Newly launched podcast — HUMANATY — seeks to elevate impactful voices who encourage kindness, connection, vulnerability and community through their work.
— Diane S. Cross, Fraser President and CEO
(Richfield, MN) — February 13, 2024 — Newly launched podcast — HUMANATY — seeks to elevate prominent and impactful voices who encourage kindness, connection, vulnerability and community through their work. In the first episode, host Mana Moini speaks with Fraser President and CEO Diane S. Cross.
During their conversation, Moini and Cross discuss the power of kindness and its role in creating and supporting community. Cross also shares her remarkable journey to becoming a female CEO and President of Fraser in 1989.
When Cross started, Fraser — a nonprofit serving people with autism, mental health issues and disabilities — had a $1 million operating budget and served 200 individuals a year. Under her guidance, the annual budget has grown to $140 million, and Fraser now serves over 15,000 individuals annually at its 67 sites.
Cross attributes part of the organization’s growth to her commitment to creating a culture of kindness. One of her early initiatives at Fraser, the Caught Caring program, encourages staff and management to recognize each other for acts of kindness in the workplace.
“I believe any act of kindness, even a small thing like helping someone across the parking lot, can truly make an impact in a person’s life,” says Cross. “And these acts of kindness build on each other, in turn, creating a kinder, more empathetic world for all people of abilities.”
Cross takes her commitment to kindness so seriously that she recently trademarked a personal credo, Give Them KELL®, which asks people to give others kindness, empathy, love and learning. It is a phrase she uses often in the workplace. Cross believes we all need grace to continue to learn, improve and demonstrate empathy through kindness.
You can listen to the podcast episode on kindness or access a video version of Moini’s interview of Cross.
Fraser is a nationally recognized expert in treating early childhood autism and mental health, and in providing overall wellness programs for those who have intellectual or developmental disabilities with co-occurring autism or mental health issues. The nonprofit provides a lifetime of quality healthcare, housing, education, employment and support services. Learn more at fraser.org.
