Reflecting on Change
2020 and the beginning of 2021 has presented so many challenges and fundamental threats to our understanding of democracy and society as a whole. Last March, as my children were sent home from school to shelter in place from a global pandemic, we watched in horror as black citizens paid the ultimate sacrifice because of systemic inequity and violence. While we listened from our little apartment in downtown KC to the world shut down around us, it was impossible to ignore the life threatening consequences of the dual realities we live in this country.
Nearly five years ago, I co-founded Cityfi with Gabe Klein and John Tolva to effect positive change in our cities. We believe that it is possible to accomplish true resiliency through policies, partnerships and strategies that respond to the Triple Bottom Line and effectively leverage technology. We do not subscribe to the zero-sum game of winners and losers but believe we can meet the needs of our most vulnerable while creating an innovative economy, mitigate climate change, and provide an exceptional quality of life for all. Since then, we have grown and evolved to accomplish this work in cities across the country and globe — and with the additional talent of our partner Story K. Bellows and our entire Cityfi team, I remain hopeful for the future.
2020 was an opportunity to focus on what is most important. A more equitable future. A more sustainable future. A happier future. I went from traveling weekly to staying here in Kansas City, juggling a business and household and even a devastating motorcycle crash that has disabled my husband for the foreseeable future. I reflected on my priorities as I championed Vision Zero policies across the region, engaged on the future of the design profession, and supported both local and national advocacy efforts on a variety of issues. While I worked with Cityfi clients on managing change, I too considered what change I might need in my own professional and personal life.
So, while I love Cityfi and all that we have built, I have made the bittersweet decision to move back to the public sector. I am thrilled that during a time when we are facing such challenges and need to rebuild — not just what we had before the pandemic but something fundamentally better — and that I will have the opportunity to do so in my adopted hometown. More on this to come.
A few of my favorite things
Since we started, I have worked around the globe for cities in Poland and China from LA to Miami to Columbus, traveled to Tokyo for the first time and across the country (countless times), and met so many people that have truly inspired me with the hard work and commitment they’ve made to making the world a better place. As I look forward, I wanted to pause and reflect on a few of my favorite things from the past few years of Cityfi.
WeHo Smart City has been a passion project from the very start — this was our first project as a prime consultant responding to a public RFP. I cannot speak highly enough of our public sector partners and their commitment to collaboration, implementation, and customer service. Ever since, Cityfi has maintained close relationships with our friends at WeHo and I even had the privilege of speaking as a keynote (while nine months pregnant) at the 2019 State of the City. Definitely a highlight of my career.
Continuing the work with LADOT that I started as a fellow was a true honor. My entry into mobility from the civic innovation space in 2015 was like drinking from the fire hose and I learned so much from the talented General Manager, Seleta Reynolds, during that year. As Cityfi, we continued to develop some of the early ideas I generated in Urban Mobility in a Digital Age such as expanding on the concept of transportation happiness. I truly believe that measuring our impact should include both quantitative and qualitative measures as a means of understanding our Triple Bottom Line impact and ensuring equitable outcomes. We expanded upon this concept to Miami-Dade County with the development of a social cost-benefit calculator which I am excited to see the Cityfi team continue to build upon in the future.
In response to COVID, I developed an open streets guide for businesses in the Kansas City region, pulling together various resources for small businesses impacted by shut-downs and social distancing requirements. Overall, as a company, I feel we did a lot to navigate 2020 — including the launch of budget resiliency workshops, growing as a business to offer benefits to our team, and expanding on our existing model of working from home to include small physical challenges and other staff engagement to keep up morale.
There have been so many other great projects and clients that I cannot possibly touch on them all here (but I encourage you to check out our redesigned website, launching next week, which features many of them!). Additionally, I have truly enjoyed the many great events, webinars, conferences and other speaking opportunities I have been afforded these past few years. The exchange of best practices and innovative ideas is so important — we have so much work to do to address the systemic inequity and challenges of our communities. I firmly believe that an open, inclusive dialogue backed by data is how we will get there, together.
So, farewell, for now.
I wanted to extend my sincerest appreciation to the many clients, organizations and cities that have welcomed me to the table to address our urban challenges. Thank you to my partners and team for the inspiring conversations, great work and memories. It’s been a privilege and I look forward to crossing paths with you all again soon. In the meantime, please find me on LinkedIn or Twitter (yes, I still use it) and the occasional Medium post.
