Minding Our Business: Belonging Beyond The Resume

Coupons, queerness, and calling in? Yes, it’s all connected!

We’re back with another episode of The UPLift, and this one’s special because we’re welcoming Bridgitt Belanger, our new Director of Mindful Operations and Finance, to the team and to the mic.

So what happens when money, metrics, and meaning actually line up with people’s lives? When soul and spreadsheets intersect?

This conversation isn’t just about budgets; it’s about belonging, visibility, and balancing numbers with humanity. We’re getting into what it really means to bring your whole self to social justice work as Bridgitt shares what it’s like to live as a nonbinary, neurodivergent person, trading anonymity for authenticity, and how small acts of recognition—from correctly spelling a name to honoring pronouns—make a world of difference.

This episode is a candid invitation into vulnerability, growth, and learning to lead with consent and courage.

Curious how mindfulness can bring more heart and healing to the ledger? Tune in.

We'll see you same time, same place next month. Until then, peace.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

We're profoundly, profoundly interconnected. We don't always live that way, we don't always acknowledge it. But if we're going to heal, we have to live it, experience it, and create institutions that celebrate it. Can we create a we when no one's on the outside of it?

Meet Bridgitt!

On Mindfulness

SPEAKER_01 0:20

Welcome to the Uplift with Zedek, real talk for real change. Before we jump in, a quick reminder of why we're here and what we hope to achieve. Before we jump in, a quick reminder of why we're here and what we hope to achieve. We're here to build authentic community relationships and help fuel social transformation in National, North Carolina. We believe collective liberation is not only possible but probable as we share, listen, and learn together. We're here for the process. However, the views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent. Welcome to the Uplift. I'm Michael Hoban, ZX Director of Communications, and today I'm privileged to introduce our newest team member, Bridget Belanger. We're not talking roles and resumes, we're talking real life and real heart as we dig into the real talk about the social justice issues and challenges impacting our region. That's right, the personal is the political as well as the professional. Let's go. Bridget, thank you so much for joining us today. You are our new director of mindful operations and finance. That's a long title. What does that mean to you?

SPEAKER_02 1:25

It is a long title, and I think the mindful piece is the most important. Because being responsible for the daily operations and the finance has a huge responsibility of where is that money going? Who is that money funding? I don't often see a lot of director of finance and operation positions with the word mindful in them. It's almost embedded in the systems that in order to make money or achieve this status, achieve this job title, mindfulness isn't always a part of that. And I think what SEDEC does differently and the draw for me to be a part of this team was that I'm working with a group of people who are actively thinking about their actions and the effects that have not just on each other, but on our Asheville community. It even has the opportunity to expand beyond that.

SPEAKER_01 2:37

So how how do you envision making that mindful piece actually meaningful in this role as opposed to just kind of rhetoric?

SPEAKER_02 2:46

The role is new. Um so I I have been doing a lot of observing just to see how the team operates, what work we are doing, and some of the ideas that I have, they stem from an information technology standpoint of capturing data, which may not sound very fun. But if one of the biggest pieces of this role that I have taken ownership of so far is booking the community space. And I am enjoying capturing information about who in the community we are able to serve with the community space. And how can that be, how can that be captured by data so that we can tell a more robust story about how SEDEC is in the community, supporting the community?

SPEAKER_01 3:46

So for you, data is part of telling a larger story of the organization's work impact in my right. So is it really possible to be deeply numbers or data driven and people-centered? How do you balance that?

On Finding Voice After Masking

SPEAKER_02 3:59

It is possible. And that is one of the top of my priority list to figure out. I mean, up until this time in my career, I've traded my voice for success in a lot of my positions working with finance. Traditional institutions have not expressed a lot of interest in knowing me as a person. It was more about the numbers. This wasn't always my, this wasn't always my mindset. I actually used to feel quite gregarious and unique and like I had an original perspective that I wanted to share with the world. And somewhere along the way, I found pockets of places to do that, but I also just tried to convince myself that going with the flow, trying to meet the status quo was what others wanted from me.

SPEAKER_01 5:02

And so you're just giving it to them. Oh, yeah. That's what others want. So where are you at now? Because to bring you to Zedek, you've had to make a transformation of sorts.

On Authenticity And Visibility

SPEAKER_02 5:11

Massive. Yeah. I mean, just before starting here, I thought that I would continue into a career in IT because you can be anybody behind a computer screen. And often you don't even have to put your face on video. I liked the autonomy of that. I'm grateful that I didn't think too much about the change that would be required for me to step into this role at Zedek. I've been in Nashville long enough. It is a small community. And there are going to be all sorts of pockets of community that I have experienced during the time I've lived here. I think the way that I'm going to present myself with authenticity in this role is going to be a new way for my community to know me.

SPEAKER_01 6:01

Oh, that's interesting. Can you tell me more about that? How do they know you now?

SPEAKER_02 6:06

Okay, a lot of people are going to know me from working at Trader Joe's for six years. But I spent some time working at UNC Asheville. I they are my alum. How do they know me?

SPEAKER_01 6:18

Is it more like a fragment of you? Is there anything to bring more of your whole self into this position?

SPEAKER_02 6:24

Yes, it is a fragment of me. Trader Joe's was the first job that ever spelled my name correctly, and it felt so powerful. And it always had to be written on the whiteboard or written on the schedule. So the fact that somebody just took the opportunity to spell it correctly.

SPEAKER_01 6:43

Okay, that's a very low bar.

unknown 6:45

I know.

SPEAKER_01 6:46

That's a very low bar. And yet I understand as a trans man when people would take the time to actually use my preferred name or my pronouns of choice, and especially, you know, in the early stages of coming out, um, that was deeply meaningful. So you talked a little bit about IT as being a place for autonomy, but also anonymity. And so this role is bringing you into authenticity, but more visibility. Yes. So that's gonna be kind of a learning journey, right? To get comfortable in that.

SPEAKER_02 7:17

I woke up this morning curious about how the folks that I meet in this role introduce themselves with their full name. Or if somebody is introducing me to a group, uh, they will introduce me with my full name. So this is maybe the first time that I've owned Bridget Ballanger. And I've had very limited experiences even owning Bridget because I was just whatever form of Brigitte they wanted me to be.

SPEAKER_01 7:49

Okay. So what kept you from correcting those people in those spaces?

SPEAKER_02 7:53

Oh my god, it just takes too much time. Um and I think a little bit of heartache because when you well, I mean, when I correct someone, it's an invitation to know me deeper. And if somebody doesn't accept that invitation, uh there's a bit of grief. So I think maybe kind of staying flippantly outside of it, just allowing everybody to be who they are and me stay anonymous and ambiguous.

SPEAKER_01 8:24

And here you are taking the leap on the radio. That's beautiful.

SPEAKER_02 8:29

Wait, I was on the radio one other time in my life, but I was eight years old and I was reading a book on AM radio about Canada geese. Okay.

On Identity, Language, And Queerness

SPEAKER_01 8:43

Bridget, can we talk a little bit about identity? You want to tell me how you identify?

SPEAKER_02 8:47

Is that okay to I identify as non-binary, I use they, them pronouns. I always thought the question of sexuality is a weird thing to ask folks when you're getting to know them. I've never really understood why that is a a portion of knowing a person. And it might also be because I'm just open, I'm open to all the representations, and I realize the importance of having a shared language in order to communicate that.

SPEAKER_01 9:22

That's interesting because for me, when I share that I'm queer, to me, I'm not sharing my sexuality or sexual preferences, I'm sharing a worldview.

SPEAKER_02 9:31

That's why I use the word queer as well. And then I am like I'm hyper-aware of how that word has a history, how it has been reclaimed by my generation. And sometimes I hesitate, especially to use it on the radio, because I'd like to invite a broad audience, one that may not use the word queer in the same way that I do.

SPEAKER_01 9:57

So, what's what are some of the words that you think do that?

SPEAKER_02 10:00

Oh. Here we are in the question about me again.

SPEAKER_01 10:04

Well, no, actually, it's actually bigger than that because it's in communications, trying to find the right words to reach everyone, it's a constant failure.

On Neurodivergence And Belonging

SPEAKER_02 10:13

Yeah, and I I will strive to get there and to get the words right, but I also think this is a part of my neurodivergence and being on the spectrum and having a unique perspective or lived experience where my words never feel quite right. Or even the emojis, they never really express what I'm feeling. That also might be the geriatric millennial who only uh moderately learned how to text.

SPEAKER_01 10:50

Talk about being on the spectrum a little bit more if you're willing, and how that kind of affects how you show up at work and then the ideal work environment for you.

SPEAKER_02 11:00

Uh how I've shown up and work up until this point is masking. I have low support needs, spectrum needs. So I think that aids me in being able to hide it in most workplaces. Uh, ZEDIC was the first interview in which I revealed that I was on the spectrum in the interview. Oftentimes it felt rebellious just selecting I have a disability on an HR paperwork and knowing that somebody would see it, but not the team of people that I work with. The ideal environment at this point is still CEDEC. It's been the most humane interview process that I have experienced. Even before the position was offered to me, I felt seen and heard, I felt valued. It just all felt relevant to seeing a whole person. So the way that I show up in this role is completely different and a challenge. Because how do you catch yourself when you are masking? How do you let your body breathe and relax into that authenticity that you've told yourself nobody wants to hear?

SPEAKER_01 12:23

What gave you the courage to come in and just even lead with that? Because I remember your interview and I remember how you shared that, and the entire team was like, Oh, this is a breath of fresh life, you know, this person is like open, honest, engaged, just fully being themselves and sharing that. That's how it came across, and we were very inspired in your sharing that way. Not because you were on the spectrum, but because you were willing and open to really be with us in that space. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:49

It felt that way for me too.

SPEAKER_01 12:51

But what gave you the courage in that moment to show up like that? What shifted for you?

SPEAKER_02 12:56

In some regards, it is the state of our political climate. There are a lot of ways in which I feel silenced or I'm afraid to speak out. I'm afraid to mark myself. But it also feels like the natural balance to that would be to speak out more, to show that we are here, we exist, we deserve positions that will provide us a a life of safety. I I think the opportunity just presented itself. You know, when you feel as if you are in the company of others who can support that and celebrate in it. Quite honestly, it was a relief for me to articulate autism in the interview. It's like we all breathed a sigh of relief, like, oh, it helps make sense.

On the Gifts of Autism

SPEAKER_01 13:52

Yeah, totally, totally understand that. And so, what do you see are some of the gifts of autism?

SPEAKER_02 13:57

I see so many of them. I think that autism has a stigma of not being people-centered. Even in the testing criteria, there may be elements of sociability that if you are too sociable, you don't qualify or not. And yet I think the sociability is different. It is more consent-based. I have a lot more conversations of can I give you a hug? And even being able to receive the no, it feels so powerful and actually still intimate because you're sharing what another human would feel most comfortable in.

SPEAKER_01 14:42

Yeah, their truth.

SPEAKER_02 14:43

Yeah.

On Money Stories

SPEAKER_01 14:43

And honoring that. Yeah. Which is what we all deserve. You're still giving them that hug in a sense. It's just a different way. It's like, yeah, I still value you and hold you just differently. How about this? Let's talk money for a minute. What's one of the money stories that you grew up with that you're keeping, and maybe one that you're letting go of or trying to let go of?

SPEAKER_02 15:02

Oh, I mean, don't we all have our narratives of money? Okay. This ties into the to the positive traits of autism. One thing that I'm not going to get rid of is coupons. Okay. Um, it's it is a hyperfixation, uh, almost an obsession. In your current life. In my current life.

SPEAKER_01 15:25

Oh, that's fun. Okay, tell me more.

SPEAKER_02 15:26

Yes. This morning I was updating my partner that um the website I buy clothing for and that I will keep an article in my shopping cart for months. And I check almost daily. Instead of like scrolling through social media, I just will scroll through my carts of the stuff that I want to buy, but I only want to buy it when it's at a rock bottom price. Or if I can stack a couple of coupons, or if I'm really lucky there's been some kind of hiccup in technology, and they've allowed multiple coupons to exist at the same time, and you've got to get in there before they realize their mistake. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 16:06

So saving, you are into a discount and the strategic approach to saving.

SPEAKER_02 16:13

It is. I also feel like it's what I've earned from corporations.

SPEAKER_01 16:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 16:19

You know, we've we've participated in a lot of marketing, and they do have a strong, I'm not gonna say control, but a strong influence over our spending habits. And I like to think that I'm virtually immune to that, that I will wait and observe their systems until it benefits me the most.

SPEAKER_01 16:42

Okay. So this is not just about a coupon and getting a discount, like you're playing the algorithms, you're playing the game.

SPEAKER_02 16:49

I am, and you know, part of that was actually how I made living in Asheville work. I moved here in 2008. It was off a whim. I was my employer had moved me to Durham, North Carolina, and it was simply too hot. The weather was too hot to walk the dogs. I felt I needed more access to nature and nature where there were not other people.

SPEAKER_01 17:18

Peopleess nature. The wild.

SPEAKER_02 17:21

And so I came to Asheville for a vacation, but I knew even before I arrived here that I was going to want to stay. So I came with a spreadsheet of apartments that were available. And by the time I left that vacation, I had signed a lease and I went back to Durham and I quit my corporate job and I moved to Asheville. And then I quickly found out the economic condition of Asheville. I was young, just maybe uh 23. So it was it was awakening. It it took me a solid 15 years of living here to actually recoup the loss of that corporate job, the financial loss of that corporate job.

SPEAKER_01 18:08

Because it's really hard in Asheville. It is getting increasingly harder just to make rent, basic food costs. So couponing is what I'm hearing, has been how you have kept your head above water-ish.

SPEAKER_02 18:20

Yeah, and you know, there was around that 2008 time that couponing show was really popular.

SPEAKER_01 18:27

Okay, I kind of I sort of remember that. Okay, so you have that's that's a unique skill set.

SPEAKER_02 18:33

It was about 20 hours of work a week. Oh my gosh. But worth it for the savings? Yes, because you would go to the grocery store with this large binder, you'd have a little envelope of all the things that you had strategized. You'd show up at the grocery store on the day they got their shipment because you'd actually walk around and there'd be other people doing this too. And you're like, Yeah, you're my people. I don't know. Sometimes I would like make a still life of everything that I bought. So I could post it on Facebook and be like, I got$500 worth of groceries for$9.10.

SPEAKER_01 19:09

Yeah, you have a whole side hustle ready there. So that's one that you're keeping. What's one money story or myth that you are trying to or have let go?

SPEAKER_02 19:19

Uh, the one that I need to try to let go is the notion of scarcity. It is always going to exist, but I want to live in a life that I feel safe, where my needs are provided for. I mean, I make a joke out of the coupons, but it helped me earn a side income, so to speak, when I wasn't really able to find it in a career. Now that I have worked my way to a career that I feel can safely provide for my life, letting go of that idea of scarcity is going to be one of my biggest challenges.

SPEAKER_01 20:01

Yeah. On a personal level, you're like, yay, I'm where I wanted to be for a while. At the same time, the juxtaposition of what's going on in our socio-political climate. So what are you actively asking yourself these days? What's on your mind?

SPEAKER_02 20:16

I I always want to be aware of the advantage, the privilege that I have. I bought my first vehicle that has all of the safety and security features and the comfort of riding in that vehicle. I can feel it in my body. And I want to remain aware of that peace and ease. I don't ever want to get to a position where I'm earning enough money or I have enough comfort that I forget to appreciate the very small details. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:57

I know I think that that comparison is actually kind of profound because I've had vehicles where I don't trust them and the whole time. It's like total anxiety. Am I overheating? You know, are my brakes gonna give out? You're comparing your sense of safety and I like the word ease. I totally understand that. And how, even in that vehicle, you are driving through a world where yes, you have privilege. And at the same time, you are part of a community that is being leveraged for hate and division right now, as well as your partner.

SPEAKER_02 21:29

I know. How do I respond? Um, it's funny because I haven't fully stepped into the driving through the world with the privilege. From what I know about Zedek, we are a call-in culture. And what I've done up until now is protest loudly and call out what I see wrong. And in some ways, because my success, I can be interpreted as a person. See, I've just dodged the question.

SPEAKER_01 22:02

Yes, and the number of especially white, queer identified people that have sat in the seat and had the same struggle of even just kind of recognizing their own level of risk or how they fit into the social justice equation because the focus is on kind of addressing that white piece.

SPEAKER_02 22:22

There's a significant discomfort of trying to find my identity in the white piece, earning a healthy salary, but still wanting folks to know I come from a community that has felt the pain of poverty and addiction and domestic violence. Sometimes, I mean, most of the time, we don't we don't see that in another human, right? We just see the outside and we make our quick assessment. I am a little bit guilty of making the outside of me look palatable so that I could fall into any category. I could be, again, whatever you needed me to be.

SPEAKER_01 23:06

Masking.

SPEAKER_02 23:07

Masking. But um, when I'm with my partner, it's impossible, right? We are visible together. This climate is scary. We're actually spending a lot of time at home. We are not traveling in the car together. I've told myself that it's okay because it's the winter and this is the time for rest and recovery, and that times will change. I need to have hope that we can make an impact positively on that. But it it feels it feels like a scary time.

SPEAKER_01 23:40

That's overwhelming.

SPEAKER_02 23:41

And then I wonder, is this just what happens when you mature and you have watched the seasons of the seasons of capitalism.

SPEAKER_01 23:51

The seasons of capitalism.

SPEAKER_02 23:54

They do kind of repeat themselves, right? Totally.

SPEAKER_01 23:57

I mean, history, right? There's a pattern that you can play out with revolution as well, you know, societal shifts. The anticipated, predictable uh pushback of where there's progress, and then you swing the other way, and then you swing back, you know. And I don't know what that says about human nature, but it has been true.

SPEAKER_02 24:17

Maybe I sometimes lean a little extra heavy on that so that I can remind myself, even if the world does feel really overwhelming right now, there is likely a period in the future where there'll be more ease. I'm just gonna keep telling myself that.

SPEAKER_01 24:33

I mean, I think many Americans are telling themselves that right now. Do you think that keeps us from kind of meeting the moment with a sense of urgency and action that's needed? Or is it just kind of a wisdom of the ways just allowing the cycle to play through? I struggle with that personally. Like, when are we supposed to act at a greater level? And what does that even look like?

SPEAKER_02 24:57

I mean, we saw a little bit of what that has looked like in Raleigh, Durham, and Charlotte, and it's been really beautiful and powerful to see communities come together to protect their neighbors. And here we are, just two hours west of Charlotte, and it feels like a different planet sometimes.

SPEAKER_01 25:19

Yeah, I think that really messes with your mind.

SPEAKER_02 25:22

But having experienced Hurricane Helene with my neighbors, I know that we are in it together. I watched us come together as a community instantly. As soon as the weather allowed us to come out, we were all on the streets. I was meeting people from all those fragments of life, and we just wanted to know: are you okay? Is your home okay? Is your family okay?

SPEAKER_01 25:49

Yeah, what do you need? Can I help?

SPEAKER_02 25:51

How do we reconcile where we are right now where the crisis isn't so apparent, right? It didn't take away our internet connectivity. How do we how do we show up when we're not all affected?

SPEAKER_01 26:06

Yeah. And is that something that we just as human beings that really I would consider this to be a huge flaw that we have to personally be affected by something to feel impacted or care about it? I don't believe that that's true. And yet, in a general way, it does really feel like that. When crisis hits, we do, we all show up and we're like different people, inspired in spirit of love, community, connection, and then that's over, and we're back to our like little split and segregated groups.

SPEAKER_02 26:36

We are, and I and I do believe we are socialized in this culture to be that way. It is actually very hard for my partner to perceive the connectedness and the generosity within a community that my partner and I both see the most often is in the unhoused population. Even just verbally in conversation, um, and the willingness to share personally, even just what's happening, what's happening in your life, what's happening in society, they're willing to talk about it. They're not talking about taking vacations or what new expensive item they've purchased to bring ease.

SPEAKER_01 27:24

They're in that moment and in that struggle. You just mentioned sharing life stories. I've experienced actually sharing resources. Yes, yes. Without question. Yeah, absolutely. And and that brings me hope. As well as Helene, that experience I think is really ripe and still within reach for us. That infrastructure that was built during Helene, my hope is really that that continues to build and strengthen and that Zedek can be part of that sustaining. So, what brings you hope? What do you see Zedek doing in 2026?

SPEAKER_02 27:53

Completing our budget.

SPEAKER_01 27:55

Yay, a strategic plan. What do you hope for yourself with Zedek in 2026?

SPEAKER_02 28:03

Yes, because I still have a lot to learn about how we operate.

SPEAKER_01 28:07

How new are you? Because it feels like you've been here forever. It's really comfortable, but really is it only a month, two months?

SPEAKER_02 28:13

Yeah, it's it's four weeks.

SPEAKER_01 28:15

Oh, that's wild.

On the Future

From Rugged Individualism To Third Spaces

SPEAKER_02 28:16

I already feel like I have put my hands in everything I can. So yeah. What do I want to see for us? For me. Um, I'm excited to meet the members of this community who have the same hope and tenacity to actually make the just and equitable vision come to life. I want to feel part of the whole. Up until now, my community has mostly been whichever neighbors have chosen to live next door to me. But we have built a rich and vibrant life. I've been a part of the lives of children who live on the street. I've been a part of the lives of the elderly who have passed on. And I think that is the fabric of our community. But I don't get to choose who lives next door to me. They don't always share the same values. I'm trying to create that community that I want to see for better or worse, maybe forcing it on those who live next door. Um, and so with this role, I think I can expand that beyond and really connect with the folks who share a similar vision. And that's really about the the way that we've been socialized to be individualistic, to strive and to hustle and the way that that harms our bodies and our ability to to even trust one another. We hold on to our resources.

SPEAKER_01 29:53

I'm the only one that will take care of myself or my little tribe, my family. So it's that rugged individualism.

SPEAKER_02 29:59

Yeah. But if we meet and interact and really engage with enough folks who are trying to change that narrative, I think it's something as a human that we all desperately crave. And yet this grind culture, the hustle, the internet, it's really the the lack of third spaces.

SPEAKER_01 30:22

Yeah. You mean in craving that human connection, being known and knowing.

SPEAKER_02 30:27

Where you don't have to go out to a bar, where you don't have to spend money or consume. Because really what you're looking for is that human connection.

SPEAKER_01 30:37

Well, I'm very excited, Bridget. Thank you so much for spending time with me and talking about yourself and your life. I'm excited to get to know you. And I'm very excited for this authentic individual to become more confident and comfortable in this space as well as our community. Because uh, that's a prize right there. So thank you so much. I appreciate you. Thank you. One of the most beautiful gifts we have to share is our stories. And at the root of it all is that undeniable need and desire to belong human connection. To those listening in, thank you for lending your ear and spending your time with us. See you same time, same place next month. Until then, peace.