[NEW EPISODE] The Power of Showing Up

Fridays 10:00am - 11:00am (EDT)

EPISODE SUMMARY:

• Learn how grassroots action became a full-service hub serving 2,500+ people a month

• Hear the real talk on leadership, burnout, and building from nothing

• Be inspired by a survivor-led movement that puts compassion into action

🍫 This Friday on Philanthropy in Phocus with Tommy DiMisa #InTheAttic

We’re joined by Jennifer Hernandez, Co-Founder and Executive Director of ECLI-VIBES, an organization born from lived experience and built on the belief that healing starts with showing up. What began from the trunk of a car has become a $5 million agency with 40+ staff, 24/7 crisis response, and a survivor-led mission. 💼💙

This week’s episode, “The Power of Showing Up,” dives into what it really takes to break cycles of trauma—and how community-powered change can rewrite the future for survivors of violence, trafficking, and poverty.

🕙 Tune in Friday, August 1st at 10 AM EST to hear how Jennifer and her team at ECLI-VIBES are building a legacy of safety, dignity, and radical care across Long Island. 🎧

Name of your organization: ECLI-VIBES

Website: eclivibes.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088752150697

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ecli_vibes/?

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/eclivibes/

#PhilanthropyInPhocus #ECLIVIBES #SurvivorLed #HealingJustice #TommyDiMisa #InTheAttic #CommunityCare #RadicalEmpathy

Tune in for this sensible conversation at TalkRadio.nyc

Show Notes

‍Segment 1

Tommy D, the Nonprofit Sector Connector, kicks off this episode of Philanthropy in Phocus with updates on his upcoming role as honoree at a unique Mafia-themed fundraiser supporting Options for Community Living—a nonprofit aiding individuals facing homelessness, HIV/AIDS, and mental health challenges. He also highlights the impressive finalists for the New York City Imagine Awards, celebrating innovation, leadership, and impact across the nonprofit landscape. Joined by Jennifer Hernandez of ECLI Vibes, the conversation shifts to the importance of client-centered support, tuning out distractions to focus on impact, and the transformative journey that brought her and her organization into the nonprofit world.

Segment 2

Jennifer Hernandez shares her journey from helping run her father's businesses at age 12 to co-founding ECLI VIBES, a nonprofit dedicated to serving vulnerable populations, particularly survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking. With a foundation in leadership and hustle learned from her entrepreneurial family, she stepped away from a traditional path toward law school and instead discovered her calling in advocacy work—eventually creating the space she needed to make meaningful impact. Her story is a powerful reminder to nonprofits and their supporters alike: leadership is born not just from passion, but from the courage to build something new when the system doesn’t allow you to lead the change from within.

Segment 3

Jennifer Hernandez reflects on the bold and uncertain journey of co-founding ECLI VIBES with five other women after leaving an agency where they felt limited in their ability to enact meaningful change. With zero funding, they hustled for three years—living on personal sacrifice, building strategic relationships, and staying laser-focused on humanizing human services by putting authentic care and connection at the forefront. Their persistence paid off in 2018 when a strong partnership with Suffolk County law enforcement led to securing a $750,000 federal anti-trafficking grant, launching them into sustainable impact and proving that courage, compassion, and community-centered values can drive powerful change.

‍Segment 4

In the final segment of Philanthropy in Phocus, Jennifer Hernandez shares how ECLI VIBES grew even stronger after merging with VIBES (Victims Information Bureau), expanding their trauma-informed, survivor-led services across Long Island. The organization now offers legal advocacy, counseling, youth programs, forensic exams, and a 24/7 Hope Line (631-360-3606) for those impacted by sexual assault, domestic violence, human trafficking, and child abuse. With a deep commitment to listening to survivors and collaborating with the community, ECLI VIBES continues to build trust and impact—welcoming allies to events like Connections and Cocktails on October 17 to learn, connect, and support their mission.

Transcript

00:00:43.410 --> 00:00:51.719 Tommy DiMisa: World. What a world! What a world it is! Your boy, the nonprofit sector connector coming at you with philanthropy in

00:00:51.950 --> 00:01:15.060 Tommy DiMisa: focus, baby. Well, that's not the whole name, but the baby I threw in at the end. But philanthropy and focus all right. A couple things we got to get out of the way right out of the way. Really quick, before we get into this conversation with my guest today. 1st things first, st last night, yesterday afternoon, yesterday evening, sometime like that I was out at Captain Bill's in Bayshore. Shout out to Yolanda, Robino Gross and the team at options for community living. I'm going to share this. If you're watching, and you see this

00:01:15.060 --> 00:01:28.350 Tommy DiMisa: death of a gangster. September 26.th Your boy, the nonprofit sector connector, will be the Honoree. At this event. September 26, th at the Bayview House, at Captain Bill's, where we did some videos yesterday. We were checking out the place.

00:01:28.350 --> 00:01:52.769 Tommy DiMisa: You'll see if you go to options for community living, click on events and and look for the Mafia murder mystery event. You'll see Tommy D. There the nonprofit sector connector. I am the Honoree. I'm excited about that, as I've been saying for a long time. If you watch any gangster mafia movies, all I'm hoping is that I don't get whacked that night all right. But again, somebody is going to die because it is a murder mystery thing, but it's just pretend everybody. It's just the game.

00:01:52.770 --> 00:02:17.500 Tommy DiMisa: If you are anywhere near Suffolk County, Long Island, you should be there. It's going to be a party. It's not your typical nonprofit gala. This is going to be a party. You get dressed up, the women dress up like with the flappers, uniforms of uniforms, costumes, or whatever you know, men pinstripe suit the whole thing. You know. It's going to be a fun night. There's opportunities to sponsor. There's opportunities to support options for community living. If you don't know about options serving people.

00:02:17.990 --> 00:02:37.650 Tommy DiMisa: experiencing homelessness, people living with HIV and Aids. We're ending a lot of stigmas people with different mental health issues and a very, very important organization. Me, Yolanda and I hung out. We did some videos. So look out for that stuff on social media that is out of the way before we get into my conversation with Jennifer Hernandez actually pause time out. Hello, Jennifer.

00:02:38.230 --> 00:02:41.830 Jennifer Hernandez: Hi! How are you, Tommy? That was a great intro.

00:02:41.830 --> 00:02:43.350 Tommy DiMisa: Getting started. We're just getting started.

00:02:43.620 --> 00:02:45.350 Jennifer Hernandez: Congrats on the Honoree.

00:02:45.350 --> 00:02:52.629 Tommy DiMisa: I would love you to be there that night. We'll talk about it after the show, but I think there's a lot of Do you know options. And do you know Yolanda and the team over there? Yeah.

00:02:52.630 --> 00:02:54.000 Jennifer Hernandez: I'm familiar with options.

00:02:54.000 --> 00:03:19.479 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah. So we'll talk about maybe a little bit of that today. One other thing before we get into what Jennifer and I are here to talk about, which is her role at Ecl Vibes. And the great work that they're doing is I got to share one more thing. The finalists were just announced yesterday morning, Wednesday night, Thursday morning for the New York City. Imagine awards, and I'm going to run them through real quick for you in the leadership excellence, category. You got computers for people.

00:03:19.480 --> 00:03:42.799 Tommy DiMisa: new York foundation for the arts sake, for South Asian survivors and the Eagle Academy Foundation. You have in the social impact we got center for alternative sentencing which employment services and employment services cases in New York City. Many folks know that our children was a client of anger benefits for a long time. I know them many, many years. They do great work serving moms who were incarcerated, and when they get out supporting them.

00:03:42.800 --> 00:03:57.339 Tommy DiMisa: Part of the solution, the Marcy Lab school, that's all. In that category social impact we get into the diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility category. You got New York City Urban Debate League, Ny. Pace, which is New York. Professional advisors for community entrepreneurs

00:03:57.340 --> 00:04:18.109 Tommy DiMisa: rise and read of Greater New York and the special Olympics of New York. Then he got the Claire Friedlander Family Foundation Arts and Culture Award. Now I will tell you this. I've had omni circus on this show. They're a finalist. I love that organization building beats. I'm fired up about hanging out with them. They teach young people how to. Dj, and I want to learn how to. Dj, and I'm not a young person, although I feel like one

00:04:18.110 --> 00:04:42.059 Tommy DiMisa: that they were. I got to do their interview for the follow up, and they'll be coming on the show soon. Runway of Dreams Foundation, the Poetry Society of New York, and these other ones, man, I just don't know you all yet, but I look forward to meeting you at the event and and getting you on the show. Possibly Anthos home. This is innovation, Anthos Home, New York Langone health. The brave house met some folks from Brave House last year's New York City. Imagine awards and then wellness

00:04:42.150 --> 00:05:04.839 Tommy DiMisa: in the schools is another organization in the innovation category, and we rounded out with the rising star which out here on Long Island vanguard benefits, manages and sponsors the rising star in New York City. It's my friends over at Yptc. Your part-time controllers. So in a Rising Star County you got Broadway Community City living Ny single stop and the Chick Mission. We will learn all about this stuff

00:05:05.050 --> 00:05:10.769 Tommy DiMisa: when we get together at the New York City. Imagine awards, if you don't know what the heck I'm talking about? Well.

00:05:11.190 --> 00:05:35.810 Tommy DiMisa: I don't know. Send me an email, Tommy D. At philanthropyandfocus.com, or go to the website Nyc. imagineawards.org. I've been on the committee for the Long Island. Imagine awards, for the last 8, 9 years we've been a sponsor for just as long, I think vanguard benefits, and since the inception of the New York City. Imagine awards I have been on that committee as well. We're looking for more folks to join those committees. If that's something you're interested in. Reach out to me, Tommy D. At philanthropyandfocus.com.

00:05:35.810 --> 00:05:59.729 Tommy DiMisa: or hit me up on the Instagram Tommy D. Dot Nyc. Or the Nonprofit Sector connector on Instagram, whatever. You'll find me just Google, Tommy D. Well, probably my whole name. DIMI. SA. But we don't tell everybody all that. All right, Jennifer, let's get into this. So I want to tell you something. So you are the leader of well, I'm not telling you that you knew that of Ecla vibes, but what I don't know, if you remember, and I might have told you this a couple months ago, when I reached out

00:05:59.850 --> 00:06:27.949 Tommy DiMisa: the original way that you and I connected was my Buddy Ken Serini. When it wasn't esal vibes. It was the empowerment collaborative of Long Island. So this is like Covid era. I remember, because I remember I was in the attic, and before that I wasn't in the attic. And now I'm not in the attic as much. But back then I know for sure I was in the attic. I even I'm very like strange, with like spatial stuff like I remember the desk was facing that way when we talked on the phone one day. That's weird. But I remember

00:06:28.320 --> 00:06:46.449 Tommy DiMisa: that was the organization and Ken had connected us. I don't know if you do work with serene and associates, if that's why. But he had connected us in relation to what I do professionally. Vanguard benefits the employee benefits agency that we run with my partners and I. That's how we connected. So I want to get into the story, though, because

00:06:46.600 --> 00:06:56.020 Tommy DiMisa: that organization has certainly evolved, and I guess merged. And we'll talk about all of how that happened. But before we do any of that.

00:06:56.470 --> 00:07:13.929 Tommy DiMisa: we say who the Heck is Jennifer Hernandez. What is your story? Take us down that take us down your path. How do you get to the nonprofit sector? I know every one of my guests that comes on this show has a story of how they got where they are now, and I'd like to hear your story if you could take us there.

00:07:14.100 --> 00:07:23.279 Jennifer Hernandez: Oh, sure, it's 1 of my favorite things to talk about. It really is. I look back now at how it all started. You know

00:07:23.420 --> 00:07:41.399 Jennifer Hernandez: all the hard work that went behind everything, all the uncertainty, all the vulnerability, the mindsets that I was in back then opposed to now, and I go. Wow! Holy cow! How much has changed, how much I've grown! It was just. It's an extraordinary

00:07:41.560 --> 00:07:59.210 Jennifer Hernandez: experience. Life just itself. To be very honest, just it's an extraordinary experience, and I've learned how to value every second of it now, which wasn't the case when we 1st started. But, anyway, so I'll go. I'll go to the beginning.

00:07:59.460 --> 00:08:28.070 Jennifer Hernandez: I am a mother. I am a wife first, st and I have my 2 beautiful kids. I was born and raised here on Long Island, Suffolk County, specifically by my parents, who immigrated from Argentina and Ecuador, and met at a party in Queens 9 months later they were married. A year later they had me, and then a year and a half after that they had my sister so.

00:08:28.070 --> 00:08:38.399 Tommy DiMisa: We got to shout out queens definitely. Not that the borrows care so much, but definitely my favorite borrow. By the way, let's go. Mets. Didn't know queens started the story. But I am a met fan. Are you a baseball fan? Do you care.

00:08:38.409 --> 00:08:42.279 Jennifer Hernandez: My husband is a huge mets fan. He is also from queens.

00:08:42.280 --> 00:08:43.459 Tommy DiMisa: What's his name?

00:08:43.460 --> 00:08:44.360 Jennifer Hernandez: Gabriel.

00:08:44.560 --> 00:09:09.529 Tommy DiMisa: Gabriel shout out, Let's go! Mets, baby, my son. Last night we got a bunch of like different players just recently, my son, my kids and my wife are away traveling. But whatever they're texting me, keeping me up to date, because when you're the nonprofit sector connector, sometimes you can't even check out the highlights and see what's going on. So, Gabriel, let's go mets. We got ourselves a team. We got ourselves an ownership team for sure. We're pretty excited about Uncle Steve Cohen and that whole thing, and and Tia Alex. By the way, Jennifer, you know

00:09:09.530 --> 00:09:23.000 Tommy DiMisa: Tia Alex, which is Steve Cohen's wife. She runs the amazing Mets foundation. I met their son Josh, who's great. So very, very, very cool. Yeah. So we should talk about that, because there's probably some connects with Ecli vibes, and and we'll get into that all right. So.

00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:24.040 Jennifer Hernandez: Oh, my goodness, yeah.

00:09:24.040 --> 00:09:26.470 Tommy DiMisa: Argentina, and I forgot to write down.

00:09:26.470 --> 00:09:28.360 Jennifer Hernandez: Argentina and Ecuador.

00:09:28.360 --> 00:09:31.390 Jennifer Hernandez: So my mom, Ecuadorian, my dad is Argentinian.

00:09:31.390 --> 00:09:52.440 Tommy DiMisa: Got it. Got it. I love that. I love it all right. So I keyed in on some of the stuff you said, and I don't want to take you off track, but I keyed in on growth and evolution, my business partner and i, 1 of my partners, and I are into like reading and list really more audible, listening to books. And we'll listen into something called 10 x is easier than 2 x, and you know we have to. And as we evolve.

00:09:52.570 --> 00:10:17.610 Tommy DiMisa: you know the 80 20 principle. Sometimes you got to get like rid of, like 80% of like who the heck we are to focus in on really where the value is both from a professional perspective and as an individual. So what I really keyed in on is what you were saying is, how like you kind of look back and like you didn't say this, but I heard this like, it's almost like you're that person that you might have been like. You're totally different like, and I know that personally right. Same.

00:10:18.270 --> 00:10:43.029 Jennifer Hernandez: Completely different. And you're blowing my mind right now with the 80 20, because yesterday we had our state of the agency meeting, we do this once a quarter, and I literally the entire. The entire meeting was around 80, 20 tuning out 80% of the things that don't matter and focusing on the 20% of the things that do. And how do we do that? That was literally the state of the agency.

00:10:43.030 --> 00:10:58.248 Tommy DiMisa: So so I love that. I'm sorry I missed it, but I'm happy to hear about it. But I'll tell you this like there's this thing. There's like a lot of memes right? But there was one video where this guy is talking about like the noise versus the signal, right? And yeah, right? And apparently

00:10:59.465 --> 00:11:03.140 Tommy DiMisa: oh, God, apple Steve Jobs, Steve Jobs

00:11:03.140 --> 00:11:24.769 Tommy DiMisa: was able to like. There's this video where Mr. Wonderful from, you know, Mr. Wonderful from Shark Tank is saying how he used to do a lot of work with jobs back in the day and Jobs was able to like tune out like so much. But not only, but not everything right. He got stuck, apparently, according to Mr. Wonderful, got stuck in some noise. A guy who doesn't deal with noise at all, apparently, is Elon.

00:11:24.770 --> 00:11:39.679 Tommy DiMisa: I don't know if that's so true, because he gets himself in all these battles and stuff online, I noticed. But whatever the story is, so I try that he does not deal with noise, and I guess it relates to business wise. If so, I like just something so inconsequential happened the other day to me right?

00:11:39.750 --> 00:12:00.290 Tommy DiMisa: And actually it was like 2 different things I could key in on business wise, and they were all noise noise that honestly, Jennifer, and everybody listening, I should not be getting worried about that noise like, okay, great fix that. I have to go back to signal over here, right as it related to my business, and the more we can focus in on just signal, and either

00:12:00.400 --> 00:12:11.550 Tommy DiMisa: forget about the noise or delegate that noise to somebody else who should be dealing with that noise so we could be all signal right? And that's to me like, I don't know this stuff in and out, but like that to me, is like that, 80, 20.

00:12:11.550 --> 00:12:11.960 Jennifer Hernandez: So.

00:12:11.960 --> 00:12:18.629 Tommy DiMisa: The majority in in the case of me, from a business perspective, vanguard benefits the majority of relationships that

00:12:19.350 --> 00:12:46.830 Tommy DiMisa: I would say, it's it's really the minority of the relationships that I have really will drive the growth of our business right as agencies, as nonprofits. Probably that those 20%, or whatever it is 1518%, 22% of the relationships we have are really going to drive the donations, the partnerships, the strategic alliances, right? So we got to focus in and double and triple and quadruple down on that stuff. It's kind of. It's a little bit painful, right? Because it's growth.

00:12:46.830 --> 00:12:47.280 Jennifer Hernandez: Sure.

00:12:47.280 --> 00:12:57.140 Tommy DiMisa: And we got now like, it's like, Well, I don't really want to get rid of these folks, or you know. But there's different ways to do that. So that's something that came up of your state of the agency. How cool is that.

00:12:57.390 --> 00:13:09.460 Jennifer Hernandez: It's crazy. You blew my mind when you said it, and I know exactly the clip that you're talking about. Because it sent me down a rabbit hole which you know inspired the state of the agency.

00:13:09.970 --> 00:13:36.689 Jennifer Hernandez: because it's so clear that you need to put in those daily Buffers to make sure that there's like these guardrails that you know they safeguard you from going too far one way or too far the other way, because you can have all these great ideas, but if you don't put in the time to actually execute on them, nothing is ever going to get done, and if you're always chasing those dopamine hits of just checking things off of your list. Then, again, you're making yourself feel good, but you're not moving the needle

00:13:37.450 --> 00:13:40.710 Jennifer Hernandez: really busy, and that would be doing anything.

00:13:40.710 --> 00:14:04.210 Tommy DiMisa: We are going to be great friends, because I know a little bit about chasing dopamine hits. And and you know, like, Oh, I did that big freaking deal. What was that worth like, either? You didn't need to do that or somebody else could have done that. Yeah, exactly. And I have this thing about, you know, and it's part of the Adhd. There's so many wonderful parts of the Adhd brain. And then there's some challenging parts. And one of the challenging parts is like procipiration and getting like caught on stupid things. And just like.

00:14:04.540 --> 00:14:18.050 Tommy DiMisa: And I realized, I got to cut that stuff. And this is like something that happened this week where I could have got stuck on it. And I was like, Okay, fix that. I'm going to move on and go back to where I was. And that was very like, that's growth right? That's something that, like.

00:14:18.190 --> 00:14:46.040 Tommy DiMisa: you know. A long time ago, like last Tuesday, I might get stuck on that right. But this week I didn't get stuck on that and that to me, and you know I tell everybody you know that I meet with my therapist, you know. Shout out to hashtag, ending the stigma together. It's all about normalizing this stuff about, you know, talking about these things, and and my therapist is awesome. I love him, and it's also he's more like he's not more like. But he's also like a coach, because, like I know what the heck I need, but he's a guy who I can plate ideas off of him, and I utilize him as as all this stuff

00:14:46.040 --> 00:14:49.980 Tommy DiMisa: gang. Therapy's freaking great. You should check it out. So.

00:14:49.980 --> 00:14:54.709 Jennifer Hernandez: It is I I love what you just said, though, about you know what it is that you need.

00:14:54.710 --> 00:14:55.730 Tommy DiMisa: Right, so.

00:14:56.030 --> 00:15:23.290 Jennifer Hernandez: Center of our work here at Ecli vibes. We are client centered. We don't tell folks what they need. They come in. They let us know where they're at, and we can help organize, and and, you know, build structure and sort of kind of sift through all these different things that they have going on because they know what they need. And then we sort of help them figure out what comes 1st prioritize that. And I mean, it's just it's it's such a big deal.

00:15:23.290 --> 00:15:51.560 Tommy DiMisa: We're going to get into all that, I mean. But what other way is there than meeting people where they are and helping them with what they know they need, and because how arrogant would it be by any of us to assume we could fix the other person's situation when they know where they're at. We need to empower them. Huh! We need to support them, and we need to resource them, bring them resources and help them level up which we're going to get into all that I totally threw you off, Gabriel, and the Mets took us in a total talk about it, you know, but took us in a totally different direction. So.

00:15:51.560 --> 00:15:57.709 Tommy DiMisa: queens, did you grow up at all in queens, or they were from queens, and and you end up growing up out in Long Island.

00:15:57.710 --> 00:16:02.960 Jennifer Hernandez: No, I grew up out on Long Island, so I was actually I was born in Stony Brook Hospital.

00:16:02.960 --> 00:16:03.520 Tommy DiMisa: Got it.

00:16:03.700 --> 00:16:27.839 Jennifer Hernandez: And my parents had moved out to Long Island, and we lived in a couple of different places. When I was very little I hardly remember that, but my dad was a chef, so he was very close with the folks over at Gurney's, so like we do like the Montauk area very well. I remember the beaches, and, like, you know, growing up just eating all this like amazing food. And then we moved to quorum.

00:16:28.180 --> 00:16:28.999 Tommy DiMisa: Okay, got it?

00:16:29.000 --> 00:16:55.410 Jennifer Hernandez: We lived. I literally lived in my house until I was maybe 26 years old when I moved out, so I was there for a pretty long time, and my father always ran businesses. So after that was like the early years when he was a chef over at Gurney's, but his passion's always been food, and on my mom's side my mom's side, they all had restaurants. So El Mariachi, Mexican restaurant. Right now they have La Bonita, which is in

00:16:55.410 --> 00:17:06.400 Jennifer Hernandez: Miller Place, and there is. It's always been a very like business, savvy, restaurant, specific sort of like life that I lived. My mom is an entertainer.

00:17:06.400 --> 00:17:08.500 Tommy DiMisa: Is that right where she sings, or what.

00:17:08.500 --> 00:17:16.819 Jennifer Hernandez: She's a singer. So I grew up watching her sing every Friday and Saturday at the Mexican restaurant, dressed up in full mariachi.

00:17:16.829 --> 00:17:19.599 Tommy DiMisa: Oh, my God! Does she? Does she still perform like that?

00:17:19.599 --> 00:17:27.289 Jennifer Hernandez: She doesn't, but she sings she I mean, she's just. She's so talented she's so talented. She has some records and stuff like that that she?

00:17:27.609 --> 00:17:29.770 Jennifer Hernandez: Oh, oh, yeah! Oh, that's good point.

00:17:29.940 --> 00:17:30.620 Tommy DiMisa: That's so far.

00:17:31.010 --> 00:17:33.290 Jennifer Hernandez: As well. My sister is a singer, too, shelly.

00:17:33.290 --> 00:17:33.690 Tommy DiMisa: Are you?

00:17:34.230 --> 00:17:36.390 Tommy DiMisa: Is that what she does your sister like as a professional.

00:17:36.390 --> 00:17:38.670 Jennifer Hernandez: Actually she works at ecli vibes with us here.

00:17:38.670 --> 00:17:46.880 Tommy DiMisa: All right. So we'll get into sort of family business. The entrepreneur business continues into the nonprofit sector. How about you? Can you sing.

00:17:47.260 --> 00:17:50.100 Jennifer Hernandez: I cannot, but I can. I could drop it like it's hot.

00:17:50.100 --> 00:17:51.471 Jennifer Hernandez: You can't, all right, sold me.

00:17:51.700 --> 00:17:52.500 Jennifer Hernandez: I can dance.

00:17:52.500 --> 00:18:04.710 Tommy DiMisa: All right. So listen to me. I don't know. I get the impression. We're similar a type age. Maybe you're younger than I am, but I'm not going to ask you that you're never supposed to ask that. So but here's the thing. I'm 47. I'll just drop it.

00:18:05.068 --> 00:18:06.499 Jennifer Hernandez: One. I'm 41.

00:18:06.500 --> 00:18:23.440 Tommy DiMisa: So. So this is like what I'm about to say, and we're supposed to go to break any second, I'm sure. But what I was going to say was, lately I've been listening to a lot of tka in my car now Long Island little freestyle and stuff like that, like I've been rocking out now, even at 47. That's a little bit

00:18:23.570 --> 00:18:34.459 Tommy DiMisa: before me, like, you know, but like because I was born in 78. So by the time I really knew what was going on. It was like 90 91, you know, and I listened to a lot of hot 97 back then.

00:18:34.600 --> 00:18:59.560 Tommy DiMisa: for if you don't know hot 97 hip hop in New York, everybody. But I listened to Nirvana back then, so I always had this kind of like different vibes. But like freestyle music, man is just something about freestyle music. So when you say you could drop it like, it's hot on your dancer. That makes me feel like that that kind of place. So I'm sure we can do some cool stuff together. I like to sing sometimes. I don't know if the world likes when I sing, but sometimes I just break out into songs

00:18:59.560 --> 00:19:12.089 Tommy DiMisa: just like that, right? I. My ears are perfectly positioned on my head where that sounds good. I don't know where that lands on you all, but I'm telling you it sounds real good to me, all right. So anyway, I always thought I should have been a crooner.

00:19:12.090 --> 00:19:14.280 Tommy DiMisa: Very. So. We're very similar, Tommy.

00:19:14.280 --> 00:19:15.080 Tommy DiMisa: Have fun together.

00:19:15.080 --> 00:19:20.549 Jennifer Hernandez: We could sing as well, and I'm the only one in the family who cannot. But to me I sound fantastic.

00:19:20.550 --> 00:19:31.579 Tommy DiMisa: Now wait a minute. Wait a minute, because you just said we're very similar, and you said you can't sing, and you and you think you sing fantastic. So I feel like you're telling me I can't sing Jennifer on my shoulder.

00:19:33.790 --> 00:19:46.920 Tommy DiMisa: Oh, my goodness, I love it! I love it. We're gonna get in. We're gonna take a quick break. When we come back. We're gonna get into, you know, we haven't gotten anywhere because that's part of my show. But where you're now 3 years old, living in Stony Brook. That's how far we've gotten along. So we got

00:19:47.560 --> 00:20:08.499 Tommy DiMisa: 38 years ago. In about 40 min we'll figure it out. I will come right back. We're going to get into. You know how you get into the nonprofit sector. Some of your background things like that. The work you're doing the show is called philanthropy and focus. My guest is Jennifer Hernandez. The organization called Ecl Vibes. Check it out eclvives.org. If you're watching, I'm going to share it for you. But if you're not, go there, be right back.

00:22:18.250 --> 00:22:25.220 Tommy DiMisa: Is right. So we could have sung or sang, or sing that together, Jennifer, if you wanted to. I never know if it's sung or sang, or

00:22:25.220 --> 00:22:49.850 Tommy DiMisa: whatever. Anyway, we could have done the you know, we could have sang it. All right. Let's move on. So I'm actually meeting the singer for my Buddy Brendan Levy we're meeting, for we'll have a Heineken 0, because, you all know, 15 years sober coming up in September. So I'll have one in Heineken. Zeros. Yeah. So I'm meeting Brendan Levy from the Queens Chamber of Commerce. We're meeting later on this afternoon, and he is the singer in the band the goods.

00:22:49.850 --> 00:23:14.329 Tommy DiMisa: Actually, they used to be called the goods. They're called damaged goods, and they're playing at docks. We go to see them at docks, not tonight, but in a couple weeks in August they'll be playing at docks down in Island Park. We always go to see him. But Brendan and I wrote that song together, and apparently for you all. Brendan sang it or sung it. So you didn't have to hear me do that. You know what I'm saying. I'll have to figure out if it's sang or sung. Somebody on the Internet is like Tommy D. Come on. It's grammar. Figure it out all right, Jennifer.

00:23:14.380 --> 00:23:21.139 Tommy DiMisa: So we got so much to do today, and we're running out of time. Oh, my goodness, I feel like the mad hatter in Alice in Wonderland! Oh, my God!

00:23:21.140 --> 00:23:22.770 Tommy DiMisa: A lot to talk about

00:23:22.770 --> 00:23:35.010 Tommy DiMisa: talk you talk now. All right. So so we know you're from Long Island, Stony Brook. The whole thing. We know the parents are in the restaurant business family, full of entertainers. All right. So what about you? Where? Where is your path? Where do we go?

00:23:35.380 --> 00:23:58.590 Jennifer Hernandez: Sure. So I ran my dad's businesses since I was literally. I started when I was 12, working for him I would stock shelves. I learned how to use the cash register things like that. So I kind of had a basic understanding about business. And I think one thing that I really took away from that is, you know, learning how to lead. I watched my father be a leader.

00:23:58.922 --> 00:24:22.220 Jennifer Hernandez: I watched the good things I watched the bad things. I kind of absorbed it all in, and it definitely became part of what shaped me. I learned a lot about people because we had customers, so we had Delis. We had pizzerias. We had an auto body shop at 1 point. He is like a serial entrepreneur, so he would kind of fix up businesses and then sell them

00:24:22.655 --> 00:24:28.309 Jennifer Hernandez: you know I'd be the one helping him, you know. Do the paperwork for selling a building and things. So I learned all these.

00:24:28.310 --> 00:24:28.790 Tommy DiMisa: Thing.

00:24:28.790 --> 00:24:29.330 Tommy DiMisa: God.

00:24:29.330 --> 00:24:30.630 Tommy DiMisa: It's awesome that.

00:24:30.630 --> 00:24:31.110 Jennifer Hernandez: Yeah.

00:24:31.110 --> 00:24:34.429 Tommy DiMisa: Just to that, just to be able to touch and learn. And that's great.

00:24:34.620 --> 00:25:02.390 Jennifer Hernandez: I mean huge. And it just gave me this understanding about how money works, how people work, how relationships work, all of those things. And I don't think I really acknowledge that until later, because, you know, growing up in the nineties, you were told to go to college graduate, become a doctor or a lawyer, I mean, at least, that's what I was told.

00:25:02.390 --> 00:25:02.820 Tommy DiMisa: All right.

00:25:03.250 --> 00:25:09.869 Tommy DiMisa: Well, maybe they didn't want you to do the same. Hustle that like grinding it out, or whatever like that, the way they did it. Yeah.

00:25:09.870 --> 00:25:34.750 Jennifer Hernandez: Yeah, which makes a lot of sense. But they're also, you know, it might sound like they were rigid, but they were not super flexible. Really, just like that was kind of what they sort of instilled in us to do. And long story short, I wanted to be a lawyer, because my mom put a little she put a little. What did those little luggages, the attorney, briefcases, pictures of that me dressed up like a like an attorney.

00:25:34.750 --> 00:25:35.330 Tommy DiMisa: Kid.

00:25:35.330 --> 00:25:42.239 Jennifer Hernandez: As a kid, as a kid. My mom would dress me up. I mean, she was really just trying to like put that in my.

00:25:42.240 --> 00:26:08.230 Tommy DiMisa: Listen, you know, talk, talk about like vision. I mean, I'm looking at your Linkedin right? And it says like inspired life on Linkedin. Right. And I'm just thinking like, talk about vision. So so this woman is putting you dressed up like a little attorney. Right? So you're just like projecting into the future that like, that's because you want. I want to have a briefcase. You know what I always thought I could be a good attorney, but I didn't really want to go to law school, but I did want to have an Esq. Behind my name, right? That sounded cool, pretty cool.

00:26:08.230 --> 00:26:08.730 Jennifer Hernandez: Cool.

00:26:08.730 --> 00:26:20.819 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah. And my father always said, You know again, I didn't want to be like a lawyer. No offense to my friends who were real estate attorneys, but like I didn't want to do that like I wanted to be like a guy in the courtroom like my wife watches that show suits, you know where, like.

00:26:20.820 --> 00:26:21.929 Jennifer Hernandez: Oh, such a great show!

00:26:21.930 --> 00:26:38.790 Tommy DiMisa: Like badass attorneys like. I wanted to do that, you know, but my dad, because my dad always said you always have an answer to everything like that was the thing you always like. I always had a rebuttal like, you know. I was always. I always had something to say, funny or not funny. I always had something to say. All right. So you did go to law school, or you did not go to law school.

00:26:38.790 --> 00:26:45.810 Jennifer Hernandez: No, I did not. So what happened was I graduated Stony Brook University? My major was political science.

00:26:45.810 --> 00:26:46.210 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah.

00:26:46.210 --> 00:27:11.049 Jennifer Hernandez: And I really, you know, I really thought that I was going to go on to law school. I thought that that was the game plan, and to be really honest, even from a very young age, anything that I did. I wanted to do it well, and I knew I'd be the best at it. I knew I'd work the hardest at it like it. That's just something that I can't explain. It was something that was always just a part of me. It was like, I know, that I could do the hard work, and I could get it done. And I could be, you know at the top. Whatever I do.

00:27:11.050 --> 00:27:17.819 Tommy DiMisa: Do you think that comes from? Because not everybody has that? That's a little bit of swag confidence, whatever that is. Does that come from your parents is that.

00:27:17.830 --> 00:27:18.380 Jennifer Hernandez: Erin's.

00:27:18.380 --> 00:27:19.260 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah, yeah, tell.

00:27:19.260 --> 00:27:20.750 Jennifer Hernandez: It's a hundred percent. My parents.

00:27:20.750 --> 00:27:23.200 Tommy DiMisa: What do you remember about that? That kind of drove that.

00:27:23.390 --> 00:27:25.690 Jennifer Hernandez: I remember them telling me

00:27:26.410 --> 00:27:33.090 Jennifer Hernandez: not to take any shit from anyone, and you are the creator of your world.

00:27:33.510 --> 00:27:43.129 Jennifer Hernandez: We've always got your back, so don't ever feel like you can't do something or say something, because we won't have your back, no matter what happens, no matter what you do.

00:27:43.130 --> 00:27:43.460 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah.

00:27:43.460 --> 00:28:04.240 Jennifer Hernandez: Whether it's wrong or right, we still will have your back, and we love you right? I really do feel like that's where the confidence came from. I would watch my mom go on stage and like sing in front of all these people. I would watch my dad make these business deals, you know, like it was. It was, I think I really do think it was all formed from those early days.

00:28:04.240 --> 00:28:29.469 Tommy DiMisa: I think it has to be, because, like even that, you have your own children. So so do I. And I think, like sometimes I think. You know. Well, I'm I'm figuring out like everything's evolution. Right? I'm evolving as a father. I have 2 daughters, and I have 2 sons, and they get range 1514, 12 and 10. Right? So I'm figuring. Yeah. So only every day am I trying to figure this thing out? And you know. I think like

00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:39.022 Tommy DiMisa: I'm figuring out who the heck I am right. A lot of this journey is figuring out that and evolution how I engage with everybody in the world with my kids. Right? So I think

00:28:39.560 --> 00:29:04.640 Tommy DiMisa: I think they see the good stuff we do right like you're saying like, you know, even if they're not listening right? They notice it like you're you're seeing in, you know, going back 2530 years. Whatever the case is, remembering your mom on stage and seeing your dad make these deals and stuff like that, you know, even if maybe you didn't listen to them when they were telling you to do something the right way, or whatever right? So that's all of that comes from those formative years. And in a lot of cases

00:29:04.640 --> 00:29:29.919 Tommy DiMisa: well, in all cases. I think we're formed by what happened early on, and a lot of that, as it may relate to some of the certainly relates to some of the work you do. We all have certain levels of trauma, and we're battling certain things that went on early on. So you graduate from stony brook. Poli sci. You're not going to law school. You have this what I would call entrepreneurial drive. Yeah, you know. You certainly, you know.

00:29:30.190 --> 00:29:37.090 Tommy DiMisa: Badass, as it is running your dad's business from 12, and I know this stuff, because when I was 12 I started working at my uncle's Deli, my Uncle John.

00:29:37.420 --> 00:29:50.229 Tommy DiMisa: my time I was 15 I was working in my Uncle Joe's restaurant, and you know I was. And finally I was 18. I thought I was like the King. You know I was tending bar like 5 nights a week at 2 different places, right? That. So I worked my way through the restaurant business.

00:29:50.480 --> 00:29:59.333 Tommy DiMisa: Wink to everybody. That's why I'm sober for 15 years. Gang, because it was a long, because it was a long time sober was not what I was. So I think

00:29:59.870 --> 00:30:10.370 Tommy DiMisa: there's so much you can learn being in that business. Did you think? All right? Well, now, I have this degree. Maybe I can go and be running restaurants like, maybe I want to be an entrepreneur. What did that look like?

00:30:10.940 --> 00:30:40.469 Jennifer Hernandez: So what happened was, I graduated, and I thought I was going to go to law school, and I had a conversation with my parents and I was applying to different law schools, and my father said to me, You know they're they're super expensive. And listen. We'll help you pay for it. We'll get it done, you know. We'll we'll do what we have to do. But are you 100% sure that you want to be an attorney. I said, no, I am not sure. I've never even I don't know, you know. I think I'm sure I could be good at it, but I don't know if I like it, and.

00:30:40.470 --> 00:30:45.199 Tommy DiMisa: Did you have any exposure to that like? Did you ever intern somewhere hang out with some attorneys? Not okay.

00:30:45.200 --> 00:31:07.490 Jennifer Hernandez: And that was exactly his advice. He goes. You need to take a little time and see if you even like it, because you don't want to invest all this money into something that maybe you don't like doing. And then you're gonna feel like you have to do it. So I said, All right, sounds good. So I went to my to my guidance, counselor, and she looked at like whatever jobs were available.

00:31:07.820 --> 00:31:22.250 Jennifer Hernandez: and she said, oh, look! I have a bilingual court advocate at a local, not for profit agency. They support, you know, survivors of domestic violence, and you're bilingual works out perfectly. I'll set you up.

00:31:22.420 --> 00:31:30.170 Jennifer Hernandez: I literally went for an interview a week later, and I got a part time bilingual advocacy position at a local, not for profit.

00:31:30.530 --> 00:31:52.519 Jennifer Hernandez: And I worked my way up over 4 years, you know, like I said, I really just, I've got that sort of like I see things I can make. I can make those connections I like to execute. I like to organize. I like to build things out of nothing. And one of the things that was happening there at the not for profit was anti-human. Trafficking work was coming up a lot.

00:31:52.910 --> 00:32:09.550 Jennifer Hernandez: and I really wanted to kind of go into that area, because I saw that there was like nobody addressing that issue. And, to make a very long story short, it ended up being that I didn't have enough room to move and do what I wanted to do, because I didn't have the authority. There.

00:32:09.550 --> 00:32:10.120 Tommy DiMisa: All right.

00:32:10.120 --> 00:32:18.280 Jennifer Hernandez: And and I ended up leaving the organization with 5 other women and co-founded ecli vibes.

00:32:18.280 --> 00:32:21.620 Tommy DiMisa: That's so. Okay, so I'm looking. I have gang. You don't have

00:32:21.670 --> 00:32:28.619 Tommy DiMisa: the Linkedin page that I do. I'm staring at your linkedin page to watch the progression where we're going here. So so that is

00:32:28.620 --> 00:32:52.149 Tommy DiMisa: so. I'm hearing that entrepreneurial thing. You see the angles. You see the opportunities. But you're not in charge. So what do entrepreneurs do when they're not in charge? And they see a way to solve the problem. They go create their own thing. I got. Let's go, baby, let's go do our own thing right? So that's where I think we're going. We're going to take a quick break. We come back. We're right there at that point where you and 5 colleagues go out and create. I like that word.

00:32:52.320 --> 00:33:14.669 Tommy DiMisa: create ecla vibes. I will tell you this before we go to break. I'm involved with the Kiwanis here, up where I am up in the Gold Coast, Nassau County. I think they call it the Gold Coast, Qantas, or North Shore Kiwanis. I think I'm in the Gold Coast rotary in the North Shore, Kiwanis. Either way. One of your colleagues came to a meeting that we had at the Kiwanis, and talked about trafficking and and how Long Island there's so much

00:33:14.670 --> 00:33:30.089 Tommy DiMisa: tragically, so much trafficking going on, and I'm compelled to just say, with your family background in the restaurant business and certain communities working in the restaurant business. Often some folks are undocumented, etc, etc. There's a lot of

00:33:31.220 --> 00:33:56.710 Tommy DiMisa: challenges that I think we can probably talk to. That happens in that space, and it's not just undocumented. But it's just people who are vulnerable and vulnerable positions can can be taken advantage of from a trafficking thing like I had the organization I had on the show many years ago called I empathize. And they have education videos and things like that for people who work in hotels who work in a restaurant space. Really any again any business

00:33:56.730 --> 00:34:10.270 Tommy DiMisa: but educating people on what to look out for. So I imagine we're going to get into some of that today. But right now we're going to pause. We'll go to a quick break, and I'm going to leave you all on the edge of your seats. So it's 2015,

00:34:10.320 --> 00:34:11.810 Tommy DiMisa: and my friend says

00:34:11.889 --> 00:34:15.459 Tommy DiMisa: I can't get it all done here. So I'm gonna go create my own. We'll be right back.

00:36:14.490 --> 00:36:32.908 Tommy DiMisa: Shout out to your mom and to your sister right? And maybe there's another version of the song coming up like a little Mariachi type thing right? I don't know how to even go into the. So I there's a guy I used to listen to call, and when I ask, then I ask

00:36:33.250 --> 00:36:33.880 Tommy DiMisa: Abraham?

00:36:33.880 --> 00:37:03.269 Tommy DiMisa: Right? So I'll ask like. So I ask Alexa. I'll say so. I don't have an Alexa in the attic, so it's all good. I can say her name, but like I asked Alexa to play El Henneral, and she'll go okay, and she goes music by El General, and I always think that's the funniest thing. But gang, if you know the nineties go back to El Henneral, you'll anyway. So we should have your sister, maybe, and maybe they could do a tryout and try to sing a song. See the sing the Tommy D in the attic song? Yeah.

00:37:03.270 --> 00:37:03.930 Jennifer Hernandez: Good.

00:37:03.930 --> 00:37:24.770 Tommy DiMisa: So I was sharing the website. Really quick folks. Really, if you need different services, you feel like you're in any immediate danger. And you're finding this show right now. They have a 24 h hope line, which is (631) 360-3606. And this would be for anybody who might be affected by human trafficking and or domestic violence. Correct these these types of services.

00:37:24.770 --> 00:37:30.579 Jennifer Hernandez: Correct sexual assault, any kind of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and child abuse.

00:37:30.580 --> 00:37:56.430 Tommy DiMisa: Okay? So again, so that that line again is (631) 360-3606. Just let's say you came across this right now. And you need services. That's the number you can reach out. All right. So let's let's get into what happens. So you're at this other organization. You realize you're sort of like, I'll say my words like reach the limit. There's more you can do, but it's not going to work where you're at. So, as I say, I kind of joked. But what do we do? We go out and we create our own. So what does that look like?

00:37:57.800 --> 00:38:02.060 Jennifer Hernandez: It looks like it looks like you're crazy.

00:38:02.350 --> 00:38:02.640 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah.

00:38:02.640 --> 00:38:23.090 Jennifer Hernandez: I didn't think that we were crazy. But now, looking back, who did we think we were? We were in spaces that we did not belong in. But you know what we did, and somehow, you know, I was blind to that, luckily.

00:38:23.090 --> 00:38:23.630 Jennifer Hernandez: and

00:38:23.630 --> 00:38:44.040 Jennifer Hernandez: and sat in those spaces had conversations with people. I had no business having conversations with, you know I found Kenserini because I googled nonprofit accounting. I was like, you know, we should probably figure out how to do this. And I Googled nonprofit accounting, and I was on the phone with him in 5 min. We hit it off, and we've been doing business ever since, you know, it's been.

00:38:44.040 --> 00:39:01.409 Tommy DiMisa: He is, he, is it? He's a very good friend, very good family friends, you know, Kelly, and serene Kelly, we love you. We love all the work you're doing for us at the nonprofit resource hub at all. The imagine awards in New York City and Long Island, and certainly the work you do for serene and associates. So they are great. So top notch. Shout out

00:39:01.940 --> 00:39:07.640 Tommy DiMisa: thanks for bringing that up. Were you already a nonprofit entity? A 501 c. 3 at that point, or they helped.

00:39:07.640 --> 00:39:31.209 Jennifer Hernandez: So we did that pretty quickly, you know, and I get a lot of questions. I have a Tiktok and I get, and I talk a lot about, you know, mindset, and not for profit. Work and things like that. And a lot of the questions I get are, well, how do I get my not for profit status, and I had an amazing co-founder. She was able to kind of put everything together, do all the research behind it, send in the tax paperwork, and within like a couple of months we had our.

00:39:31.210 --> 00:39:56.110 Jennifer Hernandez: We had our tax id number. We had our nonprofit status. It was, it was happened really quickly. And all the resources really are online. Everything is literally in your pocket. If you want to start something, you got to do some research, and then you got to execute on it. You know, tune out that 80% of the noise stay within that 20% signal and you'll get it done, and then you don't have to pay, you know, 5, $10,000 to get it going. And that's

00:39:56.110 --> 00:40:02.279 Jennifer Hernandez: we did, because we had no money, so we had no other choice. We just didn't have any any funding at all to do this.

00:40:02.280 --> 00:40:27.080 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah, quick plug! Got a shout out the nonprofit resource hub again. Go to nonprofitresourcehub.org. It's an organization that we founded when I say we, my business partners at Vanguard benefits the team at Serini, and associates David Goldstein from Sir Tillman Ballen, who runs a nonprofit governance practice there, and my friends, Christine Deska and Frank Orzo from nonprofit sector strategies. We are the leadership team. From that organization, as I said, shout out again to Kelly and Serini

00:40:27.290 --> 00:40:43.330 Tommy DiMisa: and our executive director, Allison Lafalita, who really keep the nonprofit resource hub moving and shaking and moving and grooving for sure. So check out nonprofit resource, hub and or reach out to me, and I'll connect you. So look at this like commercials all day long. This guy, I mean. I don't even have any sponsors. I'm like sponsor my own stuff.

00:40:43.330 --> 00:40:44.300 Jennifer Hernandez: Great.

00:40:44.300 --> 00:41:00.710 Tommy DiMisa: It's all about resources, all about the connections. So so you get going, you kind of realize at 1 point, wow, maybe we don't know what we're doing, but we're going to figure this out for the greater good. What was the intention? What was the plan? Because it was easy and and vibes came together right like vibes, was a different.

00:41:00.710 --> 00:41:02.219 Jennifer Hernandez: That was a few years later.

00:41:02.220 --> 00:41:04.510 Tommy DiMisa: What happened in the beginning? Yeah, tell me.

00:41:04.510 --> 00:41:30.950 Jennifer Hernandez: Yeah. So from 2,015 to 2, 2,018 we worked for free. We did not. We did not make any money. Anything that came in any small contracts went right back into the agency, you know, starting the website, purchasing different things that we needed to purchase like anything that we made went right back into the business. We didn't take any kind of any kind of payroll because we couldn't, and we knew that it did.

00:41:30.950 --> 00:41:35.969 Tommy DiMisa: That means everybody had to have another job right? Because people have to like survive. Like all there was.

00:41:35.970 --> 00:41:47.999 Jennifer Hernandez: But we all had part. We all had partners, and luckily like. So for the 1st 3 years it was all on my husband. We shopped at the dollar tree, and that was it, like, you know. Explain it.

00:41:48.300 --> 00:42:04.190 Tommy DiMisa: And 1st of all, thank you for explaining, and thank you, for, I would say sacrificing, you know, at that time, because you were giving. You were doing what you had to do to kind of make it happen. But look yo, anyway, don't hate on a dollar tree. I was in there last night. They got great candy. I love the candy out of the dollar.

00:42:04.190 --> 00:42:05.530 Jennifer Hernandez: Sorry I still go there.

00:42:05.530 --> 00:42:12.679 Tommy DiMisa: The dollar tree. I can't. I can't pass a dollar tree without getting stopping by. And the candy I mean it is a dollar and a quarter.

00:42:12.680 --> 00:42:13.660 Jennifer Hernandez: Dollar Tree.

00:42:13.660 --> 00:42:37.659 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah, let's tell everybody, though it's a dollar 25 tree. It's a little bit of a misnomer, if you don't know you, you know, but if you know, you know. But I love the candy aisle, anyway, back to back to the show, Tommy. But so so you did, though you grinded it out, you know, and shout out to my, for my current friend met Fan Gabriel, what's up, brother? Thanks for the support. But again, like it's that sort of stuff like making it happen. You got to do that if you want it, and you want to survive.

00:42:37.660 --> 00:43:04.100 Jennifer Hernandez: Scariest time in my life, but the universe rewards courage, and I truly see that now, you know sometimes things are scary. You got to keep showing up, and you got to keep doing it. I just had my, I was. I just had my second son. We had purchased a house like just a couple, you know. It was not even a year in a couple. It was 2 years in, and you know we were just trying to make ends meet. So it was a very scary time.

00:43:04.100 --> 00:43:23.640 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah, you took chances for the greater good. Right? Like, you know, you saw an opportunity. What was it? Specifically the need? Because if you go back to the roles you had in the past? Was it the trafficking? Was it the Dv stuff, the domestic violence? What was it that you saw, and your team was like, where can we make this better? And how can we serve more people? What was it that stood out.

00:43:23.640 --> 00:43:26.800 Jennifer Hernandez: So the gap was really just in making human services human.

00:43:27.315 --> 00:43:35.130 Jennifer Hernandez: That was just in a nutshell. That's the best way that I can explain it because the services, you know are.

00:43:36.770 --> 00:43:55.319 Jennifer Hernandez: how do I? How do I put this? We wanted to make sure that the relationship that you know the service provider and the individual in need was at the forefront, right? Like they had to actually connect. They actually had to care about one another. And we had.

00:43:55.450 --> 00:44:17.039 Jennifer Hernandez: You know, we had seen that sometimes. That wasn't always the case in every organization where you kind of get like, well, you can't go, you know you can't cross the line. You can't hug a client. You can't tell them I love. You can't tell them that you're worthy. You can't tell them these sort of things because it's not professional like you're supposed to give them some sort of, you know. Rx, to like fix the issue.

00:44:17.040 --> 00:44:24.300 Tommy DiMisa: That's like archaic, because that's like the same thing when they say like. And in business, I posted video about this, and it was like, you know, like

00:44:24.380 --> 00:44:48.250 Tommy DiMisa: at 1 point they told you, like your clients are not supposed to be your friends, and your friends are not supposed to be your clients, and never these 2 things should meet. And it was like an old school thinking. But that's like that's not humane, and treating people like a number like you're talking about where you say you wanted to make human services. Human sounds like humanity sounds like we're trying to actually connect with another organic life form sitting across from us who needs compassion and love?

00:44:48.330 --> 00:44:49.570 Tommy DiMisa: Right? That's what it sounds.

00:44:49.570 --> 00:44:52.750 Jennifer Hernandez: Absolutely right. That's exactly what it was. And

00:44:52.760 --> 00:45:20.770 Jennifer Hernandez: how do you put that like? There's so much that goes behind that. How do you kind of explain that to anybody when you're you know, a couple of years in, you've got no money. Nobody really believes in you yet. The only thing that you have is that you keep showing up, and you keep talking to anybody who will listen to you. And I realized really early on that I couldn't really convince people to understand what I was, what I was trying to say and what we were trying to do.

00:45:20.810 --> 00:45:35.929 Jennifer Hernandez: So eventually I just let that go and just said, You know, I'm not gonna keep trying to explain and convince people of why this matters. I'm just gonna put my head down. Do what we have to do keep showing up. And at some point

00:45:36.150 --> 00:45:38.280 Jennifer Hernandez: it's gonna work. That's what happened.

00:45:38.280 --> 00:45:39.660 Jennifer Hernandez: It's literally what happened.

00:45:39.660 --> 00:45:46.919 Tommy DiMisa: You were doing the work right. You said, I'm gonna do the work, and then it's gonna be the the community will realize it when they do, and then.

00:45:46.920 --> 00:46:11.760 Jennifer Hernandez: It will show for itself. And that's what happened. We made a great relationship over Suffolk County Police Department, and I always say this, you know, there are huge systems that are severely flawed. But within those systems there are people who care. There are people who understand. There are people who want to see change just as badly as you do. And what we focused on is not changing these huge big systems.

00:46:11.760 --> 00:46:17.829 Jennifer Hernandez: And because if we did, we would just want to beat our heads into the ground all day long and get nowhere.

00:46:17.830 --> 00:46:39.119 Jennifer Hernandez: What we did was we found those people within those systems who had the same values, who had the same understanding of the situations. And you know, we built relationships with them. So we built relationships. One of my co-founders. She's just absolutely amazing. She is the relationship builder. She worked with one of the detective lieutenants

00:46:39.330 --> 00:46:48.350 Jennifer Hernandez: and with one of the sergeants, and they were like, Hey, we've got to like, do something together like we need to work with you guys and like, figure out how to make this happen.

00:46:48.380 --> 00:47:15.880 Jennifer Hernandez: We ended up writing a Federal grant with one another. This was for anti-human trafficking, and we landed a $750,000, grant, and that's what got us off the ground in 2018. So from 2015 to 2018, we were just grinding, grinding, grinding, and 2018, we were able to finally, you know, receive a paycheck, we were finally able to hire one of. We hired ourselves and one staff member, and and it all sort of started from there.

00:47:15.880 --> 00:47:35.120 Tommy DiMisa: I love it. I love it all right. Let's take one last break because I want to come back. I want you to drive home the programs I want you to drive home, how we get involved. I want you to drive home. We talked about it. I wrote it down connections and cocktails we'll talk about, you know, things like that that are coming up. We'll talk about ways for the nonprofit sector connector to help, maybe through some relationships, etc. That's me. I'm the nonprofit sector connecting for everybody.

00:47:35.120 --> 00:47:38.170 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah, we will be right back.

00:49:54.680 --> 00:50:08.040 Tommy DiMisa: Alright! Alright! Let's join me in the attic. You know I missed some of the notes. I don't know who levitate life is, but whoever that is says that they can attest that you are a great dancer. So somebody somebody.

00:50:08.040 --> 00:50:10.730 Jennifer Hernandez: My husband. That's Gabriel. The Mets fan.

00:50:10.730 --> 00:50:19.730 Tommy DiMisa: That's my main, what? Up I I couldn't. I wasn't viewing the chats right. What's up, Gabriel? Let's go mets again. Dude. This guy's getting more play than you and I again on the show. He's like.

00:50:19.730 --> 00:50:20.330 Jennifer Hernandez: No.

00:50:20.330 --> 00:50:47.309 Tommy DiMisa: He's a little celebrity man. So all right, let's let's so there was a I just shared something while we were at break. Go to the website gang, which is eclvives.org the way you think you spell vibes, but it's ECLB. ibes.org, and I was just looking at the empowerment toolbox. There's so much still that we have to get into. So let's be quick. Here's the thing. When did you there was vibes, victims, information Bureau? Right? That if I'm correct.

00:50:47.390 --> 00:50:50.419 Tommy DiMisa: but what happened? When did you merge? And what was the reason that happened.

00:50:51.070 --> 00:50:54.571 Jennifer Hernandez: So in 2020 I was working with

00:50:55.300 --> 00:51:10.600 Jennifer Hernandez: ighl, who's a not-for-profit also on Long Island. And they had they had vibes was one of their umbrella organ. They were under, like their the umbrella of their like larger organizations. Well, they have one

00:51:10.600 --> 00:51:28.600 Jennifer Hernandez: large organization, and then they kind of have a bunch of other smaller, not for profits underneath them, and it was just outside of their wheelhouse, and they had reached out to me. I had been talking to them about like some Medicaid stuff, and, you know, meeting with their leadership and things like that, they were just fantastic resource.

00:51:28.600 --> 00:51:34.570 Jennifer Hernandez: and ended up saying, like, Hey, any chance you want to take over vibes? That's literally how it happened.

00:51:34.902 --> 00:51:45.220 Jennifer Hernandez: There's this, you know, not for profit. It is. It's very similar to what you guys are doing. I was like, Yeah, we know vibes. We literally had one of our 1st

00:51:45.250 --> 00:51:48.959 Jennifer Hernandez: one of our 1st office spaces was in the Vibes building.

00:51:48.960 --> 00:51:49.720 Jennifer Hernandez: Sure, which?

00:51:49.720 --> 00:51:50.649 Jennifer Hernandez: Yeah, crazy. So.

00:51:50.650 --> 00:51:51.000 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah.

00:51:51.000 --> 00:51:51.620 Jennifer Hernandez: Why?

00:51:51.620 --> 00:51:57.949 Tommy DiMisa: No, you know. But I'm gonna I'm gonna disagree because, you know, it's not crazy. You're a person who's into the universe and connections. You knew exactly.

00:51:57.950 --> 00:51:58.960 Jennifer Hernandez: Oh, it's not crazy!

00:51:58.960 --> 00:52:21.550 Tommy DiMisa: So, looking back at you, of course we were there, and of course, right? So you know, that's for those of again, if you know, you know. Gang the universe, the universal consciousness. We're all connected. Right? You listen before the show starts. It talks about the universe and not my, you know, anyway, the music that plays before the show gang. If you listen to talkradio, dot Nyc. You know. All right, we got to stop me. Stop talking and let Jennifer talk

00:52:21.550 --> 00:52:34.490 Tommy DiMisa: so so that connection happens in 2020, which is a wonderful time in history that we all might remember. So I want to get into the just like what that meant. And then how programmatically, how it all works out.

00:52:34.490 --> 00:53:01.339 Jennifer Hernandez: Yeah. So what it? What it meant for survivors was that they had greater access to services with the core values. That ecli, you know, has always held, which is client-centered survivor led, making sure that the client is in the lead of everything that we do that survivors are advising what the programs look like because they're the ones who have been through these experiences. They understand.

00:53:01.340 --> 00:53:02.870 Jennifer Hernandez: yeah, what they could do much.

00:53:02.870 --> 00:53:08.219 Tommy DiMisa: Survivor led survivors are explaining so to hit that one more time. Just so they get that.

00:53:08.220 --> 00:53:16.760 Jennifer Hernandez: Yes, so we, we, our organization is survivor led. We have our survivor Advisory Board, which advises our programs.

00:53:16.760 --> 00:53:17.559 Tommy DiMisa: Love, that.

00:53:17.830 --> 00:53:27.559 Jennifer Hernandez: This is something that's super important. Right now we have our Ipv board, and we have our our anti-human trafficking sab.

00:53:27.900 --> 00:53:40.319 Jennifer Hernandez: and our survivor, advisory board or sap, and they advise the programs. So we know that we can go back and say, You know, does this work? Is this not working, and we're still figuring this all out.

00:53:40.320 --> 00:53:41.870 Tommy DiMisa: Of course you are. We're always free.

00:53:41.870 --> 00:54:01.010 Jennifer Hernandez: We definitely don't have it, you know, down packed. But we know that it works. We just have to figure, you know, kind of figure out how to administer it, I guess, more regularly, and all those things. But we're but it's happening. And we've seen how that informs the programs.

00:54:01.010 --> 00:54:25.089 Tommy DiMisa: But I mean, it's like sorry to cut you off. It's like one of these obvious things like this is the population we're serving. They know where we need to meet them. Why, anything else? My opinion is, it would be arrogant like to just say, Here we know what it is, unless unless everybody in who in the leadership team is a survivor and has experienced the same things. But why not? Because, like I was with Yolanda Robino gross again. We were out together last night.

00:54:25.090 --> 00:54:49.760 Tommy DiMisa: That organization serves 2,000 individuals here on Long Island every year. Right? That's 2,000 different stories, 2,000 individuals, not a group of 2,000 people, 2,000 individuals like, I think that's what we have to remember to meet people, as they say, where they are, and find out what it is they need. And you know the the original name was empowerment collaborative, right? So it's in empowering these individuals to get the services they need. So they grow

00:54:49.760 --> 00:54:52.379 Tommy DiMisa: right. So they're more advanced. Right? Isn't that what it's about?

00:54:52.380 --> 00:55:09.509 Jennifer Hernandez: Yes, and it's a collaborative which is very. It's extremely important, because not one person can do all of this work. We all have to share the burden we have to share the love we have to share the excitement, the pain, you know, and there are people, I say, like you might not ever walk through our doors.

00:55:09.510 --> 00:55:23.159 Jennifer Hernandez: but we hope that you know that we exist, that we're here, and you're not the only one who's gone through this, you mentioned something earlier that really resonated with me, which was that you read a lot of books, and that you were interested in like the audio books, and

00:55:23.200 --> 00:55:37.689 Jennifer Hernandez: I was built off of books. You don't have to fly blind, and I like to say that to a lot of people, because maybe you're not ready to walk in through our doors and receive our services. But there's so much out there. It's just knowing that you, you know, being in that receiving mode.

00:55:37.690 --> 00:55:58.920 Tommy DiMisa: So let me ask you this. So somebody needs services again. I said, 6, 3, 1, 3, 6, 0, 3, 6, 0 6, 6, 3, 1, 3, 6, 0, 3, 6, 0 6. That is the hope line 24, 7, hope line. I love that right, not the hotline, not the helpline the hope line. So really quick. Just give me from top down in like 45 seconds services that the organization provides. So we can get that in.

00:55:58.920 --> 00:56:20.500 Jennifer Hernandez: Sure. So we have our advocacy services. So we can do legal support, whether it's just providing emotional support and walking you through a order of protection, walking you through child support or custody and things like that. We also have a legal team on staff. So if representation is needed, we have that available. We have counselors

00:56:20.610 --> 00:56:48.010 Jennifer Hernandez: who can do. There's different support groups that we have available individual support, individual support that we have available. We also have our sexual assault forensic examiner program. So if somebody has been sexually assaulted, we can provide a forensic exam. We also have our youth program, which, you know, connects youth to different resources. We take them out for different sort of.

00:56:48.080 --> 00:56:57.369 Jennifer Hernandez: you know, fun outings. Let them enjoy things you were. You were mentioning the Dj. Earlier. And a lot of our kids want to be Djs or Vjs, and that's pretty cool.

00:56:57.370 --> 00:57:24.820 Tommy DiMisa: Well, that sounds like a collab that sounds like a collab with building beats out of New York City. We will make that connection for sure. See? That's that's what a nonprofit sector connector does like if you Google, what don't Google it? Because I don't think it's out there. But if you Google, what the heck does a nonprofit sector connector do? It would be that I got so we got to just shout out the October 17.th I'm going to share my page again. We're out of time, which happens on the show. I never run out of words. We always run out of minutes. That should be the theme of the show.

00:57:25.125 --> 00:57:25.430 Jennifer Hernandez: Oh!

00:57:25.430 --> 00:57:42.179 Tommy DiMisa: But it's not. It's called. We help nonprofits tell their story and amplify their message. All right. The website, if you go to on October 17th Ecl. Vibes has an event called Connections and Cocktails. You can go right to the website, which I will share right now. Give me 30 seconds on connections and cocktails, and then we got to go.

00:57:43.020 --> 00:58:07.449 Jennifer Hernandez: Yeah. So connections and cocktails is pretty new. But it's where we're connecting with our local community. You can walk in, just, you know, if you're a business owner, you can walk in just as who you are coming in checking out. We'll give you a tour of the space, if you like you get to hear a little bit about what we're doing, what we're focusing on. You know that quarter what we've done in the last quarter.

00:58:07.800 --> 00:58:20.060 Jennifer Hernandez: and really just connecting with people. And you know, seeing how we can support each other, how we can be of mutual, you know, mutual support to each other, and you get to know a little bit about the organization.

00:58:20.060 --> 00:58:30.930 Tommy DiMisa: I love it, I love it. Listen! And if you don't think you want to hang out with Jennifer, and I'm certainly a video on October 17, th and I don't know but I think there's gonna be some salsa music there. I don't know. I feel like there might be some.

00:58:30.930 --> 00:58:32.399 Jennifer Hernandez: No, there has to be.

00:58:32.721 --> 00:58:35.289 Tommy DiMisa: Look at me. Go go look at Tommy.

00:58:35.290 --> 00:58:36.619 Jennifer Hernandez: Dancing to that.

00:58:36.620 --> 00:58:59.110 Tommy DiMisa: And then I put my hand on my belly, and I do that whole thing all right. He's out of his mind. Folks that's just the show. That's just what it is. All right, Jennifer, I appreciate you. Thanks so much for being my friend. Shout out to everybody who's checking in this show is called Philanthropy and Focus. I'm called Tommy D. The nonprofit sector connector. Make it a great day. Make it a great week, and I'll see you next Friday. This has been another in focus production. See ya bye.