Dania Blanco

Guiding conversations with community leaders.

In this podcast we'll explore the human journey of leaders, their stories of humility, triumph, roadblocks and lessons learned. Come join us as we journey together and uncover the questions you've always wanted to know. This podcast is brought to you by the Gilbert Chamber of Commerce. Providing resources, connections and belonging for business.

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Is it still the holiday season?

Yeah, it's the holiday season and it's like your favorite time of the year.

Christmas is my favorite for sure.

Yeah, we got lots of reasons. We'll keep the clean here though, so. But you know what? Also that means we got a whole new group of people coming.

I'm so excited.

Who do we have today?

Today we have a fascinating guest. I'm so excited to dive in. Born in Costa Rica, this guest was raised in the East Valley and graduated from Mesa High. She enjoyed a 19 year career at the Gilbert Police Department as an investigator. In 2010, while raising her three kids, she founded Cosmics Artistry. Working in commercials and films. In August of 2022, she opened her very first storefront in Gilbert called Cosmics Beauty Labs. Today she is a proud mom not only to her three children, but five bonus children and three grandchildren. Please welcome Donya Blanco.

Welcome to the show.

Thank you. I'm so happy to be here.

We're excited to have you here. We got so much to talk about. I well, let's get started with what.

We call rapid fire.

Here we go.

Would you rather spend a day with your best friend or a party with everyone you know?

I think I'd rather have a party with everybody I know.

Oh, wow. Okay.

This one. I'm curious about the answer to this one because it changes now that we've all been through Covid anyway. Phone call or text message?

Phone call.

Hey, all right.

Favorite superhero?

Probably Storm.

Oh, I know Storm. Okay. Dine in or delivery?

Dine in.

Dine in.

What is the last book you read?

I read Dave Grohl's book.

Okay, cool.

The storyteller hobby of choice. Being on podcast shows.

I'm too busy to have hobbies. If I had a hobby, probably would be like that cross stitching stuff. I like doing that, but I just never have time.

Okay.

Would you ever go bull riding?

Yes.

In your teen years, what was your favorite song?

I'm a music girl, so that's not a.

Okay, so that's a hard one.

That's a hard question because it's gonna profile you here. Yeah, whatever. You pick.

No pressure.

I would have to say this is very broad, but in my teen years, anything by Madonna.

Oh, cool. Love that. One day with any person, living or dead, who would it be?

The wheels are spinning.

A really hard one.

Family member.

I would love to spend a day with my husband's father. I never got to really meet him and he sounds super, super interesting and just a really, like a kind man.

So what a great answer. I love that.

That makes me think the answer to this one is going to be glass. Half full or half empty.

Oh, half full.

Yeah, nailed that one. I would have got that. Great. We made it through that part. You feeling okay?

Yeah, I'm good.

Those are new questions. Sarah got it through Curveball. I didn't even know what those questions were. I was like, what?

I picked up on that.

Bull riding. That's totally your kind of thing.

Awesome.

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Well, we are excited to get started and sort of dive in. So let's actually talk about the very beginning. So born in Costa Rica, what does that look like for you?

Well, I never lived in Costa Rica. I was brought here when I was about 2 or 3 years old. I think I was 3 when I was brought here by my mother. But I go back every year since I've been with my husband. He loves it and he wants to go every year. So we go back every year. And the last time I went before 2016 was when I was 30 years old and I took my children for the first time ever and they just loved it.

So you shared with us your unique story and how you arrived here from Costa Rica. Do you want to share a little bit with our listeners about that?

Yes. So it's a long story, but I'm going to try and make it super short. My mother came to the United States first in 1972, 3 72. And I don't think that my father got a visa, so he stayed in Costa Rica with me. And my mom came here, lived with my aunt who was adopted by an LDS family when she was young, a young, young girl, after my grandmother passed away. And this is my paternal aunt. And so my mom lived with them for a little bit, and she found a job and called my dad and said, hey, I have a job. Let's, you know, have you come? And he said, nope, I'm not going. I'm staying here, and Danya's staying here. And she said, the hell she is. So she went back to Costa Rica, and there was a little battle, you know, to get me. And my father tends to have lots of girlfriends. So I was at his girlfriend's house, and my mom went to go get me at his girlfriend's house, and she did not let me go with my mom. So she shut the door and went to the back room. I don't even remember, but I vaguely remember opening the pink chiffon curtains and looking out the window and seeing my mother and my aunt in front of a taxi. My mother was crying, and she looked over and saw me at the window, and she waved for me to come out. And I opened the door and I walked out, and she grabbed me and put me in the taxi, and we left.

Wow.

Gives me goosebumps. So how does that translate to a relationship with your dad? Is he the reason you go back to Costa Rica, or what is it?

No. Later, my dad came and my parents had two other children. My mother divorced my dad when I was in, like, 1984, 85, and my father married again and moved back to Costa Rica. I can't tell you what year that was. I can't remember. But he has two other children with his wife and moved Costa Rica, never has come back. He's not a very good man.

Well, can I just say, that's an incredible impression to have as a toddler that you recall that moment.

I remember so many little things. Like, I remember being in a jail cell in Mexico with my. She would kill me if she knew I was telling her this story. Yeah. Yeah. So I obviously didn't have a visa, so my mom had to find a way to bring me across the border, because she did. She couldn't get across. But. So a little snippet story of a very long story.

Let's unpack it. Yeah.

My mom became friends with a gentleman named John Pagan, who is no longer here. He was an older gentleman, and he was a very good friend of the family. And he pretty. Well before this let me go back a little bit. So she tried to get me through the border, and of course, they didn't let me go through. And they said, well, you can go, but you can leave the kid here. And my mom's like, this is my daughter. You know, whatever. So she was arrested, and we were in a jail cell, I think, for a night in Mexico, in the Nogales border. Then she was released. And I remember going into some lady's house in Mexico. I don't even know who this person is, but she had. She lived in a house. And you opened the door, and it was a long hallway, and then rooms on the side, and there was a single phone on the wall. And my mom was on the phone talking to somebody about how we were gonna get through. So John Pagan came, and he sat me in the front of his car, and he went through the border and said, this is my daughter and I'm an American citizen. And they let him through. Isn't that crazy? Like, he could have been kidnapping me, like, for bad things, but nuts. Yeah.

Wow.

Yeah.

Okay. And also, your mom, she's a fighter.

My mom is probably the bravest person on this planet.

Absolutely. Yeah.

That's. Interesting story. Yeah, for sure.

My husband always tells my son, if your grandmother wasn't as brave as she was, you wouldn't be here.

Yeah. And.

Right.

Absolutely true. Okay. So do you end up then in Arizona, or what is childhood look like? Oh, yes. You go to Mesa High?

Yeah. So we lived in. I don't remember, of course. You know, bits and pieces. My father came, and at some point, we moved to California. My mom and I and my aunt, we all moved to California at some point. My father came later. I was a young girl, single digits, and so. But my dad came to California when we were there, and then when. When he got. We lived in Long beach for a while, and then when I was about 10 or 11, we moved after my sister was born, we moved to. We went back to Arizona, and we've been here ever since. I had a little stint in North Carolina after I got married to my first husband, but that's it.

Yeah, absolutely. Okay. So, Misa. Hi. What does that look like for you? You were listening to Madonna. We know that.

Yeah. Yeah. Mesa High was. Was fun. Yeah. I graduated in 1988. I had my first son two days before my 17th birthday.

Wow.

So, yeah, I was a very young girl, which is dumb. So I went to Evit, and at that time, Evit had a school called taps, which is the pregnant girl school, because back in the 80s, everybody was getting pregnant in high school. Teen pregnancy was an issue. And. But, yeah, I had my son two days before my 17th birthday. And then I went to. I did my junior year at Mesa High and my senior year. My senior year at Mesa High. Yeah, yeah.

And so what does. I mean, you are a very accomplished individual. So what does that look like for you? Obviously, you are a lot like your mom and that you're a warrior and a champion too, and you push through. So what does that look like for you?

I remember one thing that my English teacher told me, Brad Ferrier. He said, what are you going to do, Donya? Because I already had my son, Dominic. And he said. I said, well, I want to go to school. I want to go to law school. I want to go to ucla. And he said, well, then you better start going to college. He said, I don't want to know that in five years you have five kids. I said, okay. So he helped me fill out my form and my college form and my financial form. He helped me with all that because my mom really didn't know any of that stuff. But he did. He helped me fill all that stuff out. And I always remembered him telling me, I don't want to know that in five years you have five kids.

Incredible that he wouldn't make that investment.

Yeah, that was really nice of him. I didn't see him after high school anymore, but that was kind of nice.

I'm curious what kind of work your mom did, because as adventurous and creative and daring as she is, what kind of work did she do to support you guys?

My mom worked at microchip technology for 37 years and she retired a couple years ago. Okay.

And obviously a big influence. And you mentioned this English teacher that was a big influence as well. Anybody else come to mind in this journey so far that you're like, oh, man, this person really impacted me here too. Imagine, with having a child at a young age, you probably had a lot of mentors there or people that were surrounding you, supporting you?

No, not really.

No. Okay. Mom was there.

Yeah, my mom was there. My mother was very tough on me, and I. I think that I was resentful at first because she was really tough on me and not with my siblings. But I appreciate that more now than she will ever know. And I think that it's made me the person that I am, but because I was not afforded the. Things that. Not just things, like tangible things, but like emotional things that my. My siblings were. And that's okay. Okay. She.

She.

I think she expected a lot more from me than. Than I knew. You know what I mean? And so I kind of wouldn't you say a little bit sometimes.

Sometimes I think that especially with your firstborn, at any age, you're. You're learning how to be a mom at the same time that you're raising a child. And so I think sometimes we. We do that. We maybe have different expectations that first go around.

So, yeah, I think so. I don't know. I think it. There's a lot of backstory to that, you know, and I just feel there are just differences. And that's okay. Yeah, that's okay. I think it's made me a stronger person, and I don't think she did it on purpose to make me a stronger person. I just think that that's just how it manifested.

Yeah. So how do you end up becoming an investigator?

I really don't know. I was working, let's see, in the early 90s, I worked for Lancome Cosmetics, Broadway, Southwest Fiesta Mall. And after that, I decided I think I need something a little more stable, you know? So I worked at Chase bank in Tempe, and I applied for the town of Gilbert because I wanted insurance. I just had my daughter, and I'm like, I'm so screwed. I'm like, I have three kids. I'm single. I am so screwed. I need to do something, like, to change what I'm doing. This is dumb. And so I applied at the town of Gilbert because we lived there, and there was a position open, and I took it, and I was an admin for a long time, and it just grew from there. And I remember one of the lieutenants at the time, she called me and she said, donya, you know, there's a position open in investigations. And I said, no, I didn't. And she said, you need to apply for it. I said, okay. So I applied for it and literally had two days to get this packet ready and all this, you know, background stuff that I needed to do. The questionnaire, all of it, and I submitted it, and I got called for an interview, and I got the job, and I was very happy.

Yeah. Do you feel that your life experience thus far actually contributed to that job and what you brought to that position?

Well, what I haven't mentioned on this podcast is that I. So I always wanted to help kids. I've always wanted to do something where I'm helping children that have been abused in some way, shape, or form. I didn't know what that looked like. I didn't know how that was going to happen. But I knew, and somehow I had to do something to make things, to change things, or to make things work or whatever. So I. So I was molested by my father at a very young age. I remember being molested three years old. And the molestation went on for years until my mom found out about it. And that's when she, you know, separated, divorced him, and left him and all that. So I was about 15 years old when that happened. So I always wanted to do something good to help, right? And I was hired by investigations, and I didn't realize that I was going to be put in this position. But I was a civilian investigator, which is very different than a sworn investigator. So it was a lot more. My main job, if you will, task, is to manage the sex offender registration caseload. That was my main focus as an investigator. But because I speak Spanish back in the day, back when Gilbert was like a little town, I was afforded many opportunities by many people that I still hold dear and I respect in law enforcement. So I got to. I got to do drug reversals. I got to go out on search warrants. I got to do all kinds of crazy things and drive around with, you know, 500 pounds of weed and, you know, just a lot of really cool things that a civilian investigator doesn't do. But. And the police department also had me go through a lot of training on interviewing the sexually deviant. And I went through child help for forensic interviewing training. And so I was able to help a lot the detectives in a lot of different ways and ways in which I'm very proud of. And I really didn't know that I wasn't consciously like, this is what I'm doing, because, you know, because I was, you know, nothing like that. It wasn't like that at all. I was just doing my job. And it was the way that I supported my children. I put a roof over their head and I fed them because I raised my children by myself. And I'm proud of the humans that they are. So. But anyway, I just. Working in law enforcement for as long as I did and doing all the things that I was able to do. I'm very grateful to the Gilbert Police Department and to a lot of the command staff now that were my colleagues then and to all these people, and I don't know if I should mention names, but all the people and I know that they know who they are that I respect and that I looked up to and that I am grateful for the opportunities that they gave me, because I don't know if I would have done anything else that meant anything.

I think what gets me in this conversation and in every Conversation that we tend to have is, as we reflect on our journeys, all of the things that add up to a culmination of being where you're supposed to be and serving who you're supposed to serve and the people who guide you along the way. Even in the simplest of conversations, when you just don't know that that's what's happening, it's. Your journey is incredible. And thank you for your years of service.

Thank you.

To me, it's just. I don't know, it's just. It reaffirms, even in my own journey, that maybe I need to pay attention a little bit more.

Thank you. I appreciate that. I really enjoyed my time in Gilbert and in doing what we've done. And because I was a civilian investigator, I was. I don't know if given the opportunity is the right word to say, but I saw a lot of things that most people wouldn't see. I saw a lot of dead people, you know, a lot of child porn, a lot of stuff that we just. That normal people don't see. And my mom. I remember my mom saying, I don't know how you do that job, Danya. I don't know how you work. And she had no clue. The things that I saw. And I. I would never tell her. But, you know, I think that if the way that I looked at it is that the job that we do and that they do, we just work for God, and we do the things that God would do if he was here, and that the things that God guided us to do.

I'm curious, through that time, as you're having those experiences, but you're also raising three kids. What do you wish you could go back as a single mom and tell yourself to get you through some of those tough days?

Oh, that's a good question. Because I always think, man, I should have done this different. Well, as parents, you know, we. We always look back and. And think all the dumb stuff that we did for our children. And I don't think that I would change a lot as far as the way that I disciplined my kids. I think maybe with my first son, I would change a couple of things because he and I grew up together. And you learned a lot together, didn't you? Yeah. Yeah. And I just wish that I gave him. I don't know, maybe it wasn't me or maybe it wasn't me. I don't know. But I think. I wish that I gave him more of. I wish I molded him differently so that he's more confident that he's incredibly intelligent and capable of so much more than what he's doing. Although he's doing great, don't get me wrong. But I just, you know, you just want more for your kids. Like, dude, you could be doing this or you can go do that. And why aren't you doing this? And it just. Because I didn't push him hard enough. Because I didn't know any better, right? I didn't push him. And that's probably my biggest regret. I disciplined my children very well. And the only thing that I remember thinking would work is if I'm consistent, then that's it. Because I didn't. I hate to say this, I didn't want to be like my mom. My mom was very wishy washy. Like, she would say one thing and then two minutes later she'd be like, okay, I guess you can, you know, but no, like, I would tell my kids, if you keep leaving the squeeze it bottles, the empty squeeze it bottles all over the house, I'm never buying you squeeze its again.

I love the throwback to squeeze its way. So.

I found a squeeze it under the couch and I said that was it. No more freaking squeeze its. And I never bought squeez its again.

So you're the reason they don't exist anymore?

Yes, because I was buying ton of them, I bet.

Oh, my gosh. Okay, so we. This is a crazy transition because you are working in the police department, and somehow cosmetics remains a part of your life. How does it remain a part of your life? And what causes you to explore that and start opening that door again?

Well, like I said, I worked for Lancome for five years. And in 2008, like, when things financially were getting a little crazy, I thought, man, what if my job gets cut? Like, what if I don't have anything to do? What if I don't have anything fall back? Because I do. I. In all of this crazy, chaotic ness, I have gone to school. I've gone to. I've always had two or more jobs because I had to feed my children. I've gone to college. I haven't graduated, but I have so many credits and I've got certificates and a bunch of other things. But so I've gone. I have an education, right, so to speak. But so I've done all of this. And I thought, man, but I don't have a degree. I don't have anything to fall back on. So I thought, you know, I'm just gonna go do what I do best, and that's makeup. So. But I'M gonna do it right this time. My girlfriend Susan and I sat and said, what can we do, Tanya? Well, I'm gonna do makeup. I don't know what you're gonna do, but I'm gonna go do makeup. So I took out a loan off of my deferred comp, and I went to school and I did the whole schooling, and in the middle of school, the director and I hit it off pretty well. Because, you know, keep in mind, I'm in my late 30s at this point, right? So I'm much older than the girls that are in this school with me and the director. And I hit it off, and she says, I'm going to send you on a gig. I have a gig for you. I have a producer that's asking me for a makeup and hair artist. She goes, I said, I don't do hair. She goes, that's okay. You do hair. I said, all right, I'll do hair. So I went on a set to a pilot for a web series, and that was it. I was freaking hooked. I loved every moment of being on set. The best thing was that she said, okay, when you're on set, you need to make sure that you do this and that and this. Make sure you have this. The more you have, the more they love you, the more you do you. Be you. Because you have a great personality and they'll love you. Even though your skill set isn't all the way where it should be, you'll do fine. Just be you. I said, okay. So I did everything she told me to do, and everything she said would happen happened to a T. And I'm like. So I. After that, the director and I became very good friends, and the actors were great. So I started getting phone calls from people that said, hey, so and so said that you're a makeup artist and that you're great. And we need, you know, we need a makeup artist for this. I got from that one web series that I worked on for a long time for free. I made so many different connections. And I think. I think the sad part about being in this generation is that people don't know how to connect anymore. And that's super sad to me, because they're missing out, man. These kids are missing out on human connections. Right?

Look at the pivotal moments in your life because of human connections. Absolutely.

So I just networked and networked, and I attended every network event, and I just. And I talked to everybody. Hi. What do you do? Oh, I'm a makeup artist. Yeah, I did this and this that. So then I thought, well, you know, if this is going to be what I want to do on the side, then I'm going to need to make a business. So then I did my business name. I came up with all of that. It's Cosmic Artistry. Because I'm doing art with cosmetics and so many different things, like, you know, just a mix of stuff. So then that's where Cosmic Artistry was born. And I just. I've done so many films, and. Because I know what real dead people look like, I do special effects, and they loved it. I mean, I've. I've done so many really cool movies. If. If you check my IMDb, I'm on IMDb.

That's so cool.

I like that because I know what they look like.

Again, who could have mapped that journey?

But I don't know. That's how it started. I needed an outlet, so I needed an outlet. So I used it as an opportunity to build my skills and an outlet for all the stuff that we see at work. Because I think everybody needs an outlet. And I think women are better at knowing when they're like, I think maybe this is screwing up my head, so maybe I need to do something else than men. I think men are really not good at that.

Yeah.

I'm not gonna argue because you guys outnumber me, but.

No, I mean, you know, when. Especially in law enforcement.

Absolutely.

Is basically what I'm talking about. Yeah.

And so now you have built such a business that you were able to retire from law enforcement and now you have your own storefront.

Yes, I do. So nine years ago, I decided that what happened was I signed two contracts with two films that were both going to be over 20 days shoot. And I ran out of vacation time, so I asked the town to give me a leave of absence, and they gave me one, but they denied the other. So I really thought, well, my daughter's a senior in high school, and if I have to eat ramen for a week, I'll eat ramen for a week, if, you know, whatever. So I decided that I was going to take an early retirement and. And pursue the film stuff.

That's amazing.

I don't. I didn't know it was happening. And I. Looking back, I probably should have did it differently, but. But I don't regret it. And I don't. Yeah, I don't. I really don't regret it. I think it's been really great. So nine years ago, I stopped. And then last year I opened Cosmics Beauty Labs, which is a 1700 square foot med spa, I guess you could call it, but it's a little beauty boutique.

And what type of services do you specialize in there?

So we do lash extensions, hair and makeup, permanent makeup. We do teeth whitening, body sculpting. We do brow laminations, we do lash lifts, tints. We do non invasive lip plumper, we do tiny tattoos, we do facials and waxing and. Yeah, all those things.

Everything. Ben, Neat.

I was just thinking if I walked in there, I could walk out and you would not know who I am at this moment.

You would be unrecognizable.

Eyes were lighting up with all of that.

The lip thing that got me really.

I thought you really picked up at body sculpting, but.

That'S hard to chisel this body much more than I already have, so.

Oh, and we do haircuts and color, too. I have a hairstylist.

There you go. Get rid of some of those.

She looked at you crazy gray, and that's awesome. And so now you are in a whole different path in life. You're running a storefront. What does the next five years look like for you?

Yeah. Where are you going next?

Oh, my gosh. Well, my husband retires in four years.

Okay. So he'll just have retired.

Yeah. And then we're moving to Costa Rica.

I was gonna stink.

That.

That's what I thought. Yes.

So it's kind of funny because I never. You know, my whole life was my. Were my children, and I was their life, and they are my life. And I never even considered what retirement would look like. Never. And when I married Jason. Well, before I married Jason, we went on a trip to Costa Rica because we were having a family reunion, and I wanted everybody to meet him. And he came back and he was like, I don't know why you live here. I don't know why your family lives here when it's so stinking amazing over there. And I'm like, I know, but, you know, you have to have dollars to live there. Okay. You know what I mean? You know, so. But he fell in love with it. And he said, have you ever considered retiring in Costa Rica? And I said, no. He goes, why not? I said, because my family's here. Like, my kids are here. Why would I go anywhere else? He was all, well, would you consider retiring in Costa Rica? Like, I think that's what I want to do. He goes, why wouldn't you want to do that? Like, it's beautiful. It's paradise. You live in paradise over there. And you know I didn't really think about it because I couldn't open my mind to it, to something completely different. And he has opened my mind to so many different things because I think we, my family and I taken things for granted, right? And he's like, I just, I just want, that's where I want to be. And he's not wrong because every time I'm in Costa Rica, I am so happy there. I'm happy like you're just a different person and the Pura Vida life is truly what you live. And, and, and, and he's happy. He's a completely different person when he's there and he's stress free and he doesn't, you know, he doesn't feel anything, any pressures that he feels here. So yeah, that's what we're going with. That's what we're doing. So as far as my business is concerned, I think it's really too early to tell where Cosmics is going to be. I love my little area. I love that I have given the opportunity to young girls to come and be creative and to explore their own art, right? I love that I have afforded that opportunity to these young girls. And I'm so grateful for the people that walk through those doors. And because I am so grateful for those people that walk through the doors, then I feel like I have to pay it forward. And the way that I pay it forward is by going to domestic violence shelters and beautifying these women, because I've been there. I remember my mother and I going to domestic violence shelters, which I didn't know that that's what it was at the time, but I thought, oh my God, they have such cool toys here. I want to be here. And the house is so, so big and they have stairs and, you know, the whole thing. And I never understood why my mom was crying and so sad. And obviously now I do. So I want these women that are there to feel beautiful just for one day if they can forget the shit that they've gone through and just, and feel pampered and loved and beautiful. Like, I want you to come to my studio and leave the feeling beautiful. And that's it. That's really it. And that's my own little tiny way of giving. And the girls donate their time and their materials and I'm so grateful for them because I couldn't do it if I didn't have them, you know, and now that Chicana's at the studio cutting hair and coloring and doing all the great things that she does with hair I can offer those services to those ladies and gentlemen and they can come and get haircuts and their kids can come get haircuts, you know, and so that's really. I love that.

Wait, so are you a hair girl now?

I am. What do you mean?

Well, before, you weren't a hair person yet. Remember when you went and did your first.

Oh, no, I'm a total hair girl. Like, I can style hair. I just don't cut or color it, but I style.

Just had to close that loop. Okay.

Now, yes, I am a hair girl, but depends on what cosmics looks like. So if I'm doing really, really well and we're making money, I'll have to decide whether or I'm going to sell it or hire someone to manage it.

Or a satellite in Costa Rica.

Yeah, I already plan on. I already know what I'm going to do in Costa Rica. I'm going to work at a resort and do hair and makeup for brides in Costa Rica at the resorts. Because I can't not, not work. I have to do stuff well.

And I would say, as you seem to really just make the best of life. And so I am sure that as beautiful as your journey has unfolded, I am certain that you still have some. Some more living to do and your journey is continuing. And it's amazing. I'm so grateful that you shared your story with us today.

Yeah, this was fun. It was a good story to listen to.

Thank you. I appreciate you.

All right, well, thank you for listening to this episode. If you are a travel agent, you better get your Costa Rica stuff out because everybody's gonna want to go there now. I enjoyed hearing story. Thank you for being with us today. Subscribe to our tribe so you can get all of our notifications when we get a new podcast recording ready for you to go. Thank you. Guiding growth conversations with community leaders.

Ben, let me ask you a question. How do you see other community members being involved in this podcast?

This is going to be a great opportunity for so many people in the community to have a chance to be heard if they want to tell their story or if they just want to be part of this journey with us and help sponsor it in a way that helps bring more people to the table with us. So I think there's many opportunities at hand whether you want to again be on the show. Reach out to us. Let us know what your story is and how you think could be part of it. We'd love to hear from you. Reach out, let us know and we'll see if we can make that connection.