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Ryan

Ryan

“I meet people who work two jobs, have multiple children, don’t speak English and yet are still saving for this dream they’ve had their entire lives at a rate that’s astounding.” Ryan’s work at Conexión Américas is two-fold. Half of his time is spent managing some of...
Jordan

Jordan

“Making sure that we’re giving those who don’t feel like they have a voice an opportunity to speak about the things that they need is really important to the community leaders and specifically to the Chamber and myself.” Jordan is a Jill of all trades. While she leads...
Melissa

Melissa

“There are so many outside reasons as to why a family is struggling. It’s not just child care. It could be that they are displaced; it could be that their lights went out. There are so many pieces to this puzzle.” Melissa moved to Nashville from Los Angeles a few...
Mike

Mike

“Things have changed so much and for the better in many ways, but we have an opportunity to do even more. And we want to make sure that everyone is considered with every decision we make.” Mike lives for Sundays at Nissan Stadium. As the official voice of the...
Avi

Avi

“Our biggest challenge is how to transition from that climate where people left their doors open and took care of each other and fed each other … to a rapidly growing urban center that is an economic dynamo but brings with that growth even more dramatic challenges for...
Gatluak

Gatluak

“That’s one of the things that we wanted to make sure that our clients have: accessibility to language. The greatest gift this country offers to refugees and immigrants is that of agency: the ability to make decisions about their own lives.” Gatluak came to the U.S....
Dianne

Dianne

“My counselor taught me how to love me. And how to appreciate that I did have a job and that I could get out.” As a young girl from Tallahatchie County, Miss., Dianne knew she would become a homeowner one day. On Nov. 30, 2018, at 57 years old, she and her husband...
Brian

Brian

“A lot of people end up in difficult circumstances and don’t always know where to turn. There are some really terrific organizations in our community that are set up to help people with all kinds of needs in different stages of their life.” Brian grew up in a tough...
David

David

“We know that children in poverty do better when they’re not concentrated in poverty.” David began his newspaper career nearly 20 years ago in a coastal Florida town covering stories from local politics to hurricanes and tropical storms to health care. Education...
Yashinique

Yashinique

“We all have a checkered past, and some are worse than others. It’s just about how you’re trying to move forward.” Yashinique says she’s desperate for peace. For several months, she and her daughter were living in a domestic violence shelter while seeking refuge...
Kendrick

Kendrick

“I always tell my friends … if you want to feel like a superhero, take 30 minutes out of your day and go read to preschool kids.” As a human resources lead at Bridgestone, Kendrick is determined to grow and support our community’s pipeline of young leaders. He...
Trishawna

Trishawna

“Working together as a community, we can help each other in a lot of ways that we don’t even realize. I see that all the time in my classroom because I have people coming from all walks of life that would never meet each other in the normal world. I know that every...