Creative industries in Washtenaw County add hundreds of millions of dollars to the local economy. In the weeks and months to come, host Deb Polich, the President and CEO of Creative Washtenaw, explores the myriad of contributors that make up the creative sector in Washtenaw County.
ABOUT GUESTS:
Lori Roddy
Lori Roddy serves as the Executive Director of the Neutral Zone, a diverse youth-driven arts and leadership center for high school youth. Before her role as Executive Director she led youth programming at the center for 12 years. Lori’s practice and teaching is focused on positive youth development, youth-driven practices, program design and evaluation, and organizational leadership. Lori has supported the organization to build a three month operating reserve, start an endowment, and guide the development of the youth-driven approach that is reflective of the organization’s center. Lori has been a leader to create Future Corps – an extension of the Neutral Zone to support youth access to work with the City of Ann Arbor, tuition scholarships at Washtenaw Community College, and mentorship support over 2-4 years post high school. She has also worked in partnership with Washtenaw County to initiate and support the first-ever county youth commission.
Sana Schaden
Sana Schaden attends Community High School in Ann Arbor and works as a development and marketing intern at The Neutral Zone. She has working directly with the Neutral Zone team in putting together the organization's 25th anniversary celebration taking place in Ann Arbor.
RESOURCES:
The Neutral Zone 25th Anniversary Street Party and Alumni Reunion
The Neutral Zone on X (Twitter)
TRANSCRIPTION:
Deb Polich: Welcome to creative:impact on 89 one WMU. I'm Deb Polich, president and CEO of Creative Washtenaw and your creative:impact host. Thanks for tuning in on Tuesdays for this exclusive WEMU segment that explores the far-reaching impact of the programs and services offered by our local artists, creative workers and businesses. I'm delighted to welcome our guest, Lori Roddy, executive director of Neutral Zone, back to the studio.
Lori Roddy: Thank you.
Deb Polich: It's really great to have you here. And you've brought one of Neutral Zone's youth leaders with you. Would you please introduce her?
Lori Roddy: Yeah. We have Sana Schaden with us today, who has been working with Neutral Zone as a development and marketing intern to help us host our 25th anniversary street party.
Deb Polich: Awesome. And welcome to you, Sana.
Sana Schaden: Thank you.
Deb Polich: We're glad you're here. So, you mentioned that there's a celebration. And what started as a youth-driven teen center, kind of an experiment, it's now marking its 25th birthday. Congratulations to everyone from the founders way back in the day and then those that have been involved throughout and everyone still involved today. So, you both must be pretty excited.
Sana Schaden: Yeah, definitely.
Deb Polich: It's coming up. So, Lori, I'd like to ask you, you know, Neutral Zone, like most startup businesses, took a few years to fully find its groove, right? And now, it's recognized across the country as a model for youth-driven organizations and programs. What would you, as the director, attribute to Neutral Zone's success and how it's been sustained?
Lori Roddy: Yeah, I think one of the first and most important pieces is just that folks in the community have really invested in young people and prioritized them and helped them to create a space. In the early years of Neutral Zone, it was focused that young people needed and deserved a dedicated space to call their own a home away from home. And we have given that to our young people. And, in that space, it's been an incubator for so many people, ideas, creativity, resources to come together and to help the Neutral Zone emerge as a youth-driven organization.
Deb Polich: And so, that's cool. But what kind of programs? And what do youth do? What do they do when they're there?
Lori Roddy: Yeah, maybe I should throw that to Sana.
Sana Schaden: Yeah, definitely. So, there's a bunch of different programs kind of ranging from activism and, like, justice-oriented things. And then, there's also art. There's a lot of music. The B-Side is the concert venue, so a lot of events go on there. But when you show up to Neutral Zone, I would say, first and foremost, it's just you walk into a really welcoming space. There's food, there's people, there's really friendly staff, and then, from there, you can go to kind of whatever program you want. So, there's the art studio where we have, like, art council. And then, there's music production, and you can kind of, like, record your songs and learn how to work with a lot of that technology. But, really, I think it's just a space where teens can find a jumping-off place for whatever they're interested in and take that so much further into their lives.
Deb Polich: So, all sorts of things that you can get involved with. What attracted you to Neutral Zone? And how long ago was that?
Sana Schaden: So, I've known about Neutral Zone for a long time, but I've been spending a lot of kind of the last few months there. Originally, I was kind of attracted to the art, the visual arts, and the art studio, but I also just had a lot of friends there and found it to be a space where I could hang out, kind of like learn new things that I wasn't really exposed to before. And then, this summer, I started working with Amy Milligan on the 25th anniversary event and sort of promoting that and talking to teens about what they wanted to see at that event and that kind of thing. So, just trying to really be interconnected in the community and tie that into Neutral Zone.
Deb Polich: And can I ask you? Do you have a sense yet about what you have picked up at Neutral Zone, maybe that you haven't someplace else, school or wherever, that you think you're going to carry forward with you as you become an adult?
Sana Schaden: Yeah, I think Neutral Zone has helped me connect with like a lot of different people and sort of work across organizations all sort of through the space of Neutral Zone because it does bring so many different organizations together through their events and, whether it's like other organizations tabling their things like that, it's helped me just branch out in a lot of different ways and, like, learn how to network. And I think that that is really an important skill.
Deb Polich: Really great life skills indeed. So, Lori, where do you hear from your alumni about what Neutral Zone has meant to them?
Lori Roddy: It has been so fun over the last year to reconnect with alumni and just hear what they're up to. Part of it is just the joy of reconnecting, and I think that talks to the deep relationships and the positive experiences that you had when they were at Neutral Zone--lots of memories. But there's also young people who are doing phenomenal things in the community and they're, you know, leading the community in a lot of really fascinating ways. I think that Neutral Zone in 2023 is really creating a space for young people to show up authentically, have a space where they belong, and they know that they can matter and that they can address some of the challenges that are facing us today now as high school youth. And I think that will carry with them well into the future as they tackle the many challenges that we are handing to them. So, this is a critical space for young people as they become adults in our community.
Deb Polich: So great that you're open to that and the community's open to that. 89 one WEMU's creative:impact continues with my guests from Neutral Zone, the 25-year-old Neutral Zone, Lori Roddy and Sana Schaden. Lori, I imagine that many adults might find that it's really hard to fully embrace the idea of youth-driven programs and organizations, but it's part of Neutral Zone's DNA at this point. And as you train other organizations, which I know you do, or maybe even your staff, are there barriers you have to break down in adults, so that they can get to that place where they can embrace youth-leading things?
Lori Roddy: I think that we have to learn how to trust young people, and we have to be able to recognize their competencies and their skills and the reciprocity and the relationship between youth and adults, so that we can really authentically partner together and lead work together in the community. So much of it is our own mindset, and that is something that is totally achievable and easy to address, but also something that we have to be consistently and relentlessly giving attention to.
Deb Polich: Yeah. And so, how is it for you, Sana, to work right next to, you know, adults as a peer?
Sana Schaden: I think, for teens, we have to be trustworthy, and we have to really take advantage of the opportunities that we're given because Neutral Zone is just such an easy place to say, "I want to do this. Can you help me?" "I want to create this event. Can you help me?" "I want to make this art project. Can you help me?" And the answer is always "yes" first and then questions after. And when you have an environment like that, you can really do anything. And then, once I think you have that attitude and you help build those relationships with the staff and with your peers, it makes it really easy to kind of have mutual respect and just really see each other as like kind of partners.
Deb Polich: And the ages kind of disappear.
Sana Schaden: Yeah, because both people are showing up. And both people are doing their part.
Deb Polich: So, quick question. You mentioned alumni earlier. Many of them now have when they were part of Neutral Zone 25 years ago are in their forties. Has anyone come back to be part of a board position or volunteering?
Lori Roddy: Yeah, we have had board members come back. We have staff who have returned as board members. It's an amazing community. And I think that that is a big part of Neutral Zone's story is the relationship that exists. It's probably the most important part. It's the part that I think we value, and it's honestly the part that we're truly celebrating with our 25th anniversary.
Deb Polich: And all of that, all these wonderful life skills that you're doing, you all just know how to have fun. I mean, you're kind of famous for the street parties, right? I hear there's one planned.
Lori Roddy: There is one plan. Sana!
Deb Polich: Sana, tell us about it.
Sana Schaden: Yeah! So, it's going to be this Saturday from 4 to 11. From 3 to 4, there's going to be kind of a special alumni--
Deb Polich: Oh, can I stop you for a second? Where does this take place?
Sana Schaden: So, it's going to be on East Washington outside of the Neutral Zone. So, that street's going to be blocked off.
Deb Polich: Okay. Right there in Ann Arbor.
Sana Schaden: Right there in Ann Arbor.
Deb Polich: Okay. Sorry to interrupt. I just wanted people to know where to go.
Sana Schaden: Of course.
Deb Polich: Yeah. What are we looking for?
Sana Schaden: Yeah. So, basically, from 3 to 4 is going to be kind of the alumni special gathering event. But then, from 4 to 11, the general public, there'll be food trucks, there's going to be a bouncy house. And then, the main event is going to be kind of our lineup of performers. That's a mix of alumni and then a few teen performers as well. There's also going to be a muralist doing, like, a live sort of mural of the history of Neutral Zone. So, there's gonna be a lot of different things going on at once.
Deb Polich: Sounds like a blast. And is it open to the public, or is there an admission fee?
Lori Roddy: Everybody! It's free! All in! We want to have a huge celebration.
Deb Polich: And, Sana, what are you looking most forward to?
Sana Schaden: I am really excited for the music and the mural because I love visual arts, so I'm really excited to see, like, all of the creative pieces come together.
Deb Polich: And, Lori, how about you?
Lori Roddy: I'm excited to see everyone show up and also just a way to give our gratitude and thanks to our community and to let them know how appreciative we are and also that we want more people to be a part of it and more people to help us carry into the next 25 years.
Deb Polich: Well, it will be a party for sure and a community celebration. Absolutely. Thank you both for being here and telling us about what's happening and what has happened at Neutral Zone and how it's impacted both of you, as well as our community. So, thanks for being here.
Lori Roddy: Thank you.
Sana Schaden: Thanks so much.
Deb Polich: That's Lori Roddy and Sana Schaden, who will celebrate Neutral Zone's 25th anniversary on Saturday with what is expected to be a rocking street party. Find out more at WEMU dot org. You've been listening to creative:impact. I'm Deb Polich, president and CEO of Creative Washtenaw and your host. Mat Hopson is our producer. We invite you to join us every Tuesday to meet the people who make Washtenaw creative. This is 89 one WEMU Ypsilanti. Public radio from Eastern Michigan University.
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