through my email and all of those
sorts of tasks that are really hard
to do while you're in the office.
Zuryna Livermore: Yeah.
Lauren Eaton: then, or usually around
seven o'clock is when my kids wake
up and spend an hour or so with
them doing the whole school routine.
You know, getting dressed,
brushing teeth, getting to school.
Zuryna Livermore: job before your job.
Lauren Eaton: Yeah, making lunch.
So take a little break to do that.
And then pretty much like when school's
in session from eight 30 to four
30, I'm here at our office, which
again is located in Baltimore City.
It's awesome and beautiful.
If you or anyone listening wants to come
for a tour, I'd love to give you one.
And really while I'm here, I
feel like it's all about people.
And the people.
Like I pretty much sp very rarely,
use the time when I'm here to
take care of any sort of like
administrative or deep work task.
When I'm here, I'm pretty much in like
a service mindset and really focused
on my one-to-ones for the week, making
sure the people that I supervise have
really high quality weekly meetings so
that we're on track and on the same,
Zuryna Livermore: that.
I'm a project manager, so
I love weekly check-ins.
I love those morning huddles.
That's my thing.
I love it.
Lauren Eaton: It's really important.
It's definitely not
just a to-do list item.
It's probably one of the most important
times of the week is to really sit
down with people and have great
conversations and get everyone calibrated.
And then also my team meeting, that is
one of the other highlights of my week.
It's very rare to have, you know, four
or six directors in one room at one time.
So I really take that seriously
and try to make it the absolute
best use of everyone's time.
Zuryna Livermore: Mm-hmm.
Lauren Eaton: And
Zuryna Livermore: love
Lauren Eaton: yeah.
Zuryna Livermore: meeting.
I can't tell you how many times
I've heard people complain,
like, why are we in this meeting?
It's an extra meeting, so I love that.
Lauren Eaton: Well I read a great book
called Death by Meeting, written by
Patrick Lencioni, and it was very helpful
in terms of giving some suggestions
on how to structure your meetings.
And I've taken a lot from that book
on like how to categorize things
with the most important activity
in my opinion, or what's been
really fruitful is like debate.
So what do.
It's you know, four or six directors.
'cause usually it's four.
And then once a month it's
our whole team of six.
What do we need to debate?
What topic do we need to bring up so that
everybody can share their opinions, get
into some really exciting and healthy
conflict, because that's really the
space that you need to be doing it in,
in order for things to run smoothly.
So a lot of our meetings are just
like hot topics of debate, like
what do we really need to talk about
Zuryna Livermore: wow.
Lauren Eaton: lane?
Zuryna Livermore: that.
So can you talk a little bit more about
that, because I know for me, as someone
that's emerging into leadership roles,
when I hear healthy debate, even the word
healthy I still hear the debate word.
I get nervous.
Can you talk about that?
Has that been a challenge or has that been
something that's been a good thing that
you've seen with working with your team?
Lauren Eaton: Definitely a good thing.
I have seen you know, in the past I
feel like it's very easy to fall into
a place of artificial harmony, which is
Zuryna Livermore: okay.
Lauren Eaton: don't want to rock
the boat or they don't wanna
piss off a peer or a team member.
So even if someone presents an idea and
it's the worst idea under the sun, you'll
get people who are like, okay, yeah.
Talk shit to their friends
outside of the meeting.
That's not a good thing that leads to
a lot of organizational dysfunction.
And we've definitely have had
that problem and have tackled
that problem here at Itineris.
So from a place of non-judgment, I can
say it's a pretty common place to get to.
But through, you know, a lot of hard
work, we've really focused on this idea
of healthy conflict and being able to.
Say what you mean, mean what you say.
Speak authentically and honestly.
And that space, like if you have
trust between the group of people
that you're with which is a whole
nother important topic, you should
be able to say what's on your mind.
Speak honestly, speak directly, speak
candidly, and have that debate there
so that when everyone leaves that room
or that space, whether it goes your way
or doesn't, because it's never gonna go
your way a hundred percent of the time,
you can be fully committed to, okay.
This is what we decided.
I know that my opinion and that my,
you know, things that are important
to me were heard and discussed
and it didn't go my way, but I can
still leave this room getting behind
whatever the ultimate decision was.
So I really do feel like that healthy
conflict is critical and it's the.
Zuryna Livermore: I love that because
I have been in corporate for the
past 10 years, and I can say that I
have a little bit of corporate PTSD
because that has not been the case.
And then full transparency.
Me as a black woman in
corporate, I often struggle with.
That feeling of being that angry black
woman because, you know, I might have an
opinion that's different than others, but
what you said is so key is that healthy
conflict and that healthy conversation.
And I love that management style.
And now that I'm, you know, a little bit
older in my career journey, I'm actively
seeking managers who have that approach.
Do you find that that's something
that you've developed over time?
Has it, is it a trauma response
from you being in environments
where you haven't felt heard?
How do you feel like you've
massaged that people manager arm
to be able to lean into that?
Lauren Eaton: That is a
really good question and my
answer would be the hard way.
I feel like just like everybody else,
you know, like you realize you have
problems, you figure out, you're trying
to assess what the problems are and why
they exist, and that was what it boiled
down to us at Itineris a few years ago.
And then.
You know, with the help of, I know you
mentioned the Leadership Institute,
and that's how we got connected for
this conversation, but we utilize
the Leadership Institute for so many
trainings at Itineris and at that
time where we were really struggling
as a leadership team, we had direct
support from them where we all did.
360 degree surveys as leaders and got
feedback from our supervisors, our direct
reports, our peers that was like at an
individual level to kind of assess like
where we were as individual leaders.
And then we also worked with a
con consultant who helped us.
With our team dynamic.
And one of the books that they recommended
is Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of
a Team, which is a really great book.
So a lot of what I just said is
gonna sound super familiar if
you've read that book before.
Zuryna Livermore: Oh, I'm
adding that to my list.
I have a little bookshelf I need to
add that I'm currently still getting
through the Let Them Theory, but I will
Lauren Eaton: Oh yeah.
Zuryna Livermore: to my
Lauren Eaton: Yes.
Zuryna Livermore: reading book list.
So I
Lauren Eaton: Yeah.
That goes hand in hand.
So, yeah, that, that book was like really
important for us as a leadership team.
And then once you know what to do,
you have to do the hard things.
'cause it all is hard, right?
Saying your opinion when it's
gonna be unpopular is hard.
Calling somebody out for, you know.
Problematic is hard.
All of those things are hard, but
you have to do it in order to move
forward and get to a good place.
And with what you said was really
important and stuck with me about, you
know, your identity as a black woman.
And so another book that I felt
like has been really helpful to
read as a leader is a book by
Kim Scott called Radical Respect.
She has, yeah, she has her first book.
Radical Candor is also awesome.
And it's all very like
different but similar, right?
Do hard things be direct.
Clear is kind right?
Like I think in the workplace a lot
of times we're trying to be nice and.
Being nice means not being direct
with people, not telling them what
you expect, not telling them when
they've exceeded or missed the mark.
You know, you're kind of just being overly
nice and it actually is not kind at all,
because if you're not doing a good job and
I'm not being clear and direct with you,
it might be nice, but it's not kind so.
Yeah, it would be another great author.
And the radical respect piece is
her newer book that focuses more
on all the biases in the workplace.
'cause every single human is biased
just as a product of being a human.
So like, how that shows up.
And how to, you know, really move
forward in the, I'm gonna say like
DEI initiatives, which is also
part of why that book was one of
the books that was banned from the
Naval Academy just a few months ago.
Zuryna Livermore: Well, I love books that
Lauren Eaton: I read it.
Zuryna Livermore: the room, so
I absolutely will read that.
That is like, I'm putting
that at the top of my list.
I love that.
Are there any other external things
that you've done to strengthen
your own leadership approach?
I know we talked about the leadership
institute, we, you mentioned some great
books, but outside of those things,
what else have you done to make sure
that you're a good people manager?
Lauren Eaton: So one of my favorite
things to do is read behavioral science.
And before getting into this,
this position specifically?
I started as a clinician.
So when I first graduated
college, I studied psychology.
My first job was a one-to-one teaching
assistant at a really awesome.
School in Rockville called Ivy Mount
School, which was an amazing place.
And that was really my first
experience with the autism
population and I just loved it.
And so from there I went moved
to Baltimore to attend UMBC.
They have a master's program in applied
behavior analysis which is basically
just the science of human behavior.
And while I was there doing the master's
program, I had the opportunity to also
study organizational behavior management.
So.
Rather than just like in a one-to-one
therapeutic setting of like, how do
you help this one individual meet their
goals and do hard things in their life?
There's a whole arm of behavior
analysis that's focused on organizations
and like, how do you get groups
of people to do stuff, right?
Because everything that we're doing.
Within an organization or a company
or a business is all in the spirit
of getting people to do things.
A collective group of people to do
things to move that mission forward.
So I think studying organizational
behavior management and reading about
behavioral science has been probably
one of the key components to learning
some good information to hopefully.
Zuryna Livermore: It's like you've
combined the best of both worlds.
That is amazing.
I always, that sounds a little
bit like my major in college.
I was a went to Stevenson University
and I was a business communication,
and when you think of those two, it's
like two opposite ends of the spectrum.
It's like the art of communication
with the science of business.
So it's I feel like that's kind
of what your degree landed.
It's like the art and science kind of mix.
So I like that.
I like
Lauren Eaton: Yeah.
Zuryna Livermore: Now you
mentioned you have a lot of hats.
You're a wife, a mom, executive director.
You're balancing strategy,
balancing operations and people.
What tools and systems do you
use to keep yourself organized?
Are you a calendar, digital,
everything type of person, or do you
write everything down pen and paper?
Lauren Eaton: Oh my gosh.
I would say neither and both
Would be my answer to that question.
Let's see.
Both and neither.
I have a very unique system.
And I'm gonna plug one more
book if you can't tell.
I love to read, but there's a book
called Getting Things Done Workbook.
And I, when I read it, maybe like
two years ago, I feel like I was
already pretty organized and had
some good systems in place and it
still like completely rocked my world
and made everything better for me.
So even if you're very organized,
I would still recommend
reading, getting things done.
And one of the best like
takeaways from that book is.
Is this idea that the human brain
isn't designed to hold onto ideas,
it's designed to spark them.
So one of the worst
things that you can do is.
Capture things only in your own
brain because then you're wasting
like 80 to 90% of your brain
power trying to not forget it.
So one of my, one of the most
important things for me in terms of
balancing an organization is making
sure I have a really strong capture
method of like, when random thoughts
pop into your head, how do you.
Where do you put them so that you don't
have to worry about remembering them,
they're just in the place that they
need to be for the next right time.
So some specific tools I use
for that one is monday.com.
Zuryna Livermore: Mm-hmm.
Lauren Eaton: sister
actually used to work there.
Yeah.
So she got me into Monday, monday.com.
But that's where I keep, and I don't
really think I use it in the way that
it's intended to be used, use it almost
as like a you know, massive to-do list.
So I have.
Zuryna Livermore: sounds like you
use it as a brain dump, like a
Lauren Eaton: Yeah.
Zuryna Livermore: dump.
Yeah.
Lauren Eaton: I have every department and
every person that I typically interface
with has their own like color coded tab.
So if I'm driving home and I'm like,
oh wait, I forgot to ask so and so
how this wrapped up, or how this
played out, I can just put it into
that person section on my monday.com.
And then that's another tool when
I'm preparing for my one-to-ones,
I'm preparing for my team meetings,
you know, five or 10 minutes
before I'll pull up my monday.com
and go through the whole list of things.
For that particular person.
And again, like some things are
gonna be urgent or emergencies,
but a lot of things aren't.
So I try to keep everything there until
we're sitting down for our one-to-one
and then I have everything I need.
But knowing that it's there, if the
thought like re pops into my head later
that day, like that anxiety of ugh,
did I forget to tell someone something?
I can rest assured like, no, it's okay.
It's in its right spot and when
it's time it will be there for me.
Zuryna Livermore: Now, do
you find that you have tools.
That you have in your personal
life, that you translate it
over to the Itineris team?
And if so, what are those tools?
Because I know that we have a system that
we use called Workfront to manage all of
Lauren Eaton: Okay.
Zuryna Livermore: So I'm wondering
if you guys have that in your
world and what is that tool?
Lauren Eaton: Like something that
we're using at ITER right now.
Zuryna Livermore: Yeah.
To manage projects, sort of
like what you're doing with
Lauren Eaton: Mm-hmm.
Zuryna Livermore: Is there
something that exists in the
Itineris universe that does that?
I know we've, I've used
Smartsheet in the past.
I've used JIRA, things like that.
Lauren Eaton: Not really.
We are, we utilize teams and then we also
utilize a platform called Twinsy that does
a lot of our, like service management.
But no, in terms of like a software
tool for project management we're
not actively using anything specific.
Mm-hmm.
Zuryna Livermore: like to see
what's going on under the hood.
Shameless plug.
My husband's a mechanic, so
I like to use car analogies,
Lauren Eaton: Okay.
Zuryna Livermore: to check to see
what's under the hood at org, other
organizations to see how they run.
So that's interesting.
That's it?
Lauren Eaton: Right.
It is, and we have a few
people who've used monday.com
a little bit and you know, work
through setting up like deadlines
and looping people in, and I don't
know if it's because we're like
human service organization as opposed
to a product driven or, you know.
Organization, but there's
something about that that is just
challenging in human services.
It's a lot of
Zuryna Livermore: I totally get it.
I totally get it.
Lauren Eaton: yeah.
Zuryna Livermore: I think marketing as a
whole, marketing project management for
that space is kind of, it's different.
Like you, there's not a one size
fits all tool that would meet the
needs of every single organization.
So I totally get that.
I totally get it.
Lauren Eaton: Yeah.
Zuryna Livermore: And then I guess,
what's one lessons learned moment
throughout your leadership journey
specifically at Itineris that has helped
shape the way you kind of lead today?
I know you mentioned a lot of valuable
gems, but I'm wondering if there's just
one aha moment that's like, okay, yes,
this is why I'm doing what I'm doing.
Lauren Eaton: Really for
me, it's all the people
Zuryna Livermore: Yeah.
Lauren Eaton: I love, like the
individuals that we work with,
the clients and autistic adults
that we serve and their families.
Bring me so much joy.
They're just so amazing and
so talented and so funny.
There really is never a dull moment.
I could never imagine myself going
into a job where I was gonna.
Sit at a desk all day, which
is interesting, like you think
I would even as the executive
director, but you really don't.
You're like up and around and every,
you know, every hallway that you walk
through, every door threshold you
cross, there's like really awesome
people to talk to who are gonna
brighten your day and make you laugh.
So definitely the individuals
are a huge part of the why.
And then as I've kind of moved into
more leadership roles and equally.
Big, why is my colleagues.
Zuryna Livermore: Hmm.
Lauren Eaton: People that I care
about, and I really do feel so
grateful that I get to do what I
love with people that I care about.
And that to me is the why that
motivates everything else.
All the hard things is not wanting
to let down the individuals or the
clients, and certainly not wanting to
let down my peers and my colleagues
and other people who work at Itineris.
Those two things drive me to do.
Zuryna Livermore: Ah, I love that.
I love that.
It seems like you have a real
spark when it, when you talk
about Itineris, so I love that.
Lauren Eaton: I love it.
Zuryna Livermore: I wanna do a quick
pivot because I actually have been
stalking your LinkedIn specifically
for this, because I wanted to
Lauren Eaton: Ooh.
Zuryna Livermore: what your
thoughts were about these next.
Series of questions.
So at Operations Unfiltered, we like
to talk about the backend logistics
of influencer marketing, and I like to
talk to business owners or executives
in spaces that don't typically utilize
influencer marketing, just to get a
gauge on if they feel like their industry
would benefit from influencer marketing.
So with that, you yourself, I like to call
you like a thought leader on LinkedIn.
Do you view yourself as an
influencer or a content creator?
And if so, why or why not?
Lauren Eaton: Oh my goodness.
And to be honest with you,
as you're saying that, I'm
getting like really nervous.
'cause I don't even know the different,
like I don't know what that entails
or what the difference is and just
Zuryna Livermore: I have
Lauren Eaton: to.
Zuryna Livermore: for
Lauren Eaton: Yes, I
know I'm gonna take it.
And, but in my personal life, I
don't have any social media at all.
So no Facebook, no Instagram,
Zuryna Livermore: don't have anything?
Lauren Eaton: no.
Zuryna Livermore: How
Lauren Eaton: my LinkedIn, it's easy.
You just don't, don't download
the app and then you're okay.
Zuryna Livermore: Oh my gosh.
No wonder you have so
much free time to read.
You don't, you're not engulfed.
Your brain is not turning into slime.
So I love that.
No offense to anyone like myself
Lauren Eaton: Yeah.
Zuryna Livermore: all of these
things, but I truly admire
people who really don't have it.
That's insane.
Lauren Eaton: Yeah.
Zuryna Livermore: So you say you don't
consider yourself either one, but
you're getting more into LinkedIn.
Lauren Eaton: Yeah, I do.
I like LinkedIn.
Yeah, I do.
I really like LinkedIn.
I think it's a great way to, yeah, stay in
touch with people you don't see every day.
So it's kind of interesting.
A lot of my coworkers are also on
LinkedIn and we barely interface
like other than maybe liking or
reacting to each other's posts.
There's like very little interface
on LinkedIn with people who you
interact with a lot on a daily basis.
But just even across things like all
the different jobs and companies you've
worked for, different conferences, people
that you've met along the way, it's.
Great to be able to connect with
someone on LinkedIn and just
kind of see what they're up to.
So much like resource sharing in
terms of like award nominations, like
knowing when we can like, nominate
our employees for different things.
Looking at grants that might be coming up.
Staying in touch with people who are
doing all different types of work so
that when someone posts something,
you can be like, oh, I didn't know
you were doing affordable housing.
So like on a board for affordable
housing care, like I need.
To talk to you.
I need help with that.
So I just feel like it's a really
good way of staying connected with
people who you don't necessarily see
or talk to every day, and I love it.
Zuryna Livermore: For
sure, and I love that.
And I also, I'm leaning into
this space where I'm trying to
encourage my nonprofit leaders who
often don't think of themselves as
influencers or content creators.
I want them to start thinking about that
because you guys are pushing the mission
and vision of Itineris, and I think
the way that social media is going, we
all love that organic approach, right?
We love.
Hearing about the why from the people who
actually live and breathe it every day.
So that's the reason why I ask.
And especially you're in this ed role.
I wonder, do you see yourself in
the future leaning more into being
a thought leader or an influencer
and creating that content to share
more about the mission and value and
hopefully collect, you know, fundraising
dollars for people who, who learn
about Itineris through what you share?
Lauren Eaton: Yes.
Yeah, I definitely connect with the
thought leader identity and that's
something that I like, lean into.
And you know, one of the
things while I was just out.
On vacation the last week, my family
and I went to Portugal, so I had a
lot of time to think and reflect.
And one of the things that I
added to my list of what I wanna
do is write more opinion pieces.
So whether that's for the Baltimore banner
or the Baltimore Sun, or any sort of like
local, you know, publication would love to
Zuryna Livermore: to
Lauren Eaton: more opinion pieces.
Zuryna Livermore: ideas, curate that the
project manager in me is some ideas, so
Lauren Eaton: Perfect.
Zuryna Livermore: have to
tap in with you on that.
'cause I just, I love seeing engaged
eds like you, EDS executive directors.
I hate using acronyms and then
don't tell people what they are.
But
Lauren Eaton: Mm-hmm.
Zuryna Livermore: I love interacting
with eds who you can just.
Feel that they're
connected to the mission.
And so whenever I see someone like
that, I need to start like an executive
director, content creator bootcamp.
So that way I can empower you guys
to share the mission and vision.
'cause I just feel like we connect so much
more when we hear your stories, you know?
So just
Lauren Eaton: Yes, I will.
Zuryna Livermore: in your back pocket.
Lauren Eaton: Yeah.
And especially just right now in
general, I mean, people are always
interested in the work that we do because
it's fascinating and the clients and
individuals we work with are awesome.
Zuryna Livermore: Mm-hmm.
Lauren Eaton: that is never a
challenge, is getting people invested.
But what I think that that could be
really helpful is just giving more
opinions and anecdotes about, you
know, everything that's going on in
the world and how this impacts our,
our clients and our individuals.
So it's like, what is
the, what's the term?
Oh, now I'm gonna forget it, but it's
like you don't know what you don't know.
Zuryna Livermore: Mm-hmm.
I know what it is.
I don't know what the term is, but I've
Saying.
Lauren Eaton: Yeah.
I can't remember, but it's like you,
to me, it all seems like very boring
information because it's stuff that we've
been doing for years and years in terms
of what happens to autistic students
when they graduate from high school?
Like how do they get.
Their funding?
What happens if they don't?
What happens if they get
kicked off the waiver?
What happens?
You know, there's all these like really
interesting questions that I'm sure a
lot of people are interested to hear
the answer in, but for us, we kinda,
oh, it's called the curse of knowledge.
You know, we're,
Zuryna Livermore: curse
Lauren Eaton: us it's yeah, it's
not that interesting because.
We do it all the time, but for, it's
like a reminder that for people who,
you know, maybe you have like a younger
child on the spectrum and you're
curious what adult services look like,
or maybe you're an autistic adult and
you don't have funding yet, and you're
curious how you go about doing that.
I feel like there's a
lot that we can share
Zuryna Livermore: Mm-hmm.
Lauren Eaton: that area that
will impact the interest or pique
the interest of a lot of people.
Zuryna Livermore: Yeah, for sure.
Especially in the, with the
rise of like video content,
Lauren Eaton: Mm-hmm.
Zuryna Livermore: who looks like
me and shows me and shows that
they're experiencing what I'm
Lauren Eaton: Right.
Zuryna Livermore: I always tell
people that building that sense
of community is a top tier content
bucket that people have to lean into.
So I
Lauren Eaton: Yes.
Zuryna Livermore: love that you're
already thinking about that approach
Lauren Eaton: Yes,
Zuryna Livermore: think
Lauren Eaton: I have no interest
in being like an influencer.
Zuryna Livermore: yeah.
Lauren Eaton: what I'll say is that I want
Itineris to be influencers in the very
progressive ways that we can think about
and engage with the disability community.
One is like there are a lot
of, what are they called?
Like there's just a lot of
stereotypes and a lot of myths
about people with disabilities and
about people on the autism spectrum.
Zuryna Livermore: that you wanna debunk?
Because I,
Lauren Eaton: Oh man.
Zuryna Livermore: like
that could help too.
What are some common misconceptions?
Lauren Eaton: So many you know, a
really good one would be that people
with disabilities can't make their own
decisions or people with disabilities
can't drink alcohol or people with
disabilities can't go to concerts or
people with disabilities can't work or
play baseball, depending on who you ask.
But those are all things
that are totally untrue.
Not really in line with a progressive
view of, you know, neurodiversity and
disability as a civil rights movement
and how to make sure that people have
their rights and their ability to live
their life in the way that they want
to live it, while also having support
and areas that they need, which does
not mean somebody completely taking
over your life and making every
decision for you without your input.
Zuryna Livermore: that
Lauren Eaton: Yeah.
Zuryna Livermore: like, at the end of
the day, everybody is a human being.
Right?
And I, that is one of the misconceptions
that I'm happy you covered, is that these
are still human beings that are fully
capable of making their own decisions,
some of them, you know what I mean?
So I, I love that you guys are I.
De-stigmatizing this whole thing.
So I
Lauren Eaton: Definitely.
Zuryna Livermore: you're doing, and
I know that marketing is often a
challenge for nonprofits, especially
in the human services area.
But aside from just the sheer knowledge
gap, what are some other hurdles that
you think Itineris is facing as far
as marketing and how do you feel like
you guys are trying to mitigate that?
Lauren Eaton: Marketing.
That's a good question.
I would say.
You know, time, expertise, and bandwidth.
It's like when you have someone who's
just like, everything, it's like when
you're working with like the people
who are doing marketing for Apple
products, I feel like that's a whole
different ball game than marketing for a
nonprofit that's funded through Medicaid
Zuryna Livermore: Yes.
And that's something that I had to
explain to my creators too, 'cause I'm
also a booking agent for content creators
who are looking to work with businesses
Lauren Eaton: Mm-hmm.
Zuryna Livermore: sometimes you have
to be attracted to the mission of
the organization and help propel that
forward, and then the money will come.
Right?
So my idea for content creators
partnering with someone like Itineris
is I want them to know that you
have to be married to this vision.
And sometimes they
don't have a big budget.
Sometimes they do.
But at the end of the day,
sometimes marketing comes from
the good of your heart, you
Lauren Eaton: Mm-hmm.
Zuryna Livermore: I want my
Lauren Eaton: Yeah.
Zuryna Livermore: feel that too.
Lauren Eaton: Yeah, and we have an
amazing, amazing development team.
Our director of development
and marketing is phenomenal.
And yeah.
Oh yeah, you did.
Yeah.
Carolyn she's fantastic
and she has a small team.
You know, the way that we all do, it's
every year it is so serious every year
that we do our budget, having to go
through and being like, what can we.
Do without, where can we cut, where
can we, you know, make changes with the
goal of we are a human service provider,
so it's 80% or more of our budget
goes to paying direct support staff.
So paying the individuals who
work with our clients on a
day-to-day basis around the clock.
That is where over 80% of our.
You know, rev money goes,
that's 80% of our expenses.
So when it comes to, you know, other
departments, like we obviously have to
invest heavily in those departments and
have amazing people doing amazing work,
Zuryna Livermore: Yep.
Lauren Eaton: and those
departments don't have the same.
Budget as like a for-profit tech or
a startup where you might have you
know, 20, 25 people on your team.
This is a team of three or four people
whose need to do all of the, you
know, raise over a million dollars
a year, organize all of our events.
Zuryna Livermore: Mm-hmm.
Lauren Eaton: Complete all of our
grants, get the fundraising, and
also manage, you know, social media
and marketing and communication.
So
Zuryna Livermore: Yeah.
Lauren Eaton: think it's just one of
those things where it's so important
to prioritize and also so easy to
lose funding to make it happen.
Zuryna Livermore: Yeah, no, that's
to, that's a, a tangle web, you know
Lauren Eaton: Mm-hmm.
Zuryna Livermore: there's so much going
on, and again, that's why I say nonprofit
marketing and community engagement
is such a key piece of a puzzle.
But what I want influencers and
content creators to know is that
yes, there's money to be made in this
industry, but sometimes there, it has
to be a passion project in order to
Lauren Eaton: Right.
Zuryna Livermore: good forward.
So that's, I'm gonna
Lauren Eaton: Yeah.
Zuryna Livermore:
listeners with one thing.
That's what I wanna leave them with.
Lauren Eaton: Wonderful.
And we have a handful of clients who
I think would be great influencers.
That's probably my biggest vision
and something that I would like
to happen over the next year is to
let you know, in the autism world,
there's a saying, nothing about us.
Without us, we're like a bunch of
neurotypical people should not be
making all the decisions about.
How autistic people
live their lives, right?
Don't make this decision without me in
the room because it has an impact on me.
So I feel like the same thing
for social media marketing.
You know, our clients
would be the influencers.
So who here, of the 115 people
that we serve, we have of.
Great number of clients who have
like social media, who love,
like entertainment, love being
videoed, love being interviewed.
So how do we get them, you know,
to be the influencers who are
spreading the word about, you know,
disability rights as a civil rights
movement, and the work happening
at Itineris and debunking all the.
And showing all the amazing things
that they're doing down to our artists.
So we have a group of artists at
Itineris, and that's their business.
They make and sell their own artwork.
They're self-employed.
Like each of those artists should be
influencers if they would like to be.
Zuryna Livermore: sure, and I can't wait
to help tap in and help give them the
templates that they need to be successful.
But you mentioned a good point.
With the whole political climate,
I was trying to avoid this topic,
but the dismantling of all things
DEI and I feel like people miss
that e stands for equity inclusion.
And I think that a lot of people.
Forget that sometimes autistic
adults fall into that.
So with this political climate, the
state of dismantling, DEI, what are
your thoughts about, you know, the
protections that might be, you know,
leaving people with disabilities?
How do you feel about the overall
political climate as it relates to DEI?
Lauren Eaton: Right.
I mean that is, that's a
huge question to answer.
I feel like we'd need
probably six to 12 hours
Zuryna Livermore: for
Lauren Eaton: there.
Zuryna Livermore: Sure.
Lauren Eaton: but what I can say that
at Itineris d well, we have DEIA, so
our, our committee and our mission
is related to diversity, equity,
inclusion, and accessibility, especially
with that like disability piece.
And so we have DEIA committee.
That we've had for many years now.
We have A-D-E-I-A mission
and vision statement.
We read books like Canary the Canary
Code, which is all like inclusion in the
workplace for neurodiverse individuals.
Like we've read that book and
have attended conferences.
To update our hiring practices
how we have staff complete
applications, like what information
is on there versus what is not.
You know, making our workplace like an
inclusive and access accessible workplace.
So none of that.
That has all been happening for years
and that's gonna continue to happen
because it's really important to us.
And then outside of the DEIA
initiatives, we also have our
organizational philosophy, which is the.
The, you know, philosophical piece
of our client and stakeholder
handbook, and we start with this
information from the second that
somebody reaches out about services.
Zuryna Livermore: Mm-hmm.
Lauren Eaton: share our philosophy
because we wanna make sure that not only
are we, that we're a good match, right?
Not everything works for everybody.
So we're really trying to be
transparent about who we are.
How we do things and how we feel about
certain topics so that we can be a
good match, not only for our staff
and team members, but also for the
clients and families who seek us out.
Zuryna Livermore: Right.
Lauren Eaton: of the first the ma, the
first number one of our organizational
philosophy is neurodiversity affirming,
which is a whole way of viewing.
Like disability as a topic and
autism as a specific diagnosis.
And it, yeah, it's like probably beyond
the scope of the conversation to get
in what that means, but yeah, it's like
we're neurodiversity affirming and we use
neurodiversity affirming best practices.
So if you're someone who's gonna want
us to be overly restrictive, like we're
probably not the right place for you.
Number two is anti-racist
and anti-discrimination.
And that's just something that is a core
part of our organizational philosophy
and goes through like what that means,
why it's important to us, and all of
the different, you know, tools that we
use in order to live that philosophy
Zuryna Livermore: Mm-hmm.
Lauren Eaton: specific example.
Being if a client or somebody that we
serve makes a comment that's either
racist or biased or, you know, culturally
insensitive in some way, we have a
curriculum and a referral form where like
even down our clients, our DEIA committee
and our HR department can work with that
individual client not to be punitive or
say you know, you're a horrible person
and can't come here anymore, but hey,
let's talk about this and let's try to
do some, you know, education and thought
and research onto taking different
perspectives and why this might not have
been the best comment or could have been.
So I feel like we try to take like a
proactive approach, but then we also do
have reactive strategies for if someone
misses the mark or if there is an issue,
like how we tackle it as an organization.
And then we're also evidence-based,
Zuryna Livermore: Mm.
Okay.
Lauren Eaton: all of the interventions
and strategies that we use are in some
way founded in science and have some
empirical validity to them as well as
an environment of learning and growth.
That's the fourth component of our
philosophy and with this assumption
that we're human services, like we
are humans, we're working with humans
even though we wish that we would
never, ever, ever make a mistake
Zuryna Livermore: Mm-hmm.
Lauren Eaton: going to, and as a product
of working in human services, some of
the mistakes we make are gon, you know,
have the potential to be really serious.
If you're responsible for
giving someone their meds, like
you can't make a mistake and
Zuryna Livermore: up with
Lauren Eaton: yeah.
Zuryna Livermore: you can't mess
Lauren Eaton: Yeah, it has real
so I would love to say, oh, we'll
never ever make a med error.
Zuryna Livermore: Mm-hmm.
Lauren Eaton: we also have, you know, 180
employees who are giving meds to clients
three times a day, 365 days a year.
So is it realistic to say that we're
never ever gonna make up make a mistake?
No.
But being in an environment of learning
and growth, it's like, how can we.
How can we, one, prevent this from ever
happening, but two, when it does stay
in that growth mindset and not get, you
know, not get stuck stay in like a growth
of like, how could we do this better?
How can we improve?
And I think a direct result of that
is we are always growing and changing.
Zuryna Livermore: Yeah, I love that.
I love that.
And honestly, it seems like this is a
good environment to continue to grow
and to continue to learn about not
only how to best help your clients,
but best grow as an internal associate.
So I love that approach
that you guys are taking.
The other question that I have for
you is strictly around like growth.
Like where do you see Itineris
in the next couple of years?
And I hate giving a timeline, but maybe
let's say the next two years, two to
five years, where do you see Itineris?
Lauren Eaton: Doing amazing things.
Yes.
We, some of our big plans include
expanding mental and behavioral healthcare
so that we're able to serve more autistic
adults and not just people who receive.
DD or like DDA services, the developmental
disability administration, but being able
to work with the same way I might call
a social worker, counselor therapist and
say, oh, I need to make an appointment
because I'm struggling with this.
Great.
Take my insurance and in and out.
So we wanna be able to provide more
community-based services like that so
that we can reach, you know, a broader.
Group of autistic adults who need more
behavioral and mental healthcare support.
So where that's like in the works,
I'm really excited about that.
And I think we also have a lot
of important work to do in terms
of affordable housing for people
with disabilities and what our
residential services look like.
So right now all of the apartments
and homes that we operate are all.
Rentals.
So we don't, Itineris doesn't own any
homes or properties, and I feel like
that's gonna be a really important
piece of moving forward is like, how
do we branch into home ownership?
And then even more importantly,
how do we set our clients up?
You know, people who would like
that for home ownership in a way
that is sustainable and affordable.
Because yes.
Zuryna Livermore: word accessible.
I love that word accessible.
And you know, I realized throughout this
whole conversation, I never asked what are
the core services that Itineris offers?
So if you wouldn't mind sharing
what the services that you offer
and how they're unique to Itineris.
Lauren Eaton: Yeah, so the main
unique component of Itineris is that
we're all autism, so most providers.
Serve like a wide range of individuals
with developmental disabilities,
whereas Itineris is only autism.
That's one of our criteria is you
have to have a, you know, primary
autism diagnosis to participate.
Zuryna Livermore: Mm-hmm.
Lauren Eaton: really the
unique part about the program.
And it started 15 years ago when a group
of parents were wondering like, what's
gonna happen to my child when I die?
Which is a really intense question.
Zuryna Livermore: It's a very intense
Lauren Eaton: To be
Zuryna Livermore: It's a, it's something
that you don't think about when
Lauren Eaton: asking.
Right,
Zuryna Livermore: hey, it's a question.
Yeah.
Lauren Eaton: right.
So for the group, for the
co-founders, their children were
just reaching transition age, like
in high school, you know, 14, 15.
And when you have access to special
education services, it's a great thing.
Like you have speech, you have ot,
you have special ed, you have your
friends, you have Special Olympics,
you have your whole life is.
Is rich with services
and with things to do.
And then what happens often is when people
graduate from high school, they call it
falling off the cliff or falling off the
service cliff because the school-based
services are entitlement based.
Like you are entitled to
those services under the law.
Whereas once you turn 18, it
moves to eligibility based.
So like you have to meet some sort
of criteria in order to get them
Zuryna Livermore: Mm-hmm.
Lauren Eaton: You know, pretty much like
you're in high school, June 20th and
you have speech, ot, behavior, special
ed, and then June 21st happens and
now all of a sudden you have nothing.
Zuryna Livermore: Oh wow.
So you guys are really filling
that gap of what's next.
I
Lauren Eaton: What's next?
Yes.
Zuryna Livermore: truly needed, and
Lauren Eaton: Yes.
Zuryna Livermore: I cannot wait to see
how you guys mature and grow, especially
in the marketing arm, because that
gap, that education gap is something
that you guys can fill on social with
the community that you already serve.
So it's all connected.
I cannot wait for you guys to do that.
Oh my gosh.
Lauren Eaton: That's gonna be great.
So Itinerary started
primarily as a day program.
Zuryna Livermore: Mm-hmm.
Lauren Eaton: Almost like, you know,
when you're, when you don't go to school,
like where do you go and what do you do?
So that was really how it started.
It started with one.
Client in the basement
of a church 15 years ago.
And so now over time it's
grown and grown and grown.
We now own our building here in Woodbury.
We serve 115 clients through
this meaningful day program.
And it includes a variety of things.
So part of it is.
Day rehabilitation services.
So sometimes people come into this
building and might participate
in like fitness classes, meal
prep everything under the sun.
So we're like a site where people
can come during the day and have
friends and have awesome things
to do and have a great time.
We also have community-based services.
We're part of, like while they're
here, getting people to explore
different activities in the community.
And it could be for social
rec and leisure like.
Finding things that you love
to do that make you happy.
It could also be giving
back to the community.
So we have a majority of our
clients volunteer or like engage in
community service in some capacity.
And then there's also employment services.
So for people who do wanna pay job
and who wanna to work in that capacity
we offer employment supports as well.
So those are kind of our daytime services.
Then we have a personal supports
program where people can go, you know,
into your home and in the community
and support the person, you know, in
their home and in their community.
So that's really great.
Most of the clients who participate
in that program still live at
home with their parents, but just
want some additional support.
Like evening, weekend time.
Zuryna Livermore: In
their home environment.
I
Lauren Eaton: Exactly.
Zuryna Livermore: so amazing.
Lauren Eaton: Yeah.
Zuryna Livermore: is there a
cost associated with this, or
is it, what does that look like?
Lauren Eaton: Yes.
That is a good question.
Do you want me to finish the,
all the programs first or do you
want me to answer your question?
Okay, because there's it's fine
either way, but there's a few more.
And we also do residential services,
which I talked about a little bit.
So we have 14 different homes that wear.
Helping clients manage in
like a residential capacity,
and that is really awesome.
23 clients who we're serving
and that's 24 7, like
Zuryna Livermore: I love
Lauren Eaton: 365, everything.
And that's really awesome.
We have a made by Itineris creative
arts program, which I mentioned before.
So we have some artists who are
doing that as self-employment
and then also just tons of like
enrichment and therapeutic components.
We also have a behavior
support services program, so.
That again is like already happening
in terms of people who need more
help and support in that way.
We just wanna grow it
to reach more people.
Zuryna Livermore: Yeah, you guys have a
full, robust list of things and services,
which I, that gap is being filled by the
Lauren Eaton: Mm-hmm.
Zuryna Livermore: that you're providing.
But that's why I wanted to know,
do you have to pay, and if so, how
do you guys keep cost low to these
residents and things like that.
I just
Lauren Eaton: Yeah.
Zuryna Livermore: we can help the
community, the, to help you guys push
these amazing resources out there.
Lauren Eaton: Yes, that is like one of the
challenges of doing this work for sure.
We almost all of our clients are
funded through Medicaid and the
developmental disability administration.
So as that, and that's.
The entitlement.
So for years before you even get
services, you have to get your name on,
like a wait list for all the different
waivers and make sure that all of your
paperwork and all the administrative
stuff at the state and federal level
are all good to go, which I can't
understate how challenging that is.
So even getting the funding
and getting the services is.
Hard even to get to that point.
And then every year the clients get an
annual person-centered plan meeting, which
really goes through what are the things
that you hope to accomplish this year?
What is your vision for your life?
What, what makes a happy life for you?
And then based on what the individual
wants we might recommend different
services at different schedules, different
hours, also different intensities like.
Depending on like how much
nursing care you need, how
much behavior support you need.
So every client not only has their
own individualized plan, but they also
come with an individualized budget
Zuryna Livermore: Oh wow.
Lauren Eaton: of like, what the
Zuryna Livermore: of moving parts to
Lauren Eaton: Yes.
Yes.
And all of that needs to be
like preauthorized every,
you know, every service.
Zuryna Livermore: have to have
a case manager for each client.
It's,
Lauren Eaton: Yes, we do.
And that's the part that's interesting
is like the direct service.
So the person who's working
with the client, like you get
reimbursed by the state and through
DDA for providing the service.
But outside of that.
You know what your organ organizational
structure looks like is up to you
in a sense, but it's like you're
not getting reimbursed for like
development or HR or activity planner
or like our community engagement team.
All the case managers, all the behavior
specialists, all the administrative staff
who like do the billing and who get all
the PCP, you know, all none of that is.
Billable really.
So that's why we have every year
at our biggest fundraiser, we have
a fill the gap is what we call it.
Where we go through like for all the
services that we provide, this is how
much is actually covered by their funding.
And this is how much that we have
to like privately fundraise in order
to keep up this level of service.
Because a lot of the different
supports that we have here.
That make us successful in doing this
work and make us effective in doing
this work are things that we don't get
any sort of reimbursement from Medicaid
or state or federal funding to do.
Zuryna Livermore: Such a stressful
situation, but I'm super proud of you
guys that you're ma able to make it work
Lauren Eaton: Mm-hmm.
Zuryna Livermore: get the
fund, meet your funding goals.
Do you guys think that you'll be able
to meet your funding goals this year?
Are you positive thinking this year?
Lauren Eaton: Yeah, absolutely.
Zuryna Livermore: what are you,
what are your marketing like goals?
Like you mentioned the fill the gap.
Are you, do you have other
fundraising things and how
can we donate the, the public?
How can we our dollars?
Lauren Eaton: Yeah,
that's a great question.
So yeah, last year when it comes
to fundraising we exceeded our
fundraising goal for last year.
But it is higher this year.
So we do, we definitely have
a lot of work to do, but I'm
confident that we will get it done.
And then one of the phrases,
even though it doesn't.
Link to your question.
Something that keeps coming up in my
mind is the phrase like, nonprofit
is a tax status, not a business plan.
Zuryna Livermore: Yes.
Lauren Eaton: So
Zuryna Livermore: yes.
Lauren Eaton: we are running our
organization, we're a business,
you know, we're a non nonprofit,
but we still need a business plan.
And we still, you know, need to
have goals and accountability and
make the math, math as, as you say.
But yeah, we definitely rely on
a lot of grants and fundraising.
And I would say like the best
way to without saying oh, just.
Send us a check for a
thousand dollars, right?
Like I'm sure a lot of
people would, if they could.
If you can please do that.
And if you can the best way to
like help and support is just
through your social network.
So if listening to this podcast, you
think of a person or a professional, or
a family, or an autistic self-advocate,
or anyone under the sun who you think
might be interested in our mission and
the work that we're doing, send me a cold
email connect me with another person.
I am.
Happy and love going to coffee, getting
beers, taking hikes, taking walks
with everyone under the sun who might
have a shared interest in our mission.
And so if you're not able to give in
that sort of like monetary capacity,
I feel like that would be the best
way to support our organization is
just through connecting us with other
people who care about these issues.
Zuryna Livermore: time.
I have a couple of Pilates instructors who
Lauren Eaton: Yes.
Zuryna Livermore: I have some chefs,
Lauren Eaton: Perfect.
Zuryna Livermore: some mental notes.
I'll definitely
Lauren Eaton: Yeah.
And that's great.
And that is how we find a lot of like
really great people where it's you know,
would a chef who, you know, would they
be willing to have one of our clients
come do a trial shift in their restaurant
where they get to come in and take a tour
and maybe see what it's like to work in
a kitchen that is extremely valuable.
Do you have someone who's looking to
volunteer where it's like, oh, I'm a yoga
teacher and I would be happy to volunteer?
I don't know, an hour, two hours a month
and teach like a free yoga class here
that our clients could participate in.
We have all kinds of cool
individuals like that who come and
support the mission in those ways.
Zuryna Livermore: Yes, and I will
keep encouraging people to do that
because the power of collaboration
Lauren Eaton: Mm-hmm.
Zuryna Livermore: especially in
these challenging economic times.
So
Lauren Eaton: Yes.
Zuryna Livermore: we
can barter, we need to.
Do that
Lauren Eaton: Yes.
Farter exactly.
Zuryna Livermore: This is a special
episode of Operations Unfiltered.
It's a mom's unfiltered and you mentioned
daycare, you mentioned vacation.
I just need to understand how you
personally lav navigate being a mom and
doing all of the things that you do.
'cause it seems like you make
yourself readily available to
your clients, to your staff.
So how do you deal with
mom guilt, as you're
Lauren Eaton: Yeah.
Zuryna Livermore: this?
Lauren Eaton: That's a really
good question, and I think if
anyone says that they have the
answer, they're probably lying.
No.
The first thing that popped into my
head was just my partner Caitlyn.
She is amazing, and I could not
do this job without her because in
all the ways that I might have to.
Stay late or answer the
phone or be here or be there.
She is the person picking up
the slack on the other end.
So I feel very grateful that I have not
only an amazing partner to support me,
but also an extremely strong village.
We live in Patterson Park
neighborhood in Baltimore.
We have a group of friends.
Zuryna Livermore: my daughter needs
frequent flyer miles at Be more licks.
I know
Lauren Eaton: Yes,
Zuryna Livermore: us
Lauren Eaton: I was just there yesterday.
Yeah.
Zuryna Livermore: are we.
Oh,
Lauren Eaton: Yeah.
Zuryna Livermore: we.
Oh my
Lauren Eaton: Oh, I wish I saw you.
That would've been funny.
Zuryna Livermore: That
would've been hilarious, but
Lauren Eaton: Yeah.
Zuryna Livermore: I love that area.
Lauren Eaton: Yeah.
And we have a group of
you know, 10 friends.
We've all known each
other for over a decade.
We all own homes within
walking distance of each other.
And so in addition to
having a great, yeah.
Zuryna Livermore: neighborhood.
Lauren Eaton: Yeah.
Zuryna Livermore: amazing.
Lauren Eaton: Great partner
in a strong village.
So definitely on like nights where we
have, you know, board meetings or those
sorts of things you know, I have 10
other people to call on and say Hey,
can I like drop the girls at your house?
I'll drop them at four 30 and then
Katie will pick them up at six 30.
And, you know, just a really
strong village I feel like helps.
You cannot, absolutely cannot
do it alone, that's for sure.
Zuryna Livermore: Moms, you
Lauren Eaton: Yep.
Zuryna Livermore: You heard it here.
You cannot
Lauren Eaton: Yeah.
Zuryna Livermore: Invest in that village.
Ugh.
Lauren Eaton: Yeah.
Zuryna Livermore: good.
Lauren Eaton: And then when you were
talking about you know, what did you say?
Like work life balance.
I feel like that's like a
triggering phrase for me.
And something that I learned also
through the Leadership Institute.
Adam, one of their facilitators
taught me the phrase healthy hustle,
Zuryna Livermore: Mm.
Lauren Eaton: which of like stuck.
Zuryna Livermore: to adopt it.
Lauren Eaton: Mm-hmm.
Where, and that's like the, that's the
mentality or that's what I'm striving for.
Like, I'm not gonna have
work life balance every day.
Zuryna Livermore: Yeah.
Lauren Eaton: But I could have a healthy
hustle in the sense that you know,
every, what is, everyone does their board
meetings the third week of the month.
So like the third week of the month.
It's like I have the
itineris board meeting.
I serve on some other nonprofit boards you
know, working on like a startup, the, it's
like sometimes when it rains, it pours.
And so for that week it might be like, I
might feel horrible oh my gosh, I haven't
put my kids to bed in two or three days.
But with a healthy hustle mindset
is like as long as it, as long
as that is not your lifestyle,
Zuryna Livermore: Mm-hmm.
Lauren Eaton: to me it works where it's
like, okay, I'm gonna have two or three,
like really jam packed days where I'm not
gonna have a lot of quality family time,
Zuryna Livermore: Yeah.
Lauren Eaton: I know that next week we're
going to Portugal and we're gonna have a
whole week of uninterrupted family time.
So try to look at it that way instead
of striving for this like moment
to moment work life balance that.
Zuryna Livermore: preaching to me.
I hear you loud and clear.
I'm taking this advice personally
because I cried three times last
I'm not gonna be able to tuck her in.
I'm
Lauren Eaton: yeah.
Zuryna Livermore: so I
Lauren Eaton: And it doesn't help like I
can say it now, but in the moment, I still
feel bad and cry and all those things too.
Zuryna Livermore: eyes out.
My kids
Lauren Eaton: Yeah.
Zuryna Livermore: they're gonna hate me.
So
Lauren Eaton: Yeah, well
something that I learned in
therapy I had a great therapist.
When they were little I had a lot
of anxiety, of course, just 'cause
it's like everything can hurt them.
They're so fragile and as they were
learning to walk and like exploring
things in the park and we like live in
the city, I like everything was making
me feel like, ah, this is so dangerous.
And what.
Said was like, you know, you can just
ask yourself, will they probably be fine?
And that's the question that I ask
now is like if they're doing something
like climbing on a ledge you know,
it makes me a little nervous, but
they're also only two or three
feet from the ground, so it's like,
Zuryna Livermore: Are they gonna
Lauren Eaton: be fine.
Zuryna Livermore: Yeah.
Lauren Eaton: Yeah.
So that has helped.
Zuryna Livermore: that.
Lauren Eaton: Yeah.
And.
Zuryna Livermore: that
in the front of my mind.
'cause I, every day I'm like the
helicopter mom, don't do that.
Don't do that.
And I'm like, no, Just stop.
Lauren Eaton: It's too stressful.
So now I ask myself like,
will they probably be fine?
Probably.
And that applies to like,
you know, the work life.
Balance and healthy hustle too.
And then something that I try to do,
even though I'm not always successful,
is that like self-compassion exercise
of if I were talking to a friend
instead of myself, what would I say?
Because if it's, to me, I
might say you are the worst.
You're like a, you're a horrible parent.
Zuryna Livermore: always say
Lauren Eaton: gonna like
have your kids for life.
Zuryna Livermore: Yes.
Yes.
I'm
Lauren Eaton: For life.
Zuryna Livermore: meaner
to myself than I am to my
Lauren Eaton: Right.
Zuryna Livermore: Good
Lauren Eaton: I can't believe
I was late to pick them up.
They're gonna be like traumatized for
life because they were the last kids
to get picked up, which like, and
the kids are really good at that too.
Like I know that I'm not, that they
weren't the last pickup every day, but
there was like two days in a row at camp
where I was like right on the tail end.
Like they were the last
kids to be picked up.
And they're like, we're always
the last kids to be picked up.
We always have to wait.
And it's like, you know, I'm
not gonna argue with them.
Zuryna Livermore: It
Lauren Eaton: But yeah
will you probably be okay?
Yes, you probably will be.
Okay.
And rather than speak badly to myself,
I imagine if it were a friend who had
a kid and was navigating this exact
situation, what would I say to them?
And it would be like,
you're a great parent.
Like you love your kids.
Your kids know that they're loved.
They have a very like
enriched and beautiful life.
And they'll probably be fine.
Zuryna Livermore: You are the best.
Oh my gosh.
This has been an amazing conversation.
I appreciate you, Lauren, and I
want to know how do we follow you?
I know you said you only have LinkedIn,
so Lauren Eaton, but all things
Lauren Eaton: That's it.
Zuryna Livermore: I want people to be
able to look up this company and figure
out how they can invest their time, their
money, how can we keep up with all things
Lauren Eaton: Yes.
So to learn about Itineris, I
would definitely direct you to
our website, itiner Baltimore.
Org.
And then we do, even though I
don't personally have social
media, itiner does have a very
active Facebook account, Instagram
account, LinkedIn and YouTube page.
YouTube is another good way to learn,
even though they're typically like.
A little bit longer videos that we
make, like all the videos that we
make for our fundraisers and all
different events we post on YouTube.
So that's a good way of just like
learning more about the clients and
the programs and the work that we do.
But in all seriousness, please email me
and come in for a tour because I do think
the best way to really understand the
work and like who we're serving and what
we're doing is to come here to our office.
I would love to meet
anybody who's interested.
Did give you a tour of Itineris, introduce
you to some of our clients, show you
some of our new spaces that are under
construction for like new projects that
will be happening over the next few years.
And just like really have
you connect with the people.
It's all about the people.
So come in and visit us.
Zuryna Livermore: You have.
I'm gonna set up my tour today.
I
Lauren Eaton: Yes.
Let's do it.
Zuryna Livermore: much, Lauren.
This is a great conversation and
thank you everybody for tuning in.