Profession: Center Director-Paducah Five Words About Me: Careful, planner, reserved, efficient, considerate One Surprising Skill: I enjoy growing flowers, especially orchids Aaron is from Paducah, Kentucky and is a business coach for Kentucky Small Business Development Center. Aaron has a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture from Western Kentucky University. He

Profession: Outreach Coordinator and PR Specialist for Waco Civic Theatre Five Words About Me: Whimsical, dramatic, logophile, photographer, determined One Surprising Skill: Second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do Clarissa is the Diversity Outreach Coordinator and PR Specialist for the Waco Civic Theatre. As the first in this

Profession: Director of Economic Development Five Words About Me: Dedicated, creative, leader, innovative, pragmatic-optimist One Surprising Skill: I took 3 years of art in high school, with a focus on sculpture and my preferred medium being clay Eric has a passion for community, small business, and building impactful relationships.

Profession: Assistant Professor of Religion (Christian Ethics) at Baylor University, architect, ethicist Five Words About Me: Justice-seeker, love, Christian, bookworm, feminist One Surprising Skill: Really basic computer 3d modeling skills Elise Edwards is an Assistant Professor of Religion at Baylor University. Elise earned her Ph.D. in Religion at

Profession: Retail Worker/Aspiring PR Professional Five Words About Me: Passionate, open-minded, adaptable, dreamer, inspiring One Surprising Skill: Very knowledgeable in soccer, can easily name soccer teams and players, even the lesser known ones I was born and raised in Waco, Texas. I left Waco in 2014 to attend University

Profession: Music Specialist and community connector through arts Five Words About Me: Creative, uplifting, multiskilled, positive, intuitive One Surprising Skill: Utilizes manifesting skills to find princess parking Giselle Vento is a community enricher, and positive connector through the arts. She recently received the prestigious Yamaha’s 40 under 40 national

Profession: Arts professional development educator Five Words About Me: Tree planter, animal mama, advocate One Surprising Skill: Reviving dying plants Luann Purcell Jennings’ professional work focuses on community development through the arts and, particularly, arts entrepreneurship. Luann wants to help artists have sustainable careers, abundant lives, and the opportunity

Profession: Bilingual Air Activator for Waco, TX / Activadora bilingüe del programa Air para Waco, TX Five Words About Me: authentic, courageous, visionary, conscientious, joyful / auténtica, valiente, visionaria, consciente, alegre One Surprising Skill: Infallible secret keeper / Guardiana infalible de secretos Sol has thirty nine years

Profession: Associate Director, Virginia Tech Newport News Center Five Words About Me: Determined, compassionate, doer, planner, grounded One Surprising Skill: Clogging (as in the dance) A proud Hokie, Mallory’s day job is to connect the resources of Virginia Tech to Coastal Virginia and beyond. Her experience and passion are

Profession: Interdisciplinary Artist, Co-founder The Returning Artists Guild Five Words About Me: Resourceful, direct, real, dependable, regal One Surprising Skill: I’m pretty good at chess. Kamisha Thomas is a Columbus, Ohio native who has been telling stories since grade school. Always an avid pupil of English, Literature