Accessibility Expert and CEO | Every Ride Changes a Life! | The Five People Who Shaped Andy Nelson

S06E05 Accessibility Expert and CEO | Every Ride Changes a Life! | The Five People Who Shaped Andy Nelson

Season 6 reaches the halfway point with Andy Nelson, CEO of Ride Connection.

Julia Duthie is joined by Andy for a thoughtful, warm and deeply human conversation about community, transport, purpose, family, mindfulness and the people who shaped his life.

Andy’s work is built around a powerful idea: people should not be left behind simply because they cannot easily get where life happens.

Through Ride Connection, he helps people access healthcare, food, friendship, appointments, community and connection. But this episode goes much deeper than transport. It asks what it means to belong, what a social safety net really is, and why small acts of care can change lives.

Andy reflects on his mother’s resilience, his father’s illness and mobility challenges, the family he built with Kathleen and their son, the inspiration he found in public service, and the mindfulness ideas that helped him think differently about life, purpose and the present moment.

This is a conversation about connection in its truest sense.

Not just how we move through the world — but how we show up for each other while we are here.

Watch Andy Nelson on People Are Everything now.

 

Chapter locators

00:00 Intro

01:10 Welcome to People Are Everything

03:20 Portland, community and doing good

06:42 Julia’s pickleball story and finding local connection

10:02 Ride Connection and transport as connection

11:17 Every ride changes a life

13:55 The social safety net

15:50 Public investment, public spaces and not leaving people behind

17:26 Choosing the five people who shaped Andy

 

19:05 Number 1: Andy’s family

19:34 Andy’s mother, survival and resilience

23:14 Andy’s father, illness and mobility

27:35 Turning personal experience into positive action

30:52 One or two small deeds a day

 

34:37 Number 2: Kathleen and their son

36:36 The homeless shelter story that changed Andy’s path

38:35 Leaving journalism for social work

41:22 Family, parenting and meaning

46:50 The grief and pride of children leaving home

 

50:12 Number 3: Barack Obama

51:38 Public service, community action and validation

57:18 Obama as a moment of reconciliation

59:26 Who can bring people together now?

 

1:01:48 Number 4: Eckhart Tolle

1:04:12 Mindfulness, spirituality and the present moment

1:08:51 Feelings are strong, but they are not who we are

 

1:11:11 Legacy, writers and the impact we leave behind

1:12:11 Julia on gratitude and conscious impact

1:14:00 Andy on People Are Everything and ordinary people

1:17:42 What is next for Andy?

1:18:30 Retirement, purpose and supporting nonprofit leaders

1:20:29 The Pickleball Army

1:21:29 Who should Julia speak to next?

1:23:37 Final thanks

 

Hosted by Julia Duthie.

Subscribe for more long-form conversations about the people who shape who we become.

Learn more about your host; get Julia's book here: https://dogbonestreet.com/

Full episode available now on YouTube and all major podcast platforms.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Peopleareeverything

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/people-are-everything/id1792005630

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5oobIAmo4lkewcPHdbcXbJ

Follow us on socials: https://linktr.ee/peopleareeverything

Thank you, People Are Everything :-)

 

To find out more about Andy please use the links below.

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-nelson-34aa321/
• https://www.linkedin.com/company/ride-connection-inc./home/
• https://rideconnection.org/