Our Q&A with Jason Graham-Nye, AKA Fynn’s Dad

Jason Graham-Nye is the CEO of G-Diapers, a Portland, Oregon-based company that makes environmentally-responsible diapers. Jason is also the father of Fynn Graham-Nye, the little boy we’re rooting for as he climbs Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise money and awareness for Every Mother Counts. Kim, Fynn’s mom and Jason’s wife, is traveling and climbing with Fynn. I asked Jason what he thinks about his family’s adventure.

Jason: I am so excited for each of them. For Kim, this trip has been transformative. People keep asking if I’m worried about Fynn and you know, I’m not. I just think people, especially children, are resilient and if he doesn’t make it to the summit that will be a lesson as well.

EMC: Worrying won’t change anything, right?

Exactly. Whether or not he reaches the top is not something I can control and really, it’s more about the awareness this climb generates than anything else. It’s really important to give our children opportunities to learn how to be in service and what they can do that will have an impact.

It’s pretty powerful for adults to have those learning opportunities too.

For Kim, this trip is part of a sabbatical and opportunity to pause, reevaluate and individuate. She was asking herself, “What’s in my infinity? What really gets me out of bed in the morning?” I know the work that Christy and Every Mother Counts do really resonates for her. She worked in orphanages in Mexico and lived in Zanzibar working for the UN doing HIV/AIDS research when she was in her twenties. This climb came out of her desire to reevaluate her investment in service. Not many people get the opportunity to go out for six months and take a breath and I’m really excited to see what she comes back with.

You’re both taking a pause and reevaluating how you’ll approach work going forward.

It’s really challenging right now because as entrepreneurs we often live and project into the future. The requirement for us right now is to remain grounded in the present and watch what unfolds. We’re just sort of figuring things out.

You’re providing a really different model for both work and family than many families and companies provide.

It’s true we’re not going about things the usual way. I was thinking about this the other day and about our effort as parents to control everything in our children’s world. There’s this normal reaction to guide our children through their lives, through the right school, the right university and the right career. The flip side to that is in doing that many parents park their own dreams and visions and live their lives in service to their kids. Kim and I are attempting to do something different. We think the greatest parenting you can do is to go after your own dreams and passions and have your kids see that and say, “Oh that’s what it takes. I get it.” I think a lot of people don’t even know what their dreams are so they think, “Okay, my dream is to be a really good parent.” In some ways, that’s easier and less scary than going after your own goals. The paradox is that they lose themselves as parents and wind up in their 40’s and 50’s asking “Who am I again?”

Your company has gone through some growing pains recently too.

It has. Kim is the president of G-Diapers and I’m the CEO. From the start our business grew and then flattened out, grew again and flattened out. During that second flattening out we had a complete relook at the company and what we wanted it to be. What we realized was that we wanted to create something meaningful and make money. For a while, making money kind of trumped meaning, but in reevaluating our goals, we realized there’s a bigger purpose that is much more long term. We are in service to eliminate disposable diapers. We are in service to being leaders in this bio economy. But we also want to be a new voice for parents in how they look at parenting.

I think Fynn’s climb kind of exemplifies all of that. Thanks for using your family’s service to shine a light on our work.

Fynn started his climb on Father’s Day and he expects to reach the summit on the 22nd. His goal? To raise awareness and $10,000 for EMC. Our supporters are joining his climb by making donations to his Crowdrise page and finding their own ways to honor his climb. Need some ideas about how to lend Fynn your support? Give any of these a try:

• Bike for the hike — Sign up for Charity Miles and they’ll donate 10 cents for every mile you and your family ride. If you run, jog or walk, they’ll donate 25 cents per mile.
• Head out walking, swimming, climbing or skating with your own “Every Mother Counts” sign
• Challenge the kids to a family bike ride and donating a certain number of cents per mile they cycle.
• Get a group together to walk or hike 19.3 miles in solidarity with Fynn and Kim.
• Hold a family summit and talk about the importance of giving back and providing service. Brainstorm ways your family can climb mountains together.
• You can support Fynn by making a small donation to his Crowdrise page or by creating your own Crowdrise fundraising page and helping him reach his goal with your own action.
• Visit Fynn’s Facebook page and send him a positive, supportive message.

Written by Jason Graham-Nye