1.       Why would you encourage someone in the community to apply to be on a board, committee, or commission?

I would encourage someone to apply to a board, commission, or committee because these opportunities provide community members with ways to channel their skills, influence, and passions into meaningful and substantive action. Each discussion, recommendation, and vote is an important part of shaping public policy that affects the everyday lives of people in the city across lines of race, ethnicity, class, gender identity, religious practice, and ability.

 2.       What do you enjoy most about serving on your particular board?

I enjoy serving on the Durham Cultural Advisory Board (DCAB) because it allows me the opportunity to help shape the way Durham thinks about providing equitable access to and adequate funding for arts programming in the city. Whether through dance, poetry, sculpture, painting, music, or any of the many other performing and creative arts, this work provides us with strategic means by which we can make Durham a more inclusive and welcoming place.

3.      What is your favorite part about living in Durham?

I was asked this question about six years ago, and my response now is the same as it was back then. I deeply appreciate the arts scene here. From the Durham Performing Arts Center to Carolina Theatre and all the spaces between and beyond, there is always something going on. Even our walls carry the stories and histories of the many diverse communities in the city, such as the Durham Civil Rights Mural, the Wall of Hope, the Pauli Murray from the Face Up project, and even the Durham Convention Center garage doors. When you move through the city, you will inevitably find some work of art that heals your broken pieces or breaks the complacent ones.