AI for Human Impact: Transforming Community Action Through Technology | Beck Moore & Rob Symes

0:01Hello everyone and welcome to the Fortell podcast. I'm Rob Symes and today I'm joined by Beck who's the CEO of the state association for Pennsylvania. Beck, thanks so much for being here. >> Absolutely. Thanks for having me. >> So, one of the things we like asking people is just their background and how they got to community action. You've got kind of I'd say a more interesting journey than than than most actually. So, would love to hear about how you got into that chair. >> Sure. So, yeah, I don't come from a human services background. I it started in nonprofit over 20 years ago. God help me. And got into it from working in youth education, running Girl Scout camps as a matter of fact. Was a camp counselor right after college and been a teacher

0:42for a little bit. Really fell in love with the out of doors and outdoor education and what it created for kids. And then grew in my career in that organization and stayed there for almost 15 or so years. Worked across the country at different Girl Scout councils and really tried to best understand, right? Like what was mission critical about creating value out of membership-based organizations, how to fix operational problems. And then ended up getting recruited for this role around 2021 or so. And at that point I was really looking for something that was mission aligned with what, you know, my experience has been having been, you know, grown up as a kid living in poverty, having been homeless for a

1:23point portion of my life. The mission of community action really resonated with me and also, you know, it's kind of a niche thing to run membership-based organizations and so I think our members were really looking for our board is really looking for somebody who had that kind of background and could also appreciate the mission and trusted that they could learn quickly to be basically, you know, effectual in in the spot cuz it's a lot to learn when you sit in the seat. >> Yeah, I'm sure. And when we at lunch you told me some of those things, but tell us about Pennsylvania cuz you were kind enough to introduce me to a bunch of members. I drove around. I I've told you I think it's a very beautiful state, but very badly advertised. Um so, people don't know that it's beautiful. They

2:05haven't driven through the Blue Mountains and and and seen all those things. So, but talk to me about specifically your membership, your community action agencies, and some of the things that they're focused on which maybe other parts of the country are less focused on. >> Sure, absolutely. No, that's a great question. So, we have 42 agencies here in Pennsylvania. Eight of which are embedded in local, you know, government. So, the public agencies, the remainder of which are all nonprofits. Last year alone touched the lives of over 525,000 people across the state. We're serving every single county, of course. And our organizations range in size from about $800,000 budget to almost roughly right about 40 million. So, really wide range

2:48of sizes, right? And that's reflective of the population of those counties where we range from very, very rural to very, very urban, right? So, if you go from a county like Sullivan County where I don't think there's even a single stoplight in Sullivan County. There is a great state park, Worlds End State Park, if you're interested. And then you go to Philadelphia, right? Where one of, you know, huge city, lots of infrastructure, but also a lot of need in that in that community. So, really broad mix of of services. I think from the perspective of kind of how do we approach this work and how do we look at things a little bit differently here in Pennsylvania. We've tried to be really thoughtful and

3:30innovative in how we work alongside health care. And so, right? It's what I hope people hear me say is that it's not a different program that our organizations are running. They're looking to partner with health care organizations because we know that when community action partners with health care entity through, you know, to try to support a human-related social need, the cost of health care comes down and people live longer, healthier, and happier lives. And so, we've really tried to lean into that and showcase that as an opportunity, not just for funding, but also to help the community differently than maybe what we have traditionally within community action. >> Yeah, absolutely. And one of the things I've loved talking to you about is innovation and some of the things you've

4:13been doing both within the network and outside. And so, I'd love to talk to you about, you know, some of the initiatives you've pioneered with your with your organization. >> Sure, yeah. My evil genius mind. >> [laughter] >> I don't like say evil genius. I shouldn't say that. I said I should should say entrepreneurial mindset. Maybe that's maybe the better way to classify it. Yeah, so we really when I first got here, I was tasked with the need to diversify our revenue and literally in our strategic plan it just said diversify the revenue of the association. And just like other associations, we were very reliant on a singular funding source. And I knew that the needs of our agencies were far greater than what the resources were that we had. And I knew that I needed to grow my team. And so, we started I

4:55really started to evaluate what we did very well and where we had opportunity to really add value back to other associations. And so, one of the first things that we did was we took our learning management system. So, that's a platform where people can learn on their own right at their own pace. We saw a decline in webinar attendance. It's one of the first things that goes from people's schedule, right? And so, we knew that people still wanted to learn. We knew they needed professional development. But ultimately, our learning management platform, we had an opportunity to be able to grow that. And so, what we did was to create basically a a contract or partnership opportunity where we can white label over our learning management system over to

5:37another association. They get the value of all of the content at a really low price and are able to serve their members, you know, better than what they already are. And we're going to maintain that price point because it doesn't cost us a lot, and then that grows our content back to our members. So, every dollar we receive through those partnerships, we put right back into the learning that we're able to provide. And then I think the other thing I want to make sure to point to is also that we looked for mission-aligned opportunities to support the state in other you know, other contracts, other things that they were trying to do, and making sure that it was mission-aligned with community action, where there was crossover. And so, really the vision that I have for our association is making sure that we become really

6:18embedded in critical infrastructure pieces because that is where our agencies are already really serving. And so, right, if we can elevate who our agencies are, make sure that they are able to maybe be more present, and if we're able to administer some of those those contracts, right, that also helps the state because we can do it for cheaper than what the state can, and we're already across the state, right, serving every single county. >> Yeah, I see that. I see that. But, tell tell me what you you just mentioned critical infrastructure. So, what do you mean by that exactly? >> Yeah, so that could be disaster case management. So, when there's a disaster in a state, usually community action is there anyway, right? Um but, we wanted to So, there was a in a a few counties, about four counties in

7:01the northern part of Pennsylvania where there was some recovery efforts that were happening from a hurricane from a few years ago, and there were people who were still been missed in in kind of the supporting services that they needed. And the state was looking for someone to really administer the services across this county continuum, and so we said, "Hey, you know, that's what that's part of what CAP does really well. We're really great about making sure to track all the things that need to be tracked. We can make sure to hold up you know, the organizations accountable. And so, let us work with the organizations we already know really well to be able to do this, and then we'll provide the reporting back because the state didn't have the staff to do that that reporting." And so, it was a really simple opportunity, a win for us, a win to support our community, and something that was a necessary, you

7:44know, service that needed to be provided. But I also think it's other things, too. I mean, it's, you know, partnering with the Department of Aging, it's the part partnering with Department of Human Services on a platform called PA Navigate, which is a closed-loop referral platform. So, we're the In that work, we're the community engagement partner alongside findhelp, who is the technology vendor, to onboard nonprofits to a platform that ultimately health care can provide referrals back to a nonprofit for somebody who screens positive for a human-related social need. So, what that means is you're asked, right, have in the last few months have you, you know, needed food? Have you gone hungry? Have you had to worry about your lights being

8:25turned off? When somebody screens positive, they send a referral, and then an organization, right, can follow up with that individual. So, our job is to get nonprofits across the state of Pennsylvania onboarded to that platform. And what that's really helped us to do is also be an advocate for nonprofits, particularly those in human services, because it's confusing work, as we've already said, and understanding all of the layers of how people get help and how those programs run can be complicated. And so, we've been able to be really the nonprofit voice in in a project that largely is alongside of human services, which is just a monster, you know, house of all kinds of different services that they offer, and then working alongside health care to do

9:06this really pivotal and important work across the state. >> Yeah. I mean, you mentioned the Department of Aging, and I know we we've talked to the Department of Aging in Pennsylvania, and it was really interesting conversation where clearly Pennsylvania has an aging population, perhaps above some, you know, some others in in other states. And one of the things we were interested in is what's the role of technology as, you know, not just in the US, but aging populations generally. What do you do with technology and how can it help and support? And so, the passion project of mine at the moment, which I'm still trying to get off the ground, is this kind of AI voice, this check-in, this ability to get in touch with people in a way that you couldn't before cuz there was a human you needed a human on the other end of the line every single time.

9:48And so, just talk to me about how aging and and how you think about some of the innovative things we've been talking about in terms of Pennsylvania very specifically. >> So, it's interesting. I'll tell you a little bit about I I sit on a couple different task forces and one of those is the healthy aging task force. And there's a state health improvement plan. We had a We're having this conversation a few months ago and I've been thinking about this in the context of what we've been chatting about. There was an organization who was doing a fresh food market for aging population. And what they were doing were going to assisted living facilities, picking up the residents, and then bringing them to this fresh food market. And so, the

10:30question was raised about, "Well, why don't we just bring the fresh food to where these folks are living?" And immediately, right, there was pushback because the residents, their favorite part of their week was going to this fresh food market to talk, see their neighbors, see people maybe they hadn't met before. And you saw this, you know, this camaraderie that was happening because there is this intense loneliness that is happening with, you know, the aging population who can't maybe drive, they can't People aren't stopping by to check and see how they're they're feeling, right? They don't have maybe family that they can connect with. And so, I think that really shows to me this need for some type of connection

11:13where no one is necessarily, right, doing the follow-up and it really requires them to have to follow up with their case manager. If their case manager isn't available, right, at a time that they need the support. And so, I definitely think there is an overwhelming need for this type of tool that that we've been discussing. >> And what but what's the knock against it, right? Cuz one of the things I've been thinking about is like what's the flip side? Why why wouldn't someone use this? Why wouldn't, you know, a Department of Aging in Pennsylvania or others buy this, right? Or use this? And so, my sense is to play devil's advocate like it's new technology, you're talking to vulnerable populations. Um you know, they would clearly probably prefer to

11:56speak to a person. And you know, it's new and funky and a bit weird. So like what like I suppose it's got to be a lot better than what currently exists for anyone to bother making both large-scale investments and also, you know, spending the time to figure out how it should work in practice. I mean, one of the things we're doing just as an aside is this AI voice coaching stuff that I think I mentioned to you in Kenya. So this is female micro-entrepreneurs. Che- generally they're you know, there's training delivered face-to-face. We're really interested in delivering training, you know, by voice because it's scalable. So tell me tell me what's the flip side and what like >> Yeah.

12:36>> Cuz this is it's a great idea, right? But like how do we actually do it in practice? Well, I think part of what I hear when I get into conversations about AI in particular is this fear of I don't understand it. I don't know how to manage it. And I don't have the staffing capacity to or the the knowledge to implement it. >> Right. >> And so, I think there's there's a fear that's there. I also And this is we have an event in in May this year where we're talking about, you know, AI and this idea of innovation and empathy with efficiency. And I think there is this myth that and I don't know why this myth exists because the the systems that exist today aren't aren't really that great. And

13:20that's not, you know, a comment on any one particular organization. I'm not, you know, throwing any shade at a at a particular entity of any kind. It's just that when we think about this idea that we're going to lose the human-based approach that already exists, well, I call baloney on that because anybody who has had to go through an intake process across multiple organizations or multiple service providers, right? There is a problem with our re- ways in which we have to repeat ourselves over and over and over and over again, and it becomes really exhausting, right? And so, I I think that

14:01we have to really stop and ask ourselves, those people who are saying like, "Okay, I'm coming at this from a place of fear and we're going to lose human-based approach." I think you really have to ask yourself, right? Like, first of all, when was the last time that you had to receive services? And when was the last time you actually walked through what your intake process feels like? Because my guess is there's probably some lack of some human-based approach that that already exists. And so, my argument is if you include technologies like what we're talking about, you can get really really intentional because your ad- administrative work is going to be reduced and you can get really intentional within about what the human-based piece of that the next step is, right? And your team can then invest time in the human piece, which matters

14:44so much more. So, I think it's a I think it's a fear, I think it's a worry. You know, changes we're already in a nonprofit world in particular, we're already in a constant you know, state of fluctuation and change, and so this is one more thing. And I think people only have the appetite for so much change at the end of the day, right? >> Right. Yeah, I think that's right. I mean, like, cuz one more thing, if you're already teetering, >> you you're going to fall over, right? So, I think that's the main thing. I mean, it's interesting you said that cuz we just got a we just did a podcast with um a lady called Holly Morgan who I really want to introduce you to who's community action agency leader in um Washington state. So, she was one of the

15:25first people to use our our thing and what's been nice is it's taken a long time to implement, right? Because, you know, these things take take some time, but she unfortunately had to lose two of her FTEs from funding angle, but she's found that by using this we're now three times more efficient at giving out the funds. And so, that's interesting, you're losing some of the human connection, but you're gaining here because you've just made this part more efficient, right? And I think that's the interesting thing, it's not like we're going to use it for everything, it's just this little little niche, right? So, that's what I that's what we believe, but clearly we're tooting our own horn. So, you know, that's not what this podcast is meant to be about. >> Well, the other thing I will say is that I just saw there was an email that came from the state about the commitment of

16:08AI and evaluating data centers and all of these things, right? But what they shared in that email was so interesting and it will stick in my brain for a while, which is that there was a core group of staff who just used like basic AI, right? You know, simple things, nothing wild, right? Like just simple things in order to try to remove some administrative burden. And what they found was that the average employee saved 9 hours a week. 9 hours a week, that's over a day potentially, right? Or maybe, you know, if you're workaholic like me, it's a full day. But that's that's a significant amount of time then over the course of a month. Think about if you had an extra day every single week that you were able to

16:50do the things that you needed to do. I mean, that's huge. >> You might even have a moment to think. >> Right, exactly. I might be able to use the bathroom. So, if I think about that and I scale it across an organization that has 300 employees and each one of those employees gets back one day a week, I don't know, somebody do the math. That's that's a huge win. >> Oh, I I I couldn't agree more. And I think that's it. I Well, the bit I'm starting to think about cuz we we've now been talking to community action agencies probably at 18 months, almost 2 years now. So, it's we're not complete newbies at this. But, it's interesting how you firstly, they all do different things. Although, they all may have a you know,

17:31many of them may have a transportation program or another state's energy assistance program or something like that. They are all unique. So, you actually the integration for them for the technology to work for them is more onerous than it is in other organizations. That's something that I think I didn't I didn't understand enough as we started this journey. >> It's the It's the beauty and the challenge of who we are. And it's the one of the biggest challenges as an association because part of what we are all tasked with across the country, you know, those those states who do have an association that supports those those local agencies, we're supposed to be telling the story. But, everyone's branded differently. Everyone's service is differently different. You know, how they approach those services is different. And that's by design so that we can best serve

18:14local community and those local community needs in a way that can be effectual. But, it also is really then complicated in terms of how do you support them? How do you tell the story when, you know, oh, by the way, some are nonprofits, some aren't, some have programs, some only have food programs, some only have maybe this program. But, what I hope people hear me also say though is that regardless of the services that they all have, they are also really good We are all really good conveners of the people who are also doing the work and partner across multiple organizations cuz the other key part of this is that they don't want to We don't want to duplicate services that are already happening because we want to

18:56be good stewards of the resources that we we get. And that means working alongside somebody with somebody rather than just simply doing the thing that somebody else is already doing. >> For sure. >> Lastly, just tell me about cuz you have great stories. You just have great stories from all the, you know, cuz you hear them, right? All your members tell you some What are the some of the great stories or some of the great successes of what some of your members have been able to do? >> Yeah, I So, I've got some funny stories and I've got some really great stories. I think about one of my favorite stories to tell all the time is with Bucks County Opportunity Council. So, they have an amazing self-sufficiency program trying to grow household income of families and

19:39individuals so that they can ultimately become economically mobile enough so that they are further and further away from a one emergency, right, putting them back right back on being reliant on welfare systems or, right, resources that, um, that they've they've really fought hard, right, to become self-sufficient from a household income perspective. And the very first time I went to this graduation ceremony, and it's my favorite event to go to every single year, there was a woman who was talking about she was graduating from the program and she had grown her household income to from, you know, something like $20,000 to $70,000 a year through growth and education. Uh

20:20she was buying a house for the first time, but what the story that she told was that she remembered meeting with her self-sufficiency coach, her case manager, for the first time, and the very first question that the person asked her was "What are your dreams?" And the person telling her story said, "And I couldn't I couldn't answer that question because it had been so long, if not, you know, since she was a kid, that she had really thought about what she wanted to do with her life, what her dreams were, because she was just trying to get through each day. She was in a really hard domestic violence situation, right? And all of these things just kept piling up, and so she hadn't given herself sort of the

21:03permission to dream. And so, she went back and she thought about what she really wanted to do and she realized she's like, "Well, I've always wanted to be a nurse." And so BCOC has a great partnership with the local community college to help this individual, right, get a scholarship, surrounded her with the right resources so that she had a vehicle, had stable housing, and today this this person is a nurse. She's thriving, she owns a home, right, she's giving back to her local community. And that that's you know, part of what, you know, sounds cheesy, helping people, changing lives. That's sort of our tagline at Community Action, but we really are, right? We're not just helping people say their dreams out

21:45loud, we're helping people realize their dreams. And that's a beautiful thing. >> I agree. I agree. And that's a lovely place to end, Beck. Thanks so much. I really appreciate it. I'm looking forward to seeing you in May as well for your conference. >> Absolutely. Thanks, Rob, for having me. Always good to see you. >> Cool, man.