Your neighborhood:
Clifton
What drew you to working with the team at MORTAR?
I found out about the work that MORTAR is doing in the community through a Neighborhood Economics conference. I heard Derrick Braziel speak as a keynote at the conference and was immediately drawn to the work being done by MORTAR to increase economic opportunity in Cincinnati. I believe in equity and the power of asset-based community development.
What is your role within the company?
My official title is Chaos Coordinator. This role directly supports MORTAR’s day-to-day operations in a way that is aimed to improve organizational productivity and efficiency. I provide an everyday presence in the office and provide direct support to MORTAR’s co-founders to get the work that needs to be done, done.
How are you most looking forward to contributing to the entrepreneurs that we work with?
I look forward to being a natural support for the entrepreneurs served by being present and intentional about creating space & opportunity that fosters community. I hope to contribute to a sense of a “MORTAR family” and the belief that we can all bring our gifts to the table to be successful and change the world! There’s room enough for all of us to win.
When the work day is getting hectic, what song do you play in the office to help you stay on track?
I feel like the whole MORTAR team has an affinity for Kanye. And he just dropped that new Life of Pablo soooo…
Share your thoughts on the idea of “building community through entrepreneurship.”
In asset based community development, local assets are considered as the primary building blocks of sustainable community development. Existing community strengths are drawn upon to build stronger, more sustainable communities for the future. MORTAR’s mission of building community through entrepreneurship builds on this strength based model. Entrepreneurship is a means of empowering the skills of local residents towards building a vibrant local economy and community that is truly reflective and inclusive of those that live in the neighborhood. It doesn’t gentrify, it diversifies. And it includes the support of local institutions and associations in partnership with the ultimate stakeholders, the community’s residents. It’s the brick and mortar that keep a community together.
Final thoughts?
Grateful. I believe in all of us.
