Tacoma:Inclusive Resilience + Prosperity

I am my ancestors’ wildest dreams and I’m devoted to the actualization of indiscriminate access to the American Dreams.Granddaughter of Will Lemons- born in 1892, WW1 veteran, returned home to become a small business owner and was subsequently lynched by the Klan because he exceeded his “place” in life. He believed that “I too, am America”. Daughter of Mary Lemons, illiterate sharecropper who fled North in search of greater opportunity for her children- pulling herself up by her strapless boots. To advance my goal, I have developed expertise (e.g. change management, program design & evaluation, alliance building and authentic community engagement) to advise service models, city redevelopment and policy in order to mitigate the barriers competent & capable  marginalized groups experience on their pathway to self-sufficiency.  I am primarily concerned about two global shocks which will exacerbate social inequalities, devastate urban economies and destabilize democracy-automation and climate change. 

 We solve for stakeholders’  problems of practice which impede the ability to adequately respond to the existing social inequalities which will be exacerbated by the consequences of automation and climate change. We do this via a three pronged project: 1)Social Entrepreneurship Academy (SEA) provides marginalized populations, residing within an Opportunity Zone (OZ)-wraparound support and training designed to eliminate entry barriers to automation and climate change resilient entrepreneurship. 2) Future of Work Dashboard- utilizes our community of health/workforce model which integrates multiple national data sources (labor force, economic, education etc.) as well as spatial and demographic data to ascertain community destabilization. Therefore, informing stakeholders of the gravity and nature of need-supporting “smart governance” effort to equitable and accurately respond. 3)Circular economy + Procurement- by rehabilitating a warehouse within an OZ we reduce emissions associated with food demand, mitigate the impact of food deserts and cultivate community capital.  

We solve for: social inequalities exacerbated by automation and climate change. We do this by providing tools, supports and programs which 1)build the capacity of the priority population to participate in the changing global economy (via our SEA program), 2) build human and market centered vs. solely market centered community economies (circular economy), 3)solve governance problems of practice which yield the deployment of resources moot or insufficient (dashboard). According to the Mckinsey report, within the next 10-12 years 47% of jobs and job tasks will be automated- the priority population will be disproportionately impacted. African Americans are overrepresented in occupations likely to be most affected by automation and underrepresented in the occupational categories most resistant to automation-based displacement. The group is projected to have the second highest projected job displacement rate (23.1 percent), second to Latinx (25.5 percent)due to automation by 2030. Those in concentrated poverty neighborhoods, with limited finances will encounter additional strains as the cost of living increases due to climate change (e.g. cost increase of nutrition density etc.). Existing and emerging consequences of the global crises will, without intervention, destabilize our economy and democracy. Human development has never been more urgent.

Dashboard: 1) we apply our community of health and stabilization model, 2) integrate relevant data sets, 3) establish thresholds, 4) track germane a jurisdiction’s workforce readiness and capacity to fulfill  labor force needs, 5) integrate spatial data, 6) develop a data trust whereby the population provides permission, therefore 7) facilitating real time data to inform decision making and supporting adequate and precise deployment of supports, interventions and resources designed to mitigate community instability onset by workforce development challenges.  

Social Entrepreneurship Academy (SEA): We provide the priority population with the training to found an enterprise that is climate change and automation resilient. We eliminate barriers to participation by a free program consisting of: wraparound services for the entrepreneur and family, a case manager/liaison, as well as covering many associated start up fees (E.g. web domain, business registration fee, laptop, Microsoft Office subscription).  

Circular Economy + Procurement: We will rehabilitate a warehouse into a local hub for food business, compost digester and urban farm. Our aim is to utilize the project as an anchor for green community revitalization which also addresses food deserts, food swamps and contributes to community wealth.  

SEA: Entrepreneurs of color, among our three user populations identified, are least equipped and supported in terms of skill, work experience, social capital, economic capital and physical capital (debt equity) necessary to enter entrepreneurship pathways. Additionally, these barriers to access and lack of capital are least scalable for communities of color who face historic resource exclusion and structural inequity within their pathways to entrepreneurship. Our priority population (serviced population) are formerly incarcerated persons of color, low income single parents and criminal justice impacted Opportunity Youth-all of which reside with Opportunity Zones (i.e. concentrated poverty neighborhoods, distressed communities etc.).  OZ (high poverty)are a unique force in perpetuating poverty from one generation to the next, erecting barriers to economic opportunity for poor and non-poor residents alike. “Segregation of poverty has a strong negative association with upward mobility” (Chetty et al. 2014). It is not feasible for the stabilization of our economy and democracy to fail to train/equip the priority population. To advise the architecture of SEA, we will conduct a community asset mapping and series of community listening sessions. By developing entrepreneurs with the capacity to guide their local economies, we aim to disrupt income inequality and mobility.   

We elevate the impending consequences of climate change and automation and how marginalized populations will be disproportionately burdened. Therefore, through our dashboard we solve a problem of practice encountered by well intentioned stakeholders in accessing data to make informed decisions. Thereby, supporting “smart governance” that is responsive to the depth, nature and distinct challenges encountered by the priority population on the pathway to workforce development -spatially and demographically. We also provide direct service (SEA) to mitigate the impact while simultaneously instituting community anchors to support long term community well being.

SEA is the solution for many people I love dearly. My cousin who has returned home from a 24 year sentence, struggles to reintegrate (e.g. housing, employment etc.). Though he possess the will and capacity to be retrained his “felony” status is met with reservation and yields him ineligible for educational funding streams (e.g. FASFA). Additionally, the re-entry support model is insufficient- predominantly punitive vs. resourceful.  

Dashboard: While conducting research for my dissertation, I discovered this dashboard/early warning system which monitors state failure and provides early warning alerts on various factors to the United Nations, World Bank and the governing leader.  Inspired, I began applying the same logic to community stabilization and ruminating over the data sets which would be critical to monitor to prevent “community failure/collapse”. 

Circular economy + Procurement: As an urban planner with lived experience, I have long been concerned about the well being of the people-just like me- from my childhood community. Thus, my interdisciplinary education (e.g. policy, urban planning, human development, program design etc.). I remember the lack of produce at community stores. Thus, my mother started a garden to support our nutrition density.  

As I continue to witness the cannibalization of Black bodies and direct family members by racism, I commit myself more to the notion that “we can and must be better”. I am the mother of a Black Sun, who I rear with pride but nonetheless I build a modern day underground railroad in interest of his safety. I, too hide him as slaves hid their sons. I am the wife of a 21 year veteran who is 100% disabled and I witnessed police call him “cannon fodder”. I am a cancer patient- too many free radicals as I “pushed through to get out of the hood”- because the body keeps score of the trauma my people continue to endure. I need to know that my Sun will have the opportunity to experience the full capacity of his wings in this world. That he will be safe when I am no longer here to protect him. Thus, I have devoted my life to materializing such change. 

I am undoubtedly positioned to execute this project with the utmost integrity and fidelity as a result of personal and professional attributes: 

• Personal: I have acquired, through life experience, unteachable spiritual strength, grit, perseverance and resilience. Additionally, I possess a social and professional network of peers which are national and international scholars on the subject matters underlying the proposal. This work is personal and failure is not an option. 

• Education: Currently, I am completing doctoral studies in Urban Planning & Public Policy (Community Economic Development). My dissertation, working title- Becoming a Humane Society, contributes to the Black Genocide literature and outlines nation rebuilding recommendations to “build it back better”, achieve reconciliation and proposes accountability, and enforcement  measures.  I have earned dual Masters 1)Public Administration (Program Design & International Affairs) as well as 2) African American & African Diaspora Studies (Human Development, Psychology) which have enriched my understanding of the systemic  barriers, the impact on the quality of life of marginalized citizens and remediation pathways.  

• Professional experience: I am a recipient of a national award from the American Planning Association for a community development project; am consulted for program design to eliminate race as the predictor of student achievement and organizational transformation seeking to effectively serve marginalized groups; advise and train cross-sector consortia to achieve community well being outcomes; as well as have experience working in directly or tangentially in all the facets of the proposal.  

The SEA proposal is currently in the final stages of funding consideration by the Kauffman foundation. Therefore, we have yet to encounter obstacles. However, one of my past leadership experiences exhibits my problem solving and collaboration skills. During my service as a Director of a Boys & Girls Club encountered the following upon arrival:  lack of stable leadership, school failure to obtain its annual yearly progress goals (AYP), student participants with some of the highest Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) as well as the most committed staff but I’d ever witnessed but lacked critical skills. Immediately, I prioritized capacity building of the committed staff alongside creating a holistic wraparound service model. To support the deficits in my knowledge I  developed an advisory board of experts (e.g. Community Psychologist, School Psychologist, Curriculum (e.g. Adults (parents) & Youth) etc.). Within 1.5 years of implementation, compared to non-participants, yielded: higher rates of “proficiency” on the state exam, higher guardian involvement and lower truancy.  The model was shared citywide to scale impact. The site was elevated to an “enrichment site” and received additional funding. 

I was appointed by the former Superintendent of Seattle Public Schools as the Department Director of Equity Initiatives & Outcome to 1)build the capacity, tools and work plan of educational stakeholders (i.e. School Board, District Chiefs,Principals etc.) as well as 2) project manage the system wide integration and alignment of efforts to eliminate race as a predictor of attendance, behavior (disproportionate discipline) and coursework completion (ABCs).With zero budget and staff I hired 15 doctoral students with the promise to keep them inspired, working on meaningful proposal and facilitate networking opportunities. The meta analysis they conducted alongside the evidenced based practices and case studies (e.g. Harlem Children Zone, Chicago Prep, Seed Academy etc.) yielded a transformation plan which still informs the district’s strategic plan. A leader must inspire others to believe in the power of few to change the world. I believe people are seeking the opportunity to be useful to the world. I work hard to provide platforms that facilitate such an opportunity.  As a result of the research we’d prepared in advance, preparation encountered an opportunity and we were able to secure one million dollars to fund a pilot 24/7 learning management system.  

SEA.  Our proposed model is distinguished because it 1)responds to the distinct needs of the primary population- stabilizing fellows and their enterprise as well as 2) builds the capacity of the existing residents to participate as enterprise owners in the transformation of their neighborhood and 3) invests in entrepreneurship to close the racial wealth and wellbeing gaps and in turn stabilize a community. We use human centered approaches to stabilize communities and in turn democracy and the economy.  

The three pronged approach is integrative and holistic. Current service models which respond to the needs of the priority population group are based on existing skill sets of the serviced population and do not build a pathway that will be suitable for the emerging economy. The systemic practices, understandably, prioritize ceasing and/or abating dire current harm. Thus, the guidance lacks foresight- mitigated by the dashboard. Too often we recycle pedagogy steeped in the intersection of: dependency models vs. empowerment models which allow populations to build the capacity to obtain self-sufficiency; lack a differentiated approach to the distinct barriers of individual and generational marginalization; holistic models which stabilize the individual and family; rely on programmatic efforts as opposed to interrogation of organizational design, governance behavior and the institutionalization of accountability;  and/or focus on the immediate dire circumstances in the form of intervention and insufficiently build prevention efforts. Poor people do not need more affordable housing but instead opportunities to afford market rate housing. 

SEA Theory of Action (TOA): If we provide 30 fellows, from a designated Opportunity Zone, with quality skills, training as well as supports necessary to operate a profitable enterprise which will exhibit resilience to the global disruptions; then, the cohort’s enterprises will contribute to a community economy;  thereby, spurring resident (grassroot) driven community health &  revitalization which functions to insulate the community from impending climate change & automation associated consequences (e.g. food insecurity, job displacement etc.).

Dashboard TOA: If GCD solves for incomplete information and applies its novel framework; then jurisdictions’ collaboration convenings + decisionsmaking will be abreast of all impending threats to its economy, citizenry, community and labor force trajectory; thereby enabling informed multi-dimensional responsive long term planning and prioritization.  

Circular Economy TOA: If GCD facilitates the process for a place based (within an Opportunity Zone) green circular economy (e.g. food and recycling) with equitable procurement policy, then, the city seeking to mitigate the widening racial wealth gap will assist in fellows’ enterprise stability as well as mitigate the impacts of quality of life challenges associated with climate change thereby, allowing for inclusive resilience and prosperity amidst globally changing landscapes.  

SEA: SEA pilot will serve 20-30 fellows from a single Opportunity Zone in order to study the impact of the cohort as a catalytic project to revitalize Opportunity Zones.  The first dimension (individual and household stabilization) of our service model  is dedicated to the individual and household stabilization of the fellow. We recognize that the priority population encounters a myriad of challenges to household and individual stabilization as they participate in SEA. Thus, we will hire a Case Manager/Liaison. Commonly case managers carry a caseload of 40-55 clients. GCD is committed to providing high quality support to fellows as they matriculate through our pilot in order to understand the continuum of barriers and interventions needed to support entry into entrepreneurship. The pilot will allow us to obtain evidence based certification thereby allowing us to scale via partnership with fidelity and utmost quality. In 5 years with certified procedures we could scale with confidence to directly offer as many fellows as we can pair with a Case Manager/Liaison and/or partner with mission aligned organizations to serve various cities across the nation. Dashboard: subscription packages available to all stakeholders working in service of the priority population (e.g. government, community based organization, human service support, education sector etc.). Circular economy: Our goal is to deploy the model to Fort Worth, Texas within the next three years and scale to 5 cities within the next 5 years. 

SEA: Upon the completion of the first pilot we will pursue Evidence Based Certification (EBC). This is a priority in order to ensure program integrity upon scaling. As a result, Year 2  will consist of:  standardization and program integrity; seeking funds for warehouse acquisition; as well as fund development for fellows’ enterprise; beta product complete (dashboard) Year 3: site acquisition and rehabilitation complete in pilot city (Tacoma), partnership with mission aligned organizations to launch in SEA in multiple cities (e.g. Reform for formerly incarcerated people of color), dashboard revenue growth. Year 4: circular economy expansion (Fort Worth), SEA monitoring, dashboard revenue growth. Year 5: SEA expansion, dashboard revenue growth , circular economy preliminary phase (5 cities)

The barriers to accomplish our goal in the next year are primarily financial. However, we are a startup (less than 9 months) and a group of professionals-each with nearly two decades of experience. Therefore, we possess the skills, capacity and work integrity to secure funding from a foundation.  However, because all consultants are employed full time with other entities, with the exception of the CEO, we are challenged with devoting full time personnel to the growth of the company. Funding would allow GCD to compensate team members to: launch GCD’s other proposal and devote time to growing the company.  

SEA(Financial): under full funding consideration for pilot.

The circular economy (technical, financial, legal): Requires the 1)purchase of a vacant building with land, 2) rehabilitation cost (e.g. tenants, farm and compost digester, 3) mayoral support regarding green equitable procurement to increase profit margins of a digester and socialize the effort of sustainability.  While a community driven/supported circular economy is easy to obtain. The model is most sustainable when integrated into the local governance agenda.  

The dashboard (Financial):The preliminary research and architecture (extracted from the CEO’s dissertation) has been completed we would like to secure funds for the following purposes:  FTE salary of a full stack developer; consultation fees for international experts (e.g. Dr. William Greene, Dr. Edwin Nichols, Rhiana Gunn-Wright,  etc.) to validate the logic model as well as host community input charettes to further refine the model.

SEA: Despite being in the final round for funding consideration we are continuously seeking out additional funding so that we may provide additional resources to the fellows. For example, we are filing a non-profit subsidiary in order to secure laptops, free subscription to LinkedIn Learning for fellows (a continuous learning platform), stipends, and Microsoft will donate the funding for the marketing & branding staff person as well as a subscription to Microsoft Office. Dashboard: We plan to apply to a variety of funding streams. Additionally, per the CEO’s network we are in conversation with OpenLab and Brighthive to discover pathways to reduce initial cost and develop a beta product. 

Circular economy + equitable green procurement: At present, we are investigating Program Related Investments (PRIs) in order to secure funding for the acquisition and rehabilitation cost of a vacant building to convert into a compost digester. Additionally, we will leverage our relationship with existing community organizations (e.g. Urban League, The Foundation for Tacoma Students (CAN),  etc.) to gather community input and support; utilize the learning from The Plant ( an organization in Chicago refurbished a warehouse but spurred gentrification and was not community driven) to ensure community stabilization; as well as adhere to best practices shared from experts (e.g. Reuters Sustainable Procurement & Circularity Conference) to achieve our goals.  

SEA Partners: 

• Urban League: A trusted and historical community based organization will provide the location for SEA training and support service program; serve as the gathering site for community input, engagement and research; as well as partners in recruitment of participants.  

• Foundation for Tacoma Students: A collective action network (CAN) which convenes more than 298 organizations in service of the marginalized populations’ educational achievement. GCD will leverage the Community Learning CAN as well as the Advocacy Network to convene already vested organizations seeking to remediate the conditions of the priority population to strengthen our wrap around service model. 

• University of Washington: Two professors are supporting this project: Dr. Jenny Ngyuen (Principal Investigator to support Evidence Based Certification) and Michael Megalli (Small Business & Entrepreneurship Course). 

• Reclaiming our Greatness (ROG): ROG is a community based organization. The founder, Attorney Marshaun Barber will serve as the instructor for the Civic & COmmunity Engagement course. Additionally, the Case Manager/Liaison will be supervised by ROG’s clinical psychologist.  

• Microsoft: Committed to providing the salary for the Branding + Marketing instructor, subscription waiver, as well  as volunteers and donation of funds for each donated hour by staff.  

• Cuetzpalin: A cultural and trauma clinical psychologist expert will train staff and support fellows. 

GCD solves the problems of practice which impede responsive decision making.

Problem of Practice 1: Stakeholders are well intentioned. However, barriers exist and persist (e.g. organizational norms, insufficient time, staffing shortage, revolving agenda setting preference based on executive term etc.) which impede critical cross-sector partnership capable of effectively and efficiently remediating social, public and economic challenges.  Subsequently, the plans (strategic or implementation) are void of holistic or integrated solutions, so too are the impact metrics and the priority population continues to experience widening social and economic inequalities.  

Problem of Practice 2:  Stakeholders encounter challenges to authentic community engagement as a result of historical  inequities and harm. The absence of trust, relationship equity and engagement expertise impedes authentic community engagement and participation. Therefore, community informed and co-designed solution building is difficult to achieve for non-community trusted stakeholders.  We facilitate a power sharing dynamic which amplifies the voice of the priority population in order to ensure decision making is responsive and informed. 

Problem of Practice 3:  Stakeholders’ primary focus is to provide a stellar service model to address clients’ immediate and pressing needs in order to avert additional harm. The immediate and pressing needs compete and sometimes dominate resources, often impacting the ability to develop a sustainable proactive forecasted plan.   Human development has never been more urgent. 

Additionally, our program design empowers the population to chart their own path to upward mobility, community health and avert the transmission of generational poverty. 

Global Citizens Development (GCD) is filing a non-profit subsidiary Global Citizens Institute (GCI) in order to be eligible for a broader range of funding (e.g. donations, grants etc.).  GCD will remain a separate entity which provides tools, resources and support to stakeholders and GCI will become a direct service provider.  

SEA: Grants and donations will be the primary source of fund development. Upon obtaining Evidence Based Certification we will be eligible for additional governmental subsidies, competitive for federal grants as well as able to bill the population’s insurance. Furthering our aim of providing the support free to participants. 

Dashboard: We will seek grant funding to develop the beta product. After refinement, access to the dashboard will be subscription based (free to community based organizations) of which a significant portion of profits will be utilized to support the nonprofit.The nonprofit will have free access. 

Circular Economy + Procurement: Our goal is to acquire and rehabilitate a vacant building into a  hub for local food businesses, urban farm and compost digester (within an Opportunity Zone). This project is ideal for PRIs (Program Related Investments). We will seek out eligible grants and other resources for development. Operational and other revenue streams will include: food business occupancy rents, farm revenue as well as compost sales. Profit margins of compost are impacted by local demand. Thus, the need for governmental support to incentive a circular economy.