Glaze and Grit
Glaze and Grit
Karla Rose Hanson: Business Owner and North Dakota State Legislator (Episode 08)
There are so many things to admire about Karla Rose Hanson. She is the founder and owner of KRH Communications, is a legislator in the North Dakota State House of Representatives, mom of two boys, smart, community-focused, and driven.
Karla Rose Hanson worked at Microsoft and Great Plains Software for 13 years in various communications and marketing roles before starting her own corporate communications business. She co-founded two grassroots public policy advocacy groups and serves on the Fargo Theatre board. Karla is also the Assistant Minority Leader for the North Dakota State House of Representatives and has provided leadership on issues such as paid family leave, suicide prevention, veterans advocacy, and criminal justice reform.
Karla’s goals every day are to be open-minded, accessible, and to find common ground.
Karla Rose Hanson and her family.To connect with Karla:
Website: KarlaRoseHanson.com
LinkedIn: Karla’s Profile
Facebook: @karlarosehanson44
Twitter: @karlarosehanson
Email: krhanson@nd.gov (legislative related)
Email: karlarosehanson@hotmail.com (campaign related)
A lot of times, I just see a need and say, you know, someone has to do it. So if not me then who, and if no one else is stepping up, then at least I can do what I can. Right. So maybe it's not always that I'm the perfect person for any given role, but it's like, I can do what I can and that's something. And then there's value in that. And so I would encourage other women to do the same. Maybe you feel uncertain that you're the perfect person for a certain leadership role, but, but why not? You and there are certainly some qualities that you have some skills that could add value in whatever role that is, you know, whether it be, uh, a nonprofit board position or, you know, being a volunteer for someone's campaign, or
Jessi Woinarowicz:Glaze and Grit is a podcast where honest and real conversations are front and center, a conversation where Fargo, Morehead, area, business owners, thought leaders, advocates, and visionaries share their lessons learned and provide a fresh perspective to better inform and support you in your journey. It's about sharing the real story to inspire lead and encourage. All right here in my backyard of Fargo, North Dakota, it all starts with a conversation, an honest one, I'm Jessi Woinarowicz and this is Glaze and Grit. You know, those women who are down to earth friendly and the ones that you are so glad, they're your neighbor on the show today, we have one such woman. She is a successful business owner and the founder of K and H communications, which provides communication strategy and writing services to a range of local and national clients. Since 2017, she has represented district 44 in the North Dakota house of representatives is a community advocate. And mom of two boys, we discussed stepping out of one's comfort zone, the impact of grassroots advocacy, and we end our time sharing some lighthearted, get to know you questions. Here's Karla Rose Hansen. Thank you so much for coming on.
Karla Rose Hanson:Yes. Thanks for the invitation. I'm excited.
Jessi Woinarowicz:I know you've been busy connecting with constituents tonight, so thank you for your time. You were in the process of running for reelection for district 44 and then North Dakota House of Representatives. I'm always curious what made you decide to run for office?
Karla Rose Hanson:Yeah, it was a combination of decisions or factors into my decision. So part of the decision had to do with how I felt that was being currently represented. You know, I felt like my current, uh, representatives didn't adequately reflect what would I prioritize, what my values were. And another reason was I felt that I could do a good job. I had an opportunity to testify in front of the North Dakota Legislature when I was citizen about an issue I cared about and I looked around the room and it was not necessarily reflective of our population. And so I thought I could do this job and I could maybe do it as well or better than some of the people in the room. And it's been a great experience. It's been really fun to dig into policy, especially I really enjoy doing research on issues. And I really love working with a wide variety of stakeholders to gather different points of view and really come to the best solution that we can as a group. And that's been really rewarding.
Jessi Woinarowicz:I would find serving in a political capacity to be very challenging at times, especially with all the negativity and devices, divisiveness. How do you work through some of the potentially trolling you on Twitter or the negativity in general?
Karla Rose Hanson:Yeah, a lot of people do associate politics with kind of a negative feeling because they see a lot of that in the media. They see it on social media, especially at the national level. Uh, my personal experience has not really seen too much of that. Uh, so I've been really lucky and really fortunate. Really the partisan politics doesn't seem to really play too big of a role. The more local you are with your political office and national level, it certainly does, but the closer you get to home, it doesn't seem to be quite as big of a factor. People see you as their neighbor and as their neighbor, you're representing them and their priorities and their values in the legislature. And so it doesn't seem to be as much of a factor now that said, you know, it can, it can occasionally be packer, but you just don't take it personally.
Jessi Woinarowicz:Do you like so many women confidence plays a factor in not stepping into politics, statistics show, it takes asking a woman three times for her to decide to run for office. And I think confidence in how we view ourselves, places that statistic. What words of advice would you share with women who is thinking of starting her own business as much as you did or running for office stepping out of her comfort zone in a way?
Karla Rose Hanson:Yeah, you have it exactly right. Statistically women have to be asked multiple times before they even consider running for public office and it shouldn't have to be that way. It's not the case with men. And when women run, they win at the same rate that men do. We also know that women are underrepresented at every level of government national level, as well as in state legislature, as well as in a lot of our local political entities, like the County commission or the city commission. So I absolutely encourage women to think about running for office. And sometimes that might seem a little scary to put your name on the ballot and really jump into that. So a couple of first steps that some women might want to consider are looking at being appointed to government boards. So the city has a lot of words, like a human relations commission. For example, the state has a lot of boards and commissions. And so you can apply and ask to be appointed to some of those. And that can kind of give you a taste of what public service looks like. It can expand your network beyond what your current network is. Another path that a woman could take is working on someone else's campaign. That's what I did. So in 2012, I really started connecting with some old friends, were involved with politics and I would knock doors for them and talk to voters and stuffed envelopes and make phone calls and do some of those things. And it gives you a good feel for what campaigning looks like and what some of the issues are that people at that level of office would deal with that familiarity with those issues will give you a better idea of what level of office you might be interested in running for. What's a good fit for you when you're skilled.
Jessi Woinarowicz:Great advice. Is there a piece of legislation or an experience that you're most proud of?
Karla Rose Hanson:Well, there's been a few different pieces of legislation I've worked on that. I been very happy that they passed. You know, for example, I worked on a bill that provides more funding for a specific healthcare services, like glasses and dentures for veterans. And obviously we all care about making sure veterans have the healthcare they need. So I was glad that that passed an issue that hasn't quite passed yet, that I'm passionate about is that pink family leave. So I sponsored a bill last year and I'm looking at revising it and introducing it again in 2021, if reelected and that's around creating a program in North Dakota that provides a paid family leave options. And it's not just parental leave, taking care of a new child, but also even caring for an elderly parents. Some of us are in a situation where we might have a parent who is dealing with cancer or maybe in the last months of their life. And, um, too many families in North Dakota have to make a choice between seeing in their job in order to get a paycheck or caring for themselves or a loved one. And it's unfortunate that they have to make that really difficult choice said, you know, it'd be nice for them to be able to financially be able to step away from their job temporarily. They can take care of that loved one or themselves sometimes in a healthcare situation. So we'll keep trying for that this year, more than ever, it's become very evident that people need the ability to have paid leave as an option. For sure. I definitely agree. You also co-founded to grass roots, public policy advocacy groups related to privacy and healthcare and face-paced social justice work.
Jessi Woinarowicz:How did that come about?
Karla Rose Hanson:Yes, those organizations were very much a grassroots organic effort. So the organization that was related to privacy and healthcare was the result of a friend of mine and I who, um, heard that the legislature was going to be considering some bills related to IVF and people's pregnancies. And my friend happened to be an IVF doctor. She's a physician who specializes in reproductive endocrinology, and I cared passionately about it because our family tried to use IVF to build our family. This was a while ago. I have teenagers now, but, uh, and I felt very passionately that we in North Dakota should keep IVF as an option for families who needed that in order to build their families. And the bills that were going to be coming in front of the legislature would have prohibited the practice of IVF here. So she and I got together and, um, really just gathered a coalition. It was really a coalition building effort of families who used IVF physicians and other healthcare providers. Also a faith coalition as well, got brought into that. And some cause it was a while ago, but it was a broad coalition. And we basically asked each of us would activate our personal networks to contact legislators and ask them to please vote no on these bills because we felt passionately that we wanted to keep things the way they are. We want to keep IVF as an option in North Dakota. And we were able to defeat those bills. And before the legislative session began, we were told, well, they have the volts they're going to pass. And we said, well, we understand that, but we still have to try. We still have to make our voices heard. And so that was my first taste of activism and political involvement and also testifying in front of a legislative committee. So it was nerve-wracking, but it was really empowering too, because you saw how people stories and people, neighbors talking to neighbors and neighbors talking to their neighborhood legislator really made a difference in changing the outcome of those potential policy proposals. Our family building story started out with IVF and, you know, trying to go through the infertility path and that didn't work for us. We experienced, uh, a couple of losses, pregnancy losses, like many families personally do. Um, and then, uh, so our, after we experienced that for awhile, we then decided to go down the path of adoption. And we adopted a boy from, was born in Oklahoma, his name's Jake, and he's 15. Now he was a high score. So that was a while ago. And so that was a wonderful addition to our family. And then about two years later, we found out we were expecting and, uh, not using IVF. Our second child was born and his name's Andy. So we have one adopted child and one biological child and two boys beautiful.
Jessi Woinarowicz:You graduate from North Dakota State University and earned your degree in what made you decide to go into communication.
Karla Rose Hanson:I really, I guess always had a knack for writing and say, I always love reading, but I always would write as well. And I have to say my first experience realizing that I could do it as a career happened at college at NDSU. So I had a wonderful teacher who, um, was a, the journalism one Oh one teacher basically. And just tell him love with that as a subject and in realize that this is something I could do for a living as such as something fun to do on the side. And, uh, so that was my first job was being a journalist after college. I worked at a daily newspaper for about four years in Fergus Falls. And then I, um, came to Fargo, came back to Fargo after, um, after working there for a while and joined Great Plains Software in the marketing field. So I was still doing a lot of writing in that role and did a couple of different jobs, you know, both with Great Plains Software. And then, you know, Microsoft purchased, the company, started doing more product management and product management. If you're familiar with that is thinking about how things are priced and packaged and well as the marketing of it. And then I got from that into more executive communications at Microsoft. So helping an executive team do internal communications with like a global staff of a couple thousand people around the world. And that was a lot of fun, you know, working on strategic issues with an executive team and especially a team that works all around the world. So you could travel. And I loved working with all the different offices around the world. That was, that was a real highlight. I do miss that.
Jessi Woinarowicz:You left Microsoft and Great Plains Software after 13 years to start your own company.
Karla Rose Hanson:I did. I left in 2011. If I remember, right.
Jessi Woinarowicz:How was that transition? Was it nerve-wracking leaving or where you're like, Oh, I got this.
Karla Rose Hanson:S o l eap, you know, it was certainly a leap of faith to start your own business. N o, I didn't necessarily have a whole bunch of clients lined up right away or anything like that. But I did some networking and talked to lots and lots of people had lots of coffee dates to really see what a need is out there in our community and was able to find separate clients both locally, as well as around the country. Because even, even then people were still comfortable hiring someone they had never even seen in person. So I did have some clients, you know, in different cities who had never met me in person, but it's more forced. It was a leap of faith, but I was really, really blessed in that. I always had enough work. So it was nice situation for me.
Jessi Woinarowicz:You are a mom of two boys, which we talked about Jake and Andy you're owner of your own communications company. And we talked about the co-founding grassroots, all the policy advocacy groups serving on numerous committees. It seems like when there's a you step in and you just, you do it. I wonder where that drive and that passion comes from, especially for people that may be, you know, they see a need, but they're not sure if maybe they're qualified or if they should step in, what are, what's some advice that you would give as well as where does that drive?
Karla Rose Hanson:Well, I don't know her drive and passion. That's a good question. Um, now obviously, you know how you're raised. So I definitely credit my parents for giving me a good work ethic. A lot of times I just see a need and say, you know, someone has to do it. So if not, if not me then who, and if no one else is stepping up, then at least I can do what I can. Right. So maybe it's not always that I'm the perfect person for any given role, but it's like, I can do what I can and that's, and that's something and that's, there's value in that. And so I would encourage other women to do the same. Maybe you feel uncertain that you're the perfect person for a certain leadership role, but, but why not? You and there are certainly some qualities that you have some skills that could add value in whatever role that is, you know, whether it be, uh, a nonprofit board position or, you know, being a volunteer for someone's campaign or running for office yourself. So I absolutely encourage women to just go for it. And what's the worst thing that can happen. You know, it's, that's one, one thing that I always would ask myself when taking these big leaps, whether it be, um, moving from one job to another or trying out a new experience is what's the best thing that could happen in this situation. What's the worst thing that could happen in this situation. And what's likely to happen in this situation. And can I live with the worst thing if that should happen? And if you can live with the worst thing that could ever happen and go ahead, do it and probably not going to happen anyway, it's probably going to be most likely to happen or maybe even the best thing to happen. So that's how I would weigh the situation.
Jessi Woinarowicz:I'm currently reading this book by Claire Shipman, and she talks about the confidence factor and, you know, we're born with a level of confidence already, or a percentage of confidence, but she also mentioned in order to gain confidence as competence is different than self-esteem, you have to continually step out of your comfort zone in order to build that confidence. And so you have to be uncomfortable with being uncomfortable. I look at your career, it feels like you have just built confidence, confidence with so many of the situations and experiences that you've gone through.
Karla Rose Hanson:I think of courage maybe a little bit more, because sometimes it does take stepping out of your comfort zone, like you had said, which is important. So I guess I never think of myself as confident, but more, maybe more like willing to take a risk and be maybe brave in an situation. But yeah, there they are tied together. It's really interesting that you quite, that, that tile, Carl hope inspires you. I think people with courage inspire me building off the conversation we just had about confidence and how it's related to courage and bravery and stepping outside your comfort zone. I always admire women who speak out, you know, even when it might not be comfortable to speak out and say hard truth sometimes, but doing so in a respectful professional way, as much as possible. So I admire women who do that, and there's a lot of women who do that. You know, there's a lot of women in public service, both locally and nationally that, that I can think of with that too. And of course my own mother would definitely qualify in that category as well. What is your finish line? Oh, I guess I haven't thought that far ahead. You know, I think my finish line is when I'm not able to leave my home and not able to connect with people. I mean, I can, some of the people who I admire so much right now talking about people who inspire me are people who are my, my mother's generation and my grandmother's generation who continue to speak the hard truth and continue to stay active in different ways. You know, they're doing initiated measures and they're doing voter education and they're helping the next generation. And that inspires me. And I hope that I can follow in their footsteps when I'm in that age as well. So I think this, this is my chapter for now public service is my chapter for now and what my service looks like might look a little different in 10 years, 20 years, 30 years. But you know, I see how women of different generations continue to either serve in a formal way or an informal way and fully expect. I'll continue to do that. You know what that looks like. It could be anything, the opportunities are limitless.
Jessi Woinarowicz:Well, let's end our time then at the little lightning round of questions. And are you ready?
Karla Rose Hanson:Okay.
Jessi Woinarowicz:Alright. Climb a mountain or skydive.
Karla Rose Hanson:Ooh, climb a mountain.
Jessi Woinarowicz:cake or pie.
Karla Rose Hanson:Pie
Jessi Woinarowicz:Have you ever worn socks with sandals?
Karla Rose Hanson:Yes.
Jessi Woinarowicz:What is the best age?
Karla Rose Hanson:Oh, Hmm. I guess the age I am right now.
Jessi Woinarowicz:So love it. Coffee or tea
Karla Rose Hanson:coffee
Jessi Woinarowicz:dark chocolate or milk chocolate.
Karla Rose Hanson:dark chocolate. A hundred percent.
Jessi Woinarowicz:wine or martini.
Karla Rose Hanson:wine.
Jessi Woinarowicz:How many hours of sleep do you get at night?
Karla Rose Hanson:Probably seven and a half.
:If you could speak another language and maybe you do, which would it be.
Karla Rose Hanson:Spanish.
Jessi Woinarowicz:And are you politically correct?
Karla Rose Hanson:I think I am.
Jessi Woinarowicz:All right. That ended it. So you're good. You're off the hot seat.
Karla Rose Hanson:A lot of fun.
Jessi Woinarowicz:Karla, thank you so much for being on the podcast. I really appreciate it.
Karla Rose Hanson:Thanks for having me and thanks for doing these too. It's great to highlight the different people in our community.
Jessi Woinarowicz:Hey, thanks so much for listening in today. If you would like to learn more about Glaze and Grit and the incredible community leaders highlighted on the show, check out glazeandgritpodcast.com. Also, if you enjoyed this episode, please let us know by subscribing rating and sharing. Thanks again for listening. Talk to you soon.