Stories
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Jun 26, 2017
Our moderator, Robert Feldstein, Director of the Office of Policy and Innovation, at the City of Seattle Mayor’s Office, has a history working in criminal justice and policy issues. He was a sharp and affable guide that welcomed us and said he hoped this panel would set off other conversations. Seattle is progressive in many ways. He explained that... Read More
Jun 21, 2017
When asked to speak in public, I often turn to my family for inspiration and colorful anecdotes to share. I turn to these stories because they helped to inform my earliest comprehension of some really big ideas, like safety, abundance, community, and love. Reflecting on my experience growing up in rural Mississippi allows me to relate an... Read More
Jun 30, 2017
The goal of economic development is to improve the economic well-being of a place – usually a city, state or region. Economic development often sits on the ‘demand’ side of the labor market – building stronger economies that lead to employment opportunities in the private, public and nonprofit sectors (Siegel and Seidman, 2009). It can be informed... Read More
Jun 30, 2017
In Part 2 of my interview with Lori Pourier of First People’s Fund/Rolling Rez and Cheryal Hills of Regional Five Development Commission/Sprout Growers and Makers we take alternate definitions of wealth, the ethics of mobilizing cultural assets and the value of culture bearers as coaches and knowing on whose shoulders you stand. We wanted a location, a place,... Read More
Jun 30, 2017
We’ve been thinking about how strategies in rural areas are being (re)framed with culture bearers, growers and makers in mind. The approaches of First People’s Fund and Region Five Development also bridge critical divides — social, cultural, financial and geographic. Lori Pourier of The First People’s Fund/Rolling Rez is based out of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, which is essentially the homeland of... Read More
Jul 06, 2017
Last month we discussed economic development and its focus on the demand side of the labor market. This month, we explore the supply side of the labor market and workforce development. Workforce development focuses on the individual and developing workers with the skills necessary for the 21st century economy. Workforce development has a lot of players. Multiple... Read More
Jul 13, 2017
Invisible Heritage: Identity Memory and our Town (IH) is a project designed to address the long term problems of abandoned and derelict historic buildings in the town of Frederiksted on the island of St. Croix. When our application to ArtPlace was accepted and funded as a ‘workforce development’ project, our founders and partners were gratified – years of... Read More
Jul 18, 2017
Albert Einstein once said, “If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about it and 5 minutes solving it.” Those of us working in the creative placemaking field are familiar with this philosophy–the idea that the challenge of understanding a problem should take precedence over the action of executing a solution.... Read More
Jul 25, 2017
Have you ever considered partnership with traditional workforce development entities to further a culture of art in your community? Could your organization's artistic endeavors help address other systemic community challenges? Through some deep organizational introspection and a little out of the box thinking, Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park was able to create a workforce training program to address... Read More
Jul 26, 2017
The small rural town of Star, located in the center of North Carolina, was once a thriving mill town. The Russell Hosiery Factory, which opened around 1900, employed 1,000 people in a community of 800 residents. Although North Carolina’s urban areas have experienced exhilarating growth in industries such as information technology and finance, rural communities that were... Read More