Lead to Succeed - Danica Stanciu, Daniel J. Kobasic Foundation

In this episode of Lead to Succeed, host Steve Arwood talks with Danica Stanciu, President of the Daniel J. Kobasic Foundation, about legacy, philanthropy, and the kind of bold thinking needed to move the Upper Peninsula forward. Danica shares the story of her father, Daniel J. Kobasic, and how his values continue to guide the Foundation’s work across the U.P. The conversation also explores the Foundation’s recent $1.4 million commitment to Build U.P.’s CTE housing partnership, the importance of investing in skilled trades and workforce development, and why the region should be thinking bigger about its future.

Learn more about InvestUP at https://www.investupmi.com. Connect with us on social media at https://www.linkedin.com/company/invest-up-mi/. 

Transcript

Steve Arwood   13:32
Well, welcome to another edition of Lead Succeed. We have a fascinating guest today, Ms. Danica Stanciu. For those of you who were at the CEO Summit in early May of this year, you would have met and heard Danica speak a very powerful message and also brought to the event some significant foundation assistance to some important programs taking place in the UP. So I'm going to let Danica explain some of that. I'm going to ask her first, though, to tell us a bit about yourself. You're currently right now in Washington, D.C., but you have a deep and loving tie to the Upper Peninsula. And for those, like I said, that haven't met you via the conference, please, please give us your connection.

Danica Stanciu   14:30
Thank you, Steve. Well, I was born and raised in Escanaba. And yes, I am based here in Washington, DC on Capitol Hill. And I've been here for almost 30 years. But some of my fondest memories are of endless summer days at the Escanaba Municipal Beach on Arnson Island. No matter the weather, sun, rain, we were there, and I still count that as some of my fondest, fondest memories. In fact, I'm coming back in a couple of weeks with my kids to share that with them, and I'm really hoping that the weather will cooperate.

Steve Arwood   15:11
We're on the upswing. 

Danica Stanciu   15:13
Excellent.

Steve Arwood   15:18
Your father was an original, I guess I would call him, in terms of not only an entrepreneur, but from what I've learned, a man who was very community-minded and very conscious of his impact and his potential impact on the community. And that led to the creation of a foundation, which we'll talk about a little bit down the line. But can you talk a bit about your family and your father and how this all got put together?

Danica Stanciu   15:54
Absolutely. It's such a great story, Steve. Dad was one of 11 kids, born literally on the wrong side of the tracks in Escanaba, Michigan. True story, who essentially the day he turned 18, walked onto an iron ore freighter and started as a deckhand. And when he left us, was the owner of a marine fabrication business that made hundreds of barges, some for the Army Corps of Engineers, some for the US Navy, many, if not most, of the buoys on the Great Lakes, and a number of commercial fishing vessels. That was quite a bit for a man who had no formal education except a PhD in ambition and work ethic, and was told by his high school guidance counselor that he would be lucky if he dug ditches. So my dad, as you said, was a unique person and someone, even though it's a bit of a cliche, I think fits him very well, was truly one in a million.

Steve Arwood   17:10
You told a story that I remembered that he literally looked at a dilapidated, environmentally contaminated mess on the waterfront, and he didn't see that mess. He saw a vibrant shipyard.

Danica Stanciu   17:31
That's exactly right. So my father, like his father and his brothers, was a merchant marine, a very UP story, hauling iron ore across the Great Lakes. He also sailed in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War and circumnavigated the globe three times, but he came home to Michigan. He came home to Escanaba and actually started a pizza business.
And from that, that wasn't enough for him. He was a builder at heart, which we'll talk about a little bit later, but saw this dilapidated, it was an old train depot that was abandoned, unused,
contaminated and there he saw his field of dreams, if you will.

Steve Arwood   18:26
The foundation is something that you're very involved in. Obviously, you're on the board of the foundation, but can you explain just a bit how that foundation came about and kind of what it is, what the structure of it is now, it's an operating foundation.

Danica Stanciu   18:56
Yeah. You know, as I mentioned, dad was a builder. He always had a project. He always had something in mind. And when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the age of 71, he wasn't done yet. And he wasn't going to let that be the end of his story. And he had so many ideas, particularly for Escanaba and the Upper Peninsula. And so the foundation was his way to continue building, to continue his story. And so after his passing in 2017, shortly thereafter,the foundation began and we have been in operation since that time.

Steve Arwood   19:43
Great. So recently we had a wonderful announcement and by way of a little background from my end for people that don't maybe have a huge familiarity with the InvestUP CTE program. I'll take
a minute to explain it. We decided about a year ago, two years ago, maybe, to invest heavily in essentially building trades programs at the high school level. And it can be community college level as well, too, with the idea that, you know, first of all, we have a housing shortage in the Upper Peninsula.
We have a skilled trades shortage in the Upper Peninsula, and we have a need to help our young people find career paths that kind of make them, kind of are sticky to the Upper Peninsula to hopefully keep them there, not only to build their own careers, but build businesses and communities and so on and so forth. So we invested heavily in the CTE program and anybody that wants to can go on the webpage and take a look. But I'm pleased to announce that from relatively none, we now have like 146 students in these programs across 4 school districts in the UP. That obviously came to the attention of the Daniel J. Kovacic Foundation as meeting some of this, you know, it was all coming together with your father's vision and what you do. And you recently made a massive announcement, an investment in this program, and I won't take that away from you. I'll let you explain it.
I hope you do. Thank you.

Danica Stanciu   21:36
Well, thank you, Steve. You're right. And you mentioned just now coming together. For us, it was a very natural coming together of our interests. We were just talking about the foundation's formation. And our mission is really quite broad and it is to enable the growth, education, and well-being of motivated individuals whose work positively contributes to humanity. And what's not stated in that mission statement is something that dad was very clear about, which is that the bulk of his legacy was to remain
in Escanaba and the Greater Upper Peninsula. So since our foundation, we have given over five and a half $1,000,000 to the Upper Peninsula, which represents between 75 and 80% of our total giving.
We've been members of InvestUP for a number of years, and we've also supported the work of the CTE, Career and Technical Education Program, through the intermediate school district, particularly in Delta and Schoolcraft County. I think we might talk about that a little bit later. So when this opportunity to support Build UP and their program came up, it was a wonderful way of coming together, our relationship with InvestUP, our longstanding partnership with the CTE program. And we were delighted to announce a $1.4 million commitment
to the Build UP program to support both the young students who are building their skills, adding housing capacity, which we know will have that positive impact on the community.

Steve Arwood   23:31
Well, it certainly is a dramatic announcement and deeply appreciated, all down through to the students that are looking at this program. And hopefully it will promote other giving and others thinking about philanthropy, not just you, but other people that look at this and say, there's an investment that can be made here that's going to have a lasting impact. But you also have invested in other workforce-related activities, too. And I don't know if this is through the Delta Schoolcraft ISD, but explain a bit about the Daniel Kabasek.
Welding center, that was something I learned about recently.

Danica Stanciu   24:19
Yeah, that was one of our proudest partnerships, together with the Delta Schoolcraft ISD, our terrific partners that lead the CTE program there, particularly Trent Bellinger, if he's listening, a shout out to you, Trent, and the team there. But let me just back up and say that for most of his life, my father put on his coveralls and his work boots and was a welder. He, to the day he received his diagnosis, he proudly donned those coveralls and work boots. And every place where he went, and he had a couple of homes across his lifetime, he always had a shed or a workshop. He always had a welding arc. And he was just, he was a builder. He loved to put things together. And I think he thought.
Welding was magic, bringing two pieces of metal together. And so with the program that you're referencing, or the Daniel J. Kobasek Welding Center, we partnered with CTE to actually double their welding capacity. So they had a classroom that went from 11 welding stations to 22 with new ventilation, new machines and materials. And we were, we actually couldn't think of a better way. One, to serve the community first and foremost, to serve our young people, and develop the workforce, but also to serve dad's memory. What a wonderful way to remember him. I mean, when I close my eyes and I think of dad, he's in his coveralls.

Steve Arwood   26:08
For a second, you know, maybe...
Answer this question, and it's something that I've looked at a lot in my professional life is how do you connect businesses with those educational opportunities? I mean, obviously the welding center and your great relationship with the CTE program. What is your advice for business owners that may be listening to this saying, you know, hey, we need to make an investment in our workforce because we're not leaving Escanaba. I'll use Escanaba as an example. We need to grow up, we need to grow our own, we need to reach out, we need to
pull some people in and say, hey, we want to partner. What's your...
Folks who might be listening to this, what's the first stop?

Danica Stanciu   27:12
I think the 1st place to start is with a vision and to have, to think big and bold. We are believers. If you build it, they will come. And I think what I would tell your listening audience, the business owners out there, is also come talk to us. We are looking to be a convener
bringing together through our unique position in the community to bring together business and educational interests, whether that is at the intermediate school, high school, community college, university level, to develop the workforce so that businesses can continue to thrive and build. So I will be as bold as to say, give us a call. Let's talk about it. Let's understand the needs and see what we can do together, because that is very much aligned with the Kobasek Foundation's interests and goals.

Steve Arwood   27:59
Excellent, excellent. So jumping off that topic for a second, let me ask you a couple other questions. And these, you probably picked up on this theme at the CEO Summit. And thank you very much for participating in that. That whole philanthropy panel was very well received.
Okay, so I'm not going to call you an ex-pat because you're not really, you come back and forth, but you kind of are. You are, you were the prototypical, educated UP young person that left and
why you still have a legacy here, and it's an important one. We spent a lot of time, and we did it again at the CEO Summit, talking about how do we keep them here, and maybe more importantly, how do we bring them back. What's your thought on that? What does the Upper Peninsula need to do? Do they need to go on a national, international marketing campaign and just kind of get out of their own skin and go big? Or what do you think we need to do there? From somebody that's
been all over the world, globally, had some very major positions, and you come back and forth, then you see what's going on. You've got to have some thought on this.

Danica Stanciu   29:46
I absolutely do, and I shared some of them at the summit, and thank you for inviting me to share them again. First and foremost, I think we need to call a different play. If you recall at the summit, Marty Fittante, the CEO of InvestUP, stood up and he shared a newspaper article from, what was it, 70 years ago, Steve?

Steve Arwood   30:09
Oh yeah, it was long before I was born. It was like 1953, I think. Yeah.

Danica Stanciu   30:09
Something like that. That's right. That could have been written today about the declining population.

Steve Arwood   30:18
And, by the way, there's very few things that are older than me anymore right now, that's why.

Danica Stanciu   30:34
really hasn't changed across those decades. And so it's felt obvious to me that we need to call a different play. And as you mentioned, philanthropy has a role to play in that, bringing together people who haven't collaborated in the past education, business, philanthropy, and others. And here is where I'm also going to give a shout out or maybe a call to action to our friends downstate.
One of the things that I've learned being involved in the Kabasik Foundation is, and candidly disappointed, is how little money flows from philanthropic interests based downstate, and we have so many, to the Upper Peninsula. And I think it behooves us, those who are invested here in the Upper Peninsula, who want to see it grow and prosper, that we call a different play. We think big and boldly and put forth opportunities that would attract the attention of interests. But the state of Michigan has done an excellent job. I could always do more, of course. I will say that the state has been involved, but I think we need to bring other monies to bear. And that means we need to put together bold, even crazy ideas. Steve, you were mentioning that I'm not really an expat. I kind of am. I have residency in Kyiv, Ukraine, and I spend about 3/4 of my time there, with the rest of my time split between Washington, D.C. and the Upper Peninsula. And I referenced this quite a bit during the conversation.
at the CEO summit, which is no one would have thought that Ukraine would still be fighting how many years into the full-scale invasion, right?

Steve Arwood   32:39
What is it? Six? Six now? Yeah.

Danica Stanciu   32:44
So since February of 2022, we are on the 5th year of the full scale invasion. And, you know, one could argue that the war has actually been much longer than that. Everyone thought it would last three days, everyone, including our government, all of the experts. But what Ukraine did is harvested
its perceived weaknesses to its strengths and fights an asymmetric war.
And I think there are so many lessons for everyone, but particularly the Upper Peninsula, and thinking about what are our perceived weaknesses and how do we turn them into strengths? And there is so much going for the Upper Peninsula.
I was just there, as you know, last month. I'll be back in a couple of weeks. And I see a potential hub of precision manufacturing. So how do we place those bets in a positive way that we believe it will come and follow, but we have to take big, bold steps and go for it.

Steve Arwood   34:02
Yeah, well, I like the, I like the phrase, call a different play, and I also like the, you know, kind of the reminder to all that. We have to quit apologizing for things that are actually positives. Yes, winter is long, but there are lots of people that love winter. You know, yes, we're a little bit remote, but there's a lot of people that love remote. I mean, you take those negatives that sometimes we
Yeah, sorry about that, right? It's kind of that attitude. Yeah, sorry about that. And say, well, no, that's actually why we like it here and why other people will like it here too. It appeals to a lot of people.

Danica Stanciu   34:53
Might not be for everyone, but it will definitely be for someone. And we need to find those people, those interests, because the Upper Peninsula has so much to offer. In addition to a skilled workforce, something that I mentioned and came up quite a bit at the summit was authenticity.
or genuineness that you don't see many other places in the world. And it was also one of the common threads. You know, there's nothing that strips artifice like war, right? When you're fighting an existential fight, it might be one of the reasons why being in Ukraine actually feels somewhat familiar to me, because people are real and genuine in a way that I see back at home. And I have to believe that is appealing to a lot of people, maybe not everyone, because of some of the constraints. But again, those constraints can be our strengths. And I think it's incumbent on us to come together and put together opportunities and ideas that are attractive to those on the outside looking in.

Steve Arwood   36:00
Yes. There is, as you said, and I've worked all over the state and I've worked in different parts of the country and I've done global work. And as I continue to work with InvestUP and members of the UP community, being a rural Michigander myself, you know, with an agricultural background, I could kind of share that kind of feeling, you know, there's very few people you can go that is such a forward-leaning honesty about things than the Upper Peninsula that, you know, if you're looking to make a long-term bet and investment into something that you want to last and prosper, those are things that people should take to consideration. I truly believe it. It's kind of hokey, but you know, you know, you're only successful is the people around you. And you know, when you think about those relationships, they can be hugely beneficial. So when you think about the legacy of your father,
and the growth of your foundation, and what drives you next? I mean, what are, do you have an opportunity set you are looking for, or are you more reactive when those opportunities come toward the foundation?

Danica Stanciu   37:38
So we always go back to my father's values, first and foremost. As I mentioned, he was a builder and we like building things or enabling building the welding center being a terrific example. We, and I'm going to quote US Supreme Court Justice here, Potter Stewart, we know it when we see it. Dad was, dad had, I'm going to say small D democratic tastes. He was a man who listened to big band music, classical music and then could sing the lines of the latest Pearl Jam song. And he liked all of those things. And that kind of openness really, I think, is empowering.

Steve Arwood   38:26
Haha. Yeah. He was what they would call a sampler, right? He sampled everything.

Danica Stanciu   38:40
He had a zest for life. He had an appetite for so many things. He appreciated the arts. He loved to build and was a builder and a carpenter first. But so always in the back of our mind are how do we honor his legacy by honoring his values. The other thing that has been guiding us a lot lately, Steve, is something that he often used to say, which is small investment, small return. Big investment, big return. And he was nothing, if not bold and a risk taker. And so as we've grown more confident at the foundation, you know, candidly, it took us a couple of years to figure out this philanthropy thing. We haven't done it before. It's not like anyone gives you a guidebook and says, this is how you do it. And so it took us a couple of years to get the wiggles out and understand what was interesting, what the opportunities are. And we're looking for big, bold opportunities. And so also a call to your listeners, to our audience today, if you have a big, bold idea that you believe will contribute to the prosperity of the Upper Peninsula. Let's talk. That is the kind of thing that we're interested in. And we're more and more interested in convening people across industries, across for-profit, non-profit governments to talk about how we can be that rising tide that lifts all boats in the Upper Peninsula.

Steve Arwood   40:33
So let's assume there's some listeners out there who are dealing with, they're fortunate enough to deal with generational wealth issues and what is the legacy of our company, of our family. And there is
There are wealthy, I mean, families and assets in the Upper Peninsula that may be thinking about, and not necessarily just wealthy, maybe there are businesses that are thinking about creating some type of giving program or foundation program. If they're listening and they're going, you know, that's really cool.

Danica Stanciu   40:54
There are.

Steve Arwood   41:10
We have a legacy we want to honor. We have an issue we want to... What should they do? I mean, you've been down through it. I mean, what should they do? If they pick up the phone and call the person or the people and say, hey, we're really interested in putting together a...
family foundation or some type of trust for something. What's your suggestion?

Danica Stanciu   41:36
The first suggestion would be clear-eyed about your mission and values. I think that's always our North Star or our compass. And what I meant by getting the wiggles out, if you will, is at first we were quite reactive, responding to grant opportunities, and then, you know, evaluating them and deciding yes or no if this fit our value set. Now we are thinking about being more proactive. How can we create those opportunities? And I will say this takes time and effort. It is easier and less work to be receptive, right? To be the receiver of requests than to be a net creator and proactive, but it feels so worth it. And again, this is where I go back to big investment, big return. It's not just financial. It is also effort and time. So I would encourage families or organizations who are thinking about building a legacy about what is the, do you have a proactive strategy? Are you open to partnerships? We've also learned over time and as we've gotten more confident and comfortable, that there are a number of instruments that are available, not just grants. One of those is program-related investments. So actually using a portion of your assets, if you will, to extend a loan that aligns with your mission. That is in how we approach the Build UP commitment. So there are many instruments at your disposal.

Steve Arwood   43:31
Yeah, it's very. The philosophy, you know. Small investment, small return, big investment, big return. Excellent, you know, kind of thinking because when you can do it or you put that kind of money, like the 1.4 into a program, that really moves the needle. That doesn't, that doesn't, the needle doesn't just go like this, it goes like that.And people follow success, too. It's a, you know, somebody's got to be the pathfinder with some of this stuff. And it does create success. So I agree completely. I think the legacy thought is a very, very good one.

Danica Stanciu   44:15
I think going back to the call a different play, we're also stronger together and that is something that I would say to the listening audience. If you, your family, your organization has capacity and is thinking about a legacy, I would also say we are stronger together. We can do more. If we pool our time, our resources are impacting at scale, and that's what we're looking at doing.

Steve Arwood   44:48
Yeah, yeah. Well, that's wonderful. So you're coming to the UP here pretty soon for a little R&R. The weather's going to be beautiful. Well, just looking ahead on the 10 day two week and we're we're we are in summer now.

Danica Stanciu   45:00
I hope so. Praying for it.

Steve Arwood   45:08
I can't predict it's not going to rain once in a while, but I think it's going to be nice. Any special things you're thinking about doing when you're in the Upper Peninsula, or is it just a laid back, take it as it comes kind of deal?

Danica Stanciu   45:26
So I'm coming with my children who are young adults. This is, we're coming, we're driving up north from Chicago. My son is a graduating senior at Northwestern University. My daughter is flying in from her university at the University of California, Santa Cruz. and my mom and we're road tripping up north. My kids haven't been up north in a while, so we are going to make a road trip within a road trip, going to Kitchiti Kipiti, Munisin, Marquette. My kids have a day planned hiking, and I have the feeling if the weather cooperates, they might jump off of Black Rocks with a couple of friends up in Presque Isle Park. And if time allows, I'd actually love to go to the Keweenaw. You know, at the wonderful CEO Summit, we had a keynote speaker, John Yubacon, who wrote a book recently, The Gales of November. And I want to give a shout out to that book. I read it over winter break. And I felt as if he was giving me personally a gift. It was the story of our family. His dad's forefathers came from an impoverished part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, now known as Croatia, to work in the copper mines as teenagers in Calumet and the environs. They then settled down in Escanabo, working on the ships to ship iron ore. And John Bacon does a beautiful job of explaining the Upper Peninsula's place in the history of our country and its economic development, particularly during World War II and the post-World War II boom, leading up to, of course, the tragic end of the Edmund Fitzgerald. And he tells it with such clarity and dignity and humanity. And reading that book made me want to go to Calumet, made me want to go to the Keweenaw and retrace those footsteps and see a place where I think it was Calumet at one time had something like 8 or 10 trains leaving a day to go to places like Chicago and Milwaukee and

Steve Arwood   47:54
This is one of the wealthiest places in the world at one point.

Danica Stanciu   47:58
And in the opera theater. And so I'd really like to do that and do… A little bit of a historical tour, you know.

Steve Arwood   48:11
The Bacon book sits right on my next to read. You know, I've talked to a few people who read it, and they said it was fascinating. And for those of us who were born and raised here, most of us think we know the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald because it's constantly replayed every year in both pop culture, both historically. And they said, no, this is a, this is a total, a total different, you know, approach to it. And I'm, so I'm excited to get, get, get it reading, you know.

Danica Stanciu   48:48
He contextualizes. He places the Edmund Fitzgerald in history and geography. He talks about why the Great Lakes are so dangerous. I'm someone who myself sailed on the Great Lakes. It's another story for another day, Steve, but I worked as a porter primarily on the Wilfred Sykes. I washed dishes one summer. and a couple of trips after that. And why freshwater, particularly at a certain time of year, is much more dangerous than saltwater. Saltwater being weighed down so waves don't get as steep and as high. And also saltwater… freezing. And so a ship can actually capsize when freshwater waves are blowing over it and they freeze and drag the ship down. I mean, it was just so fascinating. The best

Steve Arwood   49:40
Well, as a Great Lakes boater, sailor, and big boat boater, and also a saltwater boater during particular times of the year, I can tell you that the Great Lakes are more fearful to me than anything I've encountered in saltwater. I'm sure there's times, but yeah. Well, I hope you enjoy your trip, but I also hope that your children enjoy it so much. They don't want to leave and they stay and they start businesses or start careers or impact the community because that's our target audience. You need to leave them up there.

Danica Stanciu   50:08
Thank you. To that end, Steve, my son, is applying to medical school right now. His interest is emergency medicine. And of course, that may change. But one of the things that we're going to do is stop by an OSF St. Francis Healthcare. My mother worked there for 35 years. And the Kabasik Foundation has partnered with OSF St. Francis to build a cancer care clinic. My kids haven't seen it.
And one of the things that we're going to do is take the tour through the emergency room so that my son can understand the challenges and the opportunities of rural medicine. Now, I don't know if it's going to speak to him, but it is something that I'm doing with the idea of

Steve Arwood   51:15
Yes, and in that. Yeah, and but you know, as well as I do, that the attraction of health professionals in rural areas anywhere in the country is a challenge. My son-in-law is a PA and he spent he spent some time at

Danica Stanciu   51:26
Of exactly what you said, Steve. Number one skill set, needed skill set. Okay.

Steve Arwood   51:46
LifePoint at the big Marquette Hospital doing experiential work. And yeah, it's a big need. Rural health care is, you know, the delivery and the servicing of a dispersed population.

Danica Stanciu   51:48
Yep, yep.

Steve Arwood   52:04
And especially a population that's aging readily. It's just kind of changing the nature of all that. So, but great. And I, but I do hope that they like it so much, they go, I'm going back there.

Danica Stanciu   52:07
But we need to find the opportunity within that.
I mean, we need to find the opportunity within that. You know, my son interned here in Washington at the George Washington University Hospital, where he saw everything from the common cold to the gunshot. I'm sure very exciting and fast-paced, but think about the opportunity for a medical professional to have more work-life balance here in the Upper Peninsula. Again, I do think we need to frame these opportunities and look for the individuals for whom that's a fit.

Steve Arwood   52:30
Absolutely. You're absolutely correct. Well, it was a pleasure talking to you. I hope you come back and visit us soon. If there's ever an opportunity to get an update or you have new programs or ideas or things, give a shout out. We certainlyLove to continue the conversation. And once again, heartfelt thank you to the Kubasik Foundation from everybody in the Upper Peninsula, not just the organization.

Danica Stanciu   53:19
Thank you. Thank you so much. I really enjoyed it, Steve.