I created this East Austin nonprofit in 2013 after participating in a local after school program created by the Ricky Williams Foundation program called Ricky's Kids. Envision. Design. Create. was a three year project that ran from 2013 to 2016 and included four large scale projects. This experience led me into an even deeper desire to create safe spaces for marginalized communities. I was able to connect with the entirety of stakeholders face to face in this community and it taught me that everyone has a voice. The main takeaway was that deeply listening to the community's wants and needs comes WAY before what an outsider's limited perception of what that community needs -always.
Organizational involvement came from the parents, students, and staff at Sims Elementary School in East Austin. The companies and orgs involved were Austin Music Foundation, Austin Blues Society, The Home Depot, Strait Music, Emerald Garden, The Ricky Williams Foundation, TFR Enterprises, Keep Austin Beautiful, The Mission Continues, Big Don, the Sims Elementary School PTA, DJ Notion, DJ Zetroc, 3C Construction, and Sound Check Austin.
Deeper Reflection: I feel like I was so young in this radio interview. While I love that you can see my heart and how much I value community, there were so many things I did not know back when this was captured in 2014. This was done just before I started on my journey to get two master's degrees in five years! In those five years I learned so much about whiteness. I was fortunate to take a master's level Harlem Renaissance class from Dr. Holt at Texas State University and it taught me about white saviorism. I had been exposed to whiteness studies in my undergrad classes at Texas Woman's University studying Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, but this was different. I also have spent time learning even more about the hip hop community since then and can see that my view of that genre is skewed a bit in this interview too. I like that I can still have this video to reflect on where I was and all that I have learned and grown into though and do feel that this interview reflects my true soul.
Mission
Envision. Design. Create. is countering the way poverty is systematically crippling communities. The main objective is a series of community projects designed with a focus on elevating Title 1 Public Schools through four main avenues: nature, technology, art, and music.