The Proximity Process

Tex is back as the guest host of today's episode. We decided that he would interview me again so we can dive a little deeper into my own process. We start the conversation with how we met 25 years ago and then reconnected a few years ago. When Tex found out I was going through a difficult time in my life he decided to pick up the phone and call me after 12 years of not being in contact. His d...

This is the last episode of 2023 and Season 1. Thank you for listening to the show, it means a lot to me. I can't wait to continue building this community in 2024. Today's episode is a piece of wisdom that my coach, Brendalyn King, shared with me about connecting to our future. This framework has helped me be more aware of when I'm making decisions from my future rather than my past...

Today's episode is a conversation I had with Ryan O'Donnell on December 15, one day after Garnell had a Permanency Planning Hearing in court. In his first episode, Ryan tells his story of being a foster parent to a little boy and how meeting this boy's father, Garnell, changed everything. Ryan immediately knew that Garnel loved his son and that his role was to help this little boy g...

Today's episode is my conversation with friend and colleague, Cheri Williams. At the age of 49 and 25 years into her career, Cheri made the decision to take the leap. She left an Executive Vice President role with an international non-profit where she had led a multi-state foster care and adoption program. Cheri and I dive into her process, how she came to make this decision, and how she is b...

As a career macro-level social worker, I've arrived at a major shift in perspective. The unit of change is more about people than policy. Today's episode is about how I came to the idea that systems don't change until people change. In other words, I believe that systems change strategies are important, but they are insufficient in advancing justice for families. I share how the str...

Today's episode is a conversation I had with Adam Ballout who is an attorney and public defender in Everrett, WA. The conversation centers around something Adam said to me in a conversation that piqued my curiosity, "justice doesn't happen in the courtroom." I wanted to understand why an attorney would say this and where he thinks justice happens. We talk through the lessons Ad...

Today's episode starts with me reading straight from my journal. I read the "day one" entry from August 8, 2022, when I made the decision to leave my job. What follows are some reflections about whether or not I've stayed true to what I set out to do. The episode ends with a bit about my daily journaling practice and how it continues to bring me so much value. As always, you ar...

Today's episode is a conversation I had with my friend Ryan O'Donnell. Ryan is a tech entrepreneur, creative problem solver, and a former foster parent. Our conversation spans his decision to become a foster parent, what that experience taught him about the system and himself, and how he is reckoning with what he can do invest in the well-being of parents to keep families together.  His...

As a non-profit executive, I spent a lot of time developing, reviewing, and managing budgets. It was a weekly activity. But I never considered budgets as moral documents, until now. In this episode, I share where I first heard the idea, how I've been thinking about it, and how I'm applying it in my work with Proximity Design Studio clients. I also mention a recent blog post from Alia Inn...

Today's episode is with Keith Howard who is the CEO of Circle of Care in Oklahoma. Ciricle of Care is a statewide multi-service non-profit and the largest foster care provider in Oklahoma. Keith is also a client of Proximity Design Studio. Our work together started with a focus on Circle of Care moving their programming further upstream. What our work has become, and what we talk about in the...

Today's episode is just a little bit different. I've decided that I'm going to release a mini episode every other week. I'm going to give you a little behind the scenes into my process, like an audio entry from my daily journal. These episodes will be insights into my process, reflections from the prior episode, or maybe something that is happening in my work with Proximity Des...

Today's episode is with Sarah Winograd who is the founder, visionary, and reluctant leader behind the new organization, Together With Families. We talk about why Sarah decided to build an organization, quite literally, with the families. She gives great examples and insights into how to create organizational culture and structure to remain in right relationship with the people you serve. She...

This episode is a conversation I had with Corey Best who is the founder of Mining for Gold. We talk about how a keynote that Corey gave in 2022 titled "Who Am I Becoming" changed my life forever. The conversation also gets into topics of lived experience, non-reformist reform, and the serviceability of the system in ways that challenge prevailing narratives in child welfare. But we start...

Matt Anderson shares his own process of coming to realize that he had a proximity problem and wasn't in right relationship with himself and the people he serves. The episode starts with a story from July 2022 that was the tipping point when Matt decided to leave his job of 11 years. This decision took Matt even deeper into his own process of seeing the system as harmful and himself as a perpe...

Announcing The Proximity Process podcast with host Matt Anderson.  Please connect with me, Matt Anderson, on LinkedIn -  Matt Anderson | LinkedIn