Despite Impossible S5E7: Chéree Thomas

Episode Transcript

Tansley Stearns

Today's guest is Chéree Thomas. Chéree is known for being generous, considerate of everyone's time, a believer in possibilities, and is committed to making the world safer. Sheree is also the co executive director of the Michigan Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence. She believes the responsibility to protect survivors should not be placed exclusively on the justice system. It should also be placed on the shoulders of the broader community. This is Chéree’s story.

People who know you best will describe you as…

Chéree Thomas

Generous. They would describe me as extremely generous and considerate of everyone else's time, even when I'm busy.

I had a friend this morning. They were like, I think I have my doctor appointment on this day. And I'm like, no, actually, it's this day at this time. And they're like, how do you even remember that?

Tansley Stearns

That's very impressive. Very impressive.

Chéree Thomas

Yeah.

Tansley Stearns

What's something you always wish you could do for just a little longer

Chéree Thomas

Hug? There's something healing about hugs, and I find that time is not as infinite as we would like it to be. It's quite fin. And so if I could just hug a little longer, you know? You know, they say you need a hug for a minimum of 14 seconds anyway, so just hug just a little longer.

Tansley Stearns

I love this. Describe a moment when you really felt the most like the leader you always dreamt you'd be.

Chéree Thomas

That moment actually was not too long ago, and it was when I had an opportunity to step into the space and really help on a grounds level in transitioning that's happening within a program and really standing side by side with the leader so they know that they weren't alone during the process. And even picking up the tasks that people would say, that's not an executive's task to do, but it was a necessary task that had to be done and it lifted the load on the other person. And for me, a big part of good leadership is also servitude, like just being in service to those who look to you for guidance and who look for you for leadership and decision making, but actually serving simultaneously.

Tansley Stearns

When was the last time you danced so hard your feet were sore?

Chéree Thomas

August 8th and August 10^th.

Tansley Stearns

Oh, that is so great. That's the most specific answer I've ever received.

Chéree Thomas

Yes. At my birthday party and on my actual birthday on the cruise.

Tansley Stearns

Let's go. Let's go. Where'd you cruise to?

Chéree Thomas

Mexico. It was so amazing. It was Yucatan, Progreso and Cozumel.

Tansley Stearns

Oh, fantastic. Love this.

What's an important insight you come back to repeatedly across situations in both your work and personal life that guides your approach to change?

Chéree Thomas

Intent versus impact. I find that even the people who care the most may have an impact that they didn't intend. And so oftentimes, you know, particularly if something is harmful or hurtful to someone, the first thing that happens is. That is not what I meant. I didn't intend for that. But to actually pause for a second and think about the impact that was created is really, really helpful. And so when I'm thinking about, you know, the impact that actually happens versus the intent and actually helps in decision making as well, because I'm able to say, okay, this is what I'm intending. Is that going to be the outcome? And then what are the impacts that are going to result from that particular outcome if that's the route that's chose? So it just really allows for a lot of intentionality.

Tansley Stearns

If you have a bad day, which one song or artist on your playlist lightens you up immediately?

Chéree Thomas

Prince. I love Prince. And this particular song is off of the Vault album. It's called the Rest of My Life. Yes. It's a really upbeat. It's a really quick song. But it's like today. Today is the first day of the rest of my life. So, you know, it's just a reminder. Okay. Things have happened, but today starts the next day of the life.

Tansley Stearns

What's something you wish you knew about growth over time in the early days of your journey?

Chéree Thomas

That it does not happen when I expect it to.

Tansley Stearns

Yes. Oh, my goodness. Yes.

Chéree Thomas

That is a. Growth happens at all different kind of periods and rates in time, and you just have to sometimes just go with the flow and. And then as you're going with the flow, as this growth is happening, also take time and really experience the growth for what it is.

Tansley Stearns

What's one thing people wrongly assume about you?

Chéree Thomas

That I like to be around people all the time. I have a highly bubbly, energetic. And so people think that means I want to people all the time, I don't want to people all the time.

Tansley Stearns

What do you enjoy doing that you don't get to do often?

Chéree Thomas

Roller coasters. Ooh. I love amusement parks. I grew up in Ohio. Cedar Point is my place still.

Tansley Stearns

Yes. Yes, yes. It's the best.

Chéree Thomas

It is. Yes. I love a good thrill.

Tansley Stearns

Yes. Who haven't you seen perform live in concert that you've been planning to see and haven't yet?

Chéree Thomas

Oh, Janet Jackson.

Tansley Stearns

Oh, that's a good one.

Chéree Thomas

Yes. And I'm like, I have. I have to make it happen while she's still performing.

Tansley Stearns

Yes. What's one thing that inspires hope in you?

Chéree Thomas

Other people's hope that inspires me on those days where it Feels like this is super hard. When I hear other people being hopeful, believing, dreaming, that is a huge inspiration and it helps me to keep going.

Tansley Stearns

If you could share advice with students graduating from university, what might it be?

Chéree Thomas

Allow yourself to continue to dream. Sometimes when we go to school and we graduate, then we create this picture and we unintentionally put ourselves in a box. And then when we put ourselves in that box, then we also unintentionally limit ourselves. Get the degree. Yay. And also allow yourself still to dream and achieve the things that you may not think are possible because they are do it.

Tansley Stearns

What's something that still makes you nervous even though you've done it so many times?

Chéree Thomas

Every time I start a training, I still get nervous and I put a gajillion times and I think the nervousness is because I always want to present the best possible for my audience. And so I amp myself up and then I'm like, you got this. Relax. I tell my own self, relax. You got this.

Tansley Stearns

Tell us about your impossible.

Chéree Thomas

You know, I have actually tried to eliminate impossible out of my vocabulary. And I because things may be hard, they may be a little difficult, they may be challenging and if I really, really want it, it can be mine. And I can overcome whatever the obstacle is. It is possible. So for me, my, my possibles are all of the things that I'm striving for in my career. So it is possible to create safety for survivors. It is possible to create opportunities for learning and growth. It is possible to still develop into a different iteration of who I am than what I am today. And I'm still looking forward to all of those things manifesting.

Tansley Stearns

What do you look forward to most in the next 12 months?

Chéree Thomas

In the next 12 months, I look forward to growth in my fund development that I'm working on within the organization and I am looking most forward to this new iteration of leadership with my co CEO.

Tansley Stearns

You talked about several things. I'm going to hone in on one.

When you think about keeping survivors safe, what do you secretly worry might stay unfinished if that isn't addressed?

Chéree Thomas

The transformation and the thought about who is responsible for even the creation of survivors. So it is imperative that as a society we recognize that there are people who are choosing to cause harm and that that choice is their choice and not the choice of the person who's been harmed. That no one wakes up and seeks out to become a survivor. They don't seek out to be experiencers of domestic violence or sex assault or human trafficking. Quite the Contrary though, somebody did wake up and decide that they were going to cause harm and choose to enact that on somebody. And so for me, a society in which we recognize that the harm doers are completely responsible for the harm, we can actually eradicate it. It's doable.

Tansley Stearns

Yeah. Who's someone else we should be talking to on the podcast?

Chéree Thomas

So many great people. Okay. So my good friend Kalima Johnson, I think she would be amazing. She actually created this model that looks at black women's triangular triangulation of rape. She is the founder of the Sasha center, which is a sexual assault center in Detroit, Michigan that focuses on holistic sexual assault supports. And it is amazing. She also does training on relationship violence for the NBA and the NFL. So she's. Yeah, she's a dynamic person.

Tansley Stearns

Love this. Okay, great. What's your next? You said possible friend.

Chéree Thomas

Yes, my next possible. I'm actually looking to learn a language this year.

Tansley Stearns

Oh, yes. Okay. Which one? Do you have one picked?

Chéree Thomas

You know, I am in between Spanish and Chinese. Those are the two that I'm in between now. And. And interesting enough, I took French for a number of years. And so I thought about that for a moment and then I said, but I'll only be talking to my daughter because she's the only person I know that speaks French. But I know lots of other people who speak these other languages. So I need to use something and pick something that is going to actually help me and assist me in communicating more effectively with the people that I come in contact with on a regular basis.

Tansley Stearns

Chéree talked about the idea of resetting and that even when things feel really difficult the next day, today is an opportunity to think about what comes next. You know, I am someone that is a fast recoverer according to the big five. Resiliency I think is important and it's challenging at times. Right. I think the darker something might be, the harder it might be to find that resiliency. And all of us have a spectrum of ability to be resilient on day one versus day 15. And I do think finding a way to see forward really matters. I find it imperative that we look in the rearview mirror to inform the future. And staying stuck in the past is a question quick way to not find the impossible. Coming to life.

Chéree talked about the idea of society's role and framing behavior and responsibility which ultimately can change the outcomes for human beings. And, you know, I've recently been in a situation where I do believe that my observation is that bad behavior can beget bad behavior. That when someone feels as though there is a power dynamic and they see that there is an impact of that, that can have a negative implication for someone else, in this case me, that that can be multiplied by other people and there's permission and seeing someone do it and get away with it, and that can spread and it's extraordinarily dangerous. It's dangerous in that situation. It's also dangerous because when it is allowed to pass, it creates an environment that can grow and can have implications for a culture of an organization. It can have implications for a family. It can have implications for the wider society at large and the bravery it takes to stop that. Right. Whether you are the person that is experiencing that, if you have the ability to do so. And I think what Cherie was pointing to is that so frequently we ask the person that's experiencing that impact to take that on. And that's really dangerous. It's really dangerous. And all of us have a responsibility to stop people when their behavior is harming others if we see it happening. And the more that that becomes normative, the more impossible dreams we see come back to life.

I just recently was writing a letter to our board as an introduction to our pre work before our fall board working session. And in that letter I talk about the vision that our board has created for the organization. Includes so much of what we've seen occur in 2026. And a lot of that came to life during the Choose The Bear Ride and as Laura Killingbeck, who did this ride from the upper peninsula of Michigan all the way to Detroit, and we had a celebration in Ann Arbor, came into Detroit, rode onto the cement at our branch in Detroit. It represented the finish line and I believe for orsa as an organization and I hope for Michigander as a starting line for even more positive changes.

A financial institution can mechanize and ultimately create cultural change for women and those who love them. And Laura's ride across the state really represented bringing invisibility forward and allowing us to have things that have been invisible become visible, including the great state of Michigan and the many trails and trees and bears and parts of this state that people don't see. And even more importantly, to see human beings who haven't been seen, who've gone through things that have been devastating.

And what orsa has been able to do is to create this movement around Choose The Bear and to mechanize a financial institution, to be a change maker for women and to ensure that that future is even brighter. And we are just getting started. Those wheels rolling across the pavement in Detroit were the onset of something even more bold, and we are eager to create that. And certainly the partnership with Chéree and her team is a huge, huge part of that hazard.