John Akpan

“There are two spaces I’ve been interested in since college—finance and social justice.”

After graduating from the University of Iowa with a degree in finance, John moved to St. Louis and began searching for employment opportunities that would allow him to balance “the finance acumen [he] had built up in undergrad, but still be able to apply it in a socially equitable community development space.”

“I came across the REDI program through a coworker who is a part of ULI. It’s funny: I saw the application 2 days before the deadline and it really resonated with me, so I scrambled… Luckily, they were totally accommodating, and I was accepted into the program, which allowed me to meet all sorts of people that are doing the important work of revitalizing neighborhoods in St. Louis.”

 

Ebony Bowden

From her first job at 14, to several years in corporate America, to now having her broker’s license and several properties in the St. Louis area, Ebony Bowden has made a new life for herself and her four-year-old son Lavelle through real estate development.

“Going into development, I didn’t have a clear path… It was hard for me to get the insight and knowledge that I needed to move forward. It just so happened that one of my Facebook friends posted about the REDI program while I was looking for something just like this to help me with the next phase of my career. This program has taught me how to get started. What is the process? Who do I meet? Where do I go first? I had so many questions, and they walked me right through the answers.”

 

RaShante Carbin

“I want to take what I’ve learned and create a space for myself, in whatever capacity I’m in, to collaborate with other people to really revitalize a neighborhood that I care about.”

Recent REDI graduate RaShante Carbin was born in Detroit, surrounded for most of her life by privileges that felt just out of her reach.

“Growing up, not having some of the same opportunities as folks in the suburbs—specifically some of the white students in the suburbs—driving around my neighborhood, I noticed there was a lot of vacancy. People were moving away. There weren’t a lot of people interested in revitalizing my community.”

RaShante credits that background with forming her passion for equitable socio-economic development. She pursued the ULI St. Louis REDI program and graduated with the intent to leverage her skills as a social worker toward investing in those communities—her communities.

 

Dana Gray

“I love my neighborhood, but I don’t have a small-minded view of what comprises a neighborhood. Cities institute these boundaries that are of little consequence… I’m interested in working across those boundaries.”

 Now the community outreach coordinator for the Tower Grove Neighborhoods Community Development Corp. and 2020 REDI graduate, Dana Gray first happened into community development through her involvement with the Southwest Gardens Neighborhood Association. The Tower Grove Neighborhoods CDC was born out of the merger of her’s and two other neighborhood housing organizations, to provide better delivery of services to the citizens and neighborhoods they served. Having expanded and broken down the boundaries between Tower Grove neighborhoods, Dana has been able to lead massive efforts on landlord training, beautification projects, a Better Block project, advancing energy conservation policy, and streetscape enhancements targeted for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Dana is also the proprietor of Dana Gray & Associates LLC and the owner and manager of nine housing units in her Tower Grove neighborhood, where she has lived since 2003.

 

Justin Idleburg

Justin Ibleburg’s identity is intertwined with that of his community: The West End. His lifelong home, its history, its residents, and its issues are Justin’s first point of reference in every conversation about equity and development, because he believes that positive change starts among neighbors.

“Communities can’t develop if they don’t have someone they know, someone they can trust, organizing the development. That’s something I’ve noticed when I go into spaces North of Delmar. If community members know me, they like to talk with me. They want to pick my brain, because they know I keep my tentacles in a lot of things.”

The idea of intercommunal development is at the core of the REDI program’s mission, and it’s why committed changemakers like Justin graduate from the program with a renewed commitment to equitable development and an expanded set of tools to make it happen.

“This class started unlocking so many doors, teaching me so many things I didn’t know, and building on so many tools and resources I already had… I learned a lot from the legendary community developers. Now I want to work with them.”

 

Kenric Lynn

After 23 years of honorable service in the U.S. Army, Kenric Lynn retired to Shiloh, Illinois in April of 2014. In his early retirement, Kenric had the unique opportunity to explore his hobbies and interests—one of which was real estate development, especially as a means of intentionally designing communities.

“The smart developers get out there and find out what the community wants—they marry their ideas with the community’s ideas.”

Now, between serving as owner and CEO of his own professional development and training firm and volunteering with veteran-facing service organizations like The Mission Continues and Operation Homefront, Kenric hopes to use what he learned through the REDI program to nurture a new passion for a better St. Louis.

“Now when I drive around and see empty lots and abandoned buildings, I say to myself, “What if? What can go here? What can I do?”

 

David Noble

David Noble, Director of Community and Economic Development for Midland States Bank, was a lecturer for the REDI Program before he became a participant. After graduating with his Masters degree in Urban Planning and Development, he became connected with the Urban Land Institute.

“Looking at REDI, I saw a focus on wanting to increase the number of minority developers in the City of St. Louis, and knowing the lack of minority developers, I agreed to be a lecturer… Then  I said, ‘I see opportunity here, but I need to get more of an organic sense of what the program is about. Let me participate in the program. I want to feel what it’s like to go through the program.’”

As a participant with experience in community and economic development, David brought a unique perspective to the group. Now having graduated with the most recent REDI cohort, he is bringing valuable perspectives to the program’s designers.

“I’m not trying to simply increase the number of minority developers. I’m trying to build the capacity and the supportive infrastructure to nurture and cultivate equity in the industry.”

 

Toyin Oduwole

Toyin Oduwole bought his first investment property at 22 years old. As he invested more of himself into the process of buying and rehabbing that property, he knew it was something he wanted to pursue long-term. Now ten years into a career in real estate, Toyin is pivoting toward the meaningful work he always wanted to do.

“I’ve always had an interest in real estate development and how it can impact a community and change a neighborhood. A lot of good can come out of real estate development that really focuses on the people… So when I heard about the REDI program, I knew I wanted to get involved so that I could understand the process of developing in a way that is beneficial to all involved parties.”

Toyin hopes to begin by affecting positive change in the city where he was born and raised.

“I want to represent the change that needs to happen in some of the most needy neighborhoods in the City of St. Louis, and I want to be a driving force in that change.”

Shawn Wade

Shawn Wade grew up in St. Louis city, in the Peabody projects at 15th and Chouteau. One of three girls being raised by a widowed mother who worked for years as a neighborhood stabilization officer, Shawn remembers being inspired by her mother’s ideals.

“Being city kids, and growing up watching our mother do good work, it was instilled in us to want to do things for this community and give back.”

Shawn now works in insurance, but she hopes to take what she learned from the REDI program into new spaces. For one, she hopes to become the first African American female to own an event space in the city of St. Louis. Eventually, Shawn and her sister, who works in addiction recovery, want to open recovery houses for women in St. Louis city—An aspiration she now feels confident working toward, thanks to REDI.

“It was exciting to learn about the development process. It was exciting to meet other people who also wanted to make change in the city… What I learned the most is that it definitely takes connections to be successful in this space. Now I have the ability to network and not go into the process blindly.”