Today we’d like to introduce you to Max Schaefer
Hi Max, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I always like to say that my story started with volunteerism, but in reality it took a little while to get there. Growing up, my Catholic grade school encouraged us to participate in a program where we were able to serve hot lunches to individuals and families at the Catholic Charities Center down the street. And while my parents instilled in me the value of giving back to others & showing kindness to all, I was mostly interested in getting out of class for the afternoon.
As I made my way to high school, I shifted from Catholic school to one Lorain’s public high schools. It was a new environment for me and I was searching for ways to get involved and opportunities to make new friends. One of the first clubs I ended up joining was a service club. Key Club was focused on volunteering and giving back to your community. The volunteering felt somewhat familiar to me, but really I was there to meet new friends and socialize a bit before school started. Through this organization I served meals to others, volunteered at fundraisers, rang the local Salvation Army bell & sang Christmas carols in the mall.
However misguided my reasoning was early on, these opportunities gave me my first real chance at serving others in my community. It opened up a path for me that would end up following me into adulthood & help shape my future in ways that I never imagined.
I attended Baldwin-Wallace College (now Baldwin Wallace University) and was now actively seeking out opportunities to volunteer and give back. I joined a fraternity that required service hours each semester. I paid to attend Alternative Break Trips that provided excellent service learning opportunities to students during Winter/Spring/Summer breaks. And I was bringing my friends back to Lorain to volunteer during our community-wide cleanup days.
After graduating, I again sought out opportunities to get involved. I moved back to Lorain, unsure if I would stay there briefly or for the long haul, but the agreement I had with myself, was that for as long as I stayed in Lorain, I was going to involve myself, volunteer, and give back. Through a short stint with AmeriCorps, where I was working with Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio, I was introduced to El Centro, a social services organization in Lorain that was founded to assist our city’s growing Latino population. To this day, I feel very lucky to have been asked to serve on their Board of Director, and did so with immense pride for 6 years. I got connected to the Lorain Historical Society with some encouragement from my mom while at a local festival. I began working on oral history projects for them and giving tours of their museum. Eventually, I would be involved in a young professionals group at the Lorain Historical Society where I would meet my wife!
I ended up leaving my AmeriCorps position early to accept a full time job at the Lorain County Auditor’s Office, working in the licensing department and accounting/bookkeeping department. My volunteerism continued in my free time while there for three years. I continued when and where I could while balancing my professional career. In 2016 I was hired by the Ohio Environmental Council to be their Regional Director for Northeast Ohio. This job was my first chance to combine aspects of volunteerism and my professional life. In this position, among a myriad of responsibilities, I was able to help bring folks together for beach clean-ups, I encouraged others to speak up for clean air/land/water initiatives facing their communities, as well as host a Climate-focused speaker series at a Speak of the Devil cocktail bar in Downtown Lorain.
This position allowed me to continue my involvement in a number of organizations I was already connected with and creating new relationships with businesses, churches, non-profits, and cities across my backyard and the greater region.
After 5 great years at the Ohio Environmental Council, in 2021 I was hired into my current role as the Executive Director of Main Street Lorain. A non-profit working to create a stronger, vibrant, and thriving downtown neighborhood. This organization relies heavily on volunteers and having a dedicated group of leaders working on our projects, events, promotions, beautification, and more! I feel incredibly lucky to serve my community in this role and am eternally grateful for all of the people who helped me get to where I am today. And the best part in all of this, is that it isn’t happening in a silo. There are so many other wonderful organizations and intelligent leaders who are working in conjunction to lift up our neighborhood and city.
It sometimes feels odd sometimes to talk about your accomplishments and journey, but I know for sure this was not solely my own doing. Every step of the way I had people guiding me, encouraging me, lifting me up, and helping me. I really do believe my journey was paved through volunteerism, giving back to others, and with the support of so many friends, family, and colleagues.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There have been plenty challenges along the way. I feel as though for most folks, no matter what path you follow in life, there will be barriers, road blocks, and detours. But again, I feel so much gratitude for the support I have in my family and friends — they have provided endless encouragement and help along the way.
In every professional setting, there are inevitable disagreements, shifts in focus, differing stylistic approaches, and more than can lead to frustration. While all of that and more has occurred throughout my career, many a times due to my own flat thinking, I have learned that it’s best to try and move forward with a breath of fresh air.
It is not always easy to do so, but try to look at things objectively and to see where others are coming from if there is a disagreement. Take a moment (or a couple of days) to re-focus. It’s easy to get passionate about the things you care so deeply for, but I believe it is important to remind yourself that it takes an entire collective of individuals working together in unison to make deep and meaningful change. So, whatever road blocks appear, just remember to breathe, stay focused, work hard, and accept the help of others along the way.
As you know, we’re big fans of Main Street Lorain. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Main Street Lorain in a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to creating a thriving and vibrant Downtown Lorain. We do this work by following the Main Street America approach for community & neighborhood development that focuses on four key areas: organization, design, economic vitality, and promotions.
Main Street Lorain works with community leaders, small businesses, and other non-profits to revitalize the Downtown Lorain neighborhood. Not only do we organize events that attract people to Downtown Lorain, but we host clean-ups and work on beautification projects, we market our neighborhood and small businesses, and serve as a connection point to the community. It is a fairly comprehensive approach, and when implemented correctly, can have long-lasting impacts on an area.
As the organization’s Executive Director I serve multiple roles and every work day is a little bit different from the last. As I mentioned previously, I get to work with and build our amazing base of volunteers to help accomplish our work — without these individuals, nothing would be accomplished for our organization. I am tasked with overseeing project management, financial planning and oversight, partner recruitment, volunteer management, and more.
While there are number of areas I work within and around, I would say my most important role is relationship building. Again, none of this work can happen unless you have the support of volunteers, businesses, the community, the city, etc. And so, I try to put a major focus of my time on maintaining and strengthening relationships. That means showing up for others, supporting their work/business, collaborating with folks when it makes sense, and always trying to lift up others. Main Street Lorain truly does a fantastic job of supporting one another and lifting others up. Whether it’s our board/volunteers or partner businesses, people show up for one another in a very special way.
I think that is one of the things I love about our downtown the best — people show up for one another in really meaningful ways. There is a strong sense of community and it often reverberates from all of the different folks/causes being supported in our community.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I truly believe there are numerous outside factors that play a role in ones life. Luck is a big part of it. Privilege plays a huge role in societal outcomes. The zipcode where you are born has a massive impact on your life. Unconscious bias is always there.
There is nothing in this life that I believe I accomplished 100% by myself. The love and support I have from my family is extremely special to me and has played a crucial role in where I am today. The support of friends and colleagues has been instrumental in where I am today. Call it what you will, but there are numerous, random, unintended factors I have benefited from throughout life.
I believe that is the case for everyone. I believe it is important for folks who benefit from these factors to recognize this and work to create a more equitable playing field for those who are negatively affected by bias and privilege.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.downtownlorain.com
- Instagram: @mainstreetlorain
- Facebook: /mainstreetlorain
