Thank you so much for your support of Public Allies. On behalf of the entire network, we are so thankful to our Alumni for their continued leadership and embodiment of PA’s organizational values.
As a way to demonstrate our gratitude and commitment to our Alumni, we are excited to uplift their projects/organizations and direct our audiences to support them in honor of #GivingTuesday2022.
Learn more about the eight (8) organizations that we are spotlighting this year below:
PT Partners (PTP), a grassroots, resident-led, community organizing non-profit, aims to rebuild community in PT Barnum Apartments, Charles Greene Homes & Trumbull Gardens, low-income public housing developments in Bridgeport, Connecticut; to develop partnerships with community leaders and organizations; and to attract the funding and resources necessary to enable PT Barnum Apartment residents to proactively engage in making their neighborhood a healthy and safe place to live.
Part of creating an environment where residents thrive, is doing away with the efforts of Park City Communities (PCC), the Bridgeport Housing Authority, to dismantle existing community and sow division among residents of this low-income public housing development. PT Partners’ vision is to recreate a PT Barnum community who works together where resident leaders are empowered to actively drive change to break down systemic and institutional oppression in their lives, their neighborhood, and the greater Bridgeport community.
Tamsyn Ambler (Public Allies Connecticut ’08) currently serves as a Project Administrator/Community Organizer for PTP.
Sustainable Pittsburgh is an organization that empowers decision-making to build a fundamentally equitable, resilient, healthy, and prosperous region.
As their Director of Government Affairs, Matt Mahoney (Public Allies Pittsburgh ’11) primarily focuses on ensuring our stakeholders better understand federal and state policy developments and how those policies can be activated to advance carbon reduction, equitable workforce development, and verification of results.
Currently, this work includes analyzing the recent federal legislation and educating the region’s businesses and other stakeholders on how to activate the IIJA and IRA funds to enable an equity-driven, multi-sector decarbonization strategy for our region. His time with Public Allies equipped him with the leadership skills to navigate the complex sets of values that will guide the “how” and “why” our region pursues this strategy, and Sustainable Pittsburgh is best equipped to convene the region on these important and timely engagements.
ARCHITECT Brand + Design Collective, founded by Lauren Elyse Tudor (Public Allies Cincinnati ’13 & ’14) is a consultative marketing firm with a specific focus on brand management, data-driven community engagement and nonprofit fundraising.
In short, ARCHITECT shapes and crafts identity. As a whole, they are a collective of capacity-building professionals who focus on community-centered philanthropy, best practices in storytelling, strategic marketing and inclusive fundraising strategies.
They are intuitive, curiosity-driven scholars who hold a rich mosaic of skills in an abundance of intelligences. They leverage our assets to dig deeper into intentionality while fostering collaboration in organizations and cultivating opportunities for continuous, equitable and conscientious learning.
The Program to Aid Citizen Enterprise (PACE) offers innovative programming by leveraging a data-informed approach and 50 years of capacity-building experience to determine how to best meet the needs of communities that have been marginalized.
Focusing not only the collection of data, but the repeated analysis of key patterns across and within communities, PACE supports their assets and addresses their most pressing needs, advancing the mission and issues of local nonprofits and the communities in which they serve to help bring about lasting change.
PACE seeks to advance a more equitable community by strengthening small-to-mid sized, community-based nonprofits that can successfully build the assets and support the pressing needs of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) communities that have been marginalized.
Julia Kemner (Public Allies Pittsburgh ’21) currently serves as a Program Associate for PACE.
Vikara Village is a small nonprofit serving Montgomery County, Maryland. Their work empowers individuals to reach their full potential by using the communal spirit of mind-body practices, like movement and the arts.
Their programs help with goal-setting, problem-solving, and building positive relationships within the community, while increasing self-worth. Their core values are focused on community, empowerment, compassion and integrity. Despite Vikara’s humble size, they have served over 2,000 individuals since their start in 2016. They operate under their core values of community, empowerment, compassion, and integrity.
Hannah Hastings (Public Allies Arizona ’10 & ’11) currently serves as Vikara Village’s Executive Director.
At Street Dreams Soccer Academy, co-founded by Cesar Castillo (Public Allies Wisconsin ’21), the approach to sport is culturally relevant and community-driven. We seek to optimize positive-youth-development via mentorship, family engagement, and community collaborations. Our goal is to provide a competitive soccer environment where youth are challenged, supported, and encouraged to be the best versions of themselves on and off the field. We believe it is important to invest in our youth of today because they are the future leaders of tomorrow.
Street Dreams Soccer Academy aims to provide inner city youth with an experience that inspires leadership, integrity, and service to others through mentorship, character development, and innovative opportunities to excel on and off the soccer field. Founded by five childhood friends with the desire to have an impact in the community that raised them, they believe all children should have access to a fútbol environment where they are being challenged and developed.
South Central Arts, founded by William Flores-Diaz (Public Allies Los Angeles ’13, ’14), is a network of artists, organizers & allies that address community issues; using the arts to heal, empower & uplift, promoting unity, growth, & preservation.In a time where gentrification is threatening to uproot our people from our communities and when art is being used against us, we must come together, share knowledge, and plan on how we can use the arts in our favor.
Telpochcalli Community Education Project (TCEP) mobilizes youth and adults for social justice work in Chicago. TCEP is a grassroots organization that provides adults, youth, and children in the Little Village and surrounding communities with equitable access to resources and opportunities to build individual capacity, collective power, and mutual responsibility through culturally relevant and community directed programs and organizing.They have played a vital role by building community leadership and advocating for community resources. Often times, TCEP is referred to as the small but mighty organization led by the community in Chicago’s Little Village.
Yesenia Lopez (Public Allies Chicago ’12) currently serves as the President of TCEP’s Board of Directors.