Your Fed, Your Voice: Yemi Akande-Bartsch, Ph.D.

Seema Sheth: Hey, there, and welcome to Your Fed, Your Voice. I’m Seema Sheth, Regional Executive of the Louisville Branch at the St. Louis Federal Reserve, and your host. Today, we’re recording from the Economy Museum at the St. Louis Federal Reserve. And if you haven’t been here before, there’s a gold bar in the corner you’ve got to check out. We’re here with a very special guest, Dr. Yemi Akande-Bartsch, who’s the CEO and president of FOCUS St. Louis. She’s a phenomenal, phenomenal leader in the area and has an amazing social media presence. So if you haven’t checked her out, you should, but you’re going to get acquainted with her now. Dr. Akande-Bartsch, thank you so much for being here with us today.

Yemi Akande-Bartsch: Thank you for having me.

Sheth: So I got to start out-- folks might not be familiar with FOCUS St. Louis. Can you tell us a little bit about the organization?

Akande-Bartsch: Thank you for asking. So FOCUS St. Louis is the region’s premier civic leadership organization. We educate leaders on the issues in the region. We connect them to each other with the goal that they will go on to just inspire collective change in our community. And they’re doing it, all 11,000-plus of them.

Sheth: 11,000-plus?

Akande-Bartsch: Yes.

Sheth: That’s a lot of impact you’re having in the community.

Akande-Bartsch: We’re trying. It’s a lot of collective impact, and we’re working on it every single day.

Sheth: So one of the things that I love doing in my job is talking to people about the economy, what they’re experiencing, what they’re learning. I imagine you talk to perhaps more people than I do.

Akande-Bartsch: A little bit.

Sheth: Can you share with me what are you hearing from those leaders that you speak to?

Akande-Bartsch: So one of the things that I’m hearing, not just from our program participants or as my husband says, you talk to everyone--

Sheth: That’s right.

Akande-Bartsch: --is that they’re a little bit cautious. And it’s a mix of cautious optimism and also cautious pessimism depending on what you’re thinking about doing. So I happen to know a number of people that are thinking about buying homes, and they are very cautious-- is now the time for me to do so, or should I just wait a couple more times down the line? And it’s understandable just given what’s going on in the world. But that said, St. Louis is the type of place and city that has a lot of assets in the sense that we have leaders that are rolling up their sleeves-- that are working on how can we improve our education system? They’re working on talent attraction, retention, workforce development. So these are very interesting times but also exciting times for change.

Sheth: I love that. So let’s talk a little bit about FOCUS St. Louis. In particular, what am I learning in terms of skills? If I become a FOCUS St. Louis participant, what am I walking away with?

Akande-Bartsch: Well, first of all, let me preface that with the fact that we have five different leadership programs. We meet leaders where they are. We have a program for youth, we have a program for senior leaders, we have a program for new executives to town. We have a program for emerging leaders as well as a program for women in leadership. And the great thing that we provide individuals or education-- that we provide individuals that go through our program-- is we educate them about the issues in our region. So whether it is the economy-- because this is a very important ecosystem-- whether it’s health care, whether it’s education, whether it’s the criminal justice system, that is what they get as a result of going through our program. But also, while we are educating them on the civic issues, we’re also helping develop their leadership skills. And with our goal of them being more impactful and being catalysts for change, they go on and do so.

Sheth: I talked a little bit about your incredible social media presence. What a great way to get people acquainted with you and your work. But can you talk to me a little bit about social media and how you use it as a lever for your work?

Akande-Bartsch: So I enjoy storytelling. And when I go out and I have meetings, I look for snippets that could encourage people. I have a number of friends in community that are St. Louis’ biggest, greatest ambassadors. So I feel like I can add to that by educating them. So coming into the museum today, I was really excited. I met a family that’s visiting from Denmark. Even though I was running a little bit late, I stopped to talk to them, and I took a picture. And you’ll probably see that on my social media. So it’s the stories that we tell. And these can be amplifiers of what is working in our region, what is right about our region. And it tells the beautiful story of St. Louis while also educating people.

Sheth: St. Louis has a lot of storied institutions. We like to think that the Fed is among them.

Akande-Bartsch: Absolutely.

Sheth: And I know that we have touched your work in some ways. So can you share about your interfaces with the Fed other than that you’ve gotten to be on a really cool podcast [INAUDIBLE].

Akande-Bartsch: Of course. Yes. So I remember the first time I walked into this building. I was in awe. And I felt like I was getting access, and that’s one of the things that the Federal Reserve does. It’s a natural convener, it gives people access, and it also educates people by giving them data insights on issues that they probably haven’t done deep thought in. And I remember some of the researchers that were working here the first time I visited, which is about 13 and half years ago, but who’s counting? The way in which they peeled back the layers through data on significant issues in our community, so whether it be homeownership, they enlightened us on that, whether it be education, they enlightened us on that. And I walked out here feeling as though I had gotten a certificate program in the economy. And you do that so well here.

Sheth: We like to call ourselves big nerds.

Akande-Bartsch: Well, that you are, yes.

Sheth: But I think part of the beauty even of this podcast is behind every data point, there are real stories that back that up. And so getting to connect people with the data and the stories that inform those data, I think it helps us all understand better what’s happening in the economy.

Akande-Bartsch: Absolutely. It makes people expand their thinking, and it makes them think about now that I’m armed with this data, what can I do with it on a personal level? But more importantly, what can I do with it on a community level?

Sheth: So let’s talk about the community then. The St. Louis Fed actually touches seven states, but you are representative from one of those seven states in which the mothership sits. Can you tell me what you’re excited about that’s happening in St. Louis? Are there things that are happening both in the community or in your organization that you’d like folks to know about?

Akande-Bartsch: So St. Louis, you often hear it’s the best kept secret, and that’s also one of the reasons why I try and amplify-- let’s share what some perceive as the secret of St. Louis to many others so we can draw people here. And I actually lived in Louisville, Kentucky.

Sheth: I know.

Akande-Bartsch: And so I was excited to meet you. And so there are a lot of similarities between Louisville, Kentucky, and also us. And we’re both looking at how we can amplify the good news, the productive news of what’s going on in our respective communities.

Sheth: So we’re here in our Economy Museum, and it highlights stories about the workplace and people pushing the economy forward. So when you think about your own story, what makes you so passionate? You’re such a passionate ambassador for both leadership and for St. Louis. What makes you feel so convicted in that work?

Akande-Bartsch: I believe that when people know a lot about the economy, and they know as much as they possibly are willing to dive into the ecosystem, they can make better informed choices and decisions. Not just for themselves but for their families, their friends, or their network. And every time I come in here, I am always amazed by the people that we meet in the hallway. The last time I was here we had one of our programs here. I was standing outside of the door waiting for our program participants to come in, and there were a couple of different sessions that were taking place here. And then I just heard someone go, “Hey, Yemi.” And I looked up and I was like, “Hey.” And I’m going through my Rolodex-- have we met or are we just LinkedIn-only friends we’ve never met? And as it turned out, we were LinkedIn-only friends. And he said, “I just had to come up to you and let you know that what you posted about talent attraction and jobs was really helpful to me.” I was overcome by emotion and I said, wow, this is a real-life feedback that you often don’t get unless it’s in the comment section. And I said you know what? I’m in business for people like you. If you need anything, just let me know. Reach out.

Sheth: Yemi, you’re known for having a very distinctive style, not only in the way that you present yourself and the way that you lead but also in your personal aesthetic. So can you tell me a little about that? I mean, I love the glasses. I think there’s a story there.

Akande-Bartsch: So it’s part of my personality. It’s bold, it’s authentically me, it’s different, and it’s a door opener. It’s a conversation starter. And when people approach me and they say, “Hey, I like your glasses,” it’s an entryway to really get to know the person that is standing in front of me. So it works a great deal in how I show up and how I present myself.

Sheth: Yemi, thank you so much for being here with us today and for sharing a little bit of your story with us. We truly appreciate it.

Akande-Bartsch: My pleasure. Thank you.

Sheth: And thank you to the Economy Museum, a lovely setting for us to conduct our conversation. If you haven’t been to the Economy Museum of the St. Louis Fed in downtown St. Louis, you’re missing out. So I hope that you come and visit us soon. I also hope that you’ve enjoyed this conversation. Please like and subscribe so when a new episode comes out, it’ll be directly in your feed. And until next time, I’m your host, Seema Sheth.

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