At Grid, we believe that everyone in Richmond has a superpower “ a unique combination of personality traits and aptitudes that they bring effortless to everything they do. What’s your superpower and how will you share it with RVA?  

Creativity is my superpower. To get behind a concept or stalled project and make proper decisions, steps, as well as changes to make a concept a reality or to change a stalled project to make it up and running, reconfigure the parts, balance out such that it is a productive venue.

 

Journalist and Congresswoman Clare Booth Luce once told John F. Kennedy that “a great man is a sentence.” Can you sum up your purpose in a single line? Let’s hear your sentence.

Life is not a personal accomplishment, but rather how you assist others in finding their way in life.

 

Let’s chat conflict, how do you handle it and how do you make sure you’re listening effectively to others when conflict arises?

Take a step back – revisit, assess, evaluate what is out of balance and try to fix what is wrong.

 

What defines good citizenship and how do you model it?

Living the life one was meant to have …. Model it by going for it.

 

Tell us a story about a solution to a problem in Richmond that you made better, faster, smarter, and less expensive.

As board member of CARITAS, creating, developing, and implementing the seven-day week Women’s & Children’s Day Shelter program.

 

We’re proud of makers and doers in Richmond. People who roll up their sleeves and get stuff done. Tell us about the last thing you made with your hands or created.

Making four large sheets of corn bread (160 pieces) to feed a local soup kitchen.

 

Please share an example of a solutions-oriented Richmonder — or Richmond organization — engaged in innovative practices that have influenced you?

Bill Pantelle, former City of Richmond councilman. He is in tune to what the City of Richmond is (has been and should be) all about.

 

If you could change one event in Richmond over the past ten years, what would it be?

The day or days in which the City of Richmond started to negotiate out the management of the public park system (selected parks include Maymont and Monroe parks).

 

Who is your favorite Richmond mayor of all time, and why?

I do not have a favorite Richmond mayor; it seems as if we are waiting for the best candidate to take the office. This is not to be taken as a biased response,

 

Vitals:

Preferred Mode of Transportation: Prefer to walk due to its health benefits

Best Locally Made Product: Sub sandwich from Nick’s Produce on Broad Street

Favorite Spot on the River: Canal Walk

Go-To Restaurant: Joe’s Inn (Spaghetti A La Greek)

The Book You’ve Gifted Most to Others: Memoirs of the Second War by Winston Churchill

Three achievable goals that you plan to champion over the next year, regardless of who becomes mayor?

• Continue to be an active weekly volunteer for the Red Door (Grace & Holy Trinity Church’s food/assistance community outreach program)
• Witness the birth of my family’s first new generation baby
• For the first time in my life, enjoy the full array of benefits