Your neighborhood: Bondhill
What toppings are on a perfect pizza?
Cheese (vegan cheese, of course)! Tomato sauce, red onions, mushrooms, and kalamata olives.
What is your role within the company?
I am the graphic design and marketing manager. My job is to manage and assist in creating the innovative projects that our awesome design team have the opportunity to work on.
Why does the work that MORTAR is doing in communities matter?
These days, it is good to have some extra money, whether it be just to put food on the table or to pay bills, and MORTAR is assisting people in beginning something of their own to achieve those goals. It also helps to boost the esteem of community people who’ll look at their hard work while running a successful business and think, “Yea! That’s me! I did that!” High self-esteem is essential for building strong communities that respect one another and help one another.
If you could only listen to one musician/artist/band for the rest of your life, who would that be? Why?
Prince forever! I never got to see him in concert, which saddens me. I respect his art and love all that he stood for pertaining to the rights of artists and their creations. He was ahead of his time and was deeply spiritual. Love him!
If you could be the mayor of Cincinnati for a day, what’s one thing that you would change?
I would change the amount of trash that is floating around on the streets. People are trifling! The fact that people would rather throw things out on the streets where it can affect any and everybody than to wait until they come across a garbage can is disgusting. As mayor, I would host a mass clean up day and host children’s classes (parents can come too) on why using a trash can is important, because children absorb information very well.
Share your thoughts on the idea of “building community through entrepreneurship.”
I have always believed that if there are things that people value in their neighborhoods, they are less likely to be openly destructive. Low-income communities often don’t have anything to value in their neighborhoods. If neighborhoods have entrepreneurs and business owners, that means those people can employ those who may not have anything to do, which makes the employed money, which improves their way of life. Employment and knowing that a neighbor is an owner of the business may also help people of communities build a sense of respect for business establishments, which means they will keep it clean and safe for everyone.
Final thoughts? I love being around people who have different experiences and also similar experiences to mines. Hearing interesting conversations and watching people is something I find quite entertaining.
