Meet Michael Guedel | Executive Director & Co-founder of Resilient Agency

We had the good fortune of connecting with Michael Guedel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michael, can you share a quote or affirmation with us?
“The reward of life you seek is found in the journey and not the destination.” This is a quote that I happened to read when I needed it most in my life. That time in my life was a particularly difficult for me as I have faced multiple set backs in my professional and personal life due to situations that were both in my control and out of my control. The difficulty of it led me to analyze my life and the decisions I had made in pursuit of something meaningful, in which effort, discipline, and hard work were applied in search for the said meaning, but yet saw no fruits of my labor. I became doubtful, weak, and disengaged from life and the responsibilities I was supposed to uphold and felt I could not move forward without hope. As I read this quote I believe that it spoke directly to my spirit as it was teaching me a lesson about life that restored faith in myself. The lesson that the quote taught me is that life is a gift that has been given to me to be appreciated and that the search of something meaningful was already given to me through life. The reward is the chance we have to experience life, and is internalized through the success, achievements, failures, marriages, divorces, the birth of family members, the death of family members, betrayal, envy, heartbreak, love, joy peace, which are all apart of the reward in The journey of life. I will never arrive at my destination, because I am already here.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I co-founded and lead Resilient Agency as the Executive Director. Resilient Agency is a 501© (3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing youth development and community intervention services to underprivileged residents most impacted by violence to strengthen personal resilience, develop leadership, and community restoration. We service the areas of Echo Park and South Los Angeles by creating safe communities through community violence intervention, providing community health work services and providing free groceries weekly to families in the communities we serve.

I am most proud of being the leader of Resilient. Every day I get to lead a team of selfless, motivated, and hardworking people who diligently give of themselves to their community and demonstrate the true meaning of resilience. I am truly proud to serve them.

What sets me apart from others is my ability to connect with people. By using empathy, I am able to see how I can meet the needs of those around me. I care about the well-being of my friends, family, team, and even those who have wronged me. I want the best for people, to see them doing their best, and having the forte to bring it out of them is what sets me apart.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
The great thing about Los Angeles is there is so much to do and experience that a person visiting might feel like they have visited a whole other world. If I were to show my out of town friend some places to visit and hang out I would start with “Sunken City”. Sunken City is located in San Pedro, CA and is cliffs that are overlooking the pacific ocean. Not many tourists visit there making it one of the best places to enjoy the ocean. Also, some other places I would have my friend visit/hang out are at Venice Beach, Old Town Pasadena, Echo Park Lake, Elysian Valleys river bed, Griffith Observatory, and Americana in Glendale. Some places I would recommend to eat is “Dinos” in Korea Town on Pico and Berendo. For eating, drinking, and enjoying live band will be “Stevens Steakhouse” in Commerce, CA. For a night on the town I recommend Echo Park as there are many bars accessible and Perch bar located in Downtown Los Angeles.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The success that I have achieved has been along with and through a group of dedicated team members who have diligently worked at accomplishing the task at hand. As I grew in the profession that I am in I had a mentor along the way who helped me to develop my leadership skills by giving me opportunities to grow them. Melvyn Hayward Jr. was my former boss and current mentor and has assisted me on my path to success by providing council and wisdom when It is needed most. Though we may not see or speak with each other as often as before he continues to mentor, encourage, and disciple me from afar.

Website: www.resilientagency.org

Instagram: resilient_agency

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-guedel-a97464254/

Facebook: Resilient Agency

Youtube: Resilient TV

Other: Personal Instagram: michaelg_92