What you’ll hear in this episode:

• Bringing together skill-based education with social entrepreneurship
• Connecting refugees with fair-wage work
• Building a sustainable nonprofit model

With a background in ecology, Meg Erskine thought she’d always work internationally in conservation, but her strong ties to Texas kept her in the state. Through teaching English to Austin’s refugees, she learned their stories and desires to learn and work. Without any experience, she took a course in nonprofit leadership, joined forces with others wanting to spark change, and began the Multicultural Refugee Coalition. MRC is a nonprofit relief organization based in Austin whose mission is to create livelihood opportunities for refugees. The promise of the organization is to “take good care of the people [they] work with and the planet we live on while generating profit to invest back in [their] mission.”

Erskine shared that MRC’s first few years were at the community level with a community center at the heart of the refugee community where they could come to learn and practice skills, partake in children’s programs, and connect to others. She believes that listening to refugee’s needs, learning how to support them, and building strong roots were instrumental to the organization’s success early on. Through the community center, MRC taught many refugee women how to sew. These women went on to work for another Austin organization called Open Arms and used the skill to create clothing out of recycled materials. Open Arm’s helped kickstart MRC’s growth by giving a revenue generation opportunity. From there, they participated in social impact competitions and did different accelerator programs. Here is where they learned what they did best which was training refugees in workforce development and providing them with livelihood opportunities. It made sense that if they were training them in different skills that they should be connecting them with well-paying jobs where the refugees could contribute their unique skills and gain traction in upward mobility.

They now have three business that is apart of the Multicultural Refugee Coalition that all came from a place of expressed needs and has allowed them to be more financially sustainable. The businesses have allowed the refugees to earn a fair-wage income to support themselves and their families without the need for a network here or even the ability to speak English. The next steps for MRC are to continue growing the three businesses, continue bringing on team members, and ensuring their sustainability.

To hear more tune into the ninth installment of Great Society. If you enjoy what you’ve heard, please share with friends and colleagues, and you can click here to listen to more Great Society!

Great Society is a founding_media podcast created in partnership with Constance Dykhuizen.

Host: Constance Dykhuizen

Guest: Meg Erskine

Transcript:

this is a founding media podcast if or or hi everyone welcome great society podcast about people who are working to elevate the voices of others I’m your host Constance thank yous and my guest today is make our skin the co founder and director of multicultural refugee coalition MRC brings together skills based education with social entrepreneurship to connect refugees to dignified fair wage work I was so excited talk with Meg because a lot of my work is with refugees and I love what she and her team are working on we chatted about their many social businesses and how they’ve moved organization her leadership from one point oh two point now here’s my conversation with mac 

hi everyone looking great society I’m your host Constance thank yous in I am here with Meg are scanned from multicultural refugee coalition or MRC here in Austin thanks so much for having me thanks for being here yeah I wanted to start with the beginning you’re beginning more closely I remember talking before you turn your bat biologist it’s true yes I have a background in ecology and conservation in the many years of my early career with bent with birds and bats in conservation areas around Austin so what so richly did you come to Austin to work with baths I know we have a famous bridge and they matter now right no no no I’m originally from Houston but came up to go to school here U. T. sitting in college in and just say this as many of us do how how we got you interested in working with refugees yeah so I had always thought that I would do something an international conservation biology but I’m firmly rooted here in Texas a family in just had other things going on and so I reached out to teach English to Austin’s refugee population through interfaith action of central Texas and that that really changed my life 

what made you want to start MRC I’m all that is an interesting question so I let’s see I was thinking back to those times was really inspired by the refugees that I met three teaching English and just hearing their desires I have just waiting to be connected to the community and I feel like I’ve always taken a systems approach to my career and the way I think and just really a strong connector and so really just listening and learning and hearing for them saying you know I want to get my hands in the dirt I mean I’m not a farmer or gardener but I could connect and find those places for them to reach out to you know reconnect back that piece it was really important to them and and same as the women in selling they just said I want to learn to so whatever early at co founder Sarah Stranahan taught many many refugee women how to so and then we had two other co founders Johnson doing Paul tia to Liberian refugees and I will never forget those early days when they really invited me in and said you know we really want you to do this with us and I really had lots of time to really question about white white me and I’m glad to connect and make you know correct right can make a difference but really in a white woman from Texas how how what kind of role can I play in in a refugee organization and I will never forget that moment when I met one of those commanders in the parking lot of CVS on south Congress and he basically said we really see this and you we want you to lead this organization and we believe and you and and we want to do this and sparks flew from the top of my head to the bottom of my toes and certainly in my heart and just said wow okay this is one of those life changing moments and I’ve been dedicated to the cause ever since 

that’s awesome did you have nonprofit experience before the latter no that’s the thinking I am took a course in ACC nonprofit leadership as a year long program that but really what I find a lot and non profits and hopefully leadership is just really bringing whatever skill you have to the table and and finding other resources that if you don’t have it and finding out where where you have that either by building up your team or you know getting the skills through any sort of course our support we have lots of support in the Austin area which is grateful yeah 

so three other co founders as well how did you guys start to enlist people to believe in your vision to get behind you to start funding the projects that you all saw as essential for transforming the lives of refugees yes our organization has really evolved a lot over the years so that the first several years were really built I am at the community level at a community center in the heart of the refugee community where refugees could come in they could so they get connected connected to those community gardens and programs for kids I remember that I went to one of them yeah that was really fun is a great way for people to interact with refugees and get connected and just offered their help and that they could but I would say and that was great and we’re so glad we did that and I’m actually that’s one of the pieces are success I believe this is really getting to listen and learn and here exactly what the needs for needs where I’m really passionate about this idea of not being a top down and type of organization we have some big bold idea that we’re gonna impact somebody but rather listening and learning and hearing and and really doing it together so I feel like that’s what the early years were about MRC was just you know kind of hearing needs and where we should go and how we could support but I will say that I felt like we were kind of doing too much J. no it’s it can be easy to see you there’s the needs are great as you know in the refugee camp today I’ve been there were all of a sudden you just kind of go to choke for tea and all the sudden you’re driving everywhere and doing all the things yeah exactly exactly so this is pretty broad and so we’re really grateful that we are where we are here today with them social enterprise and a little bit more about that help 

who are the refugees in your community like who are you serving where they from tell me about that and that’s probably change because I know that the populations change from year to year based on absolutely it’s changed quite a bit in the early years we had a lot of refugees from different parts of Africa to Congo and Liberia as our kind of I guess the main countries Eritrea and Ethiopia but now over the years it’s really shifted I would say today we mostly work with a lot of folks from Iraq and Afghanistan still looks so some from Africa in Congo and instill some of that and Nepali refugees that are around yes that that that competition has really changed over the years 

so from that community center kind of what was the next iteration of your model or what it’s all work on next yes so we we’re grateful to have trained a lot of refugee women in selling that went on to go work and their social enterprise in Austin called open arms and that was founded by another group of of women and who was working to provide jobs for refugee women through making skirts and scarves made out of recycled T. shirts and we had trained through a community center a lot of the women that have gone on to work there and Leslie Ann Lacey of open arms said about five years into their work that they would like to offer this as a gift as a revenue generation an opportunity for our nonprofit and felt like that could make a big difference to the refugee community and it certainly has such an incredible gift they donated all of their industrial sewing machines and the model an initial employees am to have a smooth transition and that was really a significant change for organization that led us to to the social impact competitions in town like philanthropists in twenty fifteen and out of that we did three years of work through mission capitals accelerator program as well as unlimited USA’s incubator programs we as I mentioned about nonprofit supporter social impact support there’s a lot of support for the folks here in Austin that are wanting to do that sort of thing that through that process one of the things was a tech you know kind of taking a look at our community center model and how do we blend that in with this new social impact model and and realize we were just doing way way way way way too much and when we realized that thing that we did the past was really training folks in workforce development and then being able to connect those resources so we are now fully focused on providing livelihood opportunities for refugees and no longer have that community center 

okay and so with the the sewing program with open arms you’ve been able to work with a kia yeah and Randy Bennett I know here in town what what else has that kind of that kind of level professionalism what is that brought to your community oh my gosh so much immersive grateful for all of the partners that we’ve been able to work with one of the shifts that happen during that time was that we no longer did direct to consumer work in the sewing business but we changed our private label textile manufacturing and I kia was one of our first partners right out the gate and and early twenty fifteen which was absolutely incredible and we did a line of pillows and wall hangings and such made out of upcycled fabric and we had to pass all of their audience other safety audits financial audits and everything which really provided a lot of credibility for our organization and the partners that we work with there after but we are just incredibly grateful for those partners like Marie independent studio I mean supply company and just all the folks that just make it possible through their content you know their continued success and growth helps us succeed and grow this we’re just direct partners in that way and it’s just become a a really beautiful and growing community supporting this 

1. went from people selling sometimes to having like a full time textile manufacturing and then you also went from people gardening sometimes to having like a full working farm can tell me about can you tell me about your agriculture experience yeah absolutely and so what we are determined to that was that we it just made a lot more sense if we were gonna you know be training folks and to work in one area and and looking at all the different needs that refugees have and what could help solve some of those needs over all of the really good paying job where they can contribute their unique skills and and that’s what we really focus on the word lively had because it’s about an affair for work and you know upward mobility opportunities to contribute your unique knowledge or skills and leadership opportunities and so that was certainly the case in selling and we have a lot of folks who have come through the training and our managers in the program and then same for the agriculture program so we were at three community gardens in the Austin area mainly just having a chance for folks to connect back to that to the land and growing things that were familiar to them and I love that because when you walk around the garden you’d see like a garden from Nepal that would have I don’t even know what you know the Korean or something and then move on to the next one and the vegetables would be specific to everybody was from and I really need a full visual representation I’m really wise and all that travel since they helped in the big chords they would grow and all sorts of things is very beautiful we still have one of the community gardens going at Lanier high school to as we help to form that one there’s twenty refugees it’s still far at kind of garden there at a small scale but 

in twenty seventeen we had the opportunity to you and work with them with work with a local landowner out meaner and we were visiting his he’s got a small farm on his property and we were visiting that farm one day and harvesting some potatoes and he happened to say you know well what else are you guys looking for how how can I help and one doctor who’s our farm manager was out there and he said well you know we are looking for land because that was part of our strategic vision was to go and I can get that out there absolutely so we took on that land and we’ve got twelve acres that John and deal a local conservationist has allowed us to use and we are now growing all sorts of things vegetables for the local markets and restaurants throughout the downtown farmers market you have a CSA yes we have yes yep join us on our website at mercy Austin dot org to learn more about that and and there were also various restaurants look when wiring we’re looking to add others and we also grow very specific prod app product products for more independent studios were going to die materials for her they were very excited about and some hibiscus tea for Texas Roselle and send beans and grains for spring smell 

really love that because I feel like you’ve kind of integrated yourself into existing supply chains into like the fabric of the community and so it’s not just like your this project on the site or like a lot of times nonprofit social enterprises can kind of just be something you know extraneous sometimes let’s be honest and so but I really love that you’ve really woven yourself into the fabric of Austin and you figure out what’s going to be what can have longevity what’s going to be sustainable and impactful and I love that you’ve invited your community into that so I would think it’s really neat to kind of reflect on that and think maybe there’s a good reason I stayed in Austin and not was able to go out and do this international conservation conservation work that I really desire to do but I’m definitely deeply rooted in Austin and that’s one of my greatest joys is to be able to check is to connect the various communities and really have a very transparent supply chain and and one that can be directly engaged with that’s fair and it’s just creating this beautiful communities amongst all these various partners and really excited about that
and it seems like through the incubators as well you had to kind of challenge yourself as a leader to move from one point out like and then I think we all started this you know works somewhat contemporaries like we started this awhile ago and then you move from this one point oh space of just helping people are opening a community center I’ve done that and then in kind of moving in needing to be more sustainable so how was that transition for you as a leader to go from being you know to show up to like kind of want to help but then moving into like you’re leading you’re an entrepreneur now like you have several business and how’s that been yeah it we we have three separate businesses are that are part of the multicultural refugee coalition and it’s been really fun it’s just it’s really kind of evolved naturally and I I feel like at the right pace again most of all of them have come from a place as expressed need and kind of taking that next step in taking that next step and that’s where we are today yeah I was it is also a great way to become more sustainable because as you know the nonprofit you’re always looking for funding and and now we have a revenue model that’s on target to be eighty percent earned income this year and twenty percent philanthropy and I just hope so much that just helps but just so many things and so yeah I am grateful that were there and I encourage other nonprofits to really look at ways that they can also have a revenue generator generator 

whatever it maybe that’s okay so I wanted to talk a little bit now about refugees kind of like who they are why they come to America who are some of those in your community I’ve had the privilege of getting to know refugees and kind of be a part of the community for like the last ten years and it’s just to me it’s been so fun to be will just go to somebody’s home and either have super sweet tea like if you’re in somebody’s home or to go into have super B. coffee or you know like to get to know their cultures and communities that way but how how’s it been for you working in the refugee community yeah very similar and you know he’s so kind and generous in opening their space up to you anytime they if you’re come into that but I feel like that’s the way it is also working with refugees just today at our open arms studio there is some and sweet breads that were out on the table that were attacked by one of our Afghan refugees it was just everybody wants this or share a piece of their culture and with each other and I love that and yeah I just feel like you know refugees are here and wanting to contribute that’s one of the things that I most love about what we’re doing is being able to provide jobs for folks that don’t necessarily have to have that yet whether the English or social network to find their jobs that they can uniquely contribute just as they are there’s a woman that we work on the farm who has never actually worked ever in her whole life she and doesn’t speak English doesn’t reader right in her own language she’s one of our greatest farmers she has that’s what she has to contribute and I guess it’s just one of the things that I love so much encourage people to sort of know and listen and learn from from the refugees that are here because they have such amazing skills and Amazing Stories and to share with all of us 

yeah I like that kind of reminds me what you said about being you personally being invited it’s like kind of all of us no matter where we’re from refugee non refugee American new American like we almost kind of wait for that imitation or maybe that’s maybe that’s a female thing I don’t know if it leaves you nothing but like kind of wait for the invitation and I think it’s you seem like you got called into things and now you’re able to call women people you know men and women into that space of finding their calling contributing the way that they cancel it’s really cool it’s come full circle yes 

what is an income allow refugees to do like how have you seen lives transformed because of the in livelihood transform because of the jobs that you’ve gotten the job training you guys offer has so much it’s am it’s significant or wanting to really focus on making sure we document about a lot more this year you know folks have been able to just have a steady income been able to you I mean that typical stuff that you’d be able to do you know having it and and then come back for a refugee that’s a really big deal to get your first car or to buy your first home or really even just for mothers to be able to find one of our team members from open arms is able to be able to buy her her daughter who was on the tennis team at her high school all of her equipment that year and not have to be on that part of the charity side of things and so it’s just incredibly empowering to be able to do that yourself with your own income yeah we’ve seen we’ve seen lots of different situation I live at and so you 

you referred to three businesses that I missed and what was the third certain places share tweet share voices of our interpreter training business and so we work with both refugees and community members to teach that that sort of ethics and background of community interpreting them and that’s also in the medical and mental health setting as well and and so that gives refugees an opportunity to make a supplemental income again using their unique skill all these various languages that they speak winning arrive and that helps them in our community and in their own community being able to be heard advocated for better what if anything has changed for you the refugee the refugee climate has been changing in the states the last few years 

what if anything has changed for you in your programs as we’re getting I think I read that like that we’ve got the fewest number of refugees in the history of the resettlement program this year and we’re under the largest refugee crisis that has ever been since World War two so this is a really terrible inside time and really we just reflect on the fact of of just doing what all goes into you refugee resettlement it’s not fast you know as you know there’s so many processes that go on and back from the very you know in their own country or you know the country they’ve migrated to to getting to work at country resettlement there’s just so much that goes into and so much has been lost to that process which is really unfortunate I would say that we are not directly affected as or organization because we are working with refugees that have already been here and we have about twenty two team members and over half of those are refugees and Mr refugee women and we’re really proud of that we’re really focused on you know deep impact long term impact and in doing that through at full time employment and so as you know there’s many refugees have been resettled over the time Texas has always been one of the top destinations for refugees so there’s so many more folks that we could impact through our program and at the door you know this doesn’t directly affect us but it’s just really unfortunate knowing it’s them the population that we work with and it does affect certain things like family reunification other other things like that it’s so hopefully that will change for the better sometimes simply 

can you tell me a story of one of your one of your entrepreneur is your social encounters it’s working for you sure the gosh there are so many there I guess that it’s a great joy to work with all of them but one that really stands out as one Dhaka and he started with us at Dillon your community garden he actually helped build it as he was a high school in there and I realize that yeah wow and I was just fired by him because you know you can just imagine being a newcomer anywhere and here he has comes into that high school and decides that he’s going to be in class but he wants to run for student class president not knowing anybody being literally brand new to this to this community and he wanted and I just thought that was so great he’s got an infectious smile and just a really positive attitude and so to have him working on art building out Arlen your garden was really really fun getting to know him at that point he was seeking M. courses through the FFA program so he started his confirm he’s been farming with his family since he was age three said he’s known for nothing until he does absolutely but do you know of course having to learn how to farm here in our community and what it means in central Texas so you really just took right to that and got right in it loved it and he then he became a community garden coordinator and coordinate all three community gardens and now he’s our farm manager and what that means is he’s able to connect to all the different restaurants the downtown market really interfacing with all of the various you know partners and customers and such and so he just he just inspires us all of us every day just to keep on learning and he’s faced of course tons of struggles and he just he just keeps on such that positive attitude and that’s an inspiration for all of us and a great team member we’re grateful for him 

that’s really good so what’s coming up next for you guys you have so many you have three businesses yeah how do you plan for those are what the money you so what we are actually going to dive deep into each three of those right now because it’s been a significant area of growth for us in the last couple of years and and so we have these three businesses going there we’re actually under significant growth time for open arms we just moved into a sixty three hundred square foot space in east Austin that we’re really excited about and we’ll have some open houses and other opportunities to come check that out so check our website MRCS and that work that we’re partnering with a company called project re Pat making custom T. shirt quilts that allowed us to hire an additional six refugee team members just this last month and then by the next several months will be able to bring on several other team members are really excited about that M. and moving into a new space and just finally having a space that will fit we feel like we’ll be able to grow into for many years is really exciting and and the farm there’s just so much work to do there and always and we’re only about a year into our growing season in just installed a very large greenhouse and with the growing plans there so yeah I would just say like we’re diving deep into each one of those and assuring there and each one of their sustainability M. and greatest impact 

I’m looking back kind of eyes now you’re a multi entrepreneur you have met many businesses like do you do you feel like you’ve lived out that original intention and why you came to this work like his it surpassed your expectations my gosh yes definitely surpasses expectations again I just really come back to you this idea of you know taking a systems approach and look at how folks can use their unique skills I mean that’s what lights me up in the first place match but let me up from the very first days of saying you know Hey I’ve got the skill of gardening and the early days they didn’t they didn’t necessarily I want to work in that area but just a deep desire to be connected and that really speaks to me and I think to all of us to really have a you know want to be deeply connected to your sense of place and your unique sense of scale I’m sorry say that keeps me going every day all the time and definitely surpassed where ever I thought we would ever be Mrs could never play and for for where we are today and I’m super grateful we’re here 

this is a question that I ask everybody how do you define success for yourself it can just be for yourself individually or for you working at MRC how do you think about success especially when dealing with kind of a low a long term like you said thing with resettling refugees like sometimes their lives can take awhile to get going in the states as it would for any of us if you pick up and move to another country how do you think about that for yourself yeah Austin I guess I would say that it’s when there is a sense of peace am either at but within myself or our team members and and just this deep sense sort of satisfaction makes us feel like we’re on the right path so that was definitely a sign of success in my opinion it doesn’t necessarily mean always has to goes yes because that of this always goes Smith but just having that sense of peace that we are on the right path in and everyone is it is clear on kind of where we’re headed yeah I would say that that is what comes to mind trying to think if there’s anything else that I would want to advance mmhm 

when I have to pick you said some things didn’t work out how do you come the way I what was it was there any big one big lesson that you’ve learned or one thing like that you kind of rear ended your definition of success or oh my gosh so many I mean mainly when I’m thinking about is just the sleepless nights as you know well my goodness we make payroll this month and that sort of thing I mean those are really very stressful times that required a lot since focus premeditation you know checking in are we on that right path but it’s been really wonderful to be reaffirm this whole last year that it may not come as quickly as we wind or may not come you know maybe even come as we thought it would look like Matt that as long as we’re we’re all on this on this path together and headed towards this common goal of you know creating livelihood in a connected community for all of us then and I feel like we’re doing the right thing to 

MRC has a birthday coming up this year right do you know where it’s R. two can’t believe it’s our tenth anniversary this year happy anniversary birthday at least a year yeah yes it’s been a journey it’s been a journey for sure so yeah we’ll have a lot of events and exciting up you know opportunities to engage around that especially in the fall that’s awesome thanks so much for doing what you do and for your community and all that you bring tossed and south thank you thank them actually go back and think your team Abberley all about them thanks constant thinking thanks everyone thanks so much to my guests make your skin to follow Magen all the MRC projects go to MRC Austin dot org you also put a link in the show notes the great society team includes me concentrate he’s an producer Moran gossip and audio engineer Jake Wallace thank you to everyone it finding media for your support thanks for listening