The Albuquerque Integration Initiative was paid a visit from Living Cities last week to connect on our work together to help Albuquerque “bloom” into a desirable place to live, work and prosper
“We’ve been very intentional. And by redefining how we collaborate across sectors and craft meaningful services through network support and strategic partnerships, we truly believe that Albuquerque will rise to its potential as an even more desirable and accessible place to live.” Synthia Jaramillo, IIˆ Member and Chief Operating Officer, Hispano Chamber of Commerce.
On Tuesday, August 9th, members of the Albuquerque Living Cities Integration Initiative met with national Living Cities leaders to discuss the results of the Initiative since Albuquerque was selected by Living Cities in 2014. The visitors included Associate Director of Collective Impact at Living Cities, JaNay Queen, and Senior Consultant at Equity and Results Consulting, Erika Bernabei.
The meeting, which was just as much a celebration as it was a presentation, gave both the Albuquerque Integration Initiative and Living Cities an opportunity to reflect on what has been accomplished in Albuquerque thus far and how the Initiative has supported Living Cities’ mission for the dramatically improved economic well-being of low income people.
Presentations highlighted some of Albuquerque’s big wins so far, including: the Albuquerque Rapid Transit (ART) which is creating new ways for people to connect; the groundbreaking on the Innovate ABQ site, which will be home to the innovationAcademy, a business incubator, and a cross-section of Albuquerque’s best and brightest; updates on the six business accelerator programs that launched since we were selected as a Living City; and a review of the Molino project that seeks to connect service providers in new and meaningful ways.
While the meeting shined a spotlight on the incredible progress of the work in just a few years, it was also a reminder of the bottom line: to collectively work towards our shared vision of an Albuquerque that has reached its full potential as a desirable place to live, work, and prosper. JaNay Queen of Living Cities reminded the Initiative, “This is all a common thread towards economic self sufficiency. As folk all representing separate parts of the Initiative, what we’re really doing is helping the city bloom.”
CONNECT THE DOTS
OPPORTUNITIES: The Integration Initiative was able to connect with the Living Cities evaluation team through this visit and Living Cities has given them a green light to work with us more in-depth. The evalutaion team will provide us with some incredibly valuable technical assistance to chart our progress toward the Shared Vision.
