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SEASON 2, EPISODE 6

Leading with Equity

Building racial, social and health equity in communities of concentrated poverty is not an unrealistic dream - it's happening in real-time across the Purpose Built Communities network. A group of thoughtful leaders from diverse backgrounds in different cities have moved from talking to leading with equity.

Michelle Matthews, Senior Vice President at Purpose Built Communities, moderated a discussion in Orlando in 2018 with the first cohort of Equity Ambassadors - Kia Baker of the Southeast Raleigh Promise, Kirk Wester of Growing Together in Tulsa, Danny Shoy of the East Lake Foundation in Atlanta, and Sally Mackin of Woodlawn United in Birmingham.

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Guests

Michelle Matthews

Senior Vice President, Purpose Built Communities

Michelle Matthews joined Purpose Built Communities in 2016 as Senior Vice President after leading her own consulting company, Matthews Consulting Group (MCG), for more than a decade. She is a trusted advisor with more than 30 years of experience in organizational development, change management and consulting. She is a recognized expert when it comes to developing strategies to improve business processes, maximize human capital and increase revenues.

Michelle’s guidance has enabled nonprofit organizations, such as Families First, the Task Force for Global Health, and Communities in Schools of Atlanta; educational institutions, such as Spelman College and Atlanta Public Schools; and numerous Fortune 500 companies, such as Delta Air Lines, Kimberly Clark and Georgia Pacific to implement strategic change and improve individual, team and organizational performance.

An authority on adapting to changing environments, Michelle has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Black Enterprise and Smart Money. She has also appeared as a CNN guest on the program “Your Money,” where she shared her experiences in leadership and change. In 2011, Michelle received the Atlanta Business League’s Business Achievement Award, and she was featured in the 2012 November/December issue of Minority Business Entrepreneur magazine. In 2013-2014 Michelle was host of “Growth Matters”, a weekly radio show where she dialogued with executives and entrepreneurs about their insights into growing an organization in today’s competitive environment.

Michelle graduated summa cum laude from Spelman College, with an economics degree.

Kia Baker

Executive Director, Southeast Raleigh Promise, Inc.

Kia has over a decade of experience in the non-profit sector with organizations including Habitat for Humanity, Public Allies, and most recently, served as the Chief of Food Recovery & Distribution at a Feeding America food bank, the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle. Kia currently serves as Executive Director for Southeast Raleigh Promise, Inc.

Kirk Wester

Executive Director, Growing Together

Kirk Wester is the Executive Director for Growing Together, a local neighborhood transformation initiative in Tulsa. Growing Together focuses on the creation of three key components to their strategy: a strong education pipeline, mixed-income housing, and neighborhood vibrancy. Through their collective efforts in the Kendall-Whittier neighborhood and schools, they are beginning to see strong improvements in the outcomes of vulnerable children.

Danny Shoy

President & CEO, East Lake Foundation

Daniel Shoy, Jr. serves as President & CEO of the East Lake Foundation. He is responsible for strategic planning and goal setting, the Foundation’s ongoing work with its partners, and progress toward the Foundation’s mission. The Foundation’s mission is to provide tools for families in The Villages of East Lake and students in the Charles R. Drew Charter School pipeline to build better lives for themselves and future generations through a holistic approach to community revitalization that incorporates mixed-income housing, cradle-to-college education and community wellness. Since joining the Foundation as Program Director in 2010, he has also served as Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer.

Sally Mackin

Executive Director, Woodlawn Foundation

As the founding Executive Director of Woodlawn Foundation, Sally Mackin is helping to craft a vision and path forward for one of Birmingham’s great historic neighborhoods. Sally earned a B.S. in Economics from the University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration. Her background includes ten years of experience in marketing and advertising in the retail industry as well as expense and operation management. She has worked in the financial industry as a licensed broker, has participated in extensive fundraising efforts of several local charities and has served on many non-profit boards. Sally is certified as a Licensed Salesperson through the Alabama Real Estate Commission, is a certified Economic Development Finance Professional and has completed the Senior Leaders Program for Nonprofit Professionals at Columbia University Business School. She was a member of the 2012 class of Leadership Birmingham, the 2015/2016 class of Leadership Alabama and is a member of the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham.

Narrator

Alexandra Wiggins

Community Development Associate, Purpose Built Communities

Alexandra Wiggins supports current Network Members and assists new prospects as a Community Development Advisor for Purpose Built Communities. Alex is a recent graduate of Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center where she received her Juris Doctor as well as a Graduate Diploma in Comparative Law.

This is Community is created in partnership with HL Strategy. Our executive producers are Eytan Davidson, Howard Lalli, and Sherry Crawley. Our producer, director, and editor is Brady Hummel. Mixing and mastering is by Matt Honkonen, and our music is from Pitchwire.