Sandy Dubey said that anyone who lives in Frederick might have something to love about the city and keep living there.
She calls it the “Frederick Factor”. It’s also the name of a podcast she founded in 2021 to highlight underrepresented managers, professionals, and community leaders.
“This is to create a platform to let more people know who owns a business and what it’s like, or the passion behind some of the nonprofits in this community. It was an opportunity to do it,” said Dubey, who works for Platinum PR. .
The podcast is currently streaming on six platforms and has over 1,000 downloads, according to Platinum PR. The company says its listener base spans four continents.
Frederick Factor started as a website and then turned into a podcast.
Dubey hosted the first season of the 13-episode podcast. She interviewed people like Aje Hill, founder of the nonprofit I Believe in Me, and Angel Rivera and Crystal Rivera, who own a Puerto Rican distillery in downtown Frederick.
Her favorite interview was with Frederick’s deaf business owner, Nicky Reinek. Ryneck runs the clothing boutique Sisters in Style in Shab Row. Her episode is titled “The Uniqueness Factor”.
But Ms. Dubey quickly realized she couldn’t host a podcast full time. It takes about a year to air a full season, she said, and keeping the podcast running is essentially a part-time job.
So she brought in Ashley Kigans, Macro’s real estate agent who has been interviewing Duvey since season one, as host for season two.
“It kind of seemed like fun to step out of your comfort zone and try something new that, a million years later, you probably didn’t expect to get close to,” Kigans said. Told.
Having another host for Season 2 was also helpful in adding another perspective, Dubey said.
She and Kigans chose their guests for the episode, and Kigans was able to provide interviews through a different lens.
Kigans has brought a different perspective to the business and non-profit communities, Dubey said.
Kigans said she focuses on diversity, equity and inclusion in her daily life and brought that to the podcast. Frederick is always changing and evolving, she said.
“[The podcast] It wasn’t just a black and white situation,” she said. “I really think that diversity includes so many different types of people and backgrounds.”
So far she has interviewed Peter Brehm of the Frederick Center, Jason Rand of the Frederick Police Chief and Sandra Hofmeister of A&S Construction.
Kigans said Rand’s episode, dubbed “Participation Factor,” was her favorite because she learned about all the activities that the Frederick Police Department does in the community with the Multicultural Liaison Unit.
This force assigns officers to specific communities in order to build relationships and trust between officers and community members.
“Obviously there is a lot of tension between the police and any minority community right now,” Kigans said. “So it’s really great to see that they are … actively working on this … focused on having police officers in the community to make people feel more comfortable. .”
Every episode explores the concept of community, says Kiganz-Siad.
“The fact that people of all backgrounds really come back to support the community as a whole speaks volumes that they basically feel the love from the community,” she said.
With Kiganz nearing the end of the season, she and Dubey are looking to host Season 3 for a fresh perspective on the city. There are many other stories to be told, she said.
“The great thing about Frederick is the diversity of our community,” Dubey said.
Follow Clara Neil on Twitter: @clarasniel