Cordella Friesen: YMCA-YWCA

Stuart Murray  0:00  
This podcast was recorded on the ancestral lands on Treaty One Territory, their traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and the Dene peoples and on the homeland of the Métis nation.

Amanda Logan (Voiceover)  0:19  
This is humans on rights, a podcast advocating for the education of human rights. Here's your host, Stuart Murray.

Stuart Murray  0:29  
Cordella Friesen is my guest on humans on rights today. Cordell is the president and CEO of the YMCA YWCA of Winnipeg, which has been a community based organization and Winnipeg for 145 years. The YMCA YWCA of Winnipeg is the largest childcare provider in Manitoba. It operates camp Stevens and has four dedicated community hubs that serve in the areas of mental health fitness, aquatics, newcomer programming, employment services, and community play. Now Cordella has over 20 years of leadership experience in the government and nonprofit sectors. And she is committed to people strategy, alignment and authenticity. A true radical optimist. I love that line. Radical optimist who is committed to making community better one day at a time. Cordella Friesen. Welcome to humans on writes.

Cordella Friesen  1:28  
Yeah, thank you so much for having me. I'm excited.

Stuart Murray  1:31  
So Cordella, you know what, and just in brackets I'm excited to because trying to get this one recorded was a little bit of a challenge for me. So thanks for being so patient. I appreciate it, Cordell it. So we're going to talk a lot about I mean, there's a great history with the YMCA, and now of course, the YMCA YWCA. But before we get into that, you have a very interesting track record as a leader that has found you now as the president and CEO of the YMCA YWCA, you were involved, I think in one of the most historical things that happened in the world, I don't know if historical is the right word, but with respect to COVID. So can you just share a little bit of your leadership experience that you've seen in government? And then of course, we'll launch into the whole issue that you're dealing with the expansion of the YMCA YWCA? Yeah,

Cordella Friesen  2:18  
so I spent 12 years with the provincial government here in Manitoba. And it was an incredible career as a public servant. But one of the most crucial roles I would say that I had was absolutely on COVID response. And that includes one of the leaders for the vaccine Task Force and the rollout of vaccines for COVID. throughout the province, specifically, I led the workforce planning training. So ensuring that every single site had people that we recruited, trained, scheduled payroll, everything you can imagine for all the sites across Manitoba. So it probably was, I think, the biggest demonstration to me as a leader, that if we really wanted to solve anything in this world, we could if we really wanted, and we were motivated, we absolutely can work together to do that. Because there's no way the vaccine rollout would have happened without the partnership of private public, nonprofit community organizations who are motivated by a lot of beautiful things and economics and social concerns. So yeah, it really changed my perspective. And it's probably one of the reasons why I left government to join the why, because I also realized, you know, I wanted to be more on the ground and in that community response.

Stuart Murray  3:37  
Yeah, and I appreciate what you're saying Cordell and again, just as a citizen of Manitoba. Thank you for, you know, being a part of that leadership team to ensure that those vaccines were available. Just before we move off of that for a second. I wouldn't look at this and sort of see if you could revise history. But when you're a leader in an organization, as you are, I mean, you always look at what are the takeaways? And I mean, you made one big takeaway, which you shared with us, and that is the partnership and the ability. But if you were to step back and say not, if we were to do it again, let's hope we never have to do it again. But you know, as a leader, is there some takeaway that you say, I never saw myself being able to do what I did, or how I was able to share something with somebody or to take something away? In terms of the process that happened during that whole COVID portion?

Cordella Friesen  4:26  
I think the biggest takeaway that I hope we never forget, is that in order for us to actually move through that crisis, it took a lot of trust. And it forced and that trust allowed us to work in more innovative ways than we actually would have ever have done in any other paced circumstance. And it also made us give up scope and what I mean like as opposed to us trying to always just like trying to be in control of things you actually had to let go of control. In order to have the best outcome, and so, but I think it was based off trust, like this idea that we all had a common goal and a common purpose allowed us to work differently and uniquely. And I also think the other thing that demonstrated to me is the power of the public service when it's released to be able to do that response, right. So the goal really our direction from, you know, the elected was, this is our outcome, we want to be able to get X amount of doses done a day did it and kind of getting out of the how we got it done. And instead focusing on that outcome really allowed the public service to get that job done. And I think it was a great demonstration of that. And I remember a meeting we had with even our military, you know, in the Canadian government saying, Manitoba is the platinum star of this rollout for vaccine Task Force, and there's so many great lessons learned, and I would just hope that we don't lose those lessons.

Stuart Murray  5:53  
Yeah, no, listen, thank you so much. And again, this is not what this podcast is about. But I having somebody who experienced it. I mean, I, you know, went to the RBC Convention Center. And then I went to, and I don't know the name of it, but it was another, another site. I mean, it was seamless. It was amazing. You know, at some point, was there a slight delay from time to time, you know, welcome boarding an airplane welcome to you know, life, I mean, all these things that happen, right, so, but overall, I mean, just the I love the fact that you shared that Manitoba was the platinum star in terms of where Canada was, because I think we have to be reminded of that. So bravo to you, your team, all of the people that were involved. And, you know, thank you again, for making it happen for so many of us. No, thank you for that.

So now, you know, here's the thing when I was so delighted to have you on because I know today, you know, a while ago, I should say my say today, I know you've made some announcements about some changes that you're going to be doing at the YMCA YWCA. But when I started to do some research, I mean, it you know, the YMCA, which was, you know, founded, I think 1844 or something in London, England, and started to roll out and you think 1844 is quite a while ago. But you know, so is 1879, which is when it was initially founded here in Winnipeg. And of course, a lot of the research Cordell I did was on the y m. Ca. And of course you are the president, CEO of the YMCA, why WCA. So maybe just kind of share a little bit before we start talking about programming and some of the elements that you do. What is it like to be the president of two very, very well established organizations that now have come under one umbrella?

Cordella Friesen  7:36  
Yeah, the truth is the YMCA and the YWCA are very different organizations, both internationally and North American and nationally. And there's only two of us in Canada that are a joint YMCA, YWCA. And that's us and Vancouver Island. So we I joke with my colleague there, Derek, who's the CEO there that we see each other at everything I see. Let me see meanings. I see him at the YMCA meanings. And really, they are very, very different in its objectives. And it's on how it does its work. But at the same time, the ultimate goal is community response, there's no question that both organizations are very much committed to community response. The YWCA really is a feminist organization that is dedicated to ending gender based violence to talking about safe places, economic and social equity, specifically for women and for those that are gender diverse. And so it has a much more clear, I think, specific audience and specific goal when it comes to feminist agenda. Whereas the YMCA is much more it was based off men and getting a safe place for men. And part of that history was so that men would avoid their vices, which meant drinking and gambling and things right. And so it was a safe place for men. And then as it evolved over the last 145 years here in Winnipeg, it was no we can be more accepting of women in our spaces and of those that are gender diverse. And so that happened over the last 145 years. And the focus there really was about avoiding vices and providing a safe place and providing support so that people can reach their potential and specifically men to reach their potential, and then evolving into all people being able to do that. And it has a Christian base as well. So the original Reading Room, which was Bible studies, and that sort of thing and of activities, and so it looks a lot different today. 145 years later. Well

Stuart Murray  9:44  
I bet and so, Cordell just on that was I mean the YWCA as you say, which is really a feminist approach. It also has the word see for Christianity or Christian in it. So was that also part of the founding value? For the YWCA, yes,

Cordella Friesen  10:02  
it was as a part of the original foundation. And that has evolved differently since about the 1930s, where the Christian element has not been factored in as or highlighted over the last, you know, 100 years. However, absolutely. That was a part of its foundation, including things like Bible studies.

Stuart Murray  10:21  
Interesting. And so my I don't know that you were around in I think it was 1987. Well, when I say you were around, you mean, you weren't the president CEO at that time, but in 1987, is when it happened in Winnipeg, where the YMCA and the YWCA became under one roof. I mean, 32 separate organizations but under one roof, and I'm fascinated, as you say, were the only two Winnipeg and Victoria. Vancouver Island. Yep. Vancouver Island, I should say, was one first and was there a model that one took from the other? Or do you recall when did Vancouver Island become under one umbrella?

Cordella Friesen  10:56  
Yeah, there was actually several YMCA and YWCA amalgamated in the 80s. And I know a part of our history here in Winnipeg was there was definitely a push, I think by government at the time because YMCA YWCA were both independently struggling financially. And it was seen as because the names are so similar that maybe you could just join up together and you know, have your forces be combined, as opposed to two different requests. And so when that happened in 1987, for us a good example of that investment is the downtown Why 301 Vaughn was struggling. But so was the YWCA building, which was eventually became booth University College, which have been sold to Providence. That building was built by the YWCA. And so they were able to sell that building and reinvest that into 301 Vaughn for a pretty major renovation that helped did sustainability. And so there were a lot of benefits to that amalgamation, but also this idea of like, Okay, what does it mean to be a y m and y w knowing you have this feminist agenda? But if I walked by any of our basketball courts, you see all the boys playing basketball and have to wonder Where are the girls? And so that's a part of what our journey is today is, is what does that mean to be both a YMCA and YWCA?

Stuart Murray  12:17  
So Cordelia just on that, you know, you gave a great example, you know, of looking at a basketball court seeing all the boys and saying, Well, this is also a YWCA has there been, you know, when you look at your board, your compliment your organization, your staff, I mean, clearly, in your capacity as the leadership of both of these entities, it must be quite a challenge to make sure that there is that sense of balance, because I would say, you know, the YMCA sense of balance could be quite different from what the YWCA balance could be. And yet, you're trying to create a safe space for both the YM and the y w. And I just want to make one who asked you one question, was there any one sense of trying to sort of create, like a unified name? And I'll only say it this way, Cordelia, because a lot of times when people say Where are you going to say I'm going to the Y. I mean, it's not though I'm not going to y m or the YW, I'm going to the Y. So explain or just share some of the challenges and some of the opportunities that come along with with that responsibility as the leader of those two organizations.

Cordella Friesen  13:25  
Yeah, it's true, people just know the why they don't even know the difference of a YMCA or YWCA and other cities. So for example, Calgary, Vancouver, these are two different entities. And I have two colleagues in each of those cities, Toronto, etc, Halifax wherever I am. And people really don't know the difference. And in fact, one of the jokes is like a donor can send a donation to the wrong organization, government actually sends the wrong thing to the wrong organization that happened in Brandon, because Brandon, Manitoba, also has a y m, that's separate from the y w. But they are very different. And I think, but one of the things that we talked about specifically, when we talk about our y and y w is we see a need for both. And as long as we see a need for both, we need to be working in both spaces and hold that tension, ultimately, because you look at the rise of domestic violence that has come out of COVID response. Absolutely. We are a solution to safe places for young women and young girls. You look at the calls to action under murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls and think about all of the spaces and the childcare and all of the things that we can offer in terms of prevention for ensuring that youth in particular have a safe place. And so and I think one of our opportunities that makes us very unique is also talking about the role of men when it comes to gender based violence. And so a lot of the interventions that we see when we talk about gender based violence, it's focused on women, women's luncheons, women's conferences, women's you know how to protect yourself how to look for the signs, domestic violence shelter yours come escape violence, that sort of thing. Whereas I think we are uniquely positioned to be able to talk about what is the role of men. And when I think about those boys playing basketball in our courts is like, what are the things, the curriculum, the experiences, the guidance, the mentorship that they need in order for us to do our part to make sure that there's no perpetuating of gender based violence. And so I think we have a unique role to play because we work in both spaces. But I also think it would be a disservice not to recognize that they are different spaces, and we need to work in between them.

Stuart Murray  15:36  
Cordelia, do you find? Is there any sort of issue around funding that gets, you know, kind of focused in a certain area versus, you know, maybe it might be, you know, against gender violence or, you know, sort of issues that caught you know, from your perspective, again, as leading the organization that you have to find a balance of how those programs might get funded? Because there are differences? Yeah,

Cordella Friesen  15:59  
absolutely. And I think that a great example of that recently for us was we have partnered with YWCA Halifax, and the Manitoba construction sector council to do a program called shift change. And shift change is specifically funded to focus on gender equity, but for construction supervisors that are men, and how they play a role in providing a safe workplace for women, especially in the trades where it's not traditional for women to work in those spaces. And so it is a specific kind of targeted audience a specific goal, a specific objective with specific funding. And so, and it is pushing us outside of our typical probably funding grants where we focus on mental health or youth, which is super important, but it is pushing us into into kind of new spaces and thinking about curriculum and, and new partnerships, because traditionally, Ry Miw, has not been pursuing the construction trades to talk about, you know, gender equity.

Stuart Murray  17:00  
For sure. So, I just, you know, find it so fascinating to have you know, you on this conversation and to share some of your experiences. Let me just back up for a second. So in 1987, the YMCA and the YWCA came together since 1987. How many women have led the YMCA YWCA?

Cordella Friesen  17:22  
I'm the first it's true. So yeah, absolutely. I am the first woman president and CEO for the y. W.

Stuart Murray  17:30  
And how did you find going through the interview process? Did you find that there was, you know, some challenges in I mean, you know, your being the first is, again, I think it speaks to your leadership capabilities, Cordelia and they've obviously made a wise choice. But you know, you're the first. And so being a first always has some challenges that are unseen. So share some groundbreaking sort of things that you didn't start to see coming and have had to deal with. Yeah,

Cordella Friesen  17:59  
so I think there's a few things with being the first especially the era that we're at one of the things that I've noticed, and I had like a fantastic board experience, my board of directors has been incredible. And so part of these observations are just more reflective, if that makes sense then about the process and but women are often called upon in leadership positions, when you're in a time of crisis, that's when we're willing to take her risk on women in leadership. And we've seen that dictated time and time and time again. And, and so when I joined the Y in August of 2022, I was walking into September 1 was our first day of our fiscal year, I was gonna walk into a $2 million deficit anticipated for that year. And so I don't think it's accidental, necessarily, that sometimes we're willing to try new ways of leadership or think about things differently, when the times call for it. And I think that was my experience. However, one of the things that I've learned being in this role, even in my first month, when I met with my leadership team, and all of their leaders is that everyone was incredibly committed to the why. And it was my job just to amplify this incredible talent that was already there, and also what they saw as the needs going on in to the future. And the way that I talk about, you know, the why in particular is we've been through two world wars, a Great Depression, multiple recessions, I look back on minutes, and I look at back and the narrative is the same. We need to be responsive to the community needs in order for us to be relevant. And there's always a time of divestment. But there's also a time of investment and really realizing where that is. And specifically for us it came down to the downtown. Why because the downtown y was a huge part of our deficit and continues to be, however, the community that probably needs that space the most is the downtown. And so we're going to talk about our charitable purpose and we're going to talk about you know, the percentage of newcomers so people, parents, indigenous people that live downtown and need a safe place. And we still see 1000 people coming through that building every day. And so it was us trying to actually figure out our business model saying, Okay, if we're going to say this is important, we need to figure out a way to make that work. And so that has been a part of the journey since starting, but we've had to be more innovative, we've had to be really pushing the boundaries of what partnership looks like, what ally ship looks like, how does the Y show up? How do people know us? And one of the beauties of 145 years is that everyone wants this, right, wants the why to be there. And so it's really just me amplifying almost decades of commitment, and people just showing up in incredible ways.

Stuart Murray  20:46  
Looking back, when you talk about sort of diversity, that whole issue of inclusivity, or coronella, when you mentioned 1000, people, you know, walk through the doors kind of every day, what just generally speaking, if you were to say a percentage, and I have to be careful how I ask the question, because I mean, when you're talking about diversity, I was gonna just start off by saying, you know, how many of them would be men and how many be women? But of course, in today's society, that is really not a very appropriate question, because this just doesn't really reflect society, and its whole. But would you say, of the 1000 people that it would be if you held up a mirror to our society here in Manitoba that it would be very reflective of the mirror that is Manitoba, or Winnipeg? Absolutely.

Cordella Friesen  21:30  
And I would even argue that when I look around, even at our childcare center, the majority are coming from newcomer families, or racialized communities. And so there's incredible amount of diversity downtown, in particular, but at all of our hubs, and I do you see it reflecting community for sure.

Stuart Murray  21:50  
Yeah, fantastic. And just one sort of administration question just about your board and your staff. I mean, is your board? Is there any sort of I'll just use the word constitution to the YMCA YWCA organization to say we must have these many women, this many men, this many sort of diverse people. Is there any sort of requirements that you have for the board?

Cordella Friesen  22:11  
Yeah, so the board the YMCA nationally came out with a diversity board objectives, you know, handbook a, probably about a year and a half ago. And based off of their recommendations, we did our own kind of evaluation. This is the population here in Winnipeg. This is what our board should we be reflecting. And the board set SMART goals over the next three years for board recruitment, both from a diversity equity inclusion perspective, but also from A skills matrix kind of perspective. And so we are seeing the change. But absolutely, our board currently today does not necessarily reflect our community, however, have made great strides in the last year and a half. And we have some new board members that are fantastic, and are on this journey with us to ensure that we're representing at a leadership level, what we are seeing at the ground level. And we kind of addressed this actually, even in our strategic plan that just came out in January saying that some of the diversity, equity inclusion that's happened at the Y has happened organically because of our communities. But now we need to be more intentional and more thoughtful, especially at a leadership level on the structures that take place. Because it's not just our programming, it informs capital, for example, right. And so, I mean, to get through the downtown, why it takes seven different lifts, or five different lifts from the ground level two, the various levels, just because it's a heritage building, that is very odd, because we have a pool in it, and it has all of these things. And sometimes those lifts don't work, that is not acceptable. And that's not okay. And so we have to think about this more intentionally. Not just for programming, not just for people, but for also our capital and what that communicates to people on who we are and who we are accessible to. For

Stuart Murray  24:00  
sure. And I just don't want to pick up on that Cordova, thanks for bringing that forward. Accessibility. I mean, this podcast is humans on rights, and you know, what you are as a champion and an advocate and educator about human rights in the community as you're building a relationship with newcomers and those people that walk through the doors of the YMCA, YWCA, you know, just in terms of the challenges of, you know, ensuring that you are accessible. I mean, as you say, you've got a number of elevators, you've got areas that you have to oversee. And a lot of the community if they come in and they're are looking to see or what kind of barriers do I have to face to be part of this? That is a big challenge. And so what are some of the challenges that you have and how are you dealing with those challenges around accessibility? Yeah,

Cordella Friesen  24:47  
so I think one of the things that I would mention about that is just I heard a podcast once and I got to let you know what it is once I recall the name of it, but in it, there was a great conversation about accessibility. And in it, one of the advocates said, you know, I'm tired of going into spaces where I'm just simply tolerated. That meets meaning the bare minimum regulated, you know, requirement of accessibility, when coming into that building, I'm no longer going to put up with that I'm only going to go to places where I'm celebrated. And so the discussion over minimum regulated requirements versus someone coming in and knowing this space was designed for them. So yeah, you can have a ramp that has three different angles and takes you, you know, 1020 more minutes just to get to that place. But then we know it wasn't designed for them to be able to access easily. And I often think about this even with our seniors, right, so people that we want to ensure that their aging and community that they're able to stay in their homes as long as possible accessing the Y helps them live a long life. So how are we ensuring that they don't have barriers, you know, in navigating our spaces. So this takes capital investment. And as a part of our $15 million capital campaign, we've said, you know, there's seven priorities, but number one is accessibility, we've had to put it front and center because it isn't okay on how, you know, we're forcing people to navigate, you know, lifts that don't work. And that includes people that need the lifts that have strollers and multiple children, right, as an example. And so we absolutely are on a journey, but we are committed to doing better. And part of that is also listening to others. So we have an idea of what accessibility means. However, let's just have some people navigate our spaces and tell us differently. Yeah,

Stuart Murray  26:35  
and, you know, Cordova, this is kind of a bit of a side of it for a second, but it's, you know, you're dealing with a heritage building. So I think, you know, that comes with a lot of challenges. And you know, from a design standpoint, and you're retrofitting, and that's expensive. And so, you know, I can appreciate that challenge. From your perspective, I want to share quickly, when I was president and CEO of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, the building code said we needed just X number of washrooms. But what that didn't say is that we needed washrooms on every floor. So you look at the building code and say, you know, we had people say, Look, we just have to make sure we meet the building code standards, and a lot of us internally said, and by the way, if I could just sort of say, I take zero credit for this, the only thing I will take a bit of credit for is listening to people in chairs, and people from the community who basically sort of looked at us and say, You mean, you want me to go up three levels, I have to go to use a washroom, but to say that you've achieved the building code standard of Canada, and you feel good about that. And I was like, absolutely zero not on. So you know, of course, we had the ability because we were a new build, it cost money, and we had to make some decisions. But the right decision clearly was to make sure that there is accessibility on every floor. So we'll wait and see how I know you're gonna do it, Cordell at that part. I know, you're gonna get it done. But it's a fascination because, again, from the outside, people who have a use, you say, they just they want to feel accepted. They don't want to feel tolerated. So when you talk about what you're going to do, I know they support you, but it's still going to be a number of people kind of arms crossed and say, prove it.

Cordella Friesen  28:14  
Yes. Well, and I would say that we should be challenged. I think that when you have an organization, that's 145 years that has evolved over time absolutely has been able to be responsive to the needs, I actually think we need to be challenged on what we're doing and how we're doing it. And what does that accessibility kind of look like? And the truth is, the majority of us will need those supports, ultimately, right. And so I think there's just an arrogance that comes in to ableism. Especially when you think about a lot of what we do is, for example, is our fitness and aquatics programming, right? So getting in and out of pools, assuming a ladder is going to be okay. But the people that design them, the people that use them, or even manage them at the time, we're probably much more able bodied than what we our expectation would be today to look at in terms of design. And so I think that we should be challenged.

Stuart Murray  29:12  
Yeah. So let's explore another sort of area of, you know, around accessibility, the economics of accessibility. So you've got members of the community, who, from a financial or economic standpoint, you know, look at this is, is that a barrier for some Cordelia? And if so, how are you dealing, you know, internally to sort of solve those issues?

Cordella Friesen  29:32  
Yeah. So, because accessibility is so important, especially for those that come from socio economic backgrounds that are just from poor neighborhoods, poor, you know, opportunities, and also we can look at even just inflation today, right. I know that there's many families struggling for many, many, many years decades. The whi has had a membership Assistance Program, right. So it's based on If your income and we can say yes, absolutely. So for example, a low income senior could have a membership with the wife for $16 a month, it's $8. bi weekly. However, we also know that still won't cut it for some families, especially in these environments. And so one of the things that we've been doing is that we want to have no barriers like that is the goal for people that need us no barriers. And so we've been working on our strong Kids campaign, we just recently raised $135,000, for the strong Kids campaign, by which families and youth could be fully sponsored for an entire year. And our goal is just like, no barriers. And the story that I use is that one of our membership leads at the downtown y said to me, you know, Cordella, widow came in with two kids, and she's a recent widow, and she her whole family sad. And even with the membership assistance, she's just like, I can't cut it, but my kids need this place. And I'm like, Who of us would not help her? You know, and if anyone heard this story was in a position to be able to help they would want to help her. And so I said, Absolutely. You just say yes. And we will figure out a way, in order even though we're running a deficit, this is about doing the right thing. And we have the ability to do the right thing. And I think most people will want to show up. And we had this great donor that came forward and sponsored 50 kids to go to camp Stevens this summer as a core memory and be able to partner with organizations like mama way, and Big Brother, Big Sister and project 11 and others like, and there's a kid that actually last summer got to go twice. I don't know how that happened, but I don't care. It's four weeks of magic. And the second time he went, he was on the bus. And all these kids were scared about their first experience at Camp Stevens and his kids, like, you guys are gonna have the best week of your life. It's gonna be transformative. Like it's using pretty big words. And so you think about like, that's what we can offer as these core memories that become magic and remembering, you know, this important event that and a part of the donor was also saying, We will help sponsor sleeping bags, we will sponsor you know, them to get swimsuits, things that they traditionally don't actually have to be able to make camp work for them. And so yeah, I do think the goal for us is no barriers for anyone that needs us. Yeah.

Stuart Murray  32:19  
Yeah, no, that's, that's a great story. Thank you for sharing that. Cordelia. Can I just ask, did you say the one of the programs was strong kids? Yeah. But it's really focused on families, even though that's kind of the name with I mean, obviously, kids, but I mean, kids somehow, maybe there's one parent or two parents or no parents, but it's more encompassing than just children.

Cordella Friesen  32:39  
Yes, absolutely. So children and families. So

Stuart Murray  32:43  
thank you for that. And then the other one, I think, which is fantastic. And, you know, some of these things that happened organically, right? Like, you know, the, I'm gonna sue me was a little guy that had two trips right out to camp Stevens, and, you know, you sort of thinking, Oh, I love your responses. Like, I don't care that it happened. In fact, you know, it's one of those things that if you can imagine if there was a way to kind of duplicate that, because you could have like an adult on there and sort of saying to these kids that have never been there for the first time. This is going to be great. And they're looking at the arrow going, Yeah, right. You get another sort of young child on there who sort of say, look, I gotta tell you, I just came and I'm coming back and it's gonna be great. And it's like, okay, now you got my attention, right? Because it's peer to peer kind of thing, right?

Cordella Friesen  33:23  
Absolutely. He was our height guy on the bus.

Stuart Murray  33:28  
I love it. Cordelia, you know, when you look at the history, and I mean, you know, we've talked about sort of in Winnipeg, the 145 year history, you know, Winnipeg, and just as a society, how we've grown and you know, we've had to deal with things, you know, issues, community issues that are vitally really important to us growing as a community, for example, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. So you know, those 94 recommendations come out. You have that issue. You have the two spirited LGBTQ one plus community that is starting to they don't have voice they know are part of our community. How is the YMCA YWCA? Facilitating and dealing with those issues?

Cordella Friesen  34:08  
Yeah, I will say that in our strategic plan, we've identified this as a priority for us when we look at diversity, equity inclusion, and specifically the Truth and Reconciliation calls to action as well as the calls to action under the murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls inquiry. But also, I'm going to just divert for one second, the YMCA song that was built by the village people that was sung by the village people is a reflection that the Y has been a safe place for the to LGBTQI plus community for many, many years and in fact, decades. I

Stuart Murray  34:42  
love that. I love that. Thank you for bringing that up. Because I mean, you know whether people realize it or not, you know you go to any party and it's not happening you put that song on and people are in so what a great reflection whether they know it or not. They're up on the floor doing that dance, but thank you for sharing that. That's fab you Thank you. And

Cordella Friesen  35:01  
it was the village people their original when they wrote it was because of a why, specifically in BC. But I think that shows that the Y has been a safe place for many, many, many years for many people in our community, however, we need to do more. And you look at the history of, you know, the young men's Christian Association, Young Women's Christian Association of over 145 years, I would have to assume and I think this is a good assumption that we probably contributed to harm as well over those years. And so we have a journey that we need to go on when it comes to truth and reconciliation and for the calls to action. And we have many staff that are indigenous, so like, nearly 10% of our staff are indigenous. And so we need to be able to be responding not only to what they're going through and what they're facing, but also what they're seeing within the people that we're caring for whether it's our child carers, or our camp Stevens or membership, we work in operate on both treaty one and treaty three. But we also have incredible relationships with indigenous communities. So southern chiefs organization, there's many people there that are members of the why and are at the Y. So for example, we have a partnership with long plains first nation where anyone from long plains can come to the y and we just direct bill to the First Nation directly. And so we have these partnerships. But the question is, how can we do even more, and as Southern chiefs looks at that space where Hudson's Bay resides, and is being transformed that partnership with them, which is right across the street becomes incredibly important. And they've been incredible partners to us to date and us doing even more to support each other.

Stuart Murray  36:43  
Yeah, and I, you know, the whys and I just refer to as why, because I think people understand that has had a rich institution in the community. Cordelia, one of the things that, you know, if you just look at the name, for example, and let's, let's just kind of take it apart for a second. You know, you talk about young men's Christian Association, Young Women's Christian Association. So let's just talk about the word Christian in that word of the title of the organization. Is there any conversation about what that means? And you know, just looking to see, is there a change that might benefit the community to feel more reflective or more welcome? Is that even an issue? Or is that? Is that a fair comment even ask you?

Cordella Friesen  37:23  
Yes, no, I think it's a fair question. And when I started at the Y in August of 2022, one of the things I noticed immediately is that our incorporated name, so even though people knew us as the YMCA, YWCA of Winnipeg, or incorporated name was young men's Young Women's Christian Association of Winnipeg. And legitimately we would get questions when signing contracts with community organizations. What does this mean, even when hiring, so when I was hiring for vice president role? What does it mean that you're Are you Christian, and it's interesting, because we have not been a Christian Association. And what I would say is, we've been multi faith multi diverse since the 70s. So a very, very long history of not being a Christian Association solely, but rather what I call multi faith, meaning open to all faiths, all backgrounds, we have a lot of programming, for example, Muslim women that want to learn how to swim, and we want to ensure that they're going to be safe. And so we have to do that in a respectful, you know, of their religious attire, for example, and making sure that they can do that safely. And so we've been multifaith for a very long time. And so when I took this issue to the board, saying, you know, our name is not actually reflective of who we are, who we been for, you know, several decades, they were incredibly supportive of changing our bylaws. And we had to get the approval of YMCA Canada as well as YWCA Canada to make the name change. But at our AGM, this January, it passed. And so we are now no longer using the full like the acronym name. We are saying we are the YMCA, YWCA Winnipeg, and it is not an acronym. None of those letters stand for anything. It is because people just know us as the why ultimately.

Stuart Murray  39:08  
Totally. Yeah, no, it's fantastic. And because I was also just going to look at it and say, you know, take for one moment, the word men and women, because you know, a lot of people, they don't look at themselves and say, Well, I don't fit into either one of those categories. So again, if you're using the acronym, and again, you know, part of it is if you just talk about the y, it becomes all inclusive, right?

Cordella Friesen  39:29  
Yes. And it was fascinating when we did the news release in February. The responses from the media were really fascinating. So one reporter I talked to he goes, I didn't even know this was an acronym, and he was definitely from Gen Zed, like a younger reporter. And then you had somebody that came in his 50s or 60s. And he was just like, Oh, you guys are just trying to be hip like you're just trying to, you know, and I was just like, it's just kind of been fascinating the response from the different generations. As to the game change, but I think the best response I got was a week after the announcement. I was at a game. And so once you hear from the why you guys got a lot of media attention for doing nothing.

Stuart Murray  40:13  
Yeah, right. You

Cordella Friesen  40:15  
know, we are still the same organization, we just simply made sure that our name reflected who we actually were.

Stuart Murray  40:20  
Yeah. And, you know, again, Cordelia, just kudos to you for. I mean, I know you're going to talk about your team. And again, just that's what leaders do. And but you know, somebody has to take a look at this and have the courage. And I want to come back to what you talked about yourself as a true radical optimist, you know, you have to be to sort of look at these things go forward. Because, I mean, in real life is, you know, everything that you think is right or not, it's not just about you, but it's you're looking at a lot of things, some things I should say, not a lot, but some things may not actually achieve what you would like them to achieve. And you know, that's how we are in the world today. But it never stops you from, as you say, being challenged to try to be innovative. And so when I look at that you've had what, three years on the job?

Cordella Friesen  41:08  
We've done a lot in two years. Two, yeah. Okay. Sorry.

Stuart Murray  41:12  
I was, uh, you know, giving you a little bit more credit for how much you've been able to accomplish, right? Yeah, you surely have done a lot in two years. What's the biggest change you've seen in two years?

Cordella Friesen  41:22  
I think the thing that I have been most encouraged by is, and you're right, it is about the team, right? Because after we did the name change, the number one fan of that change was our team. They were the ones that were like giving me little celebration, like emojis all over the place. Because they felt like this reflected them in their work, right. And there's something about just showing up in those spaces. And I would say like the team at the why there is no way we could have accomplished what we've done over the last two years going from a $2 million deficit to a balanced budget without an incredible team, while still opening our doors while still being relevant downtown, while still undertaking a $15 million capital campaign, in order to be relevant without the support of people that are on this team that believe in who the why is and believe who we are, and how we respond. And I would also say that our stakeholders, so even staff that used to work for us in the 60s are coming out of the woodwork and are saying how can I support you getting this stuff. And so I think there is something to being ambitious, right? And what I would call it is like almost humble ambition, meaning humble, meaning we are willing to listen to our community and tell us what we're doing wrong, and where we need to pivot and what we can be doing better, while still being ambitious enough to say, yes, we're gonna get that work done, because it's too important not to. And if we are going to truly, you know, be as, like when you think about the national action plan to end gender based violence, or if we're going to talk about mental health and anxiety, if we're going to talk about newcomers having all the supports that they need in order to be successful here in Winnipeg, and to stay in Winnipeg and feel connected to Winnipeg, you know, like, I feel like we need to be a little bit more ambitious as a city and as a province, because we do have magic here. And I have seen us being able to accomplish great things. And the question is, what is that next great vision? And I do think it's an all inclusive vision of economic inclusiveness and social inclusiveness that will be the driver of what makes Manitoba special.

Stuart Murray  43:25  
Yeah, it's great. Love to hear the optimism. And not only just, it's not just words, you know, it's it's action. And you're obviously a big part of that, Cordelia. So, you know, thanks for sharing on that. Is there anything that somebody's listening to this podcast? Now? Is there anything that I haven't asked you that you would say, you know, what, can I just talk about the following? Or I wish you would have asked me this question, because this is super important to me, or super relevant to what we're doing over to you. What's on your mind on that file?

Cordella Friesen  43:56  
I think the biggest thing that I would say is that one of the things that we did while running a deficit was moved to a living wage for all full time employees. And I thought a lot about this decision for us to move to a living wage. You know, I was three months on the job when we decided to do this because it was the right thing by people and, but really also was when I talked to managers. I said, if I could solve one thing for you over the next year, what would it be? And they said, retention, especially in those full time employee positions, because we're also a young employer or youth employer. So we're not looking to hold on to all of our lifeguards, for example, we want them to have good careers later and be community leaders and other spaces, but for our full time employees, is there something we can do? And so we move to a living wage, and I've thought a lot about if we cannot sustain ourselves without giving a living wage to our full time employees, then we have to figure out a different business model that we cannot be in the charitable sector and in a nonprofit sector and our own people are expect Did to need other charities or other nonprofits to help support them and support their work. And I think that there has to be a little bit of a reckoning, whether it's government granting organizations, as well as philanthropy and donor relations, as well as us saying, that is not acceptable. And none of us should be okay with that. And that is just the bare minimum of what we should be expecting ourselves as organizations moving forward. And so I think that how we treat our people is reflective of how we've decided what our priorities are. And I think it's too important of a conversation for nonprofits and charitable organizations to be left off the hook to have that conversation. But ultimately, that comes to funders also to have that conversation and to be willing to let go of programs that do not fund you appropriately to pay staff appropriately. And so we have been willing to let go of programs with the provincial government if the funding can't be there to support it appropriately, and so that we can treat our people respectfully. So I think that's the only thing I would say that I think there's a need for this conversation. I think that it is an equity conversation, not just from a social economic kind of perspective, but also the majority of people in these roles are coming from diverse communities. So whether they're newcomers as cleaners, whether they are on the ground, indigenous people that have gone through their own struggles, and then want to give back but then end up in organizations that can't give them a proper wage. So I just think that there's a question to be had about how we have that conversation collectively.

Stuart Murray  46:34  
Yeah, it's a big one. And I mean, you're talking about it from an organization standpoint, core dollars. It's probably I mean, it's a societal conversation. Correct. Right. But I mean, you're showing your leadership. Can I just ask you, can you just give me a sense of the funding for the why, like, the blocks, the big chunks percentage, how much is government? How much is private, etc?

Cordella Friesen  46:56  
Yeah, so 51%, we're just doing our budget, got approved for September 1 51% is childcare. So that comes from government grants and parent fees. So that's 100%. We can't dictate what that looks like. That is 100% decided by government. Provincial Government, Cordelia, okay, yeah. And then $10 A day childcare fee from parents that comes along with that. The other 49% is a combination of membership, membership fees, but also grants and programming. So our newcomer programming, which is small portion, probably about you know, 3% of what we are comes from the federal government and the provincial government, our mental health programs, is not funded by government right now, even though these should be, but they come from foundations and donors, ultimately, and then camp Stevens is also fee based, as well.

Stuart Murray  47:50  
And I guess, just to pick up on that I was just amazed in when I read sort of your a bit about your bio that just said that. The YMCA YWCA of Winnipeg is the largest childcare provider in Manitoba. Again, you know, just something I didn't know. Did you know that when you apply for the job there, were you kind of aware of that background?

Cordella Friesen  48:08  
I did. But it was recent information. It wasn't something that I've known for the last 10 years or anything like that. And what's fantastic is YMCAs across Canada is the largest childcare provider in Canada, and YMCA Canada has incredible curriculum called playing to learn and playing to connect. And we are exceptional at that curriculum. And I think we rated number one in all of Canada YMCAs, for the parental response to our childcare centers in Winnipeg gratulations, that was a huge area of celebration. But yeah, like it is a hugely important part of who we are. And like that also is about economic equity. So when I think about the combination of YMCA and YWCA, part of the narratives are different, but the outcome is the same. So typically, and I'm just gonna say typically, in a YMCA, we would talk about the child's development, right? So children, we do not need children that are already left behind by the age of five, because they didn't have access to quality childcare systems. And that really has an economic impact on their future for the rest of their life. And so it really comes from a child equity and access kind of perspective. A YWCA narrative mainly kind of focuses on women's economic participation and being able to participate in the economy but also support their families. So both might have different narratives or rationales and both will reference both. But there's a little bit more of an emphasis different, but the outcome really is the same, which is equitable and affordable childcare, of which we are a part of, and so we're able to talk about both narratives as being equally as important.

Stuart Murray  49:47  
Yeah, I mean, Cordella I adore our conversation. You know, thank you for sharing. I've learned as I knew I would when I approached you about coming on this podcast, I knew I've learned a ton and so thank you for sharing And, you know, I even kind of wanted to stay at one point, you know, to do a little bit of like a q&a and sort of say, you know, who was the inventor of basketball? You know, and of course, you know, there's a relationship there right with the YMCA in Canada.

Cordella Friesen  50:12  
Absolutely. So basketball was invented at a YMCA. It's a proud history that we have, and but also, like, I think about tons of history that has happened at wise, and it's kind of incredible. So one of the stories that I'll tell you about is Dr. Phil Fontaine. So Dr. Phil Fontaine used to be on our board many years ago. And he has this story of just like, all the stories I hear about him running at a running track was like, basically, he would just run circles and circles and circles, and he was almost like up the walls. And so I recently saw him an event. And I was like, I heard you were like an active wide member. And he immediately pulled out his wide membership card, sleeping in his wallet. And so I just think about, you know, his history and his contribution to Canada, I think about, like, there's just so many beautiful moments that happened at the why and just to be a little part of, you know, being able to witness that is pretty phenomenal. And basketball still is core to us.

Stuart Murray  51:10  
No kidding, right. I mean, I just, it's interesting, because you mentioned, you know, the issue about sort of watching, you go through the wind, you see some kids playing basketball, and you know, that relationship goes back to I mean, just because I looked it up here, it's not like I know this stuff, Cordell, but I looked it up and it was like 8091, but the fact that it has a Canadian, you know, feel to it. So I just think there's such great history and or magic is, I think you call it which is, it's a word I'm going to adopt. So predella thank you for taking some time to talk about you, your team, your journey, the YMCA, YWCA, the incredible work that's being done there, that, you know, you're, you're really sort of being challenged. And again, I, I've said it twice, I'm gonna say it a third time. What I love is when somebody puts about who they are, and you know, you very clearly talk about yourself as a true radical optimist. And, you know, thank you for sharing that. And thank you for doing that. Because it's not somebody else telling you that that's who you are. And so you're saying, This is who I am. And I'm going to be leading an organization because there's things that I really do believe that we can do, and clearly within a very short time period, you've accomplished that and some,

Cordella Friesen  52:17  
yeah, absolutely. It has been the privilege of my life to be in this role.

Stuart Murray  52:23  
Awesome. So listen, thank you so much for taking some time to talk with me today. I can't wait for a moment to get down to the why I can't obviously, I would love to have the opportunity to meet you in person. Thank you for taking the time to do this conversation over zoom. But, you know, thank you for what you do for families, for newcomers, for Winnipeg for the citizens to help people realize that, with all of the challenges that we do have Winnipeg and Manitoba is a pretty spectacular place to call home.

Cordella Friesen  52:53  
It really is. Thank you so much.

Matt Cundill  52:56  
Thanks for listening to humans on rights. A transcript of this episode is available by clicking the link in the show notes of this episode. Humans on rights is recorded and hosted by Stuart Murray, social media marketing by Buffy Davey music by Doug Edmund. For more go to human rights hub.ca 

Tara Sands (Voiceover)  53:16  
Produced and distributed by the Sound Off Media Company