The Business of Belief: From Reentry to Workforce Readiness

Alana Muller (00:10):
Welcome to Enterprise.ing, a podcast from Enterprise Bank & Trust that's empowering business leaders, one conversation at a time. Each week, we'll hear from top business professionals about lessons on leadership and entrepreneurship that they've learned along the way. I'm your host, Alana Muller, an entrepreneurial executive leader whose primary focus is to connect, inspire and empower community. We at Enterprise Bank & Trust thank you for tuning in to another episode.

Alana Muller (00:41):
Welcome back, listeners. The work that today's guests do to provide African-American male youth and all returning citizens a support system for a pathway to purpose through creativity, careers, culture and health holds a special place in my heart, as it’s work that I, too, have engaged in and believe is critical to advance our society. Whole Systems Learning, or “WSL,” was founded in 1996 as a community economic development organization to offer entrepreneurial training programs, a business incubator and other programs to support at-risk communities. Today, the organization continues to work to provide wrap-around case services like housing, clothing, mental health and life coaching to help returning citizens navigate the pathway to success. Today, I'm honored to welcome Reinaldo Henry-Ala, Executive Director, and Jason Edmonds, Director of Business Development and Communications, for WSL to the Enterprise.ing podcast studio. Gentlemen, welcome to Enterprise.ing podcast.

Jason Edmonds (01:39):
Thank you. Thank you. Happy to be here.

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (01:40):
Thank you. I appreciate it.

Alana Muller (01:43):
I'm delighted that you're here to start our conversation. Rei, your own story from incarceration to executive leadership is proof of the power of Whole Systems Learning. If you would, share a little about your own experience, first as a WSL participant and, now, as the organization's leader.

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (02:02):
Oh, most definitely. So, I came to the program about three and a half years ago as a participant. I was actually referred here through one of my mentors. It's actually someone that I grew up with from my childhood neighborhood. He's really changed his life and he's made an impact, has his own organization of his own. But, he’d really seen something in me since coaching me through my incarceration while he was out here building his life and stuff, and reaching out to my son and making sure that my son… had a male figure there while I was gone. So once I returned home, I had odd jobs here and there. But once he introduced me to the program and I went through the program… through Entrepreneur, Wealth-Building, Conflict Resolution, Emotional Intelligence, it really resided in me, really, really resided in me that I had more to work on myself than what I thought.

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (02:53):
I had already worked on myself while I was incarcerated. So, I really adapted to the program and the president, Ms. Eba Laye, she was one of the facilitators of Know Thy Self, and she really got me connected to my roots, who I am, how should I think about myself. Really changing the narrative of how do I believe in myself and really empowering me. So, once the job was really offered, I wasn't really looking to work here. It was actually offered to me by how I carried myself within the classes and really understood what the programming was here at Whole Systems Learning. So, I started off as a case manager and from a case manager, just dealing with the reentry community and stuff, and starting out with the youth program, really building the youth program. I really found my calling being with the youth, being a mentor to the youth — the kids that I once used to be like, and give them hope and just a better outlook and a role model of a person. And from there, it caught like wildfire and I just started working hard, really learning my craft. And here I go.

Alana Muller (04:06):
I love that. I love that not only were you able to see your own worth and ways that you could change your life for the better, but the value and the worth that you're imbuing on the students and the youth that you're interacting with, I just think is so amazing and wonderful and a true testament to the power of the program that not only did it change your life, but you came back to change others' lives as a result. I just think that's so fabulous. So congratulations to you.

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (04:37):
Thank you. Thank you.

Alana Muller (04:38):
Jason, your story's a little different. You're a lifelong music industry professional with songwriting credits and collaboration with Whitney Houston, Boyz to Men, Babyface and others. What led you to WSL and how does your entertainment industry experience factor into your work today?

Jason Edmonds (04:55):
Thank you. Well, it fits right in alignment with where I was arriving naturally in my professional journey. I had always wanted to give back. I'd always wanted to develop curriculums based on some of the experiences that I was fortunate enough to experience. And I got a call one day at the right time from the right person, and she said that the company was looking to put together the entertainment programming for one of the grants that they had received and that they needed somebody to come in and write an entertainment curriculum. I was like, that's me. So that was back in ‘21 and I've been here ever since.

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (05:39):
Yeah, me and Jason actually started around the same time.

Jason Edmonds (05:42):
Yeah.

Alana Muller (05:44):
Did you know each other before?

Jason Edmonds (05:45):
No, no. It was like love at first sight kind of thing. Two kindred spirits, recognize real, and we just immediately hit it off and became boys. And where’s he's sitting right now in the office. I actually sit across from…

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (06:00):
Yeah, he sits right across from me.

Jason Edmonds (06:01):
I'm just actually at home today.

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (06:03):
Well, he's actually one of the people of my mentors that really pushed me to being the person that I am today, like leadership qualities, learning certain aspects, especially the professional aspect. Jason has been a very, very big mentor for me in those areas.

Alana Muller (06:20):
Oh, how fabulous. Well, I love that, and I love that you can both share those stories and share sort of the importance of one another in your respective lives. So, I think that's fabulous. And Rei, actually, I want to carry on along those lines. I know that WSL operates based on five key principles that you call “T.R.I.B.E.” or “Turning Resilience Into Brilliance for Eternity,” and that the focus is on truth, respect, seeing, commitment, power and rich. Talk about that concept. How is it brought to life in the work that you do on a daily basis? And in particular, you referenced this before, but I'd love to know more about your youth programming.

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (07:00):
Yeah. Well, it all starts off with first us identifying and knowing ourselves. We can never move forward without knowing ourselves. So, our first thing is, of course, to meet someone where they're at, but to empower them to understand that they're worth a lot more than where they think they are. So, once we get that concept going, and especially with the youth — we run empowerment circles first before they even go through the T.R.I.B.E. program, which are the five key classes that we run. But, when they go through the empowerment circles for them to start identifying with themself and identifying with the youth that are around them as well, and understanding that we are going through the same things and it's okay to be vulnerable, and it's okay to speak up about the things that are injustice in our communities or are going on in their households.

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (07:47):
So, our thing is to open up the stage for them to feel comfortable. Once we can do that, then we can empower them and we can bring the tools that we have in T.R.I.B.E., which is Know Thyself, Conflict Resolution, Emotional Intelligence, Entrepreneur & Wealth Building, and Hip Hop Heals. So, a lot of the things that we try to do is to heal traumas, because in our communities, we go through a lot. It's a lot of trauma-based things that are going on in our communities. So, we like to identify these things and heal those things. That's why we call it “gift in the wound.” Of course, we have been wounded, but through our wounds, there are gifts. And once we understand that there are gifts in our wounds, then we're able to heal, not only heal, but thrive and move forward. So, instead of struggle, we're able to strive.

Alana Muller (08:35):
Really great, really great. Well, so continue on regarding the community, and I really want to know about the community beyond WSL. How does your relationship with the community at large, how has that played a role in your personal and professional success? You talked a little bit about mentors who brought you to the program, but I suspect that you continue to have relationships with, whether it's a support network or donors. Talk a little bit about that.

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (09:01):
Yeah, so I'd say my connections through my past life and stuff has served me well, especially here in the nonprofit world, because I'm able to show people from my past that we're able to move forward and be different in life. We're able to move forward and be positive in life and think positive and really uplift our community. Professionally, we have a lot of partnerships with a lot of other nonprofit organizations as long with local businesses...

Jason Edmonds (09:29):
It's just when we develop relationships around the area, it's important for us to A: do the outreach, because if we don't do the outreach, nobody's looking for us. And so the cultivation happens at the point of contact. We're calling them, we're trying to figure out what their wants and needs are. We try to meet those wants and needs with things that we have and things that we're developing. And we try to barter a little, exchange, as best as we can. And like Rei said, we touch most of the nonprofits in Southern California. We all know each other. We've all received some of the same grants, so we run the same kinds of programs. Thusly, we also service the same communities, so a lot of the participants that we service have come through a lot of the other nonprofits that we have partnerships with, including schools and other organizations, too. So, it's just really a big… it's like throwing a gumbo together. You put in several pieces and mix it together, and it starts to make sense after a few hours.

Alana Muller (10:29):
Love that! Love that reference. That makes sense.

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (10:32):
Yeah, it's a pretty big network. We have a pretty big network. We're always tabling tables at events that either we host or our partners host. We have an open referral policy with them, especially if we have participants in their area, we will refer them out to that area. So transportation won't be an issue or anything else.

Jason Edmonds (10:53):
Yeah, yeah, that's right.

Alana Muller (10:55):
Super smart. That makes sense. And I mean, you talked earlier about the fact that you're offering wraparound services, so it makes good sense that you would be partnering with other organizations in the community. So I love that you're doing that and that you recognize the value and the importance of those relationships.

Jason Edmonds (11:09):
Yeah, it's everything for us. It's how we survive.

Alana Muller (11:13):
Yeah, makes sense. Makes sense. Rei, I know that there's always something new going on at WSL. What's something that you're working on now that you're especially excited about?

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (11:22):
So actually right now, I'm really excited that we are currently about to open our 15,000 square foot community center. We've been working on this for the last year and a half, and it's been a struggle. I have kids that ask, “when is it going to be open?” “When are we going to do this, when we're going to have this?” And now we finally have the keys. I actually got 'em… right here.

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (11:48):
Yeah, just got 'em today. I'm just really excited about it because now we're able to introduce our art aspect of our organization. We're able to start our entrepreneur class and business in the new space. So, we're going to have a newly refurnished entrepreneur space, along with the Entrepreneur Shop, which the kids will have their own t-shirt shop and their own equipment in there. We're going to have a fully-furnished gym. They have a fully-furnished lounge, two new classrooms, embroidery rooms, and I mean, the list just goes on and on. We’re introducing… did I tell you, we're introducing the art we have?

Alana Muller (12:28):
Yeah, that's great.

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (12:29):
So, we're introducing an art project as well. And now the youth are about to go into advocating against fentanyl. So, they're putting their own campaign together and that goes through our youth advisory board. So we currently have 26 youth that sit on our youth advisory board who are past participants, and they're a part of the day-to-day. In fact, they're the ones who actually made the blueprints for the community center.

Alana Muller (12:57):
I love that they're involved. What is the age range of the participants?

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (13:01):
For the youth, from 13 to 22.

Jason Edmonds (13:02):
And then my programs are from around 18, 19, usually all the way up to 60 and 70 years old from the reentry community.

Alana Muller (13:13):
Yeah, when you talk about returning citizens, it really is, I mean, literally the full life cycle. So, I think that's really wonderful. And do you find that, first of all, do they interact in any of the programming? And assuming they do, do you see them learning from each other?

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (13:29):
Oh yes, most definitely.

Jason Edmonds (13:30):
Yeah, up until, like Rei said, until this point, we've only had 35-to-4,000 square feet, so we can't run all of our programs at once. And usually the kids come in at their time, the adults come in at their time and they see each other on their way in and out. But with this new expansion of the same offices, we're now at 15,000 square feet, so I'm sure there'll be a lot more integration at that point.

Alana Muller (13:54):
Yeah, great. That’s great.

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (13:55):
But as far as the youth, they have a lot of peer-to-peer support. Our older kids, our older kids or big mentors to our younger youth. So, it really helps out a lot when you have the older population of kids, which I mean the 19, 20 year olds, because I have kids that have been with me for three years, so I watched them go from in trouble to now they're in college. So, they went from failing high school to being incarcerated, to we're going to court every week for them to getting them off of probation, getting their community service done, getting their grades all the way up to graduate to now they're in college. So now, when the kids that come into my program and we have to reprogram them to bring them up to speed, they see these kids walking through, and what they're seeing now is, wow…

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (14:46):
I remember when he went to my school and he was doing X, Y, Z. Now he's this, or I remember… You see what I'm saying? So we're all a beacon of hope for each other. So it's basically each one, teach one. It's like I look at Jason. Jason has always been a professional, professional person in my eye. Very, very professional, always knows how to command a room, always knows how to command everything. So I look to him to build my professionalism up, and then I give that to the kids and the kids give it to the kids. So we all are adapted to one another and teaching each other what the proper ways of life are.

Alana Muller (15:21):
Yeah, I love it. I love the pass it on sort of approach. I just think that that is, it's expansive. You're expanding the pie, you're thinking with an abundance mentality. And Rei, going all the way back to where we began the conversation, just the idea of showing the worth and the value of each individual person and forming community around that individual. It has a ripple effect that impacts not just them, but their families, their friends and the community at large. So, I really think that that is a very special position that you have in the community.

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (15:54):
Thank you. Thank you.

Alana Muller (15:55):
Yeah, really great. Jason, I have to ask, just because once upon a time, I had the privilege to participate a little bit in the music industry, and I know that you've written a book, you're an author of the book, I understand it's called “Music at the Speed of AI.” Talk about that and what prompted you to write the book and what's the audience that you're targeting there?

Jason Edmonds (16:17):
So, I'll make it quick. So what prompted it was fear. As with most musicians coming upon AI and finding out all that it does, I'm not trying to be out of a job in four years. You know what I'm saying? I figured I better assimilate. I talk to Chat more than I talk to my wife.

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (16:46):
I attest to that. I got to attest to that. I sat here and watched him write that book from across from me.

Alana Muller (16:53):
Okay. That's very funny. We're going to call it “Jason GPT” or something, right?

Jason Edmonds (16:59):
But seriously though, it's a scary proposition for most musicians because Chat will do in 30 seconds what it takes us hours, and sometimes days, to do. And its introduction into the market, of course, as any disruptor does, it shakes it, especially in ‘21 when I wrote it, it was really shaking everybody up. I think it didn't come out until ‘22, but I started in ‘21. But anyway, it was shaking everybody up, and I really wanted to try to understand it from a programmer's standpoint so that I can know how to apply it from a creative standpoint. And that was my aim with the book.

Alana Muller (17:35):
Are you finding that it actually is now, you think of AI as a tool as opposed to a threat?

Jason Edmonds (17:42):
It's absolutely just a tool now. It should not be a threat. And that's the message I try to convey to my friends that I'm showing it to and how to use it, is that rather than being afraid of its capabilities, learn how to use it to your benefit. And we've been doing it ever since me and Rei, ever since we've been really utilizing Chat. And I use a lot of different ones too, and I talk about it in my book. There's my shameless little plug there…

Alana Muller (18:07):
Love it.

Jason Edmonds (18:07):
But, there are a lot of other ones you can use too for various different tasks that you need to complete. But Chat is probably our main source for any sort of creative writing, any sort of contractual writing things, on a low level anyway. And if you know how to use it the right ways, it can be really very…

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (18:24):
Beneficial.

Jason Edmonds (18:25):
Yeah, absolutely.

Alana Muller (18:27):
Yeah, I couldn't agree more. I too started with fear when I first learned about it, and the first one I learned about was Chat. Although I'm using some different ones as well, but now I don't feel afraid of it. I actually think it is an incredible enhancer to the work that I do. So, I love that you're advocating for that. Is it making its way into your programming at Whole Systems Learning, too?

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (18:48):
I was just about to — that's crazy you just said that. I was just about to tell you that we're actually introducing that to the youth. We do use it. We do teach it to them, but we're actually going to introduce a cohort that's specifically on AI and the uses of AI and how to get the best uses of it. So yeah, that's coming.

Alana Muller (19:09):
So smart.

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (19:10):
That's one of the new programs that we're introducing as well.

Alana Muller (19:13):
Love that. Love that. Yeah. Well, I'd love to know from each of you with that as the launch point, is there a best piece of professional advice that you've received, whether from a mentor or from anyone else? Jason, you want to start? Is there some bit of advice that you would love to share?

Jason Edmonds (19:29):
I would. I live by one principle, and it was taught to me by my mentor. His name is SK Dean, back in the two thousands or something. But the principle is that, “hard work beats talent until talent works hard.”

Alana Muller (19:42):
Love that. Love that.

Jason Edmonds (19:46):
Rather than going into why that means the way it does, I'm going to let that sit with you guys and let you think about that for a second. Yeah.

Alana Muller (19:53):
Yeah. I'd like that's one to marinate on because it's absolutely true. I love that. I love that. Rei, how about you? Is there a best piece of advice that you've received?

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (20:03):
Yes. For me, it would be, mine actually came out of a book, “Unlimited Power,” and it was “mimic the people that you want to be like.”

Alana Muller (20:13):
Love that. That's so great.

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (20:15):
And for you, too, if you want to be successful in life, sometimes you have to start off in the mail room and work your way up to the top. You just can't just stay there.

Alana Muller (20:26):
Indeed, indeed. I think that’s so great.

Jason Edmonds (20:28):
Good ‘ol Tony Robbins.

Alana Muller (20:33):
Exactly right. Exactly right. Well, as I shared with you when we were preparing for our conversation today, you know that there's a question that I ask of every guest, and the question is this, if you could meet with one person for a cup of coffee, who would you like to meet and why? And I don't care if they're living, not living, fictional or nonfictional, I would love to hear who you have in mind. So Rei, you want to kick us off?

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (20:54):
Alright. Okay. Got you guys. Alright. So I would have to say I became a very big stock buff a couple of years back, so I was very intrigued with Warren Buffet. So, I would love to sit down with Warren Buffet. He's one of my idols. He’s just…

Alana Muller (21:14):
You just made my entire week. I can't tell you, that would be my person, too. And I have to tell you that Warren Buffet once bought me a cheeseburger, french fries, cherry Coke, and an ice cream sundae. We'll talk about that later. It's possible, it's possible.

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (21:31):
I'm so envious right now.

Jason Edmonds (21:34):
I heard he goes to one particular McDonald's in Nebraska and was it there?

Alana Muller (21:41):
It was not McDonald's. It was at a country club, and I had taken a class called, “The Genius of Warren Buffet,” and we were surprised by the professor. Our final presentations were made to, as he promised a panel of experts on Warren Buffet, and the panelist was Warren Buffet.

Jason Edmonds (21:56):
Oh…

Alana Muller (21:58):
So I love that you chose Warren Buffett. Thank you for that.

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (22:02):
Oh, yeah. I would love to pick his brain, sit there with him and just understand how much patience he had, how much he continues to make money in down markets, just the type of trades he makes, the ways he makes his trades, how he never panics, just the takeovers and businesses that he does. I mean, just so many different things. Yeah, I can go on and on about it.

Alana Muller (22:26):
Amazing. Thank you for that. Jason, how about you? Who do you want to meet?

Jason Edmonds (22:30):
Oh, man, my list is long. My list is long. I was trying to think of the best person to say for this interview. It's Barack Obama.

Alana Muller (22:40):
Okay. I’m in.

Jason Edmonds (22:42):
That's my guy. That's my guy.

Jason Edmonds (22:44):
There's so many reasons why. There's other people, too, that I would love to meet and actually have a cup of coffee with, but he would be one that I would probably enjoy that the most.

Alana Muller (22:54):
Well, I got to tell you, I call him the world's coolest guy, so that makes complete sense

Jason Edmonds (22:58):
In the world. It's like, it's crazy. Yeah. His coolness is infectious.

Alana Muller (23:03):
Totally agree. Totally agree. Well, this has been a blast. I have really enjoyed our conversation. I'm so grateful for the very important work that the two of you do and the way that you've committed your lives and your hearts to such an important topic. So, thank you. Reinaldo Henry-Ala and Jason Edmonds, where can our listeners go to learn more about the two of you and about Whole Systems Learning?

Jason Edmonds (23:25):
Well, you can first check us out on the website. That's WholeSystemsLearning.org, and two, Instagram. We do a lot of work and we try to do a lot of outreach. That's how we promote our new programs. Every piece of action or activity that we do at the nonprofit, we usually film it. And so you can find a lot of the footage and what we do and who we touch from our social media channels, Instagram, TikTok especially, and Facebook as well.

Alana Muller (23:53):
I love it. Thank you both so much for joining us today on Enterprise.ing podcast.

Jason Edmonds (23:57):
Thank you so much. Thanks for your time.

Reinaldo Henry-Ala (23:59):
Thank you.

Alana Muller (24:01):
Thanks for joining us this week on Enterprise.ing. Be sure to visit our website, enterprisebank.com/podcast to subscribe so you'll never miss an episode. If you found value in today's program, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or telling a friend about us. Enterprise.ing, powering business leaders one conversation at a time. The views expressed by Enterprise.ing presenters or guests are those of the presenter or guests, and not necessarily of Enterprise Bank & Trust or its affiliates. All content of this podcast and any related materials are for informational purposes only. Enterprise Bank & Trust does not make any warranty, expressed or implied, including warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, and specifically disclaims any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information presented. Enterprise Bank & Trust is not under any obligation to update or correct any information provided in this podcast. All statements and opinions are subject to change without notice.