ELCD Member Chit & Chat: Will Delaney &Lexi Prahl
Meet Two ELCD Members!
- Will Delaney is the Associate Director at Hope Community, Inc. and the Founding Steering Committee Chair for ELCD. He is a proud husband, father, South Minneapolis resident, and Cincinnati, Ohio transplant!
- Lexi Prahl is the Operations Manager for the Office of Public Charter Schools at Pillsbury United Communities. She is an active yogi, grew up on a family farm, and a proud NE Minneapolis resident.
Will and I met over coffee at the Boiler Room – check it out, it is delicious! – to chat about our philosophies around community development, our love of the MSP region, and what is next on the horizon.
Will and I were brought to our organizations in similar manners- due to our unrelenting pursuit to serve historically marginalized communities and to build community from within the community. Both Hope Community and Pillsbury United Communities are community-based organizations within Minneapolis. Besides both having “community” in our name- our organizations believe in the power of people and the importance of place. Check out The Rose and North Market; people and place are connected and we want quality facilities as platforms to build our communities.
Our conversation quickly flowed to our current community development work. We are eager to unravel the connectivity of secure housing and educational outcomes. Especially in the current context of our region and country, we recognize that racial equity must be central to education and community development moving forward if we are to collectively prosper.
We concluded our conversation agreeing that relationships, relationships, relationships are the key. More and more our work gets complex and multifaceted; as emerged/ emerging professionals in the field we strive to maintain and build relationships every day. So don't hesitate to build your network and make connections as much as you can.
Our call to fellow ELCD members- grab coffee, be bold, connect people and places together!
Are you interested in being the next ELCD member featured in our Chit & Chat?