Stacy Huston is Executive Director of Sixdegrees.org, a charity founded by Actor, Musician and Philanthropist Kevin Bacon. SixDegrees amplifies the work of grassroots nonprofits that are often overlooked while they are doing extraordinary work at the local level.
Additionally, she consults in the advancement of transportation electrification by brokering relationships with the nation’s largest retailers and commercial real estate investment trusts with the nation’s leading fast charging network, EVgo.
Ms. Huston is also the co-founder and Executive Producer for TEDxTysons, an independently organized TED event outside of Washington DC where she lives with her husband Daniel and 1 year old daughter Abigail.
You may be only 6 Degrees from success in your life. Join Stacy & Lisa for conversation about positioning yourself to achieve extraordinary things!
TIMESTAMPS:
09:52 importance of connecting personally with an interviewer or someone you’re pitching10:40 the serendipity that led Stacy to work with Kevin Bacon’s Six Degrees
16:06 the direct correlation between corporate social responsibility and increasing your bottom line
26:59 how Lisa & Stacy both benefited from having a blind parent
30:46 what all 3 of Stacy’s current career paths have in common and what you can learn from that
34:56 how a call while she was in Romania led Stacy to start diversifying herself
42:33 what led Stacy to start TEDx Tysons
TRANSCRIPT:
LISA: I am so happy tonight to have Stacy Huston. Oh, my gosh, she’s so busy! She’s the Executive Director of Kevin Bacon’s Six Degrees organization, she works in the electrical car industry, and she’s the founder of TEDx Fairfax
STACY: TEDx Tyson’s
LISA: yeah, I’m sorry I made that slip. So Stacy I want you to tell them a little bit more about the three things that you do and your background and then we’ll go from there
STACY: yeah, sure thing, so um three completely different things. So, um, my main day-to-day job is I run sixdegrees.org which is a charity founded by Kevin Bacon. Um, we focus on amplifying grassroot local charities that are doing amazing work but, you know, you may not have heard of them. So, we kind of help shine a light and bring some more awareness to their much deserved mission. And then I consult in the electric vehicle infrastructure space, uh, really building out networks of chargers so that we can continue kind of transportation electrification. We’re really on the precipice of that right now and it’s really important that we get chargers on the ground so as, as, cars still come online and they’re so much more affordable people can you know charge them, right? We can kind of talk a little bit more about that. And then I’m a founder of TEDx Tysons which is an internally organized TEDx event um, which if you’ve heard of TED of course we’re
the independently kind of, um, organized portion of that. So we have been doing that for about six years and produced probably more than 50 talks.
LISA: that’s cool. You are such a busy person! Oh and, y’all, by the way she’s also a mommy of a one-year-old, right?
STACY: yeah, she’s 14 months old and going on like three. I mean, this kid is growing so fast! But it’s, yeah, it’s been an amazing year, you know? COVID 19 has been really hard and, um, devastating for a lot of reasons. But she has been like such a joy and I am very grateful that I’ve been here for this year, for kind of getting to see her in all these first few months it’s been, it’s been really amazing to see it up close.
LISA: that’s awesome! But, okay so I want to talk about, I want to talk about each of the three things that you do and then like everything all together. But I wanted to bring up, the first time you and I talked you made the comment that you felt like you had prepared your whole life for now, what you’re doing now. Did you mean everything all together,
were you referring to like the Six Degrees work more, or what?
STACY: yeah, um really in that moment I was specifically talking about Six Degrees, um, the, just the gratitude I have that I can help make an impact and support so many people in a variety of… You know, we’re an agnostic organization in the sense of we don’t have pillars, right? So if there’s a need and we feel moved by it we can do something to support them and help them. And I’ve always had a lot of empathy growing up as a kid. My Mom was the same way, um, we’re very emotional people It’s like, we see something, we watch a movie and we cry like that family member that’s going through some devastating scenario, right? And I’ve always really desired to be able to, like, help and do more. But didn’t really, you know, have the tools or the know-how of how I could make a difference. So when I was saying that in the moment, yeah, it was it was specifically Six Degrees but really I talk about that, um, in the sense of everything that I’m doing right now, right? Like my, I’m not a traditional person that has kind of that one career focus, that one job. And I think that we tell ourselves that, you know, in order to be successful you need to be laser focused on this thing, right? But I have a lot of passions, you know, I have one purpose but I have lots of passions and it fulfills me in, like, an amazing way. So, um yeah, I think that all the different jobs I had along the way, the ones that were terrible and the ones that were like, okay, and the ones that were great and didn’t work out, and what have you. I always took something from those. They really became building blocks.
LISA: yeah, a lot of times we learn the most from the bad experiences, right?
STACY: oh, absolutely
LISA: yeah, another thing, another thing that you said that I thought was really interesting is you referred to yourself diversifying. And most people don’t, they think of a business, you diversify your business. They don’t really think about themselves. So, like you referred to a minute ago, they think more like, “I’ve got to be really good at this one thing” and I think it’s so wonderful that you found these niches that fit the different, uh, your different interests. And you’re able to do all of them.
STACY yeah, I mean, honestly I think sometimes you have these like trigger moments in life that maybe force your your hand because we may have a desire to do something but sometimes we need that little oomph. And I distinctly remember, I worked for an organization, um, this was probably in like 2011, that I loved. I was a, like a stylist for luxury hotels. I worked for, it was like a matrix organization but they’re called Cintas, fantastic company. I don’t have anything bad to say about them other than the fact that, like, I did extremely well for them and out of nowhere I got laid off.
LISA: yeah
STACY: and I remember that feeling of like, just total shock. And I was a single woman, I lived by myself in L.A., you know, and that was my income. And I, and I had like, it was you know, a six week severance or something like that.
LISA: which is nothing
STACY: nothing, nothing. But luckily I like, I’m a killer interview. So like I had a job in four weeks with no problem. Because, like, interviewing became a full-time job and I, you know, I took the job that presented itself fairly fairly quickly, um, out of necessity. However I just remember thinking I don’t want to be in this this position again, you know, that I have to move quickly, make decisions quickly, or get the, you know, the rug pulled out from under myself and not have anything to kind of fall back on.
LISA: yeah, yeah, yeah, that’s a great point. When you were doing all those interviews, do you have any secrets or tips about how you got so many interviews? Or tips for people, because you said you’re a killer interview, do you have any tips for people that might be looking now?
STACY: yeah, you know, I am one of those people that, I definitely work with recruiters, you know? And I think that like on LinkedIn it’s pretty, I mean, they’re everywhere now so it’s easy to find someone. But probably like 10, 15 years ago, it’s not like that it was, just like, you know a common thing to use, you know specifically. But I had a sales background and so when you’re a salesperson it’s not hard to get an interview because like, it’s like a, I feel like it’s like a dying trade. Because people come out of
college and they’re like forced to go into a sales job, and then find the people kind of in that mix that were kind of made to do it. It’s definitely a certain skill set. So I look at interviews like I am, you know
LISA: yeah you’re a product
STACY: yeah, I’m a product basically. And, um, I always ask for the next step. I think it’s really important to close, okay? I don’t know if this is just my experience but sometimes I dated people for far too long because they were really good at asking me for the next date and I couldn’t say no to somebody when they were in front of me and they said I’d love to see you again. How about Wednesday and I’m like sure, yeah, Wednesday, right? So one of the things that it’s, you know, you need to be assumptive and confident
and build value. But, um yeah, I always say that you really should be confident and always close on those on those interviews. So, yeah, I’ve done some training around them. I did some volunteer work, um, with different like women’s shelters and things like that to try to, you know, help with just interview etiquette and and confidence building. But I think it’s really important.
LISA: that’s great advice. Back decades ago, the last interview I had was in the early 90s but and I used to tell my friends or, you know, younger people now, you are interviewing them as much as they’re interviewing you. Because so many people go into an interview and they just, desperation reeks off of them and, you know, they just want a job. But businesses can be like that, too, and sales people can be like that. So you need to be prepared, you know, get in there and be confident in yourself. And be looking at, is this the right thing for me? Whether you’re selling yourself or whether you’re selling a product for your business.
STACY: absolutely. And I think it’s always important to try to be, um, find like a commonality with who you’re interviewing with. Something personal that you can touch on. I don’t think that people do that enough. They come with all these like, canned
questions. Do you have any questions for me? And it’s like the standard questions as opposed to asking someone to open up about themselves. You know, “you’ve been with the company for, you know, a long time. I’d love to hear about your experience with it and the things that you love about your day-to-day.” Because people love talking about themselves.
LISA: that’s right, yep
STACY: and they will remember that way you made them feel, right? So, um, there’s my helpful interview tips.
LISA: those are great tips. Okay, so I’m curious, how did you end up with Six Degrees?
STACY: um, serendipitous. So, this is actually a really good story. About five years ago I was working full-time for an organization called EVgo. At that time they were part of NRG which is a big energy company in Houston and, um, loved it. It was, you know, obviously cutting edge working electric vehicle infrastructure space. I was a site developer for them. It was great. And a girlfriend of mine reached out and said, “hey, I have a friend who leads a celebrity’s non-profit and look they’re going through, like, a life transition and are looking to find a replacement. I think you’d be great.” And I just thought no. Like, one, I ‘m really happy where I am yeah and two, like, you know, the L.A. girl
doesn’t move all the way to Virginia and then end up working for a celebrity. It just seemed like it wouldn’t make a lot of sense. And at that time I thought, “I’ve never led a non-profit. I’ve only ever been in corporate America, sales, marketing, that type of thing, development.” And so I didn’t know if I really had what they would need as well. You know? But she’s persistent and I agreed to have coffee with the then-Executive Director. And the morning I was going to have coffee with him my phone rang and it was my boss at the time, um, and he said “yeah, I don’t know, well I’m not supposed to tell you this but um we are, you know, getting new investors and you have an opportunity to move back to L.A. and grow with the company and lead a team there and all that great stuff. But you have to move back to L.A.” And at that time I had just met my now-husband.
LISA: okay
STACY: and it was early, it was like six weeks in. So it was like at that early stage where you’re kind of like, you can’t make a life-changing decision based on this
guy of six weeks but it was also, I really knew it was something special, you know? And I said, “well, when do I have to tell you by?” And he said 3pm.
LISA: oh, my gosh! That’s no pressure at all!
STACY: no, also like, rude! 3pm?!?
LISA: can you let me think about it? Can you let me marinate in it 24 hours?
STACY: yeah, you know but I get it. He was like they’re making decisions quick, who’s gonna get a severance, who’s moving, who, you know. And honestly, I truly appreciated that.
LISA: at least you were told
STACY: yeah like, you know, he valued me as a person above just like a number on his team and that was invaluable. So, um, that coffee got really important and I went and had coffee with him. And I remember he was sick; he had like a cold. And I remember thinking the whole time, oh, no, because if he’s not feeling good he may think that if the interview, if he’s not feeling good, like the interview didn’t go good. You know what I mean?
LISA: yeah, yeah
STACY: just because of him feeling like crap, you know? I’m always like, so I really try to like, up the energy and like create good rapport. And it went well, it went great, um, and I called my boss that afternoon and I said I think I’m gonna take the severance. And he’s like, “you know, I think that’s a smart thing. You know, don’t worry about it. You’re gonna be fine.”
I was, I was like, you know maybe it took about four weeks after that I had a like a Skype interview with Kevin directly. And I just remember, you know, Skype pops up and it says, you know Kevin Bacon calling. Like, oh my gosh, it’s so weird, you know? And answering it, but then immediately it was just completely kind of normal and it was, he was really easy to talk to. He had a passion for what he was doing. They definitely needed some direction and, kind of, what was next for them, you know? And I kind of realized through all of my, like, preparation that I, that I did have every skill that they needed. I didn’t ever need to lead a non-profit to run a successful one.
LISA: right, yeah
STACY: I had the relationships, you know. I had the business experience,I had the sales experience. I mean, you’re selling that non-profit; you’re selling programs, initiatives. You’re trying to get people to open their wallets, to support this vision that, that you want them to share. So when you really start thinking about it I, you know it, it wasn’t that much of a leap. And but, yeah, I ended up starting on my birthday.
LISA: oh, wow, that is such a great story! I love it! And you know what you said about never having worked in a non-profit or never having run one? Personally, I think that’s an asset because a lot of times people only work in nonprofits and they have such tunnel vision for how they fundraise and everybody’s doing it the same way. And, you know, I’m big into corporate social responsibility and helping companies understand that you can help organizations in better ways than just handing them money, you know?
STACY: yeah,and oh, 100%. You’re so right because non-profit minded people, um, there’s nothing wrong with someone obviously that works in a non-profit, right? But they think about the world fundamentally differently, right? They have this, like, very altruistic position and their job is all about, like, impact and giving back. And they see the world so like that way, so close up, that it’s hard to step away and say, “listen, this is an opportunity for marketing. This is brand recognition for this company, and that’s not a bad thing. It just is what it is.”
LISA: no, it’s not; it’s actually better for everybody. Because if you can figure out a way that the company can get something out of it – goodwill, whatever, then they are more likely to be able to continue to support you for the long term. Because they, let’s face it, everybody has down times that they have to cut budgets. But if it’s something that’s actually contributing to the company they won’t look at it as just a donation. The nonprofit, one of the nonprofits that we promote through the NASCAR team, Racing For Heroes, and we promote them for free on the car, we do all kinds of stuff for them. But people have asked the founder, well, why don’t we just give you money why why and, like, when we were crowdfunding, why give it to the team? Why don’t we just give it to you. And the founder said, “no, please don’t give it to us. Giving the team ten dollars is like giving us a hundred dollars.” Because we’re able to provide so much more of a platform, you know? That, and then it takes a lot more money for them to even get close to having the same impact so
STACY: absolutely, and I mean don’t even the, one of the things that I think that doesn’t get talked about enough is actually like, the return on investment for, like, employee employee engagement. Like when a company looks at corporate social responsibility as something that actually builds so much value and participation in their employees that they’re actually more actively engaged in their day-to-day job because they have higher job satisfaction. And that’s just like factual data-driven, you know? So when when you give your employees eight hours a month, you know or quarter, whatever, what have you, to donate their time or you have, you know, organized activities where they’re giving back. Like there is a direct correlation to increasing your bottom line at a company. And so if you, if you haven’t worked in corporate America, you may not really understand that and you really can’t speak that language. So I think that there’s a lot of ways to look at it, um, but yeah. No, I’m so incredibly lucky. I love what I do.
LISA: yeah, that’s awesome. You were telling me the other week about one, I think it was in Colorado, one of the projects that y’all did. A restaurant? Talk about that because that’s a great example of where multiple people were being helped.
STACY: absolutely. So, because of my background in business, and I had worked with a lot of small businesses as well. I love to see the marriage of small business and non-profits and communities, like, coming together to help towards a a common goal, right? It’s great for the, for the businesses to kind of get some additional attention and help people
kind of go into their doors, and then essentially they’re giving back to these charities that need support as well. But kevin, um, he’s in The Bacon Brothers, him and his brother Michael have had this band for more than 20 years and they tour most summers. Not last for obvious reasons, um, but two years ago they went to the Stanley Hotel which is the hotel that they did The Shining at
LISA: oh, yeah
STACY: so yeah, so they were in Denver and we found an organization called Samples which was this, they’re a staffing agency and they’re the number four staffing agency in
terms of like size and employees that they support in the state. But their specific, um, area of expertise are those that are differently able. So a range of different disabilities from, you know uh, mental, physical, all these types of things which is fantastic. So they help people get gainful employment they can actually have a suitable living from and, uh, and then the other part of the family was like a husband and wife duo. They actually had a restaurant called Samples and they employed many of the people that they worked with through the staffing agency there, even. So they really led by example yeah. So it was great. We got, Kevin and his brother went down and had lunch and kind of met with all the employees and, and the people and they kind of did a little, um you know, kind of pop-up concert we call it. But, yeah, it’s like a fantastic way. It’s really fun and it’s, it’s really a low lift, right? It gives people like Kevin, um celebrities that typically don’t get to do this type of stuff, a really interesting and unique opportunity to do a lot of good, you know, by spending an hour or two of their, of their day when they’re otherwise going to be, you know, in a trailer waiting for the stage call.
LISA: And the wonderful thing to, one of the wonderful things is that that small amount of time for them gives lasting value because it gives publicity, it generates photographs videos, whatever, you know evergreen type content that the organization can continue to use in their own marketing. But then I can’t even imagine how good it made the employees feel and
STACY: yeah, I mean, yeah they like light up and they get to take pictures and then, you know, tell stories and um and it’s just, it is, there’s an energy about these events that
I can’t really describe unless you’re there. But, um, they’re so fun, like it’s just the joy it brings to so many people and to have like a little, you know, a little part of that is just so special. Plus, like my skills have to continue to evolve because when I started with Six Degrees, you know I’m the only employee and I had to learn like PR and media alerts and things like that. So like, we want people to be there, we want some press to show up to, so it’s a surprise, but we can actually help with some, you know, local exposure to get more business for these, for these organizations, right? And more people to volunteer or donate and what have you. So it’s like I was learning to, you know, who’s local in this area and what list can I grab and send these media alerts out.
LISA: that’s really cool. Didn’t you also say that the man that owns the restaurant said that the other employees get so, um, have really enjoyed being able to work with people
who are differently abled because they’ve been able to learn, right?
STACY: yeah it’s, it is one of those things he was sharing that, um I think it goes back to the environment that was created is one that has so much more empathy and enjoyment. It just, it raises the level of satisfaction in such a great way. People are really starting to work um, not so centered on themselves. It slows things down, it allows people to um really work on a lot of different things that they may not typically work on at a restaurant, right? So I think there’s a lot of benefits. But it was, it was nice to see how, you know, I think that that’s the mindset – “well, if you, if you hire someone with disabilities they’re going to slow us down. You’re going to have to do twice as much work.” And that’s just, that’s the wrong way to think about this. You know, um, and it was encouraging to see firsthand experience how they’ve had a really successful business, um, and staffing agency doing this very thing.
LISA: that is so awesome that they took what they learned in the restaurant and expanded it out to other businesses through the staffing agency. And for the other, for the other employees it becomes something more than, “okay, I’m just going for a paycheck.” I can imagine that it’s very fulfilling to them.
STACY: yeah, I think that when you start just kind of literally punching in and punching out, and they talk about you know, not just that you’re disengaged, you’re like actively disengaged. Like you start making it a more toxic work environment for other people, too you know? So there is a level one can actually start taking away from your bottom line as well as building towards it. So yeah, I so enjoy telling that story because, you know, companies really looking at corporate social responsibility and how they can give back. Not only is it like time, I think it’s going to be more and more necessary because consumers are becoming much more conscious, have so many options. Options are just growing. We’re getting more savvy about, you know, looking into companies and who’s running them and who’s leading them and who’s on their board and what do they really stand for. And, you know, I think that people are going to start making choices to revert to brands even if it’s a couple dollars more because they feel better about that purchase.
LISA: yeah, um, one of my friends, Daryl Hatton, is the founder of Fundrazr which is a crowdfunding platform and he’s done TED talks on this and he, his big thing, he calls it the three c’s: corporation, cause, and customer. And, you know, he talks about how the non-profit world, the donations and stuff, you know it’s not sustainable for the same reasons that we talked about earlier. If you’re just giving, at some point you might not be able to give. But also it’s not worth as much as if you can do other things. Like what, for Racing For Heroes we would have to give them way more money, way more cash you know, in order to be able to help them as much as we are. This is Kimley; let’s see what she says. “I agree that exposure to a person that’s differently abled creates an environment that enlightens fellow employees. People will begin to realize that everyone really is the same.” Because so many people have never been around somebody that’s different. Hoby Wedler, the guy that I mentioned to you earlier, he’s a blind PhD chemist and we met in Clubhouse. And the first day that we talked he told me later, he already knew my dad
was blind because I told him but he told me later, he said, “I would have known even if you hadn’t told me because the way you interacted with me.” He said, you know, he can usually tell because people feel more awkward. You can feel like the stiffness if somebody isn’t sure what to say, you know?
STACY: absolutely, absolutely. I was telling you before, my mom was, uh, was legally blind. She was in a car accident when I was eight and lost, you know, most of her vision. And as a kid I just remember, um, you know really it just felt like, you know, everyday for me but, when there was a curb, like you know, telling her there’s a curb. Step down step up, you know, leading and being part of that. So I think that, yeah I’ve definitely seen people act a certain way and kind of revert and, and be a little bit more cautious. And it’s just, it’s kind of silly, you know. But when, you know, we’ve seen this with racial justice, too. When there’s not exposure people, um, have fear; they’re afraid of doing something wrong and inappropriate. And so they’re just a little bit more resistant and kind of want to stand back. So I do think that it gives people an opportunity
to be exposed and become more knowledgeable, um and you know, and see that like Kimley
said, people are really the same, right? You just want the same thing, to feel valued, to do something that they can, you know uh, you know afford, you know a living wage and to interact with people and to give back. Like there’s just like these kind of core values that people hold. So, um yeah, it’s fantastic.
LISA: I personally I know I’m a glass-half-full type of person but I personally think most people are better than we, than a lot of people give them credit for. And I think most people do want to help other people and they want to be good but they either, well, like you said, they either get afraid or they get jaded or whatever. But the thing with both of us growing up with someone who was vision impaired, you know, it also increases your empathy because we were constantly having to look out for our parent. And you know, we knew, like we knew we couldn’t leave our toys in the floor because Daddy would trip over them. We couldn’t leave a door open because he would walk into, you know, the um edge of it.
STACY: your awareness increased
LISA: right, yeah. Having to be aware 24 hours a day but, but subconsciously. It’s not like we were consciously going, “oh.” We just naturally did these things because we knew if we didn’t, what the consequences would be for him. And so I believe that, you know, goes over into how you and I, you know
STACY: oh, 100%. I think it definitely grew my empathy and just awareness. You know it’s like if I, if you would meet someone that was deaf you know your initial thought is going to be, “oh I want to make sure that I’m looking at them and they can they can read lips or you know and, and you ask more questions because you want to be clear on how it’s best to communicate or work with them. Whereas some people don’t even, wouldn’t even know where to start. So, yeah, I think it does, it’s a, it’s a great learning tool.
LISA: something that I think is interesting is that all three of your career paths currently are in some way helping other people. Have you thought about that?
STACY: you know, yeah. I mean it’s, it’s interesting because I was talking to someone earlier about kind of like knowing your why, you know, and I think that’s exactly what it comes down to. Like where it comes to, like, my purpose, the different things that I do they seem very different right. And they are in a lot of ways, but I’m still driven by helping other people. And I think that I am most enthused and I do the best when I am engaging with people and building people up and, like, helping people tell their story. Like very important to me.
LISA: and I think it’s important for other people to understand that about you, because maybe it will help them understand themselves. I think a lot of people just get so caught up in, “I just have to have a job. I just have to bring a paycheck” that they don’t allow themselves the luxury of trying to figure out what they like and don’t like, and what fills their heart and what sucks their soul dry. And so when you are able to understand yourself and find the things that you do in life that actually give you joy, then that
helps you give other people joy. I love that.
STACY: do you hear my little one-year-old? You’re all suffering.
LISA: no, it’s fine!
STACY: I mean this is, this is life, right? So um, no, I do think that helping other people have joy and and um feel empowered to kind of take a step out. You know we were saying, like, is it a leap of faith? It could be in a lot of ways but when you really figure out what you want to do you will figure out a way to do it. You know what I mean? And, you know, like I called a diversifying, you don’t always have to do that one big step at once. You know what I mean? But a lot of times we’re just like kind of paralyzed with this fear or we build things up so much in our head and then we don’t, we just don’t do anything. Like, for example, we were talking about, you know, doing these Facebook
Lives, right? Part of the reason why I haven’t started doing something like this for Six Degrees and other things that I want to talk about, because I’m like the editing, you know like everything will be this huge massive thing. And, Lisa, you’re like the second person that said you just have to stream it and it’s out there and you cut it and you walk away. Being the kind of a person that looks like, you know, a perfectionist, a little A-type personality. I know that that is something that would take so much time that I simply just do not have.
LISA: you would just go down, I would go down into a black hole that I’d never come out of. I literally wanted to do a podcast for three years and I kept not doing it for that very reason. Then all of a sudden I was like wait, I don’t have to do it like everybody else is. My podcast can be live and I call it throwing it out in the wild, totally letting go of control and it feels so liberating because I can’t worry about it, you know? So therefore
STACY: it’s out there
LISA: yep, that’s right. So before you took the job with Six Degrees did you say that the job before that was also in the alternative energy space, electric energy?
STACY: so that’s what happened. I left and then I went to work for Six Degrees and I was there for a couple years. And then while I was on a business trip in Romania of all places, that’s a whole other story, beautiful country, definitely underrated. People should travel there, um I actually have a heart for Romania and like helping people to explore their beauty but they have to figure out their tourist thing. They’re not great for tourism but, like, it is incredible once you’re there. So anyways, I say all that to say I was there for this business trip and I got a call from someone that I had worked with when they were part of NRG and, before we did the split and I left, and this person kind of stayed on throughout the next couple years. And he said, “what would it take to get you to come back?” And I was like, “oh, nothing. Like, you know, like I’m really happy. Like I’m like living my dream, you know? I definitely couldn’t come back, you know, full-time.” And they said “what what can you give?” You know. So I decided to come back as a consultant and it really worked out because it allowed me to diversify and then actually get my foot back in to doing what I one, was really good at and two, just absolutely loved. Love everything about electric vehicles and uh electric vehicle infrastructure and building it out and helping people understand what’s up ahead, and getting comfortable with it and everything about it. So um I went back and I started consulting with them and uh, you know, now they’re kind of, they’re on their own. But it’s been, it’s been fantastic. It’s been great to reconnect with colleagues again in a different way and meet some new people. So, you know, in one area I’m kind of like running everything at Six Degrees and all of my relationships are really external or just with our Board, and then with with EVgo I get to kind of have that team environment. It’s just like the best of both worlds for sure.
LISA: that’s really cool, and it is such an interesting exciting industry because things are happening so fast now.
STACY: oh, yeah. We’re, we’re at that tipping point. I mean it’s just right around the corner. I think they said that, um batteries are now, um, they’ve dropped crazy in price over the last couple years but you know electric cars are expected to be cheaper
to own than gas cars in the next like less than two years. So I mean that is, that’s going to change the game, right? Once someone can say, “oh, I can get a car that has 300 miles of range now, you know, for twenty thousand dollars. It’s, it just, it opens up an entire new avenue and in new drivers that didn’t think before that they could ever own an EV.
LISA: And one of the things that I love about it, that’s really totally has nothing to do with that but think of all the money that’s freed up that then can be spent on other things.
STACY: yeah. Oh absolutely. We got our first EV a couple years ago and, you know, not having to do like the oil changes and like the checkups and things like that, you just realize it’s also like time, too. You know that it’s just so nice that you don’t have to put all the different fluids in your car and everything is truly electric.
LISA: if you get the car for 20 or 30,000 versus 50 or 60.
STACY: absolutely, they’re beautiful. It’s fun to drive, you know, it’s like they’re fast, they’re peppy, umm they’re very, they’re I mean if you like tech, right?
LISA: I love it
STACY: these cars are, it’s just like driving technology because they’re so smart
LISA: I got to visit the Tesla manufacturing facility up in Silicon Valley or whatever, you know, near San Francisco. That was so much fun and of course we got to drive and ride them and everything. But they also, I have video of, I think I still have it, the car and they turned the music on and it was like the car was dancing to the music and the door was so funny. It was so cute.
STACY: for our daughter during Christmas, like the orchestra song, right? And the doors, they flap. It’s so fun, the people in the neighborhood love it.
LISA: yeah, that was the first time I’ve ever seen that. I know a few people that have an electric car but, you know, not that many but I also live in a rural area and people have to drive further and, you know, I’ve seen them more around in cities just because…
STACY: what part of Southern Virginia are you in?
LISA: we, I’m in South Boston, Halifax. I’m just over the state line from Raleigh, so very middle of the state at the very bottom yeah so um a few years ago and
STACY: yeah, this is actually why I came back to consult with with EVgo: Virginia was actually the first state to use the Volkswagen settlement – are you familiar with the Volkswagen settlement?
LISA: yeah, yeah I don’t know very much about it but a bit familiar
STACY: so, yeah, because of like the diesel they call it, you know the state of Virginia got 15 million or 14 million dollars to build out electric vehicle infrastructure and they chose to use all of it and then they brought on EVgo to be like their main partner.
LISA: oh, oka
STACY: which was really exciting and I lived in Virginia so, I mean, it definitely made sense and that’s kind of how this initially started again. But, um, Virginia’s going to have and, and it’s, a lot of it is almost complete, but I mean they’re going to have this huge nationwide, I’m sorry, statewide network which is really fantastic. It’s actually really easy to drive around Virginia. There’s, there are some more chargers in main cities in North Carolina but I mean over the next two years that’s really what’s happening. It’s just going to be, they’re going to start moving into tertiary markets, right? So we’re already in a lot of secondary markets but you’re going to see them connecting those rural hubs for that. If you’re driving down 95 there’s plenty of places to stop for 15 or 20 minutes and keep going, allows you to get lunch and stretch your legs.
LISA: So there are two things that that brings to my mind: first of all, because Virginia’s such a centrally located state, anyway, on the Mid-Atlantic coast and everybody going from Florida to Maine, you know everybody has to go through Virginia. So it’s, it makes the state so convenient to travelers like you just mentioned. Oh my gosh, what was the other? Oh, oh, and then it reminds me of broadband. You know, the last mile with broadband. What people don’t think about is electricity was the same way. That’s why we have electric co-ops, because the cities had electricity but the rural areas didn’t and they built these electric co-ops so that they could get the, um, the electricity the last mile and into homes. So it’s interesting how all these different industries but, you know, it’s kind of the same.
STACY: They have to start somewhere, right? And for a long time it was like range
anxiety was the thing, right? And EV owners were really just like early adopters like, you know, big nerds, great nerds. And now we’re seeing just it becoming so much more mainstream and he masses adopting it because range anxiety is starting to not be a thing anymore. Battery life is getting so much longer, chargers are actually also getting larger so as batteries can get bigger, you know, taking about 45 minutes on a fast charger to to get full maybe, to like 15 20 minutes. You know, it’s not a lot of time, it’s just kind of changing the way you think about a stop.
LISA: yeah, that’s not bad at all because, like you said, you need to stop, stretch, eat anyway
STACY: exactly exactly
LISA: all right, so let’s talk about TEDx, what made you start that?
STACY: so that that’s like a huge passion project. So I was sitting on the board of directors and I had started, um, the emerging leaders council for the Tysons regional Chamber of Commerce and we were hosting kind of a panel event for some young professionals at the time. And a gentleman came in by the name of Ashwood and he had just come from a TED event, actually, like a TEDx event in DC. And he said, “oh, this weekend, you know I went to this TEDx event.” I was like oh my gosh, I love TED! He’s like, “so do I! It’s like so amazing and inspiring.” And we were playing around with ideas to like, for, to help the Chamber just have fresher events, things that encourage more community and discussions and could actually attract more young professionals as well. And he said, “would you ever want to do one?” And I said, “yeah.” “You want to like do the license with me?” and I’m like “yeah.” It was really just like that and I didn’t even, I mean I barely knew the guy um and then we brought in a third friend who also, he was you know in the chamber. His name’s Josh. We were just, we were all talking so we filed and then we turned into a 501c3 and, um, we had our first event – it had to be a hundred people because like with TED it’s if you mess up they don’t want you to mess up in front of like a huge amount of people. Which makes sense, right? But it was incredible and one of our first talks has like more than six million views.
LISA: wow, that’s great
STACY: yes, one of our fastest growing talks was like in the first year. And it was fantastic and it just it was like an outlet. It was a passion project and I got to meet so many incredible people with such original ideas, and it really became a family, you know? And so we’ve had probably like 10 to 12 events over the last five years
LISA: how many speakers do you usually have at each event?
STACY: so you, we have an annual event once a year that’s somewhere in between 12 and 14 speakers because it’s typically like an all-day event, right? Breakout sessions and lunch and dinner and like that whole thing and then an after party and it’s just like this amazing celebration, culmination of like a ton of work. But then a few times during the year we would hold salon events and salon events can be no more than four speakers but they’re on a specific topic so we’ve done one on, um, veterans that are transitioning back into the private sector. And we had, you know, only speakers that kind of, um, were veterans tied to that, like, industry and talking about transitioning in different ways, which was a fantastic event.
LISA: especially up there because there’s so many people
STACY: oh, yeah, the Pentagon and all the bases. Absolutely, the government. It’s, yeah, it was great. We actually, you can actually be really creative with where you hold salons, too, so we had it at a retirement home that was actually, um, mainly were veterans. So it was also a way to highlight this really great space yeah and an organization that not a lot of people knew were there. It was kind of tucked away. But we’ve worked with a lot of private theaters and, um, you know other venue spaces throughout. We have, Capital One headquarters is here in Tysons as well so we did one of our huge events there and that was, that was great. Kimley says we need a rural TED.
LISA: actually Ryan and I, the NASCAR driver’s dad, several years ago we met at my office and we’re like “we want to do something together” and we talked about maybe we ought to do this, and we talked about but we never pursued it. And so it’s funny how every once in a while we’ll bring it back up because we did end up working together, you know, with his son. And whereas before we were just business associates; we like knew each other in passing and one of the women that works for him, she was talking to me one day and she goes, “you and Ryan need to get to know each other better because y’all are like totally alike. Y’all think so much alike.” So he came over and we were like “blablablabla.”
STACY: You would be amazing! You should do it. And you know there’s this the, also the really fun fact about if you license an event and you do it yourself, is that you get a discount to go to like the main TED event. And so all three of us, um the the founders, have gone to one and me and Woody Ashwood, I call him Woody, we went to one in
Canada and then our other co-founder went to one, he did tanzania. So we were like, he got to go like the one one of the global ones that were really cool. The one in Canada was fantastic. It was in Banff and you want to talk about, Banff is on the west coast, um like yeah British…
LISA: British Columbia?
STACY: yeah, I guess, yeah yeah
LISA: is it close to Vancouver?
STACY: yeah it’s like, it it’s it’s where you see all the pictures of like the glacial lakes. The water looks like it’s crystal like, yeah, I’ll send you some pictures
LISA: oh yeah, I’d love to see it. I’ve been to Nova Scotia but not over there. That’s where Daryl lives, the guy that founded Fundrazr, he lives in Vancouver.
STACY: yeah, yeah, um it’s fantastic. They will ruin you for any event that you ever go to again like the swag, like all the the swag bags and like the food, and there’s an amazing party and, like, of course all the music is by like prolific artists and entertainers that are, they’re also performing like you know. And every day, all day long you’re having all these incredible conversations with people that like, you honestly, how it felt was like
“we have to go back to like the real world? like normal everyday conversations instead
of having these like existential conversations?” I mean, we’d be crying and laughing in like a 15-minute period. It was, it’s but one of the best experiences I’ve ever done.
LISA: oh, man, yeah it sounds amazing. Okay, now I’ve got to talk with Ryan again about that,
STACY: get it on the bucket list. Just do it
LISA: we have to do it. I’ve had you for almost an hour and I don’t want to keep you any longer because I know your baby probably needs you and even if she doesn’t you need to relax before tomorrow. But, um okay, so tell everybody how they can find out about, more about Six Degrees and more about everything.
STACY: yeah definitely, definitely. So you can head over, all of our social media’s six degrees. Twitter and Instagram is spelled out six degrees of kb as in kevin bacon, so s-i-x-d-e-g-r-e-e-s of kb and then, um, we’re six degrees org on Facebook. So we’d love to connect. You can also head over to our website at sixdegrees.org.
TEDx Tysons is at tedxtysons on all of the major platforms, um, and we are because of COVID having kind of a planning year and waiting to see when it lifts up so we can safely gather again and have have events. But we’re looking forward to maybe announcing something later in the year. And EVgo network, you go to evgonetwork.com and find out more information about the great work that they’re doing and they’re evgonetwork on all major um social media. And actually TikTok, they have like 30,000 followers so if you like electric cars and seeing some fun stuff head over to their TikTok
LISA: yeah I’ll go check that out as soon as we get off. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me Stacy. I’ve enjoyed it so much. It’s been a lot of fun.
STACY: me, too, Lisa. You’re wonderful. Anytime. I’m so glad we met on clubhouse and I’m looking forward to continuing to chat with you along the way.
LISA: thank you so much, Stacy and I’ll talk with you soon.
STACY: as always, talk to you soon. Take care, bye.
