United in Service: Insights on Life and Leadership from Morocco to Atlanta with Nadia Rahali
Featuring nadia rahali, general manager of the loudermilk conference center in atlanta
Nadia Rahali is General Manager of the Loudermilk Center in Atlanta, GA. She is a leader committed to empowering organizations and leaders in creating meaningful and purposeful convenings. She believes that hospitality is a virtue and it's a privilege to be given the opportunity to be of service to others.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
The role of self-forgiveness in personal growth, and how acknowledging mistakes can lead to positive outcomes for oneself and others.
Insights into the intersection of hospitality and social service, understanding how careers in these fields can be both fulfilling and challenging.
The importance of creating inclusive and purpose-driven event spaces like Loudermilk Center,
How leadership and teamwork play a pivotal role in overcoming adversity, especially during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.
The impact of daily rituals on wellbeing.
In this episode…
In the latest episode of the “Solution Seekers” podcast, Paige had the pleasure of speaking with Nadia Rahali, General Manager of the Loudermilk Center in Atlanta.
Join her as Nadia shares her personal journey from Morocco to Atlanta, rooted in hospitality and guided by the compassionate examples set by her father and mentors like Lynne Twist. She opens up about her experience in a domestic violence marriage and how it led her to a powerful role within the United Way, embodying the spirit of service and community empowerment.
They also dive into the significant role that Loudermilk Center plays as United Way for Greater Atlanta's earned income division. Nadia elaborates on the center's commitment to inclusivity, and economic justice, and offering a welcoming space for purpose-driven events. Plus, they discuss the center's focus on using local vendors and ensuring the well-being of their staff in the hospitality industry.
DOWNLOAD THE TOP TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS PODCAST EPISODE FOR FREE
Resources Mentioned in this episode
Books Mentioned:
Sponsor for this episode…
This episode is brought to you by Kennedy Events.
Kennedy Events creates stress-free conferences and events, providing expert management and design for all your corporate event needs—from in-person to hybrid and virtual events.
To learn more about our services, visit our website at www.kennedyevents.com and schedule a consultation today to find out how we can guide you in making your event successful.
Transcript
United in Service: Insights on Life and Leadership from Morocco to Atlanta with Nadia Rahali
Paige Buck [00:00:02]:
Hello, and welcome to the Solution Seekers podcast. I'm your host, Paige Buck. Recent and past guests have included Pam Perez of the Chase Center, John Silva of Culinary Eye, and Elaine Honig of Studio 4Forty. Today I'm delighted to be speaking with Nadia Rahali, General Manager of Loudermilk Center in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a leader committed to empowering organizations and leaders in creating meaningful and purposeful convenings. She believes that hospitality is a virtue and it's a privilege to be given the opportunity to be of service to others.
Before we get started, today's episode is brought to you by Kennedy Events. Kennedy Events creates stress-free conferences and events, providing expert management and design for all your corporate event needs, from in-person to hybrid and virtual. You can learn more about us at kennedyevents.com.
Nadia, thanks so much for being with me this morning.
Nadia Rahali [00:00:57]:
Thank you, Paige. Thank you, really for having me here. Really appreciate it.
Paige Buck [00:01:01]:
I'm just delighted to reconnect with you. After a little more than a year, since we were in Atlanta producing an event in the social justice space, and it was a real delight for our team to discover what synergy there was between the subject matter and the nature of our clients’ organization and their values and the values of you and your team and your space. It's a very rare thing.
Nadia Rahali [00:01:30]:
Thank you. Really, thank you, Paige. And one thing I really want to acknowledge you. You're the leader, your team. It was an event that we put together right after the pandemic and where we grappled, you know, we grappled with our insecurities, with what is the future? Do I need to change this? So I've got to go somewhere else? And partnering with you, you left us bigger, and you definitely take care of your customer. You definitely are inside of the intention of your customer. But the way which is very rare and distinct to Kennedy Events is your relationship with vendors, how you leave the vendors bigger. How even like when there is a breakdown, there is a way in which that gets handled and people are left big. And I just want to say, our post-pandemic expansion and growth, you contributed to that, and your footprints are definitely in how we came back post-pandemic.
Nadia Rahali [00:02:51]:
No really, thank you for the difference that you make. Thank you for what? I know there are a lot of things I was thinking, like when you're in that huddle room upstairs and you all are working all that we don't see, we thank you for that.
Paige Buck [00:03:09]:
You were just reminding me about the moment that we were in. We've all had so many moments and milestones since March 2020 when COVID was first and Lockdown first came all upon all of us. But that moment a year ago was another very strange, here we are, we get to be in person again. We get to be convening people for meaningful change. How do we do this? We all feel a little rusty. Everybody feels a little uncertain, and in some cases, there's like an unexpressed and unrealized fear of, well, is this going to go off? Are we going to be able we've all become so accustomed to last-minute cancellations. It can't happen. But you're making me recall that all of the events of the fall of 2022 had this odd and wonderful aura of people being so very excited to be in community with one another.
Paige Buck [00:04:13]:
And that event at Loudermilk for Economic Security project really shined a light on it because the biggest problem was getting people to go back into session. That's always challenging, like, hey, you're running chimes, you're doing Voice of God announcements that we're starting, and people are chitchatting. But there it was like, no, the most important thing is the conversation I'm having right now. I can't believe I'm in three dimensions with another human being. It was real.
Nadia Rahali [00:04:47]:
Yeah, it was.
Paige Buck [00:04:49]:
And also that I think that made, I know my team in the weeks leading up to the program were just singing your praises, but I do think there's something unique about you and about Loudermilk that I want to dig into. Let me pull up and pull back for a little bit. Tell me a little bit about growing up in Morocco, moving here, moving to Atlanta.
Nadia Rahali [00:05:13]:
Yeah, I grew up in a culture that where, you know, taking care of others was a virtue. I grew up in Casablanca, but my parents, my family is from their Berber. They're called indigenous people. So my father's side is from the desert, and my mother's side is from all the way in the village, like another village. You've got to know, cars can't get to it. And so my childhood was shaped by these two worlds, like the modernity of Casablanca and the being going to a French school, going to a Catholic school. And then the summers were spent, like in a village where there is no running water, there is no toilet. But there was something distinct about those people that they didn't have money per se, but they were rich. They were rich in tradition. I remember my grandmother when we would come and we're coming, and, you know, we finally make it to her house and she goes out.
Nadia Rahali [00:06:19]:
And my grandmother was poor. She didn't have electricity until maybe I think I was twelve or something. But she would go and get her best chicken or her best food or her best, they do a lot of preserved meats and will provide it for us. Or I would be with her and some traveler will come. It's a very nomadic culture, and I'm just sitting, watching her, and somebody would come and should offer water or offer bread or offer olive oil and olives for a total stranger. So I grew up in these two worlds where one was like, there was a lot of money and people had resources, but also their heart was closed in a way. And then in an environment where there was no money but there was generosity, there was giving, there was this hospitality that to me was always a virtue that connected you to eternal and connected you to-it was a way of her spiritual life and our spiritual life. So then I came here.
Nadia Rahali [00:07:35]:
I went to Old Dominion University where I majored in Political Science and African American Studies and met some of the giants of the civil rights movement from the late Congressman John Lewis to Julian Bond to, I mean, there's an endless list.
Paige Buck [00:08:00]:
I mean, just that you got to meet John Lewis in the flesh. That's incredible. yeah.
Nadia Rahali [00:08:04]:
Oh my God, right there and then. Atlanta was sort of like the Mecca for a place where at that era, if you are committed to making a difference and that was my commitment that I wanted to make a difference, Atlanta is a place that you came to. So I moved here with nothing. And then I had this opportunity to run the Loudermilk Center and it sort of became my laboratory and a playground in being a leader that's committed to being of service and that's committed to making a difference. Not just for here's an event and let's go, but what's the intention? What are we causing here in the world? So then we became sort of a purpose-driven conference center convening, where we convene organizations that are grappling with issues from climate justice and conversations that are really, really hard to have. And we always say we want to be a space that's inclusive, that's for everyone, even when we disagree. It's just another point of view.
Paige Buck [00:09:24]:
The group that we brought to you was focused on economic justice and economic change. And the convening was focused on guaranteed basic income pilots where communities all over the country are testing and then rolling out programs to just, instead of giving money with strings attached to people in need, just giving them money, just giving them money with no strings attached and seeing what happens and seeing how that might lift up poorer communities, underserved communities. And I'm curious, well, maybe for folks who don't know, you could just give them a little overview of the space itself and then how, as you just said, it's your playground, what you're doing with that, because it's a beautiful thing. It's different than just like, oh, it's a full-service conference venue. It has AV and catering
Nadia Rahali [00:10:17]:
So we are owned by the United Way for Greater Atlanta. So we are what you would consider their earned income division. So we're part of this bigger, bigger mission for our region. And we're independently operated. We don't use donor dollars. We're self-supported. So we have about like 20,000 square feet of event space with general session and breakout rooms, all of a lot of windows, a lot of open space. And then we have an amazing team that's all local. We work with local vendors, and minority women vendors. So for example, we have a partnership with Miss D’s who is from Louisiana and has this amazing popcorn and praline and we source that from her, and she makes it directly and she brings it over to our guests. So anytime there's an opportunity to engage the people around us, we are very, very intentional about that. And we're also a place where our staff gets to expand and learn. I don't want to call it a workforce development, but it's also a playground for young men and women to come and learn like culinary arts and discover these like, wow, what is Aleppo Chili and what is Za’atar and what is a sous vide or whatever that is. But it's taking care of our employees is very critical and it's something that's important to our owner, the United Way, and it's important to us as well. At times I get customers who want to do, they're like, well, I want to do a night event. And I'm like, well, it's important that our employees have evenings to be with their families.
Nadia Rahali [00:12:17]:
And so we'll say, no, unfortunately, it doesn't work. Now, if it's purpose-driven and it's something that we're all aligned on and we're like, yeah, let's do it. But it's very important that we take care of our associates, that they are rested, that they are taking care of their families, that we're not extracting from them, that we are an organization that's like regenerative and contributing to them as well. And not everybody has to work the weekend, but like next weekend I'm going to work Saturday and we'll rotate. So our industry is very labor intensive and can be taxing. And so it's very critical that we take care of them. And then it's natural that they take care of the guests and they take care of the food and they take care of the space.
Paige Buck [00:13:21]:
Interesting, the overlap between hospitality, well, the caring professions, right? Hospitality, education, social services, the nonprofit and social justice communities all share–One, they tend to be overwhelmingly female. And they tend to be underpaid and overworked. And this is one of many facets of your workers’ lives where they are also caregivers and helpers like their parents or their siblings who are picking their younger siblings up from school, sharing the load. And I really appreciate what you were saying about this tends to be like a taking and a taxing profession. And we don't want to do, we don’t want to grow and succeed and just make money on the backs of other people.
Nadia Rahali [00:14:23]:
Yeah. And this is just my view, but it comes from operating from a context of scarcity that there isn't enough. That I have to, oh, it's October, let's maximize everything. No. Could we fulfill our intention, our mission, and also be good stewards to the natural capital, the human capital? How do we balance those two worlds? I think it's possible. And you've got to examine where is your foot? Where are you attached? Where is your attachment displacing your commitments? And as somebody that, I get attached to the numbers, and it leaves me empty. It leaves me like, you don't want to be around me when I'm attached.
Paige Buck [00:15:21]:
Say more about that. I really like that phrase. Where does that come from? And tell me more about what you mean by we don't let your attachments displace your commitments. I really like that.
Nadia Rahali [00:15:32]:
Yeah, I mean, I had an experience, like, July and August where I was in a total funk.My performance. I was not performing. And so the person who answers the phone is, I just want to get this. I got to make it happen. I have to make something happen. So who wants to work with somebody like that? And I just kept looking, and I kept looking at I knew it was inauthentic, but my foot was like I was holding on to it. I was holding on to my point of view. Oh, I do everything.
I'm by myself. No one is helping me. There is this positionality, and I was sharing with a friend, and she said, Get a tissue, and I grabbed the tissue, and she said, Let it go. She said, drop the tissue, and I dropped the tissue. She said that's it. Just let it go.
Paige Buck [00:16:41]:
I love that. There are two things that make me think of that I think you'd like. One is my mom. You know when you share something and then someone shares it back with you? Like, Nadia, you gave me this piece of wisdom, and you're like, I did. I said that. My mom is always pointing out that I tell her that just because somebody's trying to make something difficult, she doesn't have to pick up the other end of the rope. Yeah, you told me, just don't pick up the rope or just drop the rope. And I'm like, I did. I told you that? I didn't remember. I didn't remember that story. You're right. You don't have to pick up the other end of the rope, but gosh. The other piece of that is when you were saying, like, oh, I have to work so hard. Lately, I've been really thinking about the, and you've probably heard of this, like, the victim-villain-hero triangle.
Nadia Rahali [00:17:37]:
No, I never heard of it. Yeah, it's really but I could relate. I could be a villain.
Paige Buck [00:17:41]:
Like in any relationship or any interaction, you are assigning yourself a role, and you're assigning other people a role. That's the idea. And sometimes you're the hero. Right. Like, I fixed that. They couldn't have done it without me. And at the same time, you're saying they were total jerks. They're the villain. These people need me. They couldn't do anything if I weren't here. They're the victim of that villain, and then sometimes you're making yourself the victim. Right? It has been really powerful to realize it's a choice to assign these every time, and no one has to be any of those things.
Nadia Rahali [00:18:23]:
No. And maybe I had to just say, okay, well, hold on. I am being a tyrant. I am being a villain right now. And I had to go back. My friends like, well, why are you doing this? I said, I want to bring value to people. I live my life. My life, how I live it. I make a difference every day. She said, well, what's stopping you? I said, you know, my point of view, like, being righteous about my circumstances, the stuff that never goes away. And literally when I said who I am is, I bring value in my interactions. Who was answering the phone, who was talking to customers, who was talking to the team, was someone who was bringing value, not somebody who was trying to make something happen. And literally, in three weeks, I had this huge breakthrough in my performance. Just from owning to your point that I was a villain for a month and a half. That's a miserable life, to know you're a villain and just be like, I'm going to be this way.
Paige Buck [00:19:37]:
Yeah, I'm just embracing this. We were talking about this moment post-COVID where we were able to convene. How did you weather the storm of COVID with your Loudermilk community?
Nadia Rahali [00:19:54]:
Oh, my God. Well, first of all, it was one of those moments that was, one, humbling that I finally like, I just want to language this. I called my manager and I just wept, All my life, kind of how we started, it was all about making it and having to make it. And I live in this world where I'm by myself and I have to make things happen. And when my manager, when this whole thing, she said, it's going to be okay, we're going to be fine. And to see how the leaders, the people that I support, they had my back, and they said, you know, this shall pass.
Here are some projects, go work on them. I was like, really?
Me? I thought it was going to be like, here's a pink slip, go home or whatever. We'll see you in three years. No, it wasn't like that at all. We value you. We value your contribution. And so I got together with my team and we all sort of grieved. It was like a grieving moment. And we started creating.
Nadia Rahali [00:21:22]:
We worked on our HVAC system and our air, and we worked on things that we always wanted to do. Then we had the opportunity to support. So actually from doing the distancing and the guidance, we had an opportunity to host for the entire pandemic, a program where people from the community were coming in to actually get money for the Cares Act to help them with their rental assistance, the utilities. So we used up the whole building. We spaced people up because they were trying to give this money away to the community and people really needed to do that in person. So that's what we did. We ended up taking care of the community. We ended up opening our doors and having people come, and we would have hundreds of people come in and apply and we had the whole masks and shields and the whole world. And that's really how.
Paige Buck [00:22:31]:
You became a different sort of community hub.
Nadia Rahali [00:22:33]:
Yeah, we were a different community hub. Exactly. Yeah. That's a great way to language it. Yeah.
Paige Buck [00:22:39]:
So I say that because here in the Bay Area, a community hub, or at least in San Francisco, a community hub is the name that United Way and the city have for, there's another word for them. It's like a one-stop shop. But where folks come to apply for jobs, to apply for assistance, to access any of a number of services for people in need. I just had I had that language from our United Way.
Nadia Rahali [00:23:12]:
Thank you.
Paige Buck [00:23:13]:
But when we, I remember. And it's super memorable to us, Nadia, to our team, but also to our attendees, that you put together a tea-tasting experience in a room that we had going back to hospitality and community service have the same caring ties, but also the same prone to exhaustion, prone to working ourselves to the bone in that event. And I think you were very much a part of conceptualizing a space for folks to just have downtime. You're here at a busy conference, you're talking about difficult things. The road is hard and long. We're all exhausted, fighting, fight, and they need a space to just relax and have some quiet time. And you had this beautiful tea service and I know that that's both personal and professional for you. Can you describe it a little bit?
Nadia Rahali [00:24:22]:
It's personal because it's cultural, Moroccan tea. We're known for our, a pause during the day, where you really pause and reflect and again and connect to source. And to me, bringing that in the business world where we can just be with each other and we can have meaningful conversations or we can just be quiet and it's all good, that we don't have to always fill the noise or fill the noise or fill the quietness. That we can be with the quiet and we could be with it all, actually. And so it was an opportunity with your team when we proposed it and they're like, yeah. And it's just a moment where, one of my great mentors, her name is Lynne Twist, and she's in the Bay Area.
Paige Buck [00:25:27]:
I have never met her, but I'm very familiar with her.
Nadia Rahali [00:25:31]:
So yeah, I mean, a huge plug for Lynne and she talks about well-being. We think of well-being as exercising, but it's the well of your being, like the well, like where you drink from to source your being, to source your well-being. So the tea is something that it sources my being, and it's like drinking water or going to a source of something, and it was an expression of sharing that with people. And I remember it was like a huge hit. And then we get to talk about teas and we had different loose leaf teas, and it was an opportunity to share about other cultures and just stop. Like stop during the event. I think somebody said discovery and innovation start with wonder, and we never have moments of wonder. And so that tea experience was also to creating a moment of wonder that could actually ignite something for one of the leaders that could make a difference in the lives of the people that they serve.
Paige Buck [00:26:48]:
Oh, gosh, I'm like getting tingly because I was just reading a leadership book that's been highly recommended to me for some time called “The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership.” And they talk about how the way to move away from judgment and things like the victim-villain-hero triangle are to cultivate wonder, curiosity and wonder and awe. And if you work on those qualities in yourself, then when you enter a difficult situation and a situation of conflict, you could be asking, what does this moment have to teach me? Instead of, I need to fix this and I need to be right and they're wrong to get this back on track. And it has really stayed with us because most of the same team that were with you in Atlanta were in London for a project. Last month? No, earlier this month. Just time is strange now, where because we were in London and most of our attendees were American and from other parts of the world, we wanted British-isms to be a part of the event. And so we made a London-based tea service experience. But we let people taste and taste the foods that go with it, but also pick out teas for themselves to take home. And everyone, especially Eric, our producer on both events, have talking about you and the Mariage Freres teas, very fine teas that you made us appreciate, and I just think you're right about that pause. It's so very important and it goes perfectly with what I wanted to ask you about daily rituals that are important to you.
Nadia Rahali [00:28:38]:
Well, I don't wake up in the morning like, oh my God, I want to do this. I'm just going to be straight with you. Like, I just want to be on my iPad.
Paige Buck [00:28:54]:
Wake up like, hello world. Hello.
Nadia Rahali [00:28:59]:
Do I really need.
Paige Buck [00:29:04]:
Do you have something besides the iPad that gets you out of that?
Nadia Rahali [00:29:08]:
No. A daily ritual is definitely like tea, water, tea, don't touch technology. Like first thing in the morning, some sort of book where I'll just open it in the middle, even if it's not something that I'm reading. Really, I have practices. I mean, honestly, like, one of my biggest practice is where am I not telling the truth?
Paige Buck [00:29:53]:
That's a question to ask yourself.
Nadia Rahali [00:29:55]:
Yeah, like, where did I, you know, oh, I'll send you this, and I don't send it? Or where did I make a promise and I didn't fulfill on it? I go to yoga in the mornings or after work. But what gives me power is things that I said I would do that I didn't do, or things that I know that I ought to do that I didn't do and just being in communication with the person. Hey, I know I promised such and such, There's actually a group out in the Bay Area that it's interesting. They submitted a request for a proposal, and they're in a space of reproductive health. And I promised to send them the information, and I never did. And I was walking home, and I do my little, and I said, well, they probably moved on. And I couldn't be with it. And I called the young man, and he answered, and I said, this is Nadia with the Laudermilk Center. I know I promised a piece of information, and I never did that, and I just want to tell you I apologize, and it's really my lack of integrity that I didn't follow up. And I just want to hear, is there anything that you want to share? I messed up, and they're a loyal customer. They've been coming, this next year is going to be their fourth year. They come all the way from the Bay.
They book hotel rooms around, and everybody walks to our center. But it was from cleaning up my mess. I was just going to walk away. And then I said, you know, I'm just going to get small. I'll keep getting small and small when I don't do what I say I would do.
Paige Buck [00:32:05]:
I really relate to that. I know how that affects me. And how did he respond? What did that interaction feel?
Nadia Rahali [00:32:14]:
It humanized me because I wasn't calling in with excuses. Look, I dropped a ball, and I just want to hear what was the impact of me? Because I'm sure he had deadlines. He's supposed to submit proposals. People have deadlines, and they rely on you to give them this information. \I could be just like ordinary another venue person that just doesn't get back to people. Or I could be, I didn't get back to you, and I'm calling to clean this up, versus being like, oh, I was busy, and blah, blah, blah. No, I didn't do it. So a ritual of mine is a practice. Practicing that, and it takes a lot. It's a muscle.
Nadia Rahali [00:33:05]:
It's definitely a muscle. Or when I say I'm going to yoga and I don't go, or when I say I'm going to eat clean today, and I don't. So that keeps me small and small. So what I would say my practices are looking at where I dishonored my word.
Paige Buck [00:33:25]:
You forgive yourself?
Nadia Rahali [00:33:27]:
Yeah. And I forgive myself. Yeah, of course.
Paige Buck [00:33:28]:
Good. You're not just beating yourself up for this.
Nadia Rahali [00:33:31]:
No, I know I can bring significance and everything, but no. Yeah. And I forgive myself and others.
Paige Buck [00:33:39]:
Yeah. I'm curious how you studied political science. This will be my second to last question for you. You studied political science. How did you end up, I certainly get how hospitality and a culture of community has really shaped you. But how did you end up in hospitality? How did you choose this?
Nadia Rahali [00:34:06]:
Again, I always wanted to make a difference, and I always wanted to work for the United Way. This is very public, but I was in a domestic violence marriage, and I worked for a company where they had ambassadors that would come and tell us about what they do for women and to donate. So I used to donate to them. And then one day I found myself in a situation in the middle of the night, and I called the referral line, the 211 line. And at first they were like, oh, you should talk to a counselor. And then they were like, no, you need to be at a shelter. And so it was the beginning of my power. It was the beginning of regaining having a sense of who I am.
Nadia Rahali [00:34:52]:
And I always wanted to work for them. And when I moved here, there was this role, and I interviewed with the- and the position was open for, like, months. They couldn't fill it up. And then I went and I met with the CEO at that time. His name was Mark O'Connell. He's retired, and he hired me on the spot. And he was like, I was looking for someone that was distinct, that understood business, that understood history, culture, being purpose-driven. And then I'm one of those kind of eclectic people.
Paige Buck [00:35:27]:
What I would call a jill of all trades. But it goes much further than that. Yes.
Nadia Rahali [00:35:32]:
And I think hospitality is something that is not distinct to the service industry or I mean, it could be in fundraising. You could apply that at a tech startup if you are from a C-suite. In a world where information is so accessible, where artificial intelligence, where science, I mean, we came up with a vaccine in less than a year. Anything is figureoutable, but it's these things about human beings that know, I think Yoval Noah Harari, he talks about in ”Homo Deus,” the book about the future leaders are going to be the yogis, the people who deal with the things of the human landscape, not the engineers because the machine is taking over. But we're human beings dealing with human being issues.
Paige Buck [00:36:33]:
Because you just mentioned that, and I'll have to have you spell it for me off the air. My last question is, who. Is somebody, you can name more than one person, who you really admire and try to sort of channel in your work.
Nadia Rahali [00:36:50]:
My father, for sure. Yeah. My dad was a huge human being that was flawed, that was compassionate, that had curiosity, wonder. He was an engineer, but he was also a man of the letters. And it doesn't matter where he is in the world. People are always, like, his way of being pulled people towards him. You are always in the presence of something that's distinct.
Paige Buck [00:37:26]:
Sounds really charismatic.
Nadia Rahali [00:37:28]:
Yeah, definitely charismatic. And like I said, like a human being. He had his flaws, but an extraordinary human being that was committed to being of service. And I grew up in that conversation of service. My dad studied. My parents had, like, a literacy project that they ran in their garage. And my dad had studied a trade school, working with people from shanti towns, young men, and training them to be engineers. So I grew up in that conversation of that at the end of the day, when on your gravesite, they will say, he did these things, and that making a difference. It could be anybody.
Nadia Rahali [00:38:12]:
You don't have to be big. You don't have to be anywhere you are. You can make a difference. And another person that I channel and love is, I mentioned her already, is the incredible Lynne Twist, is someone that I love her wisdom, and I really love the conversation around scarcity and the practice. So, actually, one of my practices is the practice of gratitude. One of her mantras. and I copy it, and I give her credit for it, it's what you appreciate appreciates. And it's a book that I highly recommend. It's called “The Soul of Money.” It’s a book of hers. But she's definitely my go-to, and it's a privilege to have had the opportunity to be in her courses and her training.
Paige Buck [00:39:13]:
An incredible person. And that book comes up over and over and over again in so many conversations. You're making me, I have it on my Kindle, and I'm like, I need to go back to it. There's so much in there. Oh, Nadia, thank you so much for your time. It's been wonderful talking to you. We will link to you and Loudermilk and “The Soul of Money,” in our show notes, and I always appreciate being in conversation with you.
Nadia Rahali [00:39:40]:
Thank you. Thank you, Paige.
Ready to Learn More About What the Kennedy Events Team Can Bring to Your Event?
The KE team excels at incorporating opportunities to delight at every stage of the event planning process. With a clear roadmap to event success, we champion our knowledge, resources, and connections to ensure your event goes off without a hitch. Whether you’re planning a live, in-person event, something in the virtual realm, or a hybrid with virtual components, our event experts are here to guide you. Schedule a 30-minute consultation with us today.
PAIGE BUCK
Paige Buck is the co-owner of Kennedy Events, a large-scale event management company based in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York City. Our team creates stress-free conferences and events with a positive impact, which allows our clients to resonate with their audience. Kennedy Events specializes in producing flawless product launches, award ceremonies, fundraisers, and multi-day conferences while keeping our eye on retention and engagement goals.
About Kennedy Events
Kennedy Events began with one goal in mind—to produce high-level corporate events with just as much strategy as style. Maggie founded the company in 2000, found her match in Paige, and in 2011 the two became official partners. Since then, these two resourceful and brilliant creatives have pooled their strengths to build one one of the most the most sought after corporate event companies in San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles.
Services
Make sure that your event is as valuable to your company as it is meaningful to your attendee.
Projects
We’ve (nearly) done it all when it comes to large scale events.