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Who We Are

OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES

How we move is core to who we are and what we do.

We are motivated by the belief that every person deserves to live in a neighborhood in which they can create the life they want, and we are grounded in the conviction that anything less is unacceptable.

We are guided by an activist spirit while mobilizing institutional resources.

We are committed to rigorous self-examination and transparency about our successes, failures and learning.

We are dedicated to untethering the past from what’s possible in the future by refusing to accept the restraints of generations of systemic anti-Black racism.

We act with urgency, because the unconfronted injustices of generations of anti-Black systemic racism continue to compound with time.

We elevate lived experience and use evidence-based learning without being bound by it.

We acknowledge and address generations of harm created by systemic anti-Black racism, particularly harm created in the name of community development.

We measure success in multiple ways that reflect the complexity of this work.

MEET OUR TEAM

TONI CONNORS

Collaboration Support Partner

Toni facilitates harmony between neighborhood anchors, residents, and consultants, investigating challenges to find opportunities, and elevating efforts for optimal impact.

SHANNON DICKERSON

Systems Design + Learning Lead

Shannon serves as the primary liaison and “guide on the side” to our Sustaining Neighborhood Investment Partners in the Dutchtown Neighborhood.

DARA ESKRIDGE

CEO

Dara spends her days advancing our work into new areas, connecting our regional dots to neighborhood transformation, growing our coalition of partners and investors, and dreaming very big.

KENAN ENDER

Operations Director

Kenan helps shape and uphold efficient and effective internal practices and processes that maximize our human, financial, and intellectual assets to the benefit of our mission and achievement of our vision.

CARLY FERDMAN

Collaboration Support Partner

Carly facilitates harmony between neighborhood anchors, residents, and consultants, investigating challenges to find opportunities, and elevating efforts for optimal impact.

NIYA FOSTER

Neighborhood Solidarity Partner

Niya serves as a primary liaison and “guide on the side” to our Sustaining Neighborhood Partners.

LAVONDA HENDERSON

Collaboration Support Partner

LaVonda facilitates harmony between neighborhood anchors, residents, and consultants, investigating challenges to find opportunities, and elevating efforts for optimal impact.

LORIN JACKSON

Systems Design + Learning Partner

Lorin facilitates harmony between neighborhood anchors, residents, and consultants, investigating challenges to find opportunities, and elevating efforts for optimal impact.

DEREK LANEY

Neighborhood Solidarity Partner

Derek Laney serves as the primary liaison and “guide on the side” to our Sustaining Neighborhood Investment Partners in the West End and Visitation Park Neighborhoods.

MICHAEL PAGANO

Narrative + Communications Partner

Michael crafts and shapes our storytelling, working closely with the team to listen for, weave together and raise up the experiences of our neighborhood partners and the people they serve.

ALYSSA POTTER

Narrative + Communications Lead

Alyssa leads and shapes our storytelling and communications strategy, while working closely with the team to listen for, weave together and raise up the experiences of our neighborhood partners and the people they serve.