I'm over 50 years old and I'm in the middle of changing careers. I previously worked in the health insurance industry and being curious about rumors of development coming to my neighborhood, I attend a neighborhood association meeting. After a couple of meetings, I joined that same neighborhood association's board with the intent of advocating for equitable development that was based on the needs of the residents that lived in my neighborhood. Three years after joining the board I became the board president, and in June of 2022, I transition to being the Executive Director of this neighborhood association. As the executive director of a small neighborhood organization, I realized that I need to obtain my bachelor's degree to accompany the community leadership experience that I have gained over the last 10 years. As the executive director, I'm currently advocating for the preservation of open space in my urban community. I'm in the process of creating an open space community land trust that will be the home of a bird sanctuary (the sanctuary will be home to other wildlife as well). I'm hoping that the creation of this open space community land trust will serve my neighborhood for generations to come. My neighborhood has been earmarked for development and the majority of the development is not affordable. In 2018 I wrote a sustainable development plan for my neighborhood. The plan was the result of 18 months of surveying the residents in my neighborhood to determine what amenities were most desired by residents for the neighborhood redevelopment that the city was planning. My sustainable development plan was referenced by my City's Planning and Development Department framework plan for my neighborhood. That framework plan was then used as a reference for the City's Planning and Development Department in securing The Department of Housing and Urban Development Choice Neighborhoods program's $30 million grant. I'm also advocating for the total rehabilitation of homes for legacy homeowners in my neighborhood. My neighborhood is currently being gentrified and I want our legacy homeowners to benefit from this gentrification with funding raising for the total rehabilitation of their homes. With the onset of gentrification, I have advocated for affordable housing that is based on the incomes of the residents within my city versus the usual guidelines of affordable housing being based on the county. I'm hoping to graduate by June of 2024 with my bachelor's degree in Health Services Administration with a concentration on Project management.