David Kemper wanted to find a way to safeguard established renters against gentrification. His goal was to build a real-estate investment model that both stabilized existing rents and gave a voice to that community. Too many have suffered from racism and disinvestment in their neighborhoods. Across the country, communities are being torn apart because residents are being priced … [Read more...] about Slaying Gentrification.
Visionary
Before IMPACT was a thing.
In college, Paul Rabinovitch planted almost a million trees. Seeing the clear-cut land in which he was working sparked a desire to center his work around creating change. His career path displays a multitude of avenues towards making an impact – from brownfields redevelopment, to building sanctuaries and parks with the Nature Conservancy, to working as an impact investor in … [Read more...] about Before IMPACT was a thing.
Citizen architect.
From an early age, Rico Quirindongo was interested in the impact of the built environment on people. That’s why he became an architect. But he sees an architect’s role as much larger than just designing buildings with a useful life. He believes every architect has an obligation, a responsibility to engage in a civic conversation for design justice - to absorb the history of a … [Read more...] about Citizen architect.
Design justice.
Bryan Lee, Jr. may have studied architecture, but he is by no means just an architect. Bryan’s philosophy and ideas are big, challenging and adamant. To address these ideas, in 2017, Bryan created Colloqate Design in New Orleans, a firm that uses design thinking to create a conversation or dialogue (thus, the name of their firm) within the community to speak both to … [Read more...] about Design justice.
New markets for main street.
NuMarket was born out of the pandemic. Ross Chanowski founded the social crowdfunding platform in 2020 because he felt there wasn’t a way for communities to purposefully support the survival and growth of their local businesses. In an interview with The Boston Globe, Ross said that he wanted to develop a way for customers to meaningfully support the businesses they love while, … [Read more...] about New markets for main street.