Success Formula: Leading Lady Larvetta Loftin

Larvetta Loftin has made a personal and professional commitment to assure that the leadership of women does not go unnoticed. Her definition of leadership is “being able to fill in the gap for a friend or someone who needs your help.” For Larvetta, leadership ranges from buying groceries and doing laundry for an ill friend to executing marketing campaigns for large companies. Leading Ladies International is undoubtedly about celebrating women who have devoted time to lead with and for people they love.

It seems clear that being a leading lady is not a calling that allows for a tight schedule or quick fixes.  I was curious about how do leading ladies SMARTLY endure. Larvetta stated, “you have to be pressed and squeezed and put into some uncomfortable situations to elevate your game…..like grapes that are turned into wine, the pressure allows it to be a timeless drink.” Speaking of drinks, life is about having a glass half full for Larvetta. She also acknowledges that the glass does sometimes get half empty and that’s when you must take action. When you find yourself in neglect- lots of mistakes, not getting the proper rest, and when you are not operating in a stabilized community (i.e. daily routines), that’s when you know you’re half empty. Larvetta says this is when you have to take accountability, keep your end goals in mind, and do what is NEEDED to fill the cup back up.

To understand someone’s success, I always like to know more about their personal fiber (character in plain English but its way more than that). Our interview hit home for me when I asked, “What moral challenges do you face in your career or daily life that make you think about the phrase:“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment”(Ralph Waldo Emerson)?” With no hesitation Larvetta replied, “Kindness is the greatest gift you can offer to your life and to your business.” In the words of Larvetta, kindness is about listening and being present, not taking interactions with others for granted, and treating others how you want to be treated. Kindness is also a way to stand on your brand. I needed to hear that of course, and have since been working more intentionally on being kind. Another great strand of Larvetta’s core is her stance on honesty and integrity. She considers these the core competencies of her business and self.

Because so many of our interactions with people are online today we must be conscious of how we represent our brand, including our core competencies. Larvetta provided sound advice about how to manage your online reputation. Larvetta stated that, “it is important for your web presence to show that someone is present. It reminds me of a relationship, if your site is outdated, I feel like you are not investing in our interactions. I like to go to websites that help me see things different.”

My interview with Larvetta provided me with an example of a woman who is confident in the lessons of her experiences. Larvetta has found a way to validate the nature of women and our varied experiences as a valuable leadership quality. Boundaries are pushed each day because of Leading Ladies International through the vision of Larvetta as a personable, fun, and dynamic individual.

Larvetta Loftin’s Success Formula = Honesty + Kindness + Leadership that fills in the gap

More on Larvetta Loftin:

What is one of the biggest issues you see plaguing communities? What is your personal commitment to alleviating this?

Making sure that our children are exposed to the arts. The arts gave me the confidence and self-esteem to perform. In school I used my artistic acumen to really understand.

What is a good read that you would recommend to people working on personal and or community development?

“Boundaries”- as women we love to say yes. We say yes to everybody else but we sometimes do not pursue our own passion and success. Learn not to be everything to everybody.

“E-myth Revisited” – for people in business.

“Tipping Point”- helps you understand who you are. When you understand who you are it helps you be a better sound person.

What are some community assets and resources that you would recommend to others?

• Community does not mean where you live, it is the community of people who you share interest with. It is important for you attend conferences that are about empowerment and professional development. These are the communities that you should get involved with.
• People should also attend their local library. Look at and understand different trends and read a variety of magazines. Using the community to help to learn- the more you learn the more you earn.
• Attend intentional networking events. If your community is small business owners you may want to attend program geared toward that. Program the dates in your phone and go every year.

SMART GOALS

• Eliminate debt within 12-18 months in order to create wealth. List of all my bills and checking them off.
• Come out of sole proprietorship and come into an S-Corp – by October
• Be more smart with my time and make sure my time is being vested in my SMART goals.

 

Education and Politics and Urban Planning

I cried when I read the article posted by Dr. Reza Banai as posted in the Journal of Sustainable Education. His article was the first piece of literature that articulated HOW I want to do what I plan to do. Banai’s discussion of the urban sustainability-education nexus made me hopeful. Hopeful that I can continue to live my personal vision statement to:

Creatively impact urban change by designing sustainable communities.

I hope that through your work, (professional, personal and volunteer), you continue to have the moments of joy that I experienced in preparing this post.

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Our educational systems are only beginning to make use of the local community and the region as a locus of exploratory activities: but before the resources and activities of a region are treated as abstract subjects they should be understood and felt and lived through as concrete experiences.” The Culture of Cities (Mumford, 1938, p. 383)

In 1938, Lewis Mumford, a renown Urban Planner, was encouraging planners and people to explore the connection between schools and community planning. Here, it is obvious that Mumford was aware of how educational content would influence urban sustainability and vis versa.

The word sustainability is used within all fields. My personal interpretation of the word is: A concept that encourages the creation of systems, processes, and people who protect and improve what already exist.

As shown in Figure 1, three spheres of sustainability are explored.

Center for Teaching. (nd.) What is sustainability?

Most commonly sustainability is discussed in the context of the environment with an emphasis on preserving and allocating limited natural resources. Despite global discussions on the preservation of natural resources, assets and resources are defined in the eye of the beholder. Where do people learn what to value? How is value actually taught? What systems and experiences reinforce people’s values? Banai highlights the unique connection between classroom and community and the effects of these principles on urban sustainability values. Although the three spheres overlap at times, it is only natural that they also remain separate.

Through the larger aspects of schooling (formal teaching) and education (learning in all experiences) (Lawrence-Lightfoot 1988), people are taught what to value and decide what they will work to sustain. In her 1988 interview with Bill Moyers, Sarah Lawrence-Lightfoot describes “good schools” as schools that mirror the community. At times, the community-classroom model becomes the community vs. classroom model due to teaching operations and leadership that are implanted within schools, instead of groomed alongside (Spring 2009).

Blair, Doug. (2005). Black Power and Education in the Afro American Journal 1968-1969.

An example of community vs. classroom is the integration of schools during the Civil Rights Movement. While Blacks were being taught to adjust, accept difference, and value educational resources, their academic envrionment was hostile, unethical, and systematically working against the academic success of Black students (Stone nd). Integration of the school system presents the realities of sustainability as being in a state of competition at all times due to varying (American) values and a lack of an articulated vision for all spheres of sustainability.

I sum up sustainability in this way to show how complex and challenging the urban sustainability- education nexus is, and why there is a need to create a global plan of action (or atleast a National one) to curtail the competitive nature of sustainability. Without such a plan we will continue to waste two very valuable resources: time and children.

Professor Lorna Walker from the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment discusses how human conditions should influence the built environment and planning in general. In the clip of her interview shared below, Walker insists that plans must start with people as opposed to systems.

Too often plans are made to satisfy people who conform to the neoliberal model (Harvey 2007). Although many Americans may unintentionally work to support a neoliberal agenda, a small percentage of people in most communities set the tone of the neoliberal agenda. If planning is done with people in mind, then systems and operations, including educational content, should be created to meet the sustainable needs of the masses instead of the few.

CSL Cartoonstock. (nd.)

On May 18, 2011 Huffington Post Business published a report that identified prisons as the number six fastest growing industry in the U.S. This number is projected to grow 7.5% by 2016 (Huffington Post 2012). The neoliberal direction in which America is headed has allowed the education system to  serve as a platform to systematically structure injustice and hierarchy. Standardized test scores at early ages is the beginning of people shuffling that ultimately dictate what type of work and lifestyle individuals will encounter. It becomes apparent that once in a “higher” power, once has to decide what they value and will work to sustain.

Brian Finoki, a writer for the Archinect website, wrote a blog post reflecting on his interview with Raphael Sperry, the newest president of Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility (ADPSR). Sperry described the Prison Design Boycott he has recently initiated as “….[a goal] to develop the leadership of the design and planning professions in addressing social problems through emphasizing both our social responsibility and our ethical vision.”  Sperry’s tactic is a far cry from the neoliberal model that has become inherent in the American socio-economic decision-making process (Harvey 2007). The potential of a prison design boycott includes the restructuring (and possibly dismantling) of models of personal sustainability for architects, prison employees, tax bases, local justice systems, education and families. While some systems are working to keep people out of jail there are other systems working to sustain prisons as an economically viable employment sector that ultimately pays into the world’s tax base. Here in lies the need to develop a transparent strategic plan using the best practices and case studies of Urban Planning that allows educators to prepare curricula, testing, and shadow education that focuses on the future planned. Through the urban sustainable-education nexus, we can level the socio-economic playing field as created in conjunction with community values and educational content.

Additional sites to explore on this topic:

http://www.inclusivecities.org/overview.html
Inclusive Cities addresses urban poverty by supporting and building the capacity of membership-based organizations (MBOs) of the working poor in the urban informal economy. Building the capacity of MBOs in the areas of organizing, advocacy, and policy analysis ensures that urban informal workers have the tools necessary to make themselves heard within urban planning processes.

http://www.psmag.com/health/how-urban-planning-can-improve-public-health-11408/
The article is about the contemporary public health movement and how Urban Planning intentionally relates to health outcomes.

http://reentrypolicy.org/Report/PartI/ChapterI-A/PolicyStatement2/Recommendation2-C
The website explores the challenges with the reentry population of ex-prisoners. It is important to understand how communities diverse demographics affect how development occurs and what is valued.

http://www.sustainability.com/company
The company addresses sustainability at both a micro and macro level. SustainAbility appears to be a solution seeking company that is working to create a more unified and transparent national plan that can guide environmental, economic, and social sustainability.

http://www.epa.gov/sustainability/basicinfo.htm
The Environmental Protection Agency’s definition of sustainability focuses on the environment and preservation of natural resources as a global priority in order to accomplish all other work.

http://www.cloudinstitute.org/our-mission/
Cloud Institute is a pedagogical consulting company that bridges the concept of environmental planning and education.

REFERENCES

Banai, Reza. (2012). A Note on urban sustainability-education nexus. The Journal of Sustainability Education.  http://www.jsedimensions.org/wordpress/content/a-note-on-urban-sustainability-education-nexus_2012_03/

Blair, Doug. (2005). Black Power and Education in the Afro American Journal 1968-1969. Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project. http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/news_blair.htm

Brian Finoki http://archinect.com/features/article/18212/de-constructing-recidivism

Center for Teaching. (nd.) What is sustainability? http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/teaching-guides/sustainability-and-pedagogy/what-is-sustainability/

CSL Cartoonstock. (nd.)http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/n/neoliberalism.asp

Harvey, David. (2007). A Brief History of Neoliberalism. Youtube.

Huffington Post, Business. (2012). 10 fastest growing u.s. industries: IBIS world. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/18/ten-growing-industries-ibisworld_n_862754.html#s279469&title=6_Correctional_Facilities

Bill Moyers. (1988)  Interview with Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot. Bill Moyers Journal. http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/archives/lawrence-lightfootwoi_flash.html

Mumford, L. (1938). The culture of cities. New York, NY: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc.

Spring, J. (2011). The Politics of American education. New York: Routledge.

Walker, Lorna. (2009). Sustainable Cities Conference. Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xw1NzEWzDw&sns=em

 

Community Asset: M.A.D.D. Rhythms

A group of 3 performers took the gym stage at a local fundraiser for an aldermanic candidate. No one was prepared for the amazing performance that the tap dancers were going to display. Children and adults were out of their seats in excitement as the performers connected with us through laughter and sound. The history of tap is one of unity and blended traditions. African beats and feet movement combined with the European Jig and the ingenuity to add the aluminum heel to the toe in the early 1900s, has allowed the art form to flourish.M.A.D.D. Rhythms is a phenomenal TAPdance collective whose “SOLE” purpose is to spread the Love and Joy of TAP worldwide.

The sounds created by the dancers is only half of what allows them to captivate audiences wherever they perform. The energy and visible ensemble dynamics bring the crowd to their toes while listening to the rhythmic thumps and graceful slides of the heel and toe. When I saw M.A.D.D. Rhythms perform I was sure they were a group I wanted to follow and learn more about.

Celebrating their ten-year anniversary, I am as impressed with the organizations administrative capabilities as I am their ability to leave a mark on any audience. Founded by director Brill Barret, M.A.D.D. Rhythms’ mission is to preserve, promote and contribute to this art-form called tap. M.A.D.D. advocates for the future of tap and focuses on impacting the lives of youth by providing access to positive options, including performance. There are 3 locations in the Chicago area in which the tap classes are offered.  Registration ranges from $50-$150, and children as young as 3 years of age are welcome to join a tap class. The company is continuing to grow and make their mark in the world of performing arts, and that takes business savvy!

Annually M.A.D.D. host a Tap Summit in Chicago where many of the worlds most renowned young tapdancers teach, perform and celebrate the art of tap dance while spreading a strong message of empowerment to our youth. The Tap Summit is a testament to M.A.D.D. Rhythms commitment to creating and sustaining a new generation of performers that show strength, unity, and soul in their movements. The video clips of the troupe performing is the proof in the pudding. 

Footage, registration, location, and additional information on M.A.D.D. Rhythms can be found on their website at http://maddrhythms.com/.

What are some other community assets or resources for performers and children?