If you want to grow as a leader, then listen to Churchill Downs Incorporated President & COO Bill Mudd and Vice President of Corporate Communications Tonya Abeln open up about what they've learned as high-level leaders over the years. 

In our 25th podcast episode and ahead of the 150th Kentucky Derby, we hear from Bill and Tonya as they talk about what's new at Churchill Downs and give leadership advice. You can download to listen, or watch now!

Watch: https://youtu.be/dGr5INxvp4o

Bill has been the President and Chief Operating Officer of CDI since 2015. He joined CDI in 2007 as the Executive Vice President and CFO after working for several years at General Electric and was promoted to the role of President and CFO in 2014. Under Bill’s leadership CDI’s business has expanded through the development of live and historical racing entertainment venues, the growth of TwinSpires horse racing online wagering business and the operation and development of regional casino gaming properties. CDI follows a long tradition of corporate social responsibility and has been a committed charitable partner for decades. 

In her role as Vice President of Corporate Communications for Churchill Downs, Tonya is responsible for the strategy, implementation and oversight of internal and external communications and revels in the opportunity to share the thrilling and inspiring stories behind one of America’s most iconic brand—the Kentucky Derby. Additionally, as President of Churchill Downs Foundation, she drives strategic charitable initiatives and manages community partnerships across the company’s entire portfolio of racetrack and gaming properties. 

Our CEO Dave Calzi sits down with Bill and Tonya to hear about the rich history of the Kentucky Derby and CDI: 

• Bill and Tonya reminisce on their favorite Derby Day memories.
• The major changes and cultural shifts at CDI over the last couple of decades, including what's new ahead of this year's race.
• The first Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks were held in 1875. St. Vincent de Paul Louisville started in 1853. Each organization has a rich history that has impacted the community in different ways. Through corporate giving, the Churchill Downs Foundation  contributes over $5 million annually in charitable grants and in-kind donations to more than 800 organizations nationwide. Tonya talks about the importance of the Foundation's corporate charitable giving. 
• They share some of the ways CDI serves the community and seeks to engage horseracing fans year-round, including the Kentucky Race Track Chaplaincy. 
• The definition and growing pains of leadership, especially in the early years. 
• Advice for young leaders who don't just want to climb the ladder, but hope to make a difference in the workplace for the benefit of the community. 
• How you can balance a demanding job with everything else in your life. 

To learn more, visit https://www.churchilldownsincorporated.com/. 

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Scarlet Hope founder Rachelle Starr used to drive past "Theatre X" everyday on her way to work without thinking twice about the sex entertainment industry. Today, she goes into strip clubs with home-cooked meals and brings hope to the women inside.

In 2007, Rachelle founded Scarlet Hope, a nonprofit that shares the hope and love of Jesus with women in the adult entertainment industry. Scarlet Hope has since expanded across 10 cities in the United States from Las Vegas and Los Angeles to Atlanta and Orlando. Rachelle is a national speaker who has trained thousands of people to launch similar nonprofits worldwide. She is also the author of “Outrageous Obedience.” You can download to listen, or watch now!

Watch: https://youtu.be/WnzD9wFdLpw

Our CEO Dave Calzi sits down with Rachelle to talk about the local and global sex entertainment industry: 

• Rachelle shares her story and how Scarlet Hope launched. 
• In the early years of Scarlet Hope, Rachelle talks about her many personal doubts and others calling her "crazy." She shares about overcoming her initial fears and her organization's frontline work to combat sex trafficking. 
• How Hollywood films like "Taken" or "Sound of Freedom"  may not give us an accurate picture of the adult entertainment industry. 
• Louisville is the 13th largest sex industry per capita in America. Rachelle says sex trafficking is happening "right next door" and gives us a look behind the curtain into the adult entertainment industry—whether in strip clubs, online, or on the streets. 
• Rachelle and her team went to this year's Super Bowl in Las Vegas. She shares about sex trafficking at the Super Bowl and their organization's outreach experience. 
  
  To learn more, visit https://scarlethope.org/. 

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What's it like to win a Grammy? Teddy Abrams tells us in his own words ... and his answer might surprise you.

This podcast episode is powerful, especially for anyone who has a passion or dream! For the last decade, Teddy has been a conductor, pianist, clarinetist, and composer and presently serves as the Music Director of the Louisville Orchestra and the Britt Festival Orchestra. Under his leadership, the Louisville Orchestra has experienced unprecedented success and its attendance has increased 30%. As Musical America’s 2022 Conductor of the Year, Teddy has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning, the New Yorker, and NPR, among other media outlets. You can download to listen, or watch now!

Watch: https://youtu.be/2EJ519TZ7UM 

Our CEO Dave Calzi sits down with Teddy to talk all things music: 

• Teddy shares how his upbringing influenced him at an early age. He began improvising on piano at age 3 and has fallen in love with music ever since! 
• Teddy took over the Louisville Orchestra at a time when it was not in a great spot and had filed for bankruptcy in 2013. He shares how a tight budget actually inspired a culture of artistic creativity. 
• Teddy is known for riding his bike everywhere. He just got his driver's license. He tells us why! 
• This February, Teddy received his first ever Grammy Award after winning the Best Classical Instrumental Solo for the orchestra's performance in “The American Project” with world-renowned pianist Yuja Wang. 
• The Louisville Orchestra is playing their third “Music Without Borders” performance at the Family Success Center on Friday, April 12. Teddy shares why it's important to make music available to everyone in our community. You can get your free tickets today!
  
  To learn more, visit https://louisvilleorchestra.org/. 

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How do Legos help explain housing segregation? Louisville Metro Government Planning Supervisor Joel Dock shares what they have to do with one another. 

This is an eye-opening podcast conversation! On the topic of housing segregation, author Leah Rothstein and Joel are global and local leaders, respectively. They are passionate about what we can do in our own communities to begin to challenge and redress segregation. You can also watch now!

Watch: Video

Leah is a nationally known housing policy expert and coauthored “Just Action: How to Challenge Segregation Enacted Under the Color of Law,” which released last year. Joel has worked at Louisville Metro Government for 11 years, and oversees zoning changes and land development code in the Louisville area in the Office of Planning. 

Our CEO Dave Calzi talks with Leah and Joel helps put housing segregation into layman's terms: 

• Leah shares how she and her father, Richard, became a strong dad-daughter duo in the housing arena. Richard wrote “The Color of the Law,” which has sold almost one million copies and focuses on how federal, state, and local governments gave rise to and reinforced neighborhood segregation. "Just Action" is the sequel. 
• As a nation, are we past segregation from a housing perspective? Why or why not?
• Specific examples from “Confronting Racism in City Planning and Zoning" help us look at decisions made over the last century and what led to zoning segregation. 
• Joel shows us how Legos can teach us about more "middle housing" options for local citizens.
• Over the last few decades, Louisville has become more diverse, and in particular, has many refugees and a growing Hispanic population. How does this affect housing?  

To purchase "Just Action," go to https://www.justactionbook.org/  or visit justaction.substack.com.
Joel and his team's interactive exhibit/story map of  “Confronting Racism in City Planning and Zoning": https://arcg.is/1Snbj4.

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Tony Cash was an outlaw whose story is truly one of amazing transformation! From the age of 11 to 49 years old, he spent an accumulative 36 years incarcerated and two of those decades in and out of solitary confinement. Now, Tony is on a mission to help men like him. You can also watch now!

Watch: https://youtu.be/C9T2F19Br_Q

Alongside his wife, Kim, their nonprofit organization, Freedom Lake, has a nearby property with a 20-bed dorm inside the facility to provide a place for recently released men to reintegrate into society and find purpose in their lives. Joining this episode to share their journey are Kevin and Travis, former addicts who have been helped through Freedom Lake. 

Our CEO Dave Calzi covers these topics with our guests: 

• Tony's story and the launch of Freedom Lake
• How does the home we grew up in shape our story? 
• How can we help those with traumatic backgrounds reenter society? Where do we start? 
• Are we all "incarcerated" in different ways? Why or why not? 
• As the New Year rolls on, they give advice on removing bad habits and replacing them with lasting change

Tony and Kim have served inside the prison system since 2018 helping men affected by substance and alcohol abuse find their identity in Christ, reach their God-given potential, and discover God’s purpose for their lives. To watch Tony's story and learn more about Freedom lake, visit https://freedomlake.org/. 

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If you've ever lost a loved one and need help finding purpose again, this podcast is for you. St. Matthews Mayor Rick Tonini shares how the unexpected and tragic loss of his daughter, Lauren, led to serving at our Open Hand Kitchen in Christmas 2003. You can also watch now!

Watch: https://youtu.be/R3vhyT7wRAk

Our CEO Dave Calzi spoke with Mayor Rick about a variety of topics: 

• Tonini Church Supply has been around for 143 years, since Mayor Rick's great-grandfather founded it in the mid-1880s. He shares how to successfully run a family-owned business. 
• Why he's been serving at the Open Hand Kitchen every Sunday for 20 years now and has no plans to stop? 
• As a boy, Mayor Rick drove the garbage truck and cleaned out the sewer in St. Matthews. He tells us how this was his start in politics, and also touches on the role he believes government should play in helping those in need. 
• He offers advice after the loss of a loved one and what you can do next. 

To learn more about finding support through Compassionate Friends, visit www.compassionatefriends.org/chapter/tcf-of-louisville/.

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If you've always wondered how we grew from the small beginnings of gathering inside a church basement in 1853 to housing 450 nightly and feeding 330 people daily, then lean into this podcast. We condensed 170 years of history into one episode!

This podcast is truly special because we’d love to take you on a history tour as we celebrate our 170 year anniversary, especially because you are the ones who have invested so much of your time, talents, and treasures towards this mission over the years.  You can also watch  now!

Watch: https://youtu.be/qmQ8jDbzSXI

To help us, our CEO Dave Calzi spoke with longtime Board Member and former Executive Director Jim Williams, Director of Conference Affairs & Volunteer Services Donna Young, and Board Member and history guru David Neill. 

Here's our guided tour through SVDP Louisville's history: 

• How did the roots of SVDP Louisville begin in the basement of a local Catholic church? 
• The "conferences" are the heart and soul of SVDP. What are they exactly? 
• How did the Shelby Park campus come together in the early 1980s to now being the #1 recipient of 2-1-1 calls for those in need? 
• SVDP's national mission beyond Louisville, which has been responding to natural disasters longer than the Red Cross
• Find out how you can get involved in the 27th annual Santa Shop!

To learn more, visit https://www.svdplou.org/.

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LDG Development cofounder Chris Dischinger quit his job less than a month into his marriage and went into real estate. You can listen to or watch how the rest of the story unfolds!

Watch: https://youtu.be/CCV3ow9tfP4

In 1994, Chris and his wife, Lisa, cofounded LDG Development in Louisville along with business partner Mark Lechner. The Dischingers are committed to building better lives through developing quality, affordable communities for hard-working families and active seniors. Today, LDG has over 200 employees and developed more than 20,000 units in multiple states. Resident Services Manager Elly Green shares about providing residents with extra support through onsite medical care, after-school programming, cooking classes, and more. 

They hit on these topics: 

• What makes for a good tailgate party at a UofL football game?
• Why they shifted from building single-family homes to multi-family units?  
• What does "affordable housing" actually mean?
• Should everyone own a home? Or is renting better for you?  
• What can we do as local citizens to advocate for more affordable housing?   

To learn more about LDG Development, visit https://www.ldgdevelopment.com/.

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Can we really end homelessness? One housing expert believes we can, and tells us how in this podcast!

New York University Silver School of Social Work professor Dr. Deborah Padgett teaches “Homelessness in Perspective," where she breaks down the assumptions that students come in with about the homeless. The coauthor of "Housing First: Ending Homelessness, Changing Systems and Transforming Lives," Padgett joins our podcast to talk with CEO and Executive Director Dave Calzi about what housing first is, the evidence to support it, and why it matters. She's also a UK graduate! 

They touch on these topics: 

• How closely linked having housing and mental health or substance abuse recovery are in a person’s growth  
• The difference between homelessness in America compared to other countries 
• The significance of having a safe space and privacy in a person’s success  
• Why the idea "we don’t want the homeless to get too comfortable so we want the shelters to be challenging" is false 
• Dave shares how nonprofit leaders can shift their thinking from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset 

To learn more about Housing First, Padgett recommends https://endhomelessness.org/resource/housing-first/ 

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How does the game of musical chairs help explain homelessness? This podcast conversation breaks down that analogy! 

Author Gregg Colburn shares how a lack of affordable housing impacts homelessness from his recently released book, "Homelessness is a Housing Problem." He's an Assistant Professor of real estate at the University of Washington and studies affordable housing. Colburn joins our podcast to talk with CEO and Executive Director Dave Calzi about why homelessness isn't the same in every city and varies significantly by region—from Los Angeles and New York to Chicago and Charlotte. 

Here are some hot button issues raised during the podcast: 

• How low vacancy rates and high rental costs are a recipe for disaster when it comes to having enough housing in your city 
• What affordable housing is, how it's different than emergency shelters, and the red tape between developers and building affordable housing
• Why Louisville could have a homelessness crisis in the near future
• What you can do to influence change in a city that needs more affordable housing 

Here's a link to purchase Colburn's book, "Homelessness is a Housing Problem."

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If you need purpose in your work, are unsure about your second act, or love a good story, then check out this conversation!

St. Vincent de Paul Louisville CEO Dave Calzi is a guest on the Catholic Education Foundation's podcast with CEF CEO Rich Lechleiter at Talgrace Studio. Dave was formerly CEF Board Chair. Both of our organizations are working hard to improve the lives of others, whether through the public school system or on the streets of Louisville. Our missions have a lot in common! 

You can also watch this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=my32eq2KmFw 

Dave and Rich go way back, and their conversation is one of mutual admiration and respect for one another and the organizations they lead. 

Here are some topics raised during the podcast: 

• Dave and Rich talk about how their professional paths crossed and share their personal stories. 
• Dave talks about the rich history of education at SVDP that dates back to 1852. 
• Dave discusses the complexities at SVDP and living out its mission to save lives every day. 
• Dave shares the story that landed him at SVDP and Rich's role in all of that. 
• Dave talks about how stepping on as CEO has been the hardest thing he's ever done. 
• They offer advice on how to find purpose in your second act. 

CEF was founded in 1995 for the primary purpose of supporting the growth and vitality of Catholic education in the Archdiocese of Louisville. To learn more, visit www.ceflou.org/. 

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In this conversation, Lab Director Carl Gershenson at Eviction Lab opens our eyes to the eviction epidemic in America! With a Ph.D. in Sociology from Harvard University, Gershenson studies the causes and consequences of housing instability, with an emphasis on how eviction leads to further economic and residential insecurity.  

Gershenson joins CEO Dave Calzi via Zoom to talk about:

• The definition of eviction and the main reasons people are evicted 
• Why working parents are at an extremely high risk for eviction filings 
• Why the Southeast region of the United States has the highest eviction rates 
• What "the rent eats first" means, and why it matters
• How COVID changed rental prices across America, and why Louisville is similar to NYC, Chicago, and LA more today than ever before 
• The main ways we can prevent eviction locally 

The Eviction Lab at Princeton University is a team of researchers who believe a stable, affordable home is central to human flourishing and economic mobility. They believe that understanding the sudden, traumatic home loss through eviction is foundational to learning about poverty in America. This team has published the first-ever dataset of evictions in America with an interactive national map at https://evictionlab.org/map/. You can zoom in and find Jefferson County for specific statistics about our Louisville community. Eviction is often something our clients have faced, and in Kentucky, evictions can stay on someone's record for roughly seven years. 

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In this conversation, Dare to Care's President and CEO Vincent James will inspire you to serve others! As a nonprofit partner of SVDP, James and his team help feed those in need. A ton of the food we cook for clients or hand out to them—try 27,000+ pounds of food last month to the Open Hand Kitchen and Food Pantry—comes from Dare to Care. 

CEO Dave Calzi talks to him about many exciting topics, and come to find out, they have a lot in common! They chat about their mutual love for Muhammad Ali, coming from financial backgrounds, and sharing the same mission. 

James opens up about:

• his upbringing, faith, and calling to serve others
• Dare to Care's compensation study and securing $10-15K raises for frontline employees who were working 2-3 jobs
• Dare to Care's desire to move to a plant-based diet to increase life expectancy 
• working as Metro's Chief of Community Building during the pandemic and summer of 2020 protests over the killing of Breonna Taylor 
• serving as the Senior Pastor of Elim Baptist Church, and even praying with one NFL quarterback before every game

Visit https://daretocare.org/ for more information about this local nonprofit. 

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Donna Russell’s journey is one of perseverance. She had to expand her education and career as a single mother raising two children all the while ensuring they had a roof over their heads. As St. Vincent de Paul Louisville’s newest Board Member,  Donna has lived experience with avoiding eviction and finding affordable housing. 

SVDP CEO Dave Calzi sits down with Donna to hear her story. She also talks about joining the SVDP Board of Directors and her frontline role as a Clinical Therapist at Volunteers of America's Freedom House.   

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If you want to look behind-the-scenes and learn how clients receive help at St. Vincent de Paul Louisville, this is a don't miss discussion! SVDP CEO Dave Calzi talks to our very own Dominique Batts about housing and programs major shift to better serve those in need. Batts also shares about growing up in the Catholic school system, secondary trauma vs. secondary success, and balancing two jobs with two young children. By the way, she also loves ballet! 

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If you need a good laugh, listen to this! St. Vincent de Paul CEO Dave Calzi talks to Quentin Childers about having empathy for clients and leading the daily operations of four major housing programs. "Q" also talks about starting out in dental school and ending up in social work. He even shares his love for gardening and cooking in his spare time. 

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St. Vincent de Paul Executive Director/CEO Dave Calzi talks to Greer Hannan about the importance of a nonprofit securing accreditation and ensuring regulatory compliance with the government. Greer also shares an incredible story of how one homeless man, Danny, changed the trajectory of her life. Not to mention, she discusses her podcast, "Femammal," and her love for contra dancing. 

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St. Vincent de Paul Executive Director/CEO Dave Calzi talks to Ra'Shann Martin about housing needs for the city and the St. John Center's role to help meet those needs. 

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St. Vincent de Paul Louisville Executive Director and CEO Dave Calzi discusses policy and life with Metro Council Member Jecorey Arthur.

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St. Vincent de Paul Executive Director/CEO Dave Calzi talks to Christie McCravy about housing needs for the city and the Affordable Housing Trust Fund's role in getting more affordable housing built.

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Coalition for the Homeless Executive Director Natalie Harris shares the work of the Coalition and explains how people in the Louisville community can help the Coalition serve those without homes.

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Host Dave Calzi and Metro Council President David James discuss President James' experiences in public service and his hopes for the future.

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St. Vincent de Paul Louisville host Dave Calzi talks about the Shelby Park neighborhood, its history and current developments, with former Shelby Park Neighborhood Association President Chip Rogalinski.  The development of the neighborhood, its rich diversity, and St. Vincent de Paul Louisville's role as a neighbor in Shelby Park are discussed.

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Louisville Metro Homeless Services Director Susan Buchino discusses the current issues that are fueling houselessness in the community. Affordable housing, poverty, and her role as the new director are all covered. Join us for a fascinating look at houselessness in Louisville Kentucky.

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