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 Steering Committee

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Kathy Yancey- Temple

 Executive Director, The Time Is Now Douglass

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Bobby & Derravia Rich

 Founders, Black Seeds Urban Farm

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Rachael  Spriggs

Founder & CEO, G.A.M.E. Changers Movement

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Vincent Spriggs

Founder & CEO, G.A.M.E. Changers Movement

Special Acknowledgements 

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J A M I L I C A B U R K E
P R E S I D E N T

Seeding Success was founded in January 2013 following the merger of Shelby County and Memphis City Schools, utilizing a collective impact model to connect community and education resources for K-12 families. Initially focused on specific student outcomes like 3rd grade reading through Collaborative Action Networks, the organization became an independent entity in 2017 after merging with the People First Partnership.

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This shift expanded its mission beyond education, establishing an integrated, cradle to career systems approach to significantly improve economic and social mobility by streamlining resources across housing, transportation, health, and education and employing social policy development for sustainable impact.

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COUNCILWOMAN
DR. MICAHLYN EASTER-THOMAS
City Council District 7 Representative

Dr. Michalyn Easter-Thomas is a Memphis native and a visionary leader committed to advancing community, culture, and education. Elected to the Memphis City Council in 2019, she is the Chair of the Personnel, Government Affairs, and Annexations Committee and serves as the Council’s liaison to Shelby County Schools and the Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau.
 
With a Doctorate of Education from Vanderbilt University and a career spanning teaching, instructional coaching, and nonprofit leadership, Dr. Easter-Thomas prioritizes youth-centered efforts that foster opportunity and equity. She is deeply engaged in community service, holding board membership with organizations such as Girl Scouts Heart of the South and WILLOW Memphis. 

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Dr. Austin Harrison
Urban Studies Professor Rhodes College
Research For Action Founder
 

Austin Harrison is an Assistant Professor of Urban Studies at Rhodes College. Prior to Rhodes, he worked for nearly a decade as a practitioner in the community development field in Memphis, Youngstown, and other cities across the country. His research interests include neighborhood change, community development and organizing, housing policy, and structural disinvestment.

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Previous work has been featured in Housing Policy Debate, the Journal of Urban Affairs, Metropolitics, and Federal Reserve Bank publications. He also serves as a Senior Research Fellow for Innovate Memphis, a nonprofit think tank in Memphis, Tennessee, driving solutions for a variety of neighborhood-level challenges in the Memphis area.

Special 
Acknowledgements 

The Research 4 Action Lab is a key initiative promoted by the Turley Memphis Center, where faculty and students collaborate with local projects through service contracts. This academic support contributes to various community efforts; for example, the Lab has partnered with organizations like Innovate Memphis to help build Memphis Mayor Young's Civic Data Hub. This Hub is a crucial platform designed to measure and centralize public data assets across diverse sectors, ranging from public health to arts and culture, thereby facilitating data-driven decision-making for the city.

Ella Jarnigan

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Ella Jarnigan is a senior Health Equity major at Rhodes College from Austin, TX. She is interested in public health, transportation, and anything related to GIS/mapping. She loves doing puzzles and baking sweets.

Julia Davis

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Julia Davis is a senior Urban Studies major and business minor at Rhodes College from New York. She is interested in real estate marketing practices in Memphis and health equity. She loves playing spikeball and going to the Dixon gallery.  

Alex Torres

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Alex Torres is a senior Health Equity Major at Rhodes College from Dallas, TX. He is interested in health policies, transportation in Memphis, and immigration issues. He is a classical pianist, and loves fishkeeping. 

 Community Contributors

We honor the many residents of Douglass, Klondike, Hyde Park, Smokey City, New Chicago, and nearby neighborhoods who shared their stories, knowledge, and visions for food power. This list is ongoing and will continue to grow.

  • Anderson, Kenneth

  • Bennett, Lisa

  • Bonds, Roosevelt

  • Brooks, Dr. Kevin

  • Burch, Mersadies

  • Carbins, Vivian

  • Charlisha, Renata

  • Chief Andre

  • Cole, Charity

  • Curry, Charity

  • Davis, Julia

  • Easter-Thomas, Councilwoman Dr. Michalyn

  • Felder, Vivian

  • Game Changers Youth

  • Girder, Tony

  • Grey, John

  • Harris, Chasidy

  • Harrison, Dr. Austin

  • Henderson, Shirley

  • Jarnigan, Ella

  • Jones, Toya C.

  • Kananura, Kate

  • Larsha, Katherne

  • Lomax, Raiford

  • Matthews, Andre

  • Matthews, Crystal

  • McDonald Jr., Willie

  • Mosley, Jessica

  • Mosley, Jonathan

  • Nguyen, Phuong

  • Rayford, Erica M.

  • Rich, Bobby

  • Rich, Derravia

  • Sessoms, Brittney

  • Smith, Dr. Coby

  • Spriggs II, Vincent

  • Spriggs, Rachel

  • Strong, Barbara

  • Temple, Kathy Yancey

  • Thomas, Christy

  • Torres, Alex

  • Townsend, Jaclyn

  • Traw, Owen

  • Warren, Mary

  • Wilks, Danica

  • Winsley, Kathryn

  • Wyatt, Austin

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