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The Tech Academy held its Fall '22 Capstone Event on Saturday, December 3, where students presented their final projects to family, friends, and community members. Students in Levels I and II worked on their websites for ten weeks after receiving instruction from instructors within the industry. They independently executed the planning, design, and development stages of the software development life cycle and presented the final results during a gallery walk. Our featured speaker was none other than Jamyria Walker, a recent level three graduate and current mentee. She shared her experience overcoming imposter syndrome and facing her fears. She didn’t think she could, but she did. Now she’s telling the world that they can, too! To carry the trend of motivating words, Shy Speaks, a renowned performer from Dallas, TX, performed and offered an encouraging word, song, and rhyme. She did it all! She displayed artistic flow and ingenious creativity with lyrics like: “Don’t care if anyone else believes. Get out of your way. You have the confirmation you need.” Shy Speaks put her abundant wisdom on display during Q&A. Students asked her tough questions about accountability and vulnerability. She notes: “Accountability is discipline plus vulnerability. It is the fastest route to your goals. It works when you desire to achieve.” Shy Speaks and Shy spoke! What an incredible experience! Parents, families, and community members enjoyed the performance, witnessed the unleashing of students’ coding superpowers, and celebrated excellence and tech genius. Capstones that are engaging and impactful like these are only made possible through the support of organizations like: BASF, Wilson Foundation, Capital One, ExxonMobil, Microsoft, LOSFA, Santander Consumer USA, Moozie Foundation, State Fair of Texas, UNUM

The Walls Project wants to always seek opportunities to push boundaries and break down those traditional barriers that prevent new experiences. That’s why our mural arts program has started testing the limits of what is possible with paint by integrating a little technology. “We have a lot of young families and young professionals with children in the capital region that we are in danger of losing to other states because of the lack of amenities that are provided free and public at all times,” explains Morgan Udoh, program coordinator. “So I wanted to create something that would augment the services that are already at our BREC parks, which are amazing, by providing people a way to interact with our art.” The East Baton Rouge Parish Park System, BREC, celebrated its 75th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion, the organization commissioned five murals at different parks located throughout the parish. Walls was honored BREC would not only celebrate this important milestone through its artists but also explore a new and state-of-the-art integration. “At each park, the mural was inspired by another park in the system,” Udoh notes. “It creates a cool scavenger hunt throughout the BREC park system.” Artist in Residence Ashli Ognelodh created the colorful designs, which are located at the Zachary Community Park, Jackson Community Park, Central Baker Recreation Center, and Gus Young Park. RELATED: Artist in Residence Ashli Ognelodh Explains How She Landed at The Walls Project “Being the Walls and as innovative as we are, we wanted to add a little bit more than just something you would take a picture of once and then move on,” Udoh continues. “So we decided to add a touch component to the walls with leads installed onto the mural where you can touch the wall at four or five different points and the electricity that's conducted through your body.” The system utilizes a Raspberry Pi board, which is a low-cost, credit card-sized computer that is capable of doing everything you’d expect a desktop computer to do. In this case, it plays sounds. “There are conductive wires that lead from different places on the mural. When you touch it, it’s programmed to play out a sound on the speaker,” Udoh said. “The system itself is solar powered.” Expect to see even more innovation in the new year as the team continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible.

For the past ten years, The Walls Project has been an integral part of creating a brighter future in southern cities by enhancing the quality of place with professional murals, educating youth in tech & digital arts, and leading massive community cleanups. Today, I’m asking you to join me to ensure the next 10 years look even brighter across the Texas sky. Support Walls to continue this work for 2023 by donating today Public Art & Placemaking Juneteenth Fest 2022, spurred from the MLK Fest events in DFW, created a bi-annual opportunity to engage creatives and residents. SSQDC, Epiphany, and several partners and community advocates which include: Urban Specialists, The Walls Project, RHI management, Dallas Designing Dreams, New Era Management & The MLK Center have all come together to encourage and support residents, organizations, and businesses to come together to restore this emerging part of sunny South Dallas. This event, held all day on Saturday, June 18th, saw community building, artwork creation, and blight cleanup at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, Fair Park amphitheater, and at Gilley's Southside on Lamar. Collaborating artists included Izk Davies, Jerod Davies, Ebony Lewis, Brooklyn Easley, and Ventrill Art. At Fair Park, a large circular mural was created on canvas, helped by artists and volunteers alike. Hear more from artist Izk Davies in the video! Additionally, art activities, cleanups, and community-focused conversations were highlighted throughout the event. Explore the creativity of Juneteenth Fest 2022. 2022 program success was made possible by the support of: SSQDC, Epiphany, Urban Specialists, The Walls Project, RHI management, Dallas Designing Dreams, New Era Management & The MLK Center Futures Fund In 2022, Futures Fund welcomed Dominique Dallas as its first Program Director. Through her addition, the program continues to align its web development curriculum to lead graduates to higher-paying jobs in the emerging and lucrative tech industry. In October and December, Futures Fund held its FREE workshop series of events called BREAK N2 Tech. Conversations around "Employment in the 21st Century" and "Placemaking vs. Colonization" led participants into discussions about new approaches for long-term equitable redevelopment in Dallas, as well as how to proactively engage with them. This community event featured a diverse panel of practitioners and thought leaders in neighborhood redevelopment, public art, and tech. Through these two panel discussions, conversations were inclusive to culture bearers, private developers, muralists, small business owners, and community members looking for pathways to high-paying jobs in the Tech & Creative sectors. This series demonstrated the intersectionality of mindful commercial/residential development, arts districts and generational neighborhood residents earning power are all part of the equitable development movement in the City of Dallas. Celebrate a year of digital and creative tech advancements. 2022 program success was made possible by the support of: Santander Consumer USA, Moozie Foundation, State Fair of Texas, Capital One, ExxonMobil, Microsoft

The December Sow Good Saturday featured a demonstration of bokashi by Mitchell Provensal. Bokashi means "fermented organic matter" in Japanese. It's a way for you to preserve all food waste from your home which you can later add to your garden or compost bin to increase fertility. The bokashi "composting" system is simple and easy for any size living space and has a minimal smell. Since the food waste is fermented, it will deter pests and bugs from eating it. Supplies Sealable container - (5 gallon bucket or anything with a tight fitting lid will work) Bokashi Bran or Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) or EM-1 (Effective Microorganisms) Food Scraps - (meat, cheese, dairy, bones, etc. can all be used!) Steps Place an inch or two of shredded paper or cardboard at the bottom of your container. This will help absorb any liquids from the food waste. Sprinkle a handful of bokashi bran (or spray your LAB or EM-1) over the shredded paper. As you have food scraps, open your container and layer the food scraps along with a handful of bokashi bran (or LAB/EM-1 spray). Try to only open the container once a day to minimize oxygen getting in. Every inch or two of food scraps, stop and sprinkle more bran. Layer food scraps and bokashi bran like lasagna. Press all of the food waste down to remove as much air around the food as possible. Repeat this until the container is full. Close the container and let it ferment for 2 weeks undisturbed. Once the food has been fermented you can bury it in your garden bed 6 - 8 inches down or added to the compost pile and cover with leaves/wood chips. Start a new bucket of bokashi! Bokashi Tips Don’t add foods that are mostly liquid like milk or soup. Strain liquid off of the soup and add the solids. If food is moldy throw it out or add to a hot compost pile. The bacteria on the moldy food could out compete the good bacteria on the bran or spray. When burying your bucket in the garden, let it sit for two weeks until planting. The fermented food waste is acidic and can burn up plant roots. Bokashi is an anaerobic process, meaning it does not need or want oxygen. Be sure to press down on your food scraps when adding new material. Where to buy bokashi bran? You can find many places on the internet to buy bokashi bran. Here are the places we have used. SD Microbe - https://sdmicrobeworks.com/ TeraGanix - Bran and EM-1 - https://www.teraganix.com/ You can make your own Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) spray for very cheap instead of buying bran. YouTube Channel - Chris Trump (Video - Korean Natural Farming How to : LAB) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ke4OQljVmg&t=155s You can use LAB/EM-1 to inoculate coffee grounds, paper, bran, or another carbon source to make your own bran for bokashi YouTube Channel - LearnByBlogging (Video - Making Bokashi Bran with Shredded Newspaper) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5tZlDe6pAg YouTube Channel - Fraser Valley Rose Farm (Video - Bokashi Bran Recipe - DIY with Rice Water) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUEVu32rcyQ YouTube Channel - Ligaya gardens (Video - How to make a bokashi bran from used coffee grounds) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCWR1to7oiA

Dozens of volunteers spent two days working at the Northdale Superintendent Academy to transform the drab space into a bright atmosphere ready for academic success. “It definitely needed a lot of work,” Morgan Udoh, Mural Arts Senior Program Coordinator, said about the school. “It just looked like a prison.” Utilizing funding from the Office of Alternative Education in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System, the team set out to transform several sections of the school. Artist Ellen Ogden was the lead artist on the project. “We presented them with a concept of designing the poles in a way that would designate the high school side from the middle school side,” Udoh explained. “With volunteers, we were able to paint all 70 plus poles and the pavilion seating at the front entrance of their outdoor corridors and the actual brick façade of the front entrance to the office. “Ellen created the designs on all our concrete seats,” she continued. “We also painted planters that we will eventually fill with plants from the Baton Roots team. The plants will come from the BREC Howell Park Community Farm.” The work sessions were held on Saturday, November 15, and Saturday, October 8. On the first day, roughly 40 volunteers helped with the real dirty work. “There was a lot of painting and priming to do,” Udoh noted. “Lots of cleanups prior. It was just dusty and dirty.” The local chapter of Masons came to pitch in. “They were our primary volunteers,” Udoh said. “They were awesome and without their help, we would not have been able to provide as much design work as we were able to. We were only able to do so because of the number of volunteers that laid down the primary paint.” One big piece of design included the school’s mascot. “Their mascot is the Mustang, so we kept that theme and worked with their colors, which are black, gold, and white. We added a metallic gold as well just to give it a little pop.” Although much was accomplished, there’s still another phase to this project. It’s set to be completed during the annual MLK Festival of Service. “It’s going to be more healing arts-focused,” Udoh explained. “We’re going to be creating a healing art labyrinth using recycled tires. They have a lot of land at the school, so we will use that space and the recycled tires to help students who have a lot of trauma. “We want to have a space where the kids will be able to just walk through freely and have some grounding words on signs, words of encouragement just to help them. It will be another coping strategy for their mental health issues.” This will be the second time The Walls Project has created a labyrinth using old tires. The first was executed during the 2019 MLK Festival of Service. It was designed by artist Taliesin Gilkes-Bower and is located at 4198 Winbourn Avenue. “This will be a similar concept, but instead of being located on asphalt, it will be on grass. And it’s going to have prompt words and questions.” Special thanks to Alma Thomas and Jordan Howard of Louisiana Health Equity, and Larry James of the Louisiana Department of Alternative Education.

All heroes don’t wear capes. Some of them wear farming boots and green Baton Roots T-shirts. The Baton Roots team goes above and beyond to make fresh foods accessible to communities all over the Capital Region. Through Sow Good Saturdays, educating locals on how to grow their own food, popping up at local farmers' markets, creating and maintaining farms in low-income neighborhoods, and partnering with local organizations and businesses combating food insecurity, Baton Roots is putting more nutritious foods into people’s hands, one seedling at a time. Take a look at some of the impactful ways Baton Roots is directly improving food security in Baton Rouge. Free fresh foods are available at all Baton Roots sites Most Baton Roots farm sites are not fenced in and are accessible to the community during the parks and sites' regular hours. Locals are always welcome to harvest their own food, eat it raw or take it home and make a home-cooked meal. Baton Roots gives food away regularly The team puts food from the farm into Baton Rouge community fridges at Yes We Cannibal and The Red Shoes and the free fridges in EBRPHA community centers. They also offer fresh foods to the American Heart Association and Our Lady of the Lake for cooking demos and classes. Baton Roots educates locals on how to grow their own food At Sow Good Saturday, the Baton Roots team shows volunteers how to grow their own food with any budget. They prioritize low to no-cost gardening. The team teaches people of all economic backgrounds, ages, and stages of their growing journey. From people growing seeds in a bucket in their backyard to building a full-fledged garden, everyone can benefit from gardening knowledge. Hustle & Grow teaches youth how to make farming a business Students in the Hustle and Grow program get to sell plants and produce at Red Stick Farmers Market at the library on Tuesdays. Students can come to the market after school to sell seedlings and other produce from the farm sites. This gives teens a tangible way to see how farming can be a sustainable profession. They also get to take home the profits made at the market. The food is accessible to people who use SNAP/food stamps and is even matched by a statewide program, so EBT shoppers have double the amount of money when used at Red Stick Farmers Market. Baton Roots works with community partners for a holistic solution The team doesn’t do it all alone. Baton Roots works closely with Top Box , Healthy BR , Geaux Get Healthy , BREC , and American Heart Association. With the help of Geaux Get Healthy, Baton Roots was able to connect with Top Box. Now, the team is working with Top Box on an upcoming collaboration where Baton Roots will have food for sale through Top Box such as a la carte greens and curated Baton Roots boxes. Top Box also does SNAP match, so customers can get double the amount of produce. This collaboration is in the works and will be launched soon on Top Box’s website. Want to get involved with Baton Roots? Learn more on our website .

On November 8th, Trainees of the Coding Boot Camp showcased the projects they created over the semester through their web development training and experience. Each semester, evening classes are held virtually on Tuesdays and Thursdays to train adults on the basics of front-end coding development. Demystification is a major component of what makes the Futures Fund programming so impactful. New participants often feel that although they see the importance of learning how to code, they often were afraid of trying on their own. “We appreciate [our instructors] introducing us to the world of code in a way that we might not have thought about exploring… really having someone to sit down and both explain things and how they work.” - Shawn Coleman, Coding Boot Camp Graduate This semester's graduates, not only completed their own personal projects for capstone but also worked on a group project to exemplify collaboration, communication, and team planning. This level 3 cohort demonstrated a true definition of collaboration. Their capstone exceeded expectations for a being the first-ever group project in Coding Boot Camp. Through this they learned team work, accountability, and project management skills. I’m so proud to have been their instructor in first Level 1and with them on their final level. - Teressa Calligan, Level 3 Instructor and Dean of Coding In addition to the recurring semester training that is offered by the Coding Boot Camp, Futures Fund has recently launched in-person workshops. These workshops cover a variety of subjects, including "Employment in the 21st Century", helping participants understand the upcoming changes in the workforce as technology continues to grow in every industry. The importance of understanding these changes now is so that as jobs become more automated by AI, the workforce has the right training to stay not only employed but set to thrive. Register for the next cohort of the Coding Boot Camp by clicking here.

Tackling social and racial justice and inequity is rarely accomplished through a single initiative. Addressing these items takes a holistic approach, which is why Santander Consumer USA Foundation was drawn to the work The Walls Project does and generously contributed $100,000 towards this community development organization‘s efforts. Santander‘s commitment to the Dallas community will accelerate the Walls‘ technology training, youth digital arts mentorship, and adult coding apprenticeship efforts to break through the educational and social barriers by imparting specialized knowledge, and career advancement opportunities. Additionally, the Santander partnership will be a key component in the Walls‘ community revitalization, blight remediation, and creative placemaking work in the Southern Dallas Sector to improve the safety, health, and well-being of ALL citizens. The Walls Project has been contributing to Dallas placemaking and community cleanups and revitalization in Fair Park, The Cedars, and Five Mile by working with Matthews Southwest, Urban Specialists, the City of Dallas, Cella Arts, Big Thought, TACA, and Urban Land Development Institute during their annual MLK Festival of Service and Juneteenth community celebrations.

Great news has come to Dallas, TX this month! By a wide margin, area voters gave approval to Proposition A. This will create the necessary funds to renovate the Convention Center and cornerstone facilities in Fair Park. With 277 acres in the heart of Dallas, Fair Park is one of the most important projects in the Renaissance of the Southern Dallas sector. "We're going to make it absolutely world-class and it's going to be something people in our city and visitors to our city are going to be able to enjoy for another hundred years." - Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson The work in Fair Park is a critical investment in bringing resiliency and revitalization to hundreds of thousands of residents. Numerous organizations have been creating impact in this area for years, including The Walls Project. Since 2019, The Walls Project has worked to bring its programming to the southern Dallas sector. In 2022 alone, The Walls Project has done a series of public art beautification projects, and week-long celebrations such as Juneteenth Fest at Fair Park and So. Lamar with Matthews Southwest, Urban Specialists, RHI management, Dallas Designing Dreams, New Era Management, City of Dallas, Fair Park First, and The Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center. Creating this community-elevating programming is made possible by grant-related funding from valiant partners, such as The Moozie Foundation. The Moozie Foundation, a family foundation created by Caroline Rose Hunt to further the philanthropic efforts of her grandchildren, has been instrumental in the support of The Walls Project in Dallas. Through The Moozie Foundation grant, the Walls was given the opportunity to progress its work in So. Dallas post-pandemic. Now with another $20,000 investment, The Moozie Foundation is advancing the work of Walls in Fair Park to collaborate on catalytic projects. “There is so much opportunity to revitalize Fair Park. We are excited to be a part of this renaissance that is quickly evolving with the residents and artists of Dallas,” explains Lynn Fisher, Director of The Moozie Foundation This generous gift helps expedite our creative placemaking, education, and blight remediation efforts in the Southern Dallas sector and launch our intergenerational technology and creative industry workforce training programs. In addition to soon-to-be-announced projects in Fair Park, The Walls is also producing a series of tech training workshops via its Futures Fund program and advancing the community cleanup work into the new year with MLK Fest 2023 and Juneteenth Fest 2023. THANK YOU MOOZIE FOUNDATION!!

Similar to the quick pace of technology innovations, things move fast in the Futures Fund program. In just the blink of an eye, we’ve wrapped up our fall coding boot camp semester and soon will be closing out this session of Tech Academy. In this cold, cozy, reflective season, let’s take a moment to reflect on what’s been happening in the Futures Fund and get a look at what’s to come. Futures Fund Program Director Dominique Dallas shares the inside scoop below. Save the date: upcoming tech events The Tech Academy is hosting a “Bring your friend to tech” Day this Saturday, November 19 on Southern’s campus. It is a great way for students to show off what they have done so far and bring their friends to get them involved, too. In a few weeks, the Tech Academy will also have its Capstone– on December 3. This will be the culminating event to close out the semester of exciting learning! Food for thought: Technology + agriculture = potential solutions for food insecurity? Agritech is agriculture technology, which is using technological innovations to increase agricultural efficiency. Agritech is growing as organizations are finding ways to use technology, such as augmented reality, to optimize the land for farming, gardening, and foraging. Optimizing agritech could play a huge role in AgriScience courses in high school and at the college level. We are excited about the regenerative possibilities with augmented reality to address food insecurity in Baton Rouge and around the world. Futures Fund is demystifying the tech space Many students conquered their fears of coding. They demystified the common repellant of the tech space– “it’s hard,” “it’s not for me,” “I’m not smart enough.” The truth is anyone can enter the space. Many companies and organizations are recognizing imposter syndrome as the biggest barrier to entry and creating pathways that equitably increase accessibility. FF plans to continue to perpetuate the AHA moment through CBC and the Tech Academy. New tech workshops loading… People can expect more workshops geared towards breaking into the tech space and sharpening their tech skills. There will be more opportunities for students in the summer as well as a revamped curriculum towards Full-Stack Development pioneered in the fall. If you want to develop coding or photography skills, it’s not too late. Register now for the Spring Semester of Coding Boot Camp or Tech Academy.

On Saturday, November 19th, OneRouge's CAFE Coalition will participate in Interfaith Federation's Fall 2022 Health and Taste Fair at BREC Cadillac Street Park (6117 Cadillac St, Baton Rouge, LA 70811). This family-friendly event will provide a light lunch, nutritious food samples, health screenings, and gardening demos from Baton Roots! To better understand the needs around food insecurity in the area, CAFE will be canvassing the area, gathering stories and insight from organizations and participants. CAFE will also be on the lookout for a Community Advocate. This paid position will help connect people on the ground to the movement of the coalition and ensure that the community is engaged and aware of the many opportunities that come from the coalition work.

BRAC 11th Annual Regional Canvas Benchmarking Workshop in Greenville, South Carolina (GVL) On a sunrise walk in the crisp Carolina fall breeze, it was whispered, "How can Baton Rouge Find Our Falls?" As our group took in the beauty of this catalytic park project in the middle of their Downtown it was clear that we were here on the trip to reignite the flame that the late Davis Rhorer and thousands of others began decades ago. This question really reverberated in my mind on the flight back to BTR as we descended over the mighty (underutilized) Mississippi River. The answer to finding our Falls is - TOGETHER WITH FOCUS & EQUITABLE INTENTION. As you read the overview below of the 3-day BRAC Canvas trip you will see that ’TOGETHER’ isn’t hippie magical thinking. It is a call to draw inspiration from how GVL was able completely to reignite their downtown in 20 years, diversify their economy, and move Baton Rouge towards collective action for ALL our citizens. Only this will propel US as a city through the hard stuff standing in our own way, to get to the good stuff (note with this last statement I am paraphrasing the wisdom of one Ms. Tyler Litt and many of her fellow leaders on the trip). For 130 weeks straight our community has been coming together on Fridays via Zoom for the OneRouge call where we Enlight one another around the challenges and solutions for the 9 Drivers of Poverty in our city. Now is the time to Unite & Ignite to build a place people from around the world visit and draw inspiration from - ’TOGETHER’ DAY 1: 100+ leaders from BR arrived in GVL mid-morning & went straight to the BMW Performance Center. Have to say, this was a pretty incredible experience and some of us discovered a potential encore career to race cars. But most importantly we learned what the power of public-private partnerships can do for a region. Baton Rouge is the 67th largest metro in the US, and GVL is 61st. They have a population of 585,000 residents in their county with a projected influx of more than 250,000 more residents over the next decade. GVL is grappling with the challenges this unprecedented growth will have but, wow, what a great problem to have given our EBR's population is shrinking. For generations, GVL’s tax base was heavily reliant on one industry, textiles. By 1980 their economic development was stagnant, downtown was vacant with only one hotel, and when their high schoolers graduated, promptly left and rarely came back (sound familiar?). "Greenville Mayor Knox White, who has been in office since 1995, says the city’s transformation from an empty downtown to a 'place where people want to be' was intentional and boils down to a few essential components: reinvention, mixed-use, residential and personality.” - Deanna B. Narveson (Greater Baton Rouge Business Report) Between 1982 and 2016, $126 million in public funding was leveraged to get $487 million in private funding for 19 major downtown projects in Greenville. It didn’t take the group long to see the impact of this strategic investment as we passed through a densely redeveloped downtown surrounding our hotel. Pedestrian-centered streetscapes, mixed-use vertical developments, and repurposed city-owned properties into community recreation spaces. DAY 2: The second day started at 5:30 AM with a morning walk of a downtown landscape, and we back in BR can dream to achieve. Never underestimate the power of wide sidewalks, pervasive street lighting, and quality public art to create a sense of security. We couldn’t stop pointing out the tasteful design of the streetscape and smiling the whole way to breathe inspiration into the day. Note: I’ll avoid the pitfall of pontificating tales about morning exercise, but it is worth noting I did experience my first Hot Yoga class, it was, as promised, a wonderful experience. By 8:30 AM, we were in panels with leaders from GVL and EBR discussing Dynamic Developers, Downtown & PPPs (Public-Private Partnerships), and Inclusive Redevelopment. We then hit the walking trail to take in the beautiful redevelopment of Falls Park ($13M) and the 60-acre Unity Park ($66M) that connects GVL’s downtown with the western neighborhoods of the county. The rest of the day finished off at Project ONE ($130M) for more panels on the Entrepreneurial ecosystem/minority business accelerator, Talent attraction/retention, and Business & education/workforce partnerships. Post panels the evening ended in fellowship over food at the many thriving local restaurants downtown and sharing reflections on what was learned that day. At the conclusion of Day 2, it was clear that when the future of a secondary Southern city’s back is against the wall, the community can galvanize behind an ambitious vision, anything is possible. That is not to say GVL has not had and continues to have its own struggles with socio-economic exclusion, overcoming historic racial tensions, and creating equitable outcomes for all. But they are leaning into it with an acknowledging of the truth to move forward to reconciliation, healing, and transformation. If anyone questions if these challenges are a fact or not in BR it was on full display if you count the number of times we heard ‘Geaux Tigers’ and not ‘Go Jags’ or‘Go Bears’ despite having both chancellors from Southern University and BRCC on the trip. Trust that it did not go unnoticed, we have to do better. There were many lessons the EBR community learned on this trip not just from the leaders from GVL but from one another. I continue to be radically optimistic that with the hard conversations around race and economic disparity front and center on everyone’s minds we will create the momentum necessary to dream bigger and achieve greatness beyond what we ever thought possible. DAY 3: Safe to say the large majority of the cohort woke up fatigued from 48 hours of learning and networking...possibly a few with heavy heads from the night-time gatherings at the local bars. But after a good breakfast and even better company, everyone was fully engaged as the BR-GVL Young Professional Panel challenged everyone in the room to reimagine the vision for the future of BR to be built for their generation (not just for BoomerX-ers). A broad spectrum of perspectives was shared about their current GVL 2040 plan which stoked many fires in the room around updating our current Plan Baton Rouge to align the Capital Region to fit the needs of future generations. Perhaps the most powerful part of the three-day trip came during the last hour which became an open mic for BR leaders to inspire one another to do more for the people of our city as well as speak hard truths on equity in our city that needed to be vocalized. The power of people’s personal stories and unfiltered perspectives really brought everyone in the room into unison. So now what? That is exactly what starts on November 28th when all participants on the trip are reconvening. Given that the price tag to attend was $2,500 a piece on the next Canvas trip it would be pretty stellar if an established and prospering company in our city would underwrite 20 scholarship spots to ensure more equitable, multi-generational voices are at the table (rather than later on the menu). Until then and to ensure that the whole community stays involved in this collective action we will be inviting BRAC leadership and several of the attendees to report out on Friday 12/09 during the OneRouge Community Check-In. Only together will innovative solutions emerge, be deployed equitably, and sustain for decades to make Baton Rouge a world-class city. My final note is that the entire Walls Project team is here to meet and partner on equitable community-driven projects that move the city forward. The ideas from the trip won’t mean a thing if not followed by collective action. #LFG - Casey Phillips A special thank you to the team entire BRAC team for orchestrating this gathering of minds and to everyone who took the extra time to hold space together: Dennis Blunt, David Beach, Adonica Duggan, Edgardo Tenreiro, J. Daniels, Sherreta Harrison & Raymond Jetson, Mayor-President Broome, Dante Bidwell & Marlee Pittman, Jay Gaudet, Trey Nelson, Superintendent Corey Wilson, Eric Dexter, David Mullens, Tyler Litt, Whitney Hoffman Sayal & Casey Tate, Anthony Kimble, Chris Meyer & Brenna Benson Lamb, Representative Vanessa Caston LaFleur, Monica Scott, Rowdy Gaudet, Scott Ritter, LaMont Cole, Erin Lutkewitte-Kilgore, Calvin Mills, Deanna Narveson, Christy Reeves, John Spain, Rachel Deresto, Kelly Bienn, Michael Tipton & Chloe Wiley, Evon Roquemore, President Dennis Shields, Dr. Willie Smith, Mimi Singer Lee, Craig Sweeney, , Catherine Thornton, Shawn Usher, Mohit Vij, Laura Vinsant, Jesse Watson, Achilles Williams, Dyke Nelson, Ashley Arceneaux, Branden Barker, Sarah Barlow, Preston Castille, Trent Bondy, Renee Chatelain and Jonathan Grimes, Helena Cunningham, Rory Denicola, Christina Engle, Sabrina Galloway, Deborah Sternberg, Kismet Gray, Michelle Hardy, John O’Hearin, Jessica McKelvie Kemp, Brian LaFleur, and awesome Walls executive board member Matt Zagotti. Read More Perspectives from the Canvas trip: Why Not Us? Profiling Greenville’s Progress Ahead of BRAC’s Canvas Trip After canvas trip to South Carolina, Baton Rouge leaders hope to keep momentum going BRAC canvas trip: Public-private partnerships transformed Greenville’s downtown BRAC canvas trip: Student internships can improve talent retention BRAC canvas trip: Does Downtown need an updated development plan?