Happy New Year, DoGooders!

We are so excited to kick off this year with an interview with one of our very favorites! We got to chat with Hayden Bernard, Community Manager at The Preserve. DoGoodery is headquartered on The Preserve’s campus and Hayden has been a friend of ours since the very beginning.

This month, we got to learn more about Hayden’s background. From his roots in Trinidad and Tobago to landing in California, Hayden has made many friends along the way which is what makes him such an amazing Community Manager! We also get to learn more about his work with Covenant House, a nonprofit organization providing a full spectrum of services to youth experiencing homelessness.

Read on for Hayden’s story:

DoGoodery: Please introduce yourself to our readers.

Hayden: I was hopeful it was gonna be a video interview, then I wouldn’t have to say anything. Everybody would say “I know Hayden!” [laughs] So, my name is Hayden Bernard and I am the Community Manager of The Preserve and I have been on this property since 2019.

We now prefer to call ourselves a creative campus and in itself it is a creative space, you know. We have heard testimonies from people who have worked here that they have become more productive working in this type of environment. Sometimes when people are given an opportunity with properties to build something, most of them build some tall building, a monstrosity. And here, it’s different. I believe, yes, LA does need something like this, a coworking space that is environmentally friendly.

DoGoodery: We’re all about community here at DoGoodery and so are you! How do you create such a welcoming environment in your role at The Preserve?

Hayden: That’s a great question. I think personalities are not made, we were born with our personalities so I think I was given that position because of my personality. There’s no training for that so I think for me, that just came naturally.

Actually, if I tell you something, you’re gonna laugh! So, my mom told me that when I was a child, my father said “oh, something is wrong with this boy,” because every time they came to the crib, I would just be laughing! [laughs] So from birth, I was actually like a happy, happy child. Everything was fun for me. Yeah so I think that kind of transitioned as I aged, and today still, smiling as much as I could. It’s actually good therapy as well too, I’ve learned that over the years. A smile is very important, laughter is really really healthy for you so I try to do that. I tell people, as well too, quest in life. My quest in life is happiness. Some people look for different things, and have different goals. My goal is happiness and whatever makes me happy is what I want to surround myself with.

DoGoodery: The Preserve, where DoGoodery is headquartered, isn’t a traditional office space. It’s designed with nature and collaboration at the forefront. Can you tell us about the importance of the environment in building communities?

Hayden: Yeah we talk about collaborations, and over the years, we did some casual events, things that we thought were really important to bring people together, to share ideas and that kind of stuff. We have learned that it did do well. Companies, DoGoodery too, have collaborated with each other after meeting at our events. So collaboration is a big thing in community spaces like this. It gives you an opportunity, not just to work with people in your office, but from other offices. It throws a different vibe, like you’re in a small city of working people.

And then of course the campus itself, I say creative campus because we have all different mood changes so to say. You can go from one extreme of the campus to the other extreme, and see different things, get a different vibe. It’s like you move from your office and you’re here in a meeting room, different vibe. You leave from your office and go into the garden, different vibe. There’s no buildings in this city that can afford that kind of flare. We talk about what the place looks like and the vibe that it brings, the people that inhabit the place. That’s all responsible for people staying here when they come for the first time.

DoGoodery: The space not only inspires creativity and collaboration, but the facility was meant to be a healthier, more futuristic office space from the beginning, even before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hayden: Exactly, from the beginning. Correct. Yeah, its like we were anticipating the pandemic [laughs] There are certain things about this property I’m so proud of. We talk about being environmentally friendly. Initially when we started this property, we brought in like 6,500 plants. Most of them came in here as babies and now if you walk outside, you’re gonna see them as fully grown trees. So for us, it’s working and it’s adding positively to the environment.

Over the pandemic, there was a period where we had people going around telling us to take off the water because we were in a drought. I was on this property by myself, and they came to the property to find out how we are feeding these plants because we need to stop feeding them right now. So what we have is a recapture water cistern on this property so we don’t waste any water at all. May it be rainwater, city water, we recapture every drop and feed the plants with that. So, there’s no wastage. The plants are really happy. I can’t remember off the top of my head now the capacity of the tank, but it’s way more than needed for these plants. When I showed them our cistern, they were really amazed. The pandemic was a really sad period, but I had a really nice smile about that.

So we also talk about the Corian top tables, which are easily wipeable to sanitize. We talk about the filtration system, which has hospital grade MERV 13 filters that we have throughout the facility. Even right now, as we have these fires raging through our state. We still have the pleasure of breathing really clean air on our property because of the MERV 13 filters. We are also saddened by the fires and want to support our community. We have extended our courtesies to people who have had issues with the fire. We give them a space to work and breathe some nice fresh air. We comped some memberships so they have somewhere they can come to work.

DoGoodery: You have done a lot of work with the Covenant House, both in your personal time and advocating for their involvement as a community organization at The Preserve. Can you talk a little bit about Covenant House?

Hayden: I can talk a lot about that! I just want to go back a bit to my place of birth which is Trinidad and Tobago and then you will get a full understanding why I like to be involved in things like that. So in Trinidad and Tobago, I worked with a group called Community Developers and we did a lot of things for young people. By extension, we helped the elderly too, but were more focused on the youngsters. So for 14 years, I have been preparing a platform for kids to perform the arts, soca music in Trinidad and Tobago. My love for community is really big.

So coming to California, which has been about 15 years now, I’ve been in California at the same address. I recognize the Covenant House, I recognize the young people who inhabit that facility. I became friends with some of the operators there. One is Anthony, we chatted on the street and that kind of stuff. From time to time, I would see the youngsters on the corner and I would chat with them, trying to figure out what they’re doing. And then I became a household name in the Covenant House. I remember asking one of our general managers, we should start something here with them, preparing a place for them to work, more so like a training thing. We had a few of them come over and they work with us for a couple. We have one in particular, his name is Derrick. He has been with us for at least about three, three and a half years, so he became a permanent fixture as well too. Out of that, I am really happy that we made that connection with Covenant House. And we still always look for things we can do to help. So we have created a really good relationship with Covenant House.

So I mean I think its because of the aura or whatever I send off. I think I’m the eldest person that works here. They’re all younger than me and they just look up to me as a kind of father figure.

DoGoodery: As one of the most positive people we’ve ever met (seriously!), where do you get your energy? Your optimism never feels fake, so how do you stay kind even through the hardest of times?

Hayden: I had 20 years of working as a corrections officer. A lot of people don’t know that. They don’t even look at me in that way because I don’t send off that kind of energy, like so serious. But I did. And had an amazing time working as an officer, amazing time working with the inmates. Of course, you probably would guess, I did a lot of work with the inmates [laughs]. They all came to me for advice, I was always kind of like an open door for inmates. Over the years, I have friends who were inmates, even after their term of imprisonment. I met them and we chatted. I was never one to isolate people or alienate them because of a crime committed. If you understand the judiciary system, and you understand how it operates, you commit a crime, you serve your time, you should be acquitted of everything. You should have the ability to start fresh. A lot of employers do not want inmates, like ex-convicts, working for them. I mean I see it a little different, all those people should be given an opportunity, should be given a chance. You know, we all are human beings. I want to treat them really well then, in prison, so they can have a chance to reenter society as a changed person. That was one of my goals, to always make sure that I give my best to the inmates to make sure they have all the opportunity to reform and rehabilitate.

Even when I go to the grocery store, I go to Target, whatever, I like to give people my full attention. I take my phone out my ear and I give this person my undivided attention. If they have a question, I will be ready to answer. I don’t like brushing people off. I think that’s disrespectful.

Years ago, my mom would say “oh that person’s ugly!” And I said “mom, nobody is ugly. Everybody is special in their own way.” We have that thing in mind, like what is ugly. What is ugly is what they do, not what they look like. Because a lot of people get to know other people’s features. I don’t do that. Anyone might be the sweetest person you ever meet in your whole life so I don’t judge the book by the cover all the time. So I used to tell my mom that all the time until she stopped saying it. What the hell, you know? They’re not ugly. Everybody is beautiful in their own way. Its about how you carry yourself, too. Ugly is what you do.

So, I always believe that everyone who comes in your path deserves the best of you. Even though you’re having a hard time, that’s between you and whatever is happening there. The next person that approaches does not need to know this. You have to always give the best of you to that person. So when I walk through that door, the first person that I meet, I give them the best of me. I could have the hardest time before that, I could have the most problems before that. When I meet you, you get full Hayden Bernard happiness.

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You can support Covenant House by donating, volunteering, or participating in their Sleep Out fundraising event. Be sure to swing by The Preserve for a work day. You just might have the pleasure of meeting Hayden Bernard!