An Interview With Penny Bauder
Don’t give up just because you think you are only one person and what could my one action possibly change. Sustainability doesn’t have to be done perfectly for it to be effective. I totally get that changing habits is hard. Make small goals and aim to be as consistent as you can, where you can, whenever you can.
As part of my series about “individuals and organizations making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jennifer O’Brien.
Jennifer (Jen) O’Brien is the Executive Director at Resource Depot, a creative reuse center in West Palm Beach, Florida. Prior to joining the team at Resource Depot, Jen gained extensive nonprofit experience in several cultural organizations including the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum, the Armory Art Center and Center for Creative Education. Her degree in Art Education from Messiah University combined with her work experience, personal interest in repurposing discarded materials in her own artwork, and passion for environmental preservation made Jen the ideal candidate to lead Resource Depot.
In her nearly ten years with the organization, Jen has led Resource Depot through some significant accomplishments, most recently, the relocation and redesign of the organization’s operations. Their facility is now located in West Palm Beach’s up-and-coming Industry Alley where visitors can experience the Material Marketplace and TreasuRE Boutique for shopping a diverse array reused items, The cREate Space for public workshops for all ages, and an exhibition GalleRE to support local artisans and makers. Jen has presented at several state and national conferences on the topic of arts education through creative reuse, including the Florida Alliance for Art Education, Reuse Conex and Recycle Florida Today. She has also been a featured speaker with Creative Mornings and is alumni of Leadership Palm Beach County, class of 2015. Jen lives in Palm Beach Gardens with her husband, Sean and two daughters, London and Aislinn.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit how you grew up?
I grew up in south central Pennsylvania in a somewhat rural community. My childhood was mostly spent barefoot and outdoors — playing in the creeks, woods and fields that surrounded my house. An only child, I am a product of parents who grew up rather frugally, both with agriculture and craftsman trades in their family lineage. As a result, we lived a rather thrifty, do-it-yourself lifestyle. My chores often involved tending to the large vegetable garden and fruit trees we had on our property. My mother was a homemaker and great seamstress who would make my Easter dress each year- often enlisting me to help. I was no stranger to thrift stores and yard sales. My father worked in academia and was also a conductor and composer of music, so I was exposed to the arts at a very early age and my development in that area was encouraged. Books were always around and I became an avid reader. Looking back at the values instilled in me when I was young, it seems a natural path for me to find myself at an organization like Resource Depot.
You are currently leading a social impact organization that is making a difference for our planet. Can you tell us a bit about what you and your organization are trying to change in our world today?
Resource Depot is South Florida’s creative reuse and environmental education center, promoting inspired sustainable lifestyles at work and at home. Our cause, ENF (Enough), is a manifesto of social and environmental practices that shift consumer culture from convenience to respect, healing our land and water as well as our relationship to the planet. Resource Depot’s creative reuse and consumer education cause is not just about saving our environment, it’s about saving us. We are dangerously close to destroying our own life support systems because our culture of convenience is not heeding the consequences. Every day we don’t change is another day we are harming our land and oceans, its plants and animals, and each other.
Our world’s recent health crisis has demonstrated that Resource Depot’s mission is more important than ever. With studies showing our planet can rapidly heal itself as people are forced to a standstill, I cannot think of better proof that our individual behavior changes INDEED make a collective difference in the global environment we share. This needs to be a turning point for humanities sake and we can all contribute to global change by working together to heal our world by reducing waste and being more intentional with our use. And we can be creative while doing it!
Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?
Some people have way too much and some people have practically nothing. How did that happen to us? If we can all learn to buy less and live a little more simply, we are valuing people more than things. In a single-use, disposable society we have thrown out our connectivity to our environment, our community and others along with a bunch of unnecessary trash. People do not know how to be patient, resourceful, or creative anymore. Long forgotten is what every toddler is taught — share your stuff.
I knew we had to address the mind-set that is holding us back from accomplishing goals to reduce consumption and waste. How can we all grow as conscious consumers? Most people want to contribute to the well-being of the environment, but consumer convenience and throw-away goods make it really difficult. We need to build awareness, change consumer consciousness, and inspire adapted behavior to bring about a more responsible and equitable community way of living while protecting our environment. Let’s begin by focusing on creative reuse and making do with less.
Many of us have ideas, dreams, and passions, but never manifest it. They don’t get up and just do it. But you did. Was there an “Aha Moment” that made you decide that you were actually going to step up and do it? What was that final trigger?
In my first years with Resource Depot, I was starting to see a trend. We weren’t just getting in “gently-used” items anymore. People were donating brand new, never-been-used items. Some of these items were things that you would wonder, “why did someone think this product would be a good idea to even make in the first place?” Additionally, we saw an increase in businesses donating items due to carelessness — ordering too much, production mistakes rendering whole pallets of unusable product, or simply overstock from really bad product ideas.
Bottom line, us humans are generating products at a faster pace than we can really consume them — or even need in the first place. Creating for customer convenience has taken precedent over cradle-to-cradle design. Ignoring the rapid draining of our natural resources at an astounding rate cannot be considered best business practices anymore.
Many people don’t know the steps to take to start a new organization. But you did. What are some of the things or steps you took to get your project started?
While I’m not the founder of Resource Depot, many people assume that I am since I have brought the organization to the prominent place it is now in South Florida. When I became the CEO of Resource Depot almost 10 years ago, the organization was at a turning point — basically go big or throw in the towel.
You can’t expect change if you are still doing what you have always done before. I did lots of research, sought out other creative reuse organizations for guidance and I asked a lot of questions about how they ran their organizations. At some point though, I needed to be willing to make calculated risks and did just that — as a result we forged our own path to find opportunities for growth for Resource Depot in our unique community. Running a nonprofit is just like running a business. You must identify the community need and be able to articulate your unique value proposition in that space. And most importantly, you can’t sell something you don’t truly believe in.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
I think what I have found most interesting during my time with the organization is how we experience advancements in technology and the “evolution of stuff” through our donation stream. When I first started, we were overrun with VHS tapes, which are not recyclable. We struggled to come up with a creative reuse for them that would move them off our shelves. If you don’t have a VCR, what would you need with one? We also experienced that with CDs and DVDs. Software downloads via CD are a thing of the past, so when the transition was moving from needing a CD to being able to run a software program or stream a movie, we were inundated! Now with more time passing, we find that both these items rarely come in as donations anymore. That’s where our job as a creative reuse center comes in — dreaming up new, imaginative uses for these nearly obsolete items.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson or take away you learned from that?
Hmmm, what comes to my mind isn’t so much a mistake I made, but one a donor made. We were doing a back-to-school supply drive with a radio station one year and had made mention that we also take children’s educational games and toys. People were encouraged to visit on location to drop off the items. Upon packing up items to bring them back to Resource Depot, we discovered someone had missed the “children” part and had donated an adult toy instead. Needless to say, that is one item that we didn’t reuse.
While I can’t speak to this particular instance, we do get some very well-intentioned, yet misguided donors who just want to do the right thing. Often times their personal connection to the items they are donating causes them to perceive a greater value than what is the case. We have learned that the greatest value we can bring as an organization is through education about how to be a good material donor. If the item is in a condition where you wouldn’t give it to a good friend, it’s probably better off not showing up in a donation bin somewhere.
None of us can be successful without some help along the way. Did you have mentors or cheerleaders who helped you to succeed? Can you tell us a story about their influence?
I have a strong peer network of other nonprofit leaders that I can lean on for support, advice or even just empathy. We all run different types of organizations, but many of our challenges are often similar. But by far, my greatest contributor to my success is my husband who is the perfect devil’s advocate when needed and can help push me back roadblocks I put in place by my own doing. He’s a great literal and logical balance to my creative and visionary nature– it keeps me in check.
Are there three things the community, society, or politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
Both politicians and consumers need to begin to hold companies responsible for the products they are producing, not only in manufacturing process but in the eventual disposal of said product. Providing incentives could go a long way in encouraging companies to recognize that their responsibility remains long after the product leaves their shelves and change their business models for the better of the earth. Consumers can help by voting for change with their purchase dollars. Shop used, borrow, repair and repurpose whenever possible, and most importantly always be asking the question, “do I really need this”?
When I tell people what I do is that their next response is something like, “I recycle”, “I don’t use straws” or “I try but I am so bad at remembering my reusable bags at the store”. I find it amusing but glad that I have an opportunity to encourage them on their journey towards being more environmentally aware and responsible. Whatever shade of green you are is better than not being mindful about it at all.
Don’t give up just because you think you are only one person and what could my one action possibly change. Sustainability doesn’t have to be done perfectly for it to be effective. I totally get that changing habits is hard. Make small goals and aim to be as consistent as you can, where you can, whenever you can.
How would you articulate how a business can become more profitable by being more sustainable and more environmentally conscious? Can you share a story or example?
Beyond goodwill of their customers who value it, it comes back to the connectivity to others that society is so lacking right now. Investing in the planet means investing in people. If businesses don’t recognize that they need to keep their focus on people before product, they won’t be successful. This also affects company culture, and one which values people and plant will have employees with more job satisfaction and less turnover.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
- You need to work just as hard at work as you do maintaining your work-life balance. Balance is way harder to achieve than it sounds — being a mom, a wife, running a nonprofit, practicing self-care and trying to have a social life is a job in itself!
- Once you know that something or someone isn’t working out, it’s best to deal with it right away and move on. It’s nothing personal. I have wasted too much time and energy because I was hoping I could make a program or person work out even when my gut was telling me in the end it wasn’t going to — I was hesitant to admit failure or hurt feelings, but often, waiting to act on your gut is even more harmful.
- You may be able to do a lot of things well, but you can’t do a lot of things well all at the same time. Playing to your strengths, prioritizing and knowing your limits is the key to overall success and performance. As women, I feel like we have that “I have to do it all” mentality sometimes, and even though we CAN, we don’t have to! It’s exhausting and that’s how we burn out.
- Set boundaries and stick to them. People will respect you more when you say no or even not right now. Boundaries are hard for creative people like me who need them and don’t like them, but they’re key for self-preservation in personal and work life.
- Ideas are easy, implementation is hard. But don’t let that stop you from pursuing the good ones. Dream big and surround yourself with people who will support you and help you realize the ones worthy of pursuit.
If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?
Find something that you are passionate about, something that stirs an emotion in you, whether it is an injustice, or a problem you see that needs solving, no matter how small and do one thing to make a change for the better. Learning doesn’t stop when you leave school — stay informed and be willing to look at things from a new perspective. Just because it hasn’t been done before doesn’t mean that you can’t be the first person to do it. You don’t need a big audience for your voice to be heard.
The invitation to own less is an invitation to freedom, intentionality, and passion. The world’s environmental solutions actually start right in your own home. Global Warming, landfill overflow, and the plastics crisis can seem overwhelming and irreversible. The great news is there are everyday solutions for our community. Each one of us can make simple changes that create enormous progress toward a sustainable future. The time is now.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Don’t cling to a mistake just because you spent a lot of time making it. I have found through experience, time and time again, that trying to move forward while looking backward never gets you where you want to go.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
Well, I guess it would be two people who most known as “The Minimalists”: Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus. Their books, movie, and other resources have been a source of encouragement and enlightenment for me on my own journey and I find solace in the fact that they share the same mindset — Less is More. It would just be great to be in the company of like-minded individuals who also strive to value relationships with people and planet over our relationships with stuff.
Money Can’t Buy You Love, even though Patrick Dempsey said it would in an 80s movie.
Or peace, or happiness. As much as our ENF manifesto is about the earth, it’s about humanity, too. We are a deeply connected family sharing the same journey on a big round planet. Be good to your fellow neighbor. Be kind to the planet. That’s the stuff in life that sustains us.
How can our readers follow you online?
Resource Depot’s Facebook: @theresourcedepot
Resource Depot’s Instagram: @resourcedepot
Resource Depot’s website — www.resourcedepot.org
More about ENF. And to download our playbook: www.resourcedepot.org/enf
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
Social Impact Heroes: Why & How Jennifer O’Brien of Resource Depot Is Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.