Robert Rueda
Robert Rueda, Global Blends Coffee Shop and Deli, Edinburg, Texas
Global Blends Coffee Shop and Deli is a “pay what you can” coffee shop and deli located on the campus of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, on the Texas-Mexico border. After a study found that 40% of students at the university experienced hunger on an ongoing basis, Rueda opened the coffee shop, which offers affordable or no-cost food, along with leadership training and job skills for the students employed there.
Managerrie Winston
Managerrie Winston, Houston, TX: The KIT Project Teacher Managerrie Winston, founder of the KIT Project, noticed a lack of diversity and cultural relevance in Social Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum offered to students. The KIT (Keep It Together) Project offers SEL curriculum centered on Black and Brown experiences along with training and professional development for educators.
The vision of the KIT Project is to foster and ensure that underprivileged youth develop social emotional wellness while providing communities and schools with a diverse curriculum centered on Black and Brown experiences and resources. The "Be YourSELf" Program offers culturally relevant yoga, meditation and mindfulness events for teens. Read more about Managerrie Winston here.
Alysia Harris
Alysia Harris, Corsicana, Texas: Meeting House Revival Alysia Nicole Harris, Ph.D. is a Pushcart-nominated performance poet whose work is at the intersection of church and community building. The mission of the Meeting House Revival is to preserve Black history by restoring historical Black churches. Her first project, the East Side Chapel Revival Project in Corsicana, Texas, aims to restore and revive a historically significant Black church built in 1905 and create space for local artists to offer their work. Read more here.