Purpose Built Communities

Join us in welcoming a new team member! 📣 We are thrilled to announce Andrew Smith will be joining our team as the Vice President of Education Initiatives. Drew started his career as an elementary school teacher in Washington, DC Public Schools before moving into administration as an instructional coach, assistant principal, and eventually principal. Recognizing the need to reimagine the school experience, as principal, Drew and his team at Ludlow-Taylor Elementary School joined the initial DC Public Schools Design Lab, centering movement and physical activity for students and staff. He further expanded the school design and increased student opportunity, and his school joined the first Whole Child Collaborative in partnership with Transcend Education. As the Whole Child Model spread further, Drew joined the Transcend team as a school design partner and later moved into a project lead role, supporting 21 schools across Washington, DC implementing the model. After seeing the positive shift in the day-to-day experience for students and adults, when well-being and equitable opportunity are centered, Drew is motivated to support similar community-driven educational innovation across the country. We can’t wait to see what Drew accomplishes. Send him a warm welcome in the comments! #purposebuilt #communitydevelopment #localimpact #localleaders

Network Member Spotlight ⬇ Growing Together, Inc., a Purpose Built Network Member, in Tulsa, Oklahoma is doing great things! Supporting neighborhoods with a high newcomer population, their innovative program demonstrates how the Purpose Built model can translate into similar communities. Growing Together offers an excellent example of how Purpose Built Network Members build trust through proximity, listen to the neighborhood's needs, and offer innovative solutions to support prosperous communities. Read more about their work in our most recent newsletter: https://bit.ly/4ciBfrG #purposebuilt #communitydevelopment #localimpact #localleaders

On June 10th, Zenith Houston, Chief Strategic Partnerships Officer on our Purpose Built team, was on the White House lawn celebrating Juneteenth with speakers, performers, and the President. Artists like Kirk Franklin, Gladys Knight, and Patti LaBelle marked the occasion, alongside 1,700 attendees. Zenith felt deeply connected to the event, both personally and professionally. She shares her experience in our upcoming monthly newsletter. Message us to subscribe so you don’t miss it! #purposebuilt #communitydevelopment #localimpact #localleaders #juneteenth #juneteenth2024

 Meet Jadun McCarthy! Jadun is a third-year graduate student in Harvard University’s Doctor of Education Leadership program. He is dedicated to creating and reimagining equity-centered educational systems that position children to achieve their fullest potential. Jadun is working with us as a Special Assistant to the Chief Strategy & Operations Officer. Let’s welcome him in the comments! 👋 #purposebuilt #communitydevelopment #localimpact #localleaders

Whether you were with us in Birmingham or couldn’t attend the Purpose Built Communities National Conference this year, you don’t want to miss this! Check out this short video recap of our speakers, workshops, and amazing attendees. The collective passion, experience, and expertise made our 2024 National Conference memorable. We are already excited to meet up again in Houston in 2025! Comment below your favorite moment of the conference! https://lnkd.in/ebTrG3tA #purposebuilt #communitydevelopment #localimpact #localleaders

“You want to know why this is a great city? It’s because of people like Hattie Dorsey putting divine seasoning in it.” - Andrew Young, Former Mayor of Atlanta Three Atlanta mayors honored Hattie Dorsey at her recent memorial service. Dorsey founded the Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership (ANDP), and her advocacy for affordable housing was ahead of its time and shaped the city’s future. “Clearly, Atlanta is the leader of holistic communities,” said John O'Callaghan, who succeeded Dorsey as president of ANDP.  “I’m not surprised she was a visionary who brought national cutting-edge concepts to Atlanta and the country with mixed-income communities and Purpose Built Communities. ANDP is just one of the seeds she planted.” Dorsey’s legacy echoes through Atlanta’s neighborhoods, and we celebrate a life dedicated to equity, community, and making Atlanta a better place for everyone. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gnhs2Kft Photo by Maria Saporta Saporta Report #purposebuilt #communitydevelopment #localimpact #localleaders #atlantalegend #hattiedorsey

One of Purpose Built’s Member Organizations, Canopy South, is celebrating a big milestone! 🎉 Executive Director, César A. García, PE, CAP®, has been at Canopy South for five years! As Canopy South reflects on the past five years, César has committed to building trust throughout the community and showcasing his vision for the next five years. He plans to transform Southside Terrace and create over 1,000 new mixed income homes and a robust education pipeline. Read what Canopy South asked César to celebrate his new milestone. Click here: https://lnkd.in/e6KWeiSk #purposebuilt #communitydevelopment #localimpact #localleaders 

New Network Members LIFT JAX and Cherry Hill Strong, Inc visited the Purpose Built Communities offices this month. We loved hosting them and getting to know them! While in town, they also visited FCS - Focused Community Strategies, Community Grounds, Carver Market, and GROVE PARK FOUNDATION INC. To get to know more about our network, visit our website! https://lnkd.in/dFPFyqYE #purposebuilt #communitydevelopment #localimpact #localleaders

Have you seen this? Last month, Lift Orlando gathered with residents, guests, and partners at the Heart of West Lakes Wellness Center to celebrate fourteen new and five returning recipients of the Lift Orlando Scholarship! The Lift Orlando Scholarship program supports local students in their dream of higher education. This scholarship helps not only cover tuition, but also other barriers that can hinder academic success like transportation, housing, and more. Read more about what the recipients of this scholarship had to say at the event here: https://lnkd.in/eijWGz_t Join us in giving them a big congratulations in the comments! #purposebuilt #communitydevelopment #localimpact #localleaders #equity #education

“This week marks three years since President Biden signed into proclamation Juneteenth Day of Observance and 159 years since Union troops, under the leadership of U.S. Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, to ensure all enslaved people were free. This was more than two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. These significant moments in our recent and not-so-distant past demonstrate our country’s potential for healing but also highlight that justice and equality for all is a hard-won fight that is not linear. Just a little over a year after the murder of George Floyd and months of global racial justice protests, the President called 'upon the people of the United States to acknowledge and celebrate the end of the Civil War and the emancipation of Black Americans and commit together to eradicate systemic racism that still undermines our founding ideals and collective prosperity.' Fast forward to today, where if I look across the Purpose Built footprint (we are in 14 states), every state but two have introduced anti-DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) legislation in the last couple of years that will make it incredibly difficult if not impossible to acknowledge and discuss the origins of Juneteenth." Read more on our website from Purpose Built CEO Carol Naughton on Juneteenth as we collectively honor our progress and the distance we have yet to travel. https://lnkd.in/e8STFrzx #purposebuilt #communitydevelopment #localimpact #localleaders #dayoffreedom #Juneteenth #Juneteenth2024