The Buffalo Niagara Partnership is pleased to present the 2019 BN360 Spotlight Professionals, sponsored by Alpine Films.
The summer in between graduating high school and starting college, my Dad “made me” take a summer job with a friend of his at a local nonprofit in Buffalo. I would be helping while someone was on leave by filing, stuffing envelopes, mailing new hire packets, answering incoming calls, taking meeting minutes, you name it. I came in every day and did as I was asked.
“The mission of Morehouse College is to develop men with disciplined minds who will live lives of leadership and service.”
~ Excerpt, Morehouse College Mission Statement
The Buffalo Niagara Partnership is pleased to present the 2019 BN360 Spotlight Professionals, sponsored by Alpine Films.
Growing up on the east side of Buffalo in municipal housing, as long as I can remember, the greatest point of college entry and later success was through sports. However, unlike most kids in my neighborhood whose end goal was to play for the NFL or the NBA, I wanted to be like my dad. He was a hard worker; a God-fearing man who treasured his family above all. Like many other African American men in my community, college was not an option for him. Nonetheless, he did everything he could to make ends meet.
As an Urban Planner I am often asking clients, community members, stakeholders and elected leadership to articulate their “why”. Sometimes the “why” surfaces through a series of questions or public engagement activities. In my profession, everyone I interact with has an opinion or an insight that needs to be captured, digested and turned into usable data, which eventually informs a neighborhood, municipal, district, regional plan or public space design.
When I was younger, I wanted to be a garbage man. I thought it would be really cool to cruise around town hanging off the back of the truck! I also, gave some serious thought to being a professional football player or a rock star, and when those didn’t pan out, I considered going into Psychology. However, I remembered that while I was growing up I spent many of my weekends sweeping and mopping floors at the chemical etching/metal fabrication business that my father built.
Growing up, I couldn’t wait for summer. Long days, that seemed to last forever, filled with endless sports and time with friends. Then it became time to go back to school. I knew from my first day of Pre-K that it just wasn’t for me. With the exception of sports, friends, and socializing, I never would have made it. In most classes, I watched the clock slowly tick to the moment it was time to go.
The Buffalo Niagara Partnership is pleased to introduce you to the finalists who have been selected for the 2018 ATHENA® Awards. The awards recognize contributions made by individuals to advance the status of women in the Buffalo Niagara region.
Each year our company hosts a full-day retreat for everyone in the agency, which typically includes a group team building or professional development activity. Our most recent retreat featured the Everything DiSC Workplace evaluation, facilitated by a team development consulting firm (RV Rhodes, Inc.). Each of us completed the DiSC assessment prior to the retreat, and then we were able to spend a few hours that day learning about ourselves and our coworkers.
