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?
Shibumi. This is a Japanese word that refers to an aesthetic that is simple, understated, elegant and powerful. It implies substance without pretention, understanding rather than knowledge, and honesty without apology. I believe in performance rather than appearance. I value work horses more than show horses. I appreciate unifiers more than fighters. I prefer clean and simple rather than showy or decorative. I believe that good design matters in cities, and results matter even more. Shibumi is my superpower.
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.
Impossible is what you choose not to do. I choose to help make RVA a magnet of opportunity for everyone and a more hopeful place for those who have been left behind.
Let’s chat conflict, how do you handle it and how do you make sure you’re listening effectively to others when conflict arises?
I love vigorous debate with the most diverse array of perspectives I can find. I always try to address problems before tensions arise. But when they do, I try to listen and understand each person’s reasons, motivations, and goals, and I try to determine what changes are available that could immediately make the situation better. I also strive to make sure that no individual is being treated differently from others and that everyone is clear about the overall vision. Communication and leadership are usually the best answers to conflict situations.
What defines good citizenship and how do you model it?
As Atticus said in To Kill a Mockingbird: “You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.” Practicing good citizenship means listening to every voice, understanding every perspective, and serving others, not just ourselves.
Tell us a story about a solution to a problem in Richmond that you made better, faster, smarter, and less expensive.
When Richmond’s ambulance service provider was on the verge of collapse, I was charged by City Manager Robert Bobb with finding a solution to a life-threatening problem for our community. Working with the emergency medical community, including VCU Medical Director Dr. Joe Ornato, the volunteer rescue squads, and the Richmond Fire Department, we created the Richmond Ambulance Service (now Richmond Ambulance Authority), which later became a national leader in the provision of pre-hospital emergency care. It is no accident that the fleet of vehicles has a blue and orange color scheme, modeled after the transit buses I drove at UVA.
We’re proud of our 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.
The last thing I made with my hands was a wooden sea kayak, 17 feet long and 21 inches wide. It is made of African mahogany plywood (from a kit) and is lighter than most plastic boats. One of my bucket list goals in life is to paddle to all 18 barrier islands off of the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Two college friends of mine have joined me in paddling to 16 of the 18, including one that is seven miles out.
Please share an example of a solutions-oriented Richmonder—or Richmond organization—engaged in innovative practices that have influenced you?
The work of Bob Argabright as a Micah Initiative volunteer in the Oak Grove community inspires me and challenges me to want to teach all Richmond children to dream. Bob has been a long-term presence and moving force in this community. He is a fulltime volunteer at Oak Grove Elementary and has worked on projects ranging from butterfly gardens to a walk-able watershed. Bacon’s Rebellion described him as “fixing broken streams and broken dreams.” What if every vulnerable child in RVA could be surrounded by adults like Bob Argabright?
If you could change one event in Richmond over the past ten years, what would it be?
If I could change one event in Richmond in the last 10 years (other than the death of my own son), it would be the brutal murders of Ruby, Stella, Kathryn, and Bryan Harvey in Woodland Heights, and the murders three days later of Mary Baskerville-Tucker, Percyell Tucker, and Ashley Baskerville in Chesterfield.
Who is your favorite Richmond mayor of all time, and why?
Tim Kaine. He has spent a lifetime helping people, as a missionary, civil rights lawyer, teacher, mayor, governor, senator, and future vice president and president of the United States. He’s also a regular guy. May I also mention Walter Kenney, a humble and caring man, and Geline Williams, a strong and elegant woman?
If you could paint a mural depicting the future of Richmond, what would you paint and where would you paint it?
I would paint a mural depicting the future triumph of children who overcame the challenges of oppressive poverty, surrounded by all of the caring adults who made their success possible, and I’d display it at Martin Luther King Middle School, one of Richmond’s newest schools, but sadly, an underperforming school full of wonderful kids desperately in need of hope.
Sidebar:
Hometown: Lynchburg
Neighborhood: The Fan
Favorite way to volunteer: Maintaining an historic log cabin on the Appalachian Trail
Listening style: Critical
Preferred mode of transportation: On foot
Best locally made product: Gelati Celesti
Go-to Restaurant: Heritage
Book Gifted Most: Lament for a Son by Nicholas Wolterstorff
Three achievable goals:
- Surround vulnerable kids with more caring adults
- Restore portions of the James River and Kanawha Canal
- Implement the Riverfront Plan