Episode #11: Servant Leadership in Tribal Gaming with Frances Alvarez
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Frances Alvarez tells the story of her 23 year journey in the tribal gaming industry, from her start with the San Francisco Tribal Gaming Commission to founding Rezonate LLC. As a current leader in organizations like the National Native American Hall of Game and the Tribal Gaming Protection Network, Frances shares valuable insights on her dedication to indigenous communities, overcoming fear in career transitions, and the importance of servant leadership.
Notes
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Lindsey Schneider: Hello and welcome to another episode of Level Up with Wondr. I'm your host, Lindsey Schneider, and today we are joined by Frances Alvarez. Frances has over 23 years of experience in the gaming industry and has dedicated her career to building meaningful relationships with indigenous communities and advancing their interests.
She has held several positions over the years, her extensive experience in the regulatory and tech spaces leading her to her current role as the chairwoman of the Tribal Gaming Protection Network. President of the Native American Hall of Fame and founder of Rezonate LLC, her own tribal relations firm. Thank you for joining us today. Frances.
Frances Alvarez: Thank you, Lindsey. Thank you for the introduction. And also, thank you to Wondr Nation for welcoming me today. Thank you.
Lindsey Schneider: A pleasure to have you with us, we're going to start a little bit with your background. Tell us about your background and how you got started in the gaming industry. How did you get to where you are today? And what were some of the major milestones?
Frances Alvarez: So, my career in tribal gaming started way back in 2000 when here in California, Prop 1A was passed. What that meant for California tribes was it affirmed the rights for California tribes to conduct gaming on their reservations. My tribe, San Pasqual was one of the tribes who decided to get involved in gaming. By February of 2001, the following year, Valley View Casino was born.
With that came many opportunities for jobs. The tribe offered them first to tribal members and the community members. We pretty much had first dibs to either work on the operations side or a tribal government, the regulatory side, and I chose Gaming Commission.
So I started my career in tribal gaming as a background investigator for the San Pasqual Tribal Gaming Commission and it was awesome. I evolved in my role there, I loved every bit of it, but after serving my tribe for about 17 years, I discovered in myself that I had a love for tribal gaming and I wanted to do so much more.
I sought change and that change came with an opportunity to work with Meridian Technologies. I worked there as a director of professional services where I interacted with clients, I learned their needs and I helped solve their problems through the use of our technology at that time.
It was a fantastic opportunity I really thoroughly enjoyed the job I was doing, the people that I worked with, but I learned something deep inside of me, how to become a servant leader. You know, natives generally it's ingrained in us to be servant leaders before that term became popular, but I learned truly what it meant to give back for the greater good at that time.
It was just a good pivot in my life , I learned I had so much more to contribute. That kind of led me to join BMM. BMM eventually came and asked me to join their tribal services team. And I was like, heck yeah, because that gave me a broader reach that allowed me to work with tribes across the US. Because their clientele was so large, that gave me an opportunity to meet with more tribes and learn more, the differences and challenges and it was just a really great experience going through that learning process.
What I learned from that experience was that I had so much more to contribute. I decided to start my own fractional tribal relations firm called Rezonate, and that's where I live today. I'm building that dream of mine to build a company of my own where I can continue to give back to Indian Country along with many other things that I hope we get into.
Lindsey Schneider: That's really interesting. I'm sure that was a very exciting time to be, you know, in the beginning when everything was getting passed and to get that experience and now to bring all of that to Rezonate.
What challenges did you face along your path and how did you overcome these challenges?
Frances Alvarez: My challenge is, and probably will always be, fear. I don't see myself as a very courageous person, so each time I encounter significant change in my life, especially with these career changes, I always face the fear of the unknown, of the, can I do this? What if I made the wrong decision?
But I try to stay focused on the end goal and that's always to serve a greater purpose. In this particular thought here it's serving Indian country. And along the way, of course, I have people in my circle that continue to push me through. That's kind of how I get through everything is the people that I have in my circle, and just focusing on the angle gets me through it.
Lindsey Schneider: I think a lot of people can resonate with that, too, trying to start something new, but then you have that fear holding you back.
What are some of your proudest moments?
Frances Alvarez: Those moments come in the form of a phone call, a text, maybe even a nudge on the shoulder when I'm out at a conference or something. Those nudges are from someone that I respect or someone who I secretly admire, kind of borderline fangirling it with some of these women that I admire.
I get the acknowledgement that I'm doing well. If it's something I said on a panel discussion, or if it's just by my action. When I first left San Pasqual to start the first journey of my career ,I got a number of phone calls from my peers, the peers that I worked with either there, with the tribe, or elsewhere and they just called to tell me how proud they were of me because I had the courage to do something that they dreamt of doing.
It's those moments where I hear from others that I admire and they give me gas, gas to keep going. And I don't feel like I'm doing anything incredible, but it is seeing in others that I am.
Lindsey Schneider: Thank you for sharing that. That's very sweet. And I'm sure that you probably are very motivating to other people watching you too. That's kind of neat to see full circle after so many years of experience. And now, when people get to meet you and talk with you, they probably feel the same way that you do when you get to talk with people that you admire.
Were there any people who inspired you or mentored you throughout your career? I know you just kind of touched on this a little bit, but anybody that comes to mind in particular,
Frances Alvarez: I have many, but who I wanna highlight today is my mom. My mom has always been the matriarch in our family, my mom is strong and she's resilient, and I've witnessed her overcome so many things, not only on a personal level, but within her career. She has always just been my role model. She also currently serves as Vice Chair for our tribe, but she has served numerous terms as well as a career in the corporate world.
So my mom is just someone that I can lean on for either guidance but also just as a role model, someone that I would love to emulate and be just as strong one day.
Lindsey Schneider: That is so sweet, moms are special, they really are. They're encouraging and just amazing to be able to look up to and have one that has been the vice chairwoman and somebody that you respected so much and really has been able to help you along the way. That's, that's really sweet.
Frances Alvarez: In her eyes, I'm like the best of everything, right?
Lindsey Schneider: No, that's great. Everybody, everybody needs a mom like that. did your background, your culture and your personal experiences influence your career path?
Frances Alvarez: So I think anyone who comes from deep roots, a strong culture, like Native Americans, understand what it is to live in two worlds. I have deep roots in the city, but my culture is here on the res, so pretty much urban to rural girl here.
That allows me to respect tradition, but balance that with real world expectations. That puts me in that unique position to where I can navigate our tribal gaming interactions.
To kind of visualize it, how I see it as, and you may appreciate this Lindsey, I say it's like wearing a blazer but with your traditional ribbon skirt at a conference. It's those two worlds that come together and creates that perfect harmony. So that's how I would describe it.
Lindsey Schneider: No, that's really the perfect way because you know what's going on in both situations and you can bring all of that knowledge and experience back and forth. I love that analogy because it is, it's very true. It is very true.
So let's talk about Rezonate LLC.
So you founded a company, Rezonate LLC tell us what Rezonate is and how this company came to be and what you hope to accomplish .
Frances Alvarez: To put it simply, I like to connect Indian Country with the finest resources available. That's simply how to sum it up. My motivation came from understanding how much tribal gaming has been a big economic driver for tribes. It's been wonderful to see that growth, but along the way, tribes have positioned themselves to explore other avenues such as renewable energy and retail and healthcare and you name it.
Tribes have expanded, they are investing in all areas and that can make certain tribes vulnerable to bad actors out there. There's companies, a lot of companies, that would like to do business and offer their solutions, their resources to Indian country but unfortunately, they don't have the relationships or the know how to connect with tribes, so that's where tribal relations professionals come into play.
These businesses don't always know how to approach the tribal relations professional, so Rezonate is a fractional tribal relations firm that matches or connects these companies, these resources with tribal relations experts in their field or their discipline. It allows these companies to understand tribal culture, to learn the do's and the don'ts, and to respectfully engage with tribes.
Eventually, I'm going to build out a certification for this, but at the moment, I'm focused on building that database of Tribal Relations Professionals who can provide their expertise and their service to Indian Country.
Lindsey Schneider: I think that's really important because like you said, with the tribal culture, some of these companies that would like to invest or like to be a part of it, they don't understand that tribal culture. Sometimes things are done a little differently, that's a great resource to provide, will that go out to other tribal nations as well? Or is that something that you just do privately for your own tribe?
Frances Alvarez: No, the big vision here is so that all nations can benefit from it. Again, I'm building that, that database of tribal relations experts along with the tribes or the nations that they serve. They're filled of expertise, so if a company comes in and they're selling, computer screens, whatever, through this database, they'll be matched with someone in that field and who works in the region that they would like to connect with.
Lindsey Schneider: That's really interesting.
All right, let's move on to tribal organization leadership. You serve in an advisory capacity for several organizations. Can you share what these organizations are and your path for each one?
Frances Alvarez: Absolutely. So, this is where it gets exciting for me because I love, love, love to talk about the organizations that I serve. They are the National Native American Hall of Fame and the Tribal Gaming Protection Network.
So the Tribal Gaming Protection Network, I've been involved with the longest. A little bit about the history of the Tribal Gaming Protection Network, which I'll refer to it as TGPN as well, is we got our start back in 2008, so it's been a while. However, we didn't formally form until 2018 when we became a non profit.
TGPN was kind of a vision of IGA Chairman Stevens Jr. to create an organization that was charged with the responsibility of providing education and awareness and network opportunities for gaming entities and professionals.
How we do that is we offer symposiums, we offer webinars, we have a security and surveillance newsletter that goes out, what we are most known for is our Women in Tribal Gaming Symposium, which I hope we get to talk about a little bit more. It's a community of tribal gaming professionals that come together to serve each other. I would also love the opportunity to share our information through our website.
So, if the audience would love to learn more about that, they can go to tgpnglobal.com and sign up to learn more about what we do. That's pretty much TGPN in a nutshell.
The Hall of Fame is, it formed in 2016, and the mission is to recognize and honor the inspirational achievements of Native Americans in contemporary society.
We do that through a number of ways, like an induction ceremony. This year, we will be celebrating our 7th induction ceremony, which we will induct our 53rd, I believe, we're about 53 inductees. It's a beautiful ceremony that invites tribal dignitaries from across the country, and it's just a room filled with positive energy and acknowledgement for each other.
We also have curriculum that is targeted from 8 to 12th grade. We also are in the process of publishing a book. We are working on a coffee table book that will highlight the 53 inductees and that is to be released on October 5th at our induction ceremony.
Lindsey Schneider: That's really amazing. I think that anytime we can have someplace like the Hall of Fame to highlight some of these incredible people that we have in these tribal nations, it's just an honor for them and their families and the future generations that will be able to visit.
Frances Alvarez: The goal for the Hall of Fame is to be a household name. And I know it sounds silly, but I believe that's the only way we can hold on to our rich history beyond the curriculum that you learn at school, it needs to be a discussion. The book is going to be fabulous and fantastic because if that book is at home where the kids are, the grandkids, it'll be fun for any generation and just an opportunity to hold on to those significant achievements by our own.
Lindsey Schneider: Yeah. What an honor and what a great gift to be able to give to people.
Why did you decide to serve as a leader for the TGPN and what was your path?
Frances Alvarez: It was an answer really a call to service. I was asked if I would join in that capacity and through much thought and consideration again, I have to always deal with that fear that always overwhelms me. But it was an answer to the call to service to do something, again, bigger than myself.
And that's where I started.
Lindsey Schneider: You've done a fantastic job with it, so it is definitely encouraging, like we talked about earlier with that fear and facing that fear and just showing what can happen when you're brave and just kind of go for the unknown. So what is your vision for the Tribal Gaming Protection Network? What can we look forward to
Frances Alvarez: So I think that all great organizations have a specific niche and we discovered that our most successful events are the ones that serve a specific purpose, like the Women in Tribal Gaming Symposium. So I would like to see us identify those specific risks that pose that threat to the tribal gaming entities and focus on those issues.
We may pivot along the way, but I think right now it's about identifying that specific niche for us moving forward.
Lindsey Schneider: That's fantastic. Education is power and being able to have that symposium especially with so many wonderful incredible women from all over the country that's fantastic.
All right. So now let's talk about the Native American Hall of Fame, what role do you serve?
Frances Alvarez: I serve as the President for the Board of Directors. And how I got involved with that organization is, again, the call to serve. I attended a ceremony a few years back, and I was in, I signed up immediately to join, and ever since then, it just gave me an opportunity to broaden my knowledge in Indian Country and work on a different level outside of tribal gaming.
It is such a unique organization, and I believe that all households should know the name of the National Native American Hall of Fame.
Where I encourage others to get involved with the Hall of Fame is through their nominations. So each year we have the privilege of selecting the next set of inductees and it really is our goal to highlight successful Native Americans who have accomplished great things for their communities throughout Indian Country.
So not so focused in one region or the other, we pay particular focus in balancing our inductees. Our board doesn't know everyone, there's a lot of individuals that should be on the list, and the only way that we can accomplish that is through the nominations of communities throughout Indian country.
You can also go to our website, the National Native American Hall of Fame for the contact list. Please email us with your nominees, maybe also a snippet of who they are, what they've accomplished, and if there's any resources that we can research or maybe a website, a book that they've authored, all of that information is helpful.
Lindsey Schneider: Thank you, because that'll be great for anybody that's listening that's interested in finding out more. So you also serve as a gaming commissioner. Tell us about that role.
Frances Alvarez: That is bringing me back to my regulator days and I serve as a gaming commissioner for the Wilton Rancheria tribe, which is located in Sacramento, California. They are one of the newest tribal casinos here in California, and they are doing so well, I'm so proud and honored to be a part of their team as a gaming commissioner.
That role is particularly interesting for me because I get to bring my experience as a regulator and continue to give back in that capacity. Fantastic people to work with in a beautiful area of the state and it's really enjoyable.
Lindsey Schneider: You graciously serve in these leadership and advisory roles. What do you think makes a good leader, especially for tribally focused organizations?
Frances Alvarez: So this is something that I've just discovered recently and I really like talking about it because there's so many qualities in the leader that many of us carry, but I believe that it's having the strong commitment to service, meaning dedicating oneself to making a positive impact on others in a community.
I believe that's the one strength of being a leader in any capacity, that's going to carry you throughout your career or your term with that particular organization. It's going to give you that drive and that motivation to keep going. That requires a genuine desire to make a difference and contribute to what's important to you.
Lindsey Schneider: I think that's a very strong characteristic for any good leader to have. And to put yourself in a leadership role and serving at the same time, I think is very encouraging for new leaders and existing leaders because there's always room for growth there.
For the Tribal Gaming Protection Network, you played a major role in launching the Women in Tribal Gaming Symposium. Can you talk about how that came about and what the initial vision was?
Frances Alvarez: I'm excited to share that that vision came from a need, a need to create a platform for women.
Years ago, a few of my TGPN colleagues and I were attending a conference. It was a three day conference, a fantastic conference, but at the end of that three days, we noticed that throughout the three days and all of the panels and topics that were covered, there was only one woman speaker.
That took nothing away from the conference, it just helped us realize that maybe we need to do something to promote women in this profession. And there the Women in Tribal Gaming Symposium was born.
We had our first handful of conferences at Morongo here in California, and that was a gracious offer by one of our board members, Oscar Schuyler. He worked there as an executive director at that time and through his support, we were able to have our grassroots organization put on a fantastic conference.
It really is to create a safe place for women to connect for educational purposes and along the way, support each other and encourage each other and recognize each other. It's just really an opportunity for us to, to support each other,
Lindsey Schneider: I think that having a platform, like you said, for women is just so incredible, especially in such a male dominant industry. And like you said, it doesn't take anything away from those conferences, but there is something special about getting to see other women and women who are moms and who understand the struggle between, you know, that work life balance, what a great support system to get to be a part of.
Have any specific memories or milestones with the women and travel gaming symposium that are particularly memorable or you are proud of?
Frances Alvarez: Tons, I think every year I'm so darn proud, but there is one that stands out and that was in 2020, right before the whole COVID shut down. We had a conference early in that year and around that time I also found out that my granddaughter, one years old at the time, was diagnosed with a brain tumor.
That was gut wrenching and heartbreaking as you can imagine. So, her surgery was scheduled during the week of the conference, and obviously that took me out. I was crushed, I had a heartache with my granddaughter, what she was going through, but I was also going through a heartache because I wasn't able to attend the Women's Conference that year.
I was just distraught, you know, obviously my granddaughter takes precedence, but I was also carrying that hurt of not being able to enjoy this conference that my whole heart is in that I give my all to every single year.
The reason why I highlight that event or that conference as memorable is because I wasn't there in person, I was there in spirit and I was there. My fellow TGPN board and friends and colleagues and mentors were kind of there in my place as well, each of them carried a piece of Frances' spirit in that conference and made sure that my presence wasn't missed. That's when it kind of just hit me and it was a reality that, I do have this sisterhood, this soulhood, that is there to have my back in the most toughest times.
That's what the Women's Conference is, we may not be able to be there present at every single one, but it's the relationships that are built, and the relationships that we carry with us throughout the year, that's what it really comes down to, and that's what matters.
Lindsey Schneider: Right, that support system is there when you really need it and can lean on them. That's great. But a hard thing to go through with COVID and the surgery with the little one and having to do the symposium all at the same time. That just, I can't even imagine. I think, though, again, that just leads to more encouragement because a lot of times things come up and we have to choose between something that happens in personal life or choosing to be there with the child and we miss something big for work.
It does tear at you because you feel like you want to be in both places at the same time, but having that support system is, is just incredible to have. What is your vision for the future? And what do you hope to accomplish with the upcoming symposium?
Frances Alvarez: Oh, I would love us to grow on really a true national level. I would like us to be like an equivalent to the Global Gaming Women Organization, but for the tribal gaming side of things. I want to see us build a membership. I want to carry that positive energy that comes from the symposiums throughout the year.
We can do that through webinars, we can do that through regional meetups, I want to offer scholarships. There's so much more -that we have yet to accomplish but, the need is there and, I really believe that we can accomplish that.
Lindsey Schneider: I know with the ambassador program, you kind of have that in place as well, and this last year you had the junior ambassadors and they got to experience so much and the future leaders, you know, teaching them young and getting them into these positions and get them the training that they need is really, really encouraging.
That would be great to see it grow to that level lot more people could come and experience just what an amazing symposium it is.
What role do you want the Women in Tribal Gaming Symposium to play for younger women versus more experienced women?
Frances Alvarez: I want these younger generations to get involved, I want them to use us for their professional growth. If they want to public speak, if they want to know what it's like to be involved with the committee, I would really like them to lean on us and allow us to help them achieve that. I shared at one point, maybe in another conversation, the Women's Symposium, our committee, we lean on those seasoned professionals for their guidance and for their advice but what we really like to do is we like to invite the younger generation, the ones with less experience.
We've kind of picked up along the way that one of the biggest barriers for women in their career is public speaking. They get complacent with their roles, but they always have this dream to do more, and the public speaking always holds them back. So if you want to use our conference, as that platform, as that opportunity, that safe place, to have that very first experience, then sign up and we'll get you on a panel or something that'll help you and adapt to your comfort level.
At the end of it, you'll leave with that encouragement and that can do kind of spirit. I've seen it happen over and over again where we've had really, really shy, introverted women such as myself, I started there as well, speak on a panel just one time and then they blossom. It's the coolest thing to witness, I absolutely love it.
Lindsey Schneider: Public speaking, I think, is like one of the number one fears that people have, and sometimes people who have a lot to share, like you said, like some of these women have so much experience, or they might be starting off in the industry, but that public speaking holds them back and it's really great to be able to provide them that platform to be able to just to get out there and to try it.
The networking that you guys have when we're there, the speed networking was really incredible because you get to mix all those generations together and all the experience levels.
Frances Alvarez: Yeah, it was fun, we plan to bring that back again, of course, switch it up a little bit with some cool ideas. Just to reiterate that this is a safe place for, you know, women, young, any generation, seasoned generation, all that come because we all serve a purpose. It's a place to make a mistake, it's a place to make a new friend, it's a place to be vulnerable, we have all of that mixed in.
Lindsey Schneider: And it feels like that when you're there, you feel like it's a safe place. You feel like you can ask the questions and not get criticized. You can just be open and honest and just get to talk freely.
So I served as an ambassador for the most recent symposium and I really enjoyed it. Can you explain what the ambassador program is and what you hope to accomplish with it?
Frances Alvarez: Yes, it's a new thing for us. This was our second year offering the Ambassador Program, through the support and sponsorship of Aristocrat. One of the things they wanted to do was not only sponsor, but actually make a positive impact with the women in our industry and how we decided to do that was offer these ambassador opportunities to join our conference for free, but in addition to that, we're working on how to build up that program. At the conference itself, the women get to meet each other and have lunch and just kind of learn a little bit more behind the scene type of what the Women's Symposium is about.
But we're at a point where we would like to build upon that and make it a true ambassador program. Offer opportunities to these women for professional growth or perhaps connect them with a mentor. The few ambassadors that we do have, like yourself, Lindsey, we want to lean upon you for your guidance and help us grow this organization.
We also have the young ambassadors, which is really neat. They are just some teenage age type of girls who obviously don't know what they want to do just yet, I doubt they're thinking to themselves that they want to work in tribal gaming, but if they do that's cool , but we also pair them up with our ambassadors just to kind of have that mini mentorship as well and get these young girls thinking about what they can be what they can do whatever career field that they choose to do, See that unity that when the women come together that unity and that support that they can give each other and act as inspiration for them. So again, thank you lindsey for joining us and I hope through your help and your support I hope to see the ambassador program grow
Lindsey Schneider: It's my pleasure, and I think that there definitely is a need. It's unique because, there's not a lot of programs out there that are even close to this. So It's exciting to see what will happen over the course of the next few years.
So with your work life balance, you have a lot of responsibilities with your company and your advisory roles. How do you balance the multiple roles you serve and what keeps you motivated?
And then as a mother, tell us about your children and your family and how you balance all those responsibilities.
Frances Alvarez: So is this bragging time? Is this where I get to talk about my kids?
Lindsey Schneider: Yes, absolutely. Always bragging time.
Frances Alvarez: So, you know, I am a mom of seven grown adults. I have grandbabies whom I adore, who just a shout out to any grandmom out there, you know that it's way better than being a parent.
But that gives me my flexibility. My time is very flexible and working for yourself obviously puts you in control of your time.
So how I balance that though, is because I have such a strong commitment to serve, I allow that to guide me when I prioritize. It is easy to prioritize for me because I follow my passion. What I would advise is allowing your passion guide you when you prioritize your time because your time is valuable.
Your time is unique and your time is something you can never give back. So if you have X amount of time to fill up in your day, and you have a choice, fill that up with something that brings you joy. And the work that I do absolutely brings me joy. And that allows me, again, to be flexible with my time to give back to my children, my grandchildren.
And I couldn't do all of this without the very supporting and handsome husband that I have.
Lindsey Schneider: Can really tell that it brings you joy because your whole face lights up when you talk about different things that you get serve on and be part of and your kids. it's really encouraging to see just the joy that you have and then being guided by your passion. What great advice to give to people.
I know that sometimes Your kids are grown now, but in 23 years of, of being in the industry, they weren't always grown so there definitely would have been challenges and, and things that you had to give up. What advice do you have for working moms, given the perspective you now have with older children?
Frances Alvarez: I would say take the shame out of being a working mom because your job, raising your children, will be done one day, you will complete that, and you will eventually have to circle back and focus on yourself. If you let go of too much of yourself while you're raising your children, you will find yourself lost when you come to that moment.
So take that shame out of being a working mom. Do what you have to do. Of course your family is your priority, but don't lose yourself along the way because eventually they leave you. They either go off to college or they get married or whatever their dreams are, they will pursue them. But if you lose yourself along the way, it's going to be hard to rebuild that.
So, take the shame out of being a working mom, embrace it, and just do the best you can.
Lindsey Schneider: I call it mom guilt every time. It's like, I have mom guilt, but I've always thought the same way. And I think that it teaches them the value of working hard. They can see, you know, what a working parent, not just a mom, but having hardworking parents and what that can accomplish and how that feels and the confidence that it builds.
And I think that it helps teach them some independence. So I absolutely agree with everything.
What do you like most about working in tribal gaming?
Frances Alvarez: I love the economic freedom that tribal gaming gives to tribes and tribal nations. And I just love being a part of that achievement. That's simply it.
Lindsey Schneider: No, that's perfect. What do you hope to see in tribal gaming in the future?
Frances Alvarez: I hope that we can maintain our reputation for strong regulation. I hope that it continues to be a economic channel for tribal nations, but most importantly, I hope it continues to lead tribes to self resilience and self sufficiency.
Lindsey Schneider: Perfectly said. Well, thank you again, Frances, for talking with us today. I really enjoyed the conversation, your words of encouragement, and your advice. And I'm sure our listeners did as well.
Frances Alvarez: Thank you, Lindsey, and thank you, Wondr Nation.
