PAVING THE WAY - Jackson Visionaries

Inspiration. Imagination. Wisdom. Jackson is home to too many visionaries embodying those qualities than we can count. These are people that are leading the charge in our city, making it a great place to live, a city that is thriving and a spot that draws in visitors. We are honored to introduce you to a few of those movers and shakers that make Jackson truly The City with Soul.

DR. AISHA NYANDORO

Throughout her career, Aisha Nyandoro has worn a lot of hats, including academic, evaluator, philanthropist and nonprofit visionary. Now, she serves as CEO of Springboard to Opportunities, an organization providing strategic, direct support to residents of federally subsidized affordable housing. “I was taught you grow where you are planted,” she says. “I have been very fortunate to build my career in the community that raised me; I am a proud product of Jackson Public School District. Working in my purpose, in the city that I love, is a wonderful blessing.”

Springboard’s approach is designed to improve the quality of life and end the generational poverty trajectory. “Five of the communities that my organization serves are located in Jackson,” says Aisha. “Given the comprehensive holistic nature of Springboard’s work, we have an opportunity to partner with multiple organizations within the community, as well as the City of Jackson.”

Aisha’s commitment to community and her passion for social change is evident in her volunteer work with Delta Sigma Theta and a wide range of board of directors and advisory councils on which she has served. Aisha has received multiple honors, including recognition as a fellow of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Leadership Network and Ascend at the Aspen Institute. She is a TedX speaker and her work has been featured in both print and news media outlets including: The Washington Post, Essence Magazine, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, CNN, MSNBC, Fast Company and The Nation to name a few.

SALAM RIDA

In 2017, Salam Rida moved from Detroit to Jackson with her partner to work on the Ecoshed, a sustainability demonstration space that serves as an incubator for entrepreneurs and nonprofits interested in green industry and green infrastructure. Salam’s work on the Ecoshed led to helping create a Long Range Planning division within the City of Jackson’s Planning Department. “My work aims to inspire and imagine what a future sustainable Jackson can look like through urban design,” she says. “Jackson faces challenges that require creative, out-of-the-box thinking. Jackson has been an incredible space to pilot experiment urban design concepts.”

Within a two-year period, Salam and others have managed to secure several million dollars in grant funding to realize visionary projects through the city’s Long Range Planning design team. “This creative and experimental design team tackles major issues within the city such as the future of food access, mobility and transit, stormwater flooding and the creation of public space,” explains Salam. Three notable projects include the Fertile Ground Project, the Congress Street Parklet and the Oneline Project. “Jackson has been an incredible city to experiment with creative urban design ideas. I’ve worked mostly within the research and academia setting for most of my career and being able to bring big ideas to a place that really needs them is fulfilling.”

JEFF GOOD

As a teen, Jeff Good moved to Jackson from Salt Lake City and went on to attend Millsaps College and stayed put, planting deep roots in the city.

As owner/operator of Jackson restaurants BRAVO! Italian Restaurant & Bar, Broad Street Baking Company and Sal & Mookie’s New York Pizza & Ice Cream Joint, Jeff Good’s face and welcoming persona is one that’s ever present in the City with Soul.

When he’s not hard at work running his successful hospitality empire, Jeff serves as the Chair and founding board member of the Refill Jackson Initiative, a nonprofit workforce development program housed within a restaurant setting, Refill Café, located on the Jackson State University Parkway. Through Refill, Jeff and his team provide job training, soft skill development, social service and educational support, mentoring and employment services. He is on a mission to empower young adults to enter, navigate and stay in the workforce.

Dr. Reed Hogan seemingly never sleeps. As an accomplished physician, husband and father of four young daughters, his schedule stays full. But, the Jackson native is on a mission to make his neighborhood and his city the best it can be. He pours himself into his work with the Belhaven Improvement Association, Friends of Laurel Street Park, Jackson United, the Community Foundation of Mississippi and his role as a co-developer of the new Belhaven Town Center.

“I’ve been blessed to travel to and live in many great cities, but there is nothing like home and the sense of community that you experience in Jackson,” says Reed. “Jackson is a place full of talented individuals and so much untapped creative potential that I hope to be a part of pushing to fruition.” He has burned the midnight oil to beautify, preserve and secure Mississippi’s largest historic district and can often be found landscaping common areas, installing historic markers, meeting with city officials and planning events in his spare time.

“I’m passionate about The Belhaven Historic District and Belhaven Town Center,” says Reed. “Nationwide, there has been a movement back into urban systems and the revitalization of traditional neighborhoods. Belhaven is Mississippi’s largest historic district and has been vital in creating the very fabric of the city. It’s primed to be the center of urban revival for the city.”

JOHN TIERRE

Omaha, Nebraska native John Tierre came to Jackson to study and play tennis at Jackson State University in 1995. It was here that he found his home. “After college, I chose to stay in Jackson because of the people,” he says. “The hospitality, along with the overwhelming support I received from my first small business showed me that there was no way I could pass up the opportunity to plant my roots in the capital city.”

John settled in Jackson and started his career as an entrepreneur, opening a t-shirt printing business, Block Wear. In 2006, John opened a barber shop and hair salon while working in the music industry as a promoter and local producer. His success as an entrepreneur led him to venture into the restaurant industry.

He set his sights on the building that was once Crystal Palace in the historic Farish Street District of downtown Jackson. Now it is home to his successful venture, Johnny T’s Bistro and Bar, which draws visitors from all over the world to the historic district. “Farish Street is on the horizon and that makes me super excited,” says John. “The Farish Street area is so rich in history that it’s truly an honor to be a part of its renaissance.”

DAVID LEWIS

As an architecture student, Jackson native David Lewis dreamed of moving away to a big, bustling city to build buildings. “Architecture school afforded me the opportunity to travel to some remarkable places and cities,” he says. “The more I traveled to these places, the more inspired I became to take Jackson’s innate potential and bring the city to a place of flourishment.” Lewis went on to work as an architect in Jackson and earn his Master’s degree in Urban Planning from Jackson State University.

David soon joined the Greater Jackson Arts Council, where he oversaw a significant amount of public art projects, like the many vibrant murals seen throughout the city. He has worked on the Mississippi Light Festival, the Bicentennial Storytelling Photographic Gallery project and served as Vice Chairman of the Board for Team JXN.

Now, in his role overseeing the Cultural Division of the City of Jackson, he has been instrumental in creating new and innovative opportunities to elevate the five cultural institutions and facilities owned and run by the City of Jackson, including Thalia Mara Hall, the Arts Center of Mississippi, Russell C. Davis Planetarium, the Smith Robertson Museum and the Municipal Art Gallery.

“Our city has so much energy and excitement around arts and culture,” explains David. “What’s happening that is new and innovative drives much of the conversation—‘Have you seen the new mural?’ ‘Have you eaten at that new restaurant?’ Hearing and seeing the city all abuzz is electrifying.”

David credits much of the excitement in the city to Mayor Lumumba. “Having a young and visionary mayor has allowed for new blood and young talent to enter the workplace for the city government,” he says. “That group of young people is intricately woven into the fabric of the young community at-large of our city. Having that voice present in so many spaces where change is and decisions are made is powerful and exciting. It prepares our city for a remarkable amount of healthy and progressive change.”