Tiffiney Davis is a civic entrepreneur and community leader who created an afterschool arts and culture curriculum to fill the gaps within our public education systems. She is the Executive Director and co-founder of Red Hook Art Project, an organization that offers free programming for kids at all stages of their learning journey. Her model helps students feel safe, seen, and heard, which allows them to foster their unique, creative potential. While the program supports students who are pursuing the arts as part of their professional trajectory, Tiffiney shares how arts curriculums in general help students develop their emotional awareness. Art and safe spaces help surface underlying issues that would otherwise be lost in a classroom environment, that are often preventing students from moving forward within the system. A mother herself, Tiffiney's programs bring together neighbors, parents, and students in healthy, positive, healing environments. We believe organizations like Tiffiney’s can and should be replicated in every neighborhood.

Haym Gross is an architect specializing in sustainability and a pioneer in developing community infrastructure to achieve environmental resilience. He is a founding member of the NYC 2030 District, a public-private partnership of stakeholders working to radically reduce carbon emissions and fossil fuel consumption on an urban scale. This initiative is part of a larger network of 26 similar districts across North America (2030districts.org). Haym takes us on his journey—beginning as a sculptor working with organic forms, then designing spaces that mimic nature, and now collaborating with communities to help neighborhoods, cities, and urban environments adapt to a changing climate. He is both an expert and an experimenter, a visionary and a pragmatist. Join us for the second episode of the Good Standing podcast and discover how you can start applying these principles in your own community.

Karen ‘Dawn’ Blondel is a pioneer in civic engagement, with a focus on sustainable economic development and environmental resiliency. She is one of the 2023 recipients of the David Prize, which recognizes New Yorkers with ideas for extraordinary change, a Harvard Loeb Fellow, and the current Executive Director of the Public Housing Civic Association. On a typical week, you can find her boots-on-the-ground liaising with contractors, hosting an affordable housing workshop, attending city council meetings on local laws and spending accountability, or negotiating with real estate developments to increase the benefits they will bring to the local economy. Karen also manages to personally cook for almost all of her local Red Hook, NYCHA resident meetings, where participants are learning about building science and stewardship. Karen’s story gives insights into the consistent practice of being a community leader, as well as investing in the next generation of civic leaders, making their city a better place.