Valley Bank’s Post

Returning with Angelenos For Change, we're spotlighting John Yi, the former executive director for Los Angeles Walks! Highlighting our latest cohort of social impact organizations, Angelenos For Change showcases the various talents and efforts they've put into building a better, brighter, and more beautiful Los Angeles.☀️ John shares, "If you want to make a change in the community, get involved with the community." And: "People ultimately have the power to move things, and so knock on your doors, talk to your neighbors, talk about infrastructure, talk about walkability, and why walking communities is a central part of a livable and thriving city." Check out what else John has to say in the following video! https://lnkd.in/g4NyZq_e

Culture: Very few words can change the trajectory of communities like this one. It is a noun - a thing But I often make the point to acknowledge culture as a verb as well. Culture is in and of itself an action and is in constant motion. The stronger the culture, the stronger the bond that binds the community. When my family kept to tradition and had this Quinceañera for our baby girl, we did it to honor the traditions of our past. The unintended outcome we never expected was the fact that it was the first Quinceañera many of our friends attended. Looking back, we welcomed our friends and family into this rich tradition. We should be so honored and willing to invite other educators into our schools and experience the mission, vision, values, and common commitments with pride. I have been so blessed this past month to be in Inglewood, St Louis, Malvern (AR), Osceola (AR), Louisville, Vallejo, and my home - FREMONT USD. In many ways, every school I visit is like a Quinceañera, an exposure to a beautiful cultural experience that many people never even think about until they are there. The lesson here? Does your school have a culture that offers an experience? A belief system? Values? Traditions? If not… It’s time to get to work. #aCaliforniaLove #atPLC #SolutionTree #knowledgeBorn #RTIAW #PrioritySchools

Board Spotlight: Elke Weil-Millan Elke is the Principal/Owner at Panoramica Strategic Communications LLC. She has lived in Wake County for 26 year and is an NCSU graduate from the College of Natural Resources (Go, Pack!). She is a wonderful addition to our board as a strong advocate and organizer, having helped create spaces for Hispanic and Immigrant Community members and continuously push for change for those communities. How would you describe the Triangle region to someone who doesn't live here? A growing metropolitan area with great opportunities and vibrant community. Why is WakeUP's work important for the Triangle? It's one of few organizations that focus on climate, housing and transportation. If you had a magic wand, what is one thing you would change about our community? More civic engagement from marginalized communities If you were only allowed one sentence, what would you say about the importance of future planning? We can't manage growth without proper planning.

This image caught our eye - look at how much is below the surface. This giant space of the inner world which is impacting how we address not only community and culture but also how we feel about ourselves, our work and our relationships around us from our bosses to the company itself. We often forget that to build culture or improve learning outcomes or just to have a happier more productive workforce we need to help our teams and talent to understand what might be going on below the surface - even hidden to themselves. HR and L&D teams - if your suppliers aren't helping you navigate the waters below you need to ask why. This is beyond the AI discussion and better curation or just giving support to senior individuals - it's about having the right powerful tools that have been designed to work at scale across your organisation that helps unlock access to this world below and help people through the challenges or blockers that might be holding back the space for culture and teams to flourish - ultimately helping your companies evolve healthier. Thanks Lara Sheldrake for sharing such a powerful image! #companyculture #learninganddevelopment #scale #HR

Drawing Business Inspiration from St. Patrick's Day: A Historical Perspective for MSPs As we embrace the green spirit of St. Patrick's Day, it's a perfect opportunity for MSPs to delve into the day's history and glean impactful lessons for our businesses. St. Patrick's Day: A Brief History Celebrated on March 17th, St. Patrick's Day commemorates St. Patrick, Ireland's patron saint, who was instrumental in the Irish conversion to Christianity in the fifth century. From its religious roots, the day has blossomed into a worldwide festivity of Irish culture. Valuable Lessons for MSPs: #Adaptability: Emulating St. Patrick's adaptability, MSPs must navigate the tech world's fluctuations, embracing new technologies and modifying services to address evolving client needs. #Persistence: St. Patrick's unwavering commitment amidst adversities serves as a reminder for MSPs. Your journey is peppered with hurdles - technical glitches, market shifts, client dilemmas - yet, our resilience paves the path to sustained success. #CommunityImpact: St. Patrick's indelible mark on Irish culture underscores the essence of community engagement for MSPs. Be it supporting local ventures, participating in community events, or offering insightful sessions on cybersecurity and IT best practices, our community bonds are vital. #LegacyBuilding: Inspired by St. Patrick's enduring legacy, your mission extends beyond mere service provision. You're here to foster trust, ensure reliability, and contribute meaningfully to our clients' and community's enduring prosperity.

What a great backstory. The power of a boy and his dog. At the heart of the Shane & Pepper Foundation are two extraordinary souls: Shane Popiny and Pepper. Shane, a resilient pediatric stroke survivor with cerebral palsy, exhibits the very essence of strength and determination. His journey, paired with his neurodiverse perspective, has provided him unique insights into the myriad challenges faced by many in our society. By his side is Pepper, a loyal mobility service dog, whose unwavering support symbolizes the limitless possibilities of companionship and teamwork. Our mission is deeply rooted in their bond and shared experiences. We are committed to promoting a world of inclusion, where every individual, regardless of their abilities or differences, feels seen, heard, and valued. We champion equality by acknowledging and respecting every person's inherent worth and right to opportunities. Beyond this, we pursue equity, striving to provide the necessary tools and resources tailored to each person's unique circumstances, ensuring they can achieve their fullest potential. Recognizing the vast talents and potential within the disability and neurodiverse communities, the Shane & Pepper Foundation has crafted holistic programs aimed at fostering social, life, culinary, and vocational skills. Our vision is clear: to prepare these exceptional individuals for the workforce and life, ensuring they not only have a place in our society but also thrive in it. #inclusion #equity #vocationalskills https://lnkd.in/eYZazkdB

I had the opportunity to attend the two day Joy Summit in City of Cambridge Ontario. The idea around this summit is to create a future where the human spirit does more than survive. It can thrive. Our communities are changing. How we embrace this change will have a direct impact on future generations. Speaking with two youth today, they felt like the world was on their shoulders to fix problems. We can't leave it up to the next generation, we have to do what we can now, so that they don't have to carry this burden or at least lessen it! Some themes that came out of today: The way we live has been socially constructed, (yes I know this already, but it was good to be in a space where this could be discussed and I wasn't the one facilitating it!). There has been lots of erasure for the sake of trying to make society "better." Many of the problems we are in today we have because of the approach. We may have solved one problem but in doing so we created more. This made me think of the internet and AI. In particular AI and the connections to anti-Black racism, the increased vulnerability of the youth and young girls and the spread of hate and xenophobia. I spoke to someone who travelled by transit, it took them almost two hours to get to Cambridge from Waterloo. We need more efficient transit for our bus system. The expansion of LRT to Cambridge is needed along with 2-way all day GO between the region and Toronto- long overdue! Who determines what is needed to make communities joyful, and are we asking the appropriate groups/individuals with different experiences and perspectives or trying to assume what is needed. Whose voices are being listened to who are not even present? When we think about communities we must go into problem solving with a design mindset of addressing systems through collaboration and building trust. All things I ran on. Thank you Bruce Mau, Ken Greenberg, Mouna Andraos and Melissa Mongiat.You had me critically thinking all day. Big picture thinking on system redesign is my jam. Helen G. Jowett CHRL, MBA Scott Higgins The marathon continues.... #community #cambridge #waterlooregion #joy #designthinking

If you haven't heard yet...Milwaukee Founders Community is now Midwest Founders Community! What started as some simple founder-to-founder invitations to get together for coworking and happy hour back in the summer of 2021, and then quickly evolved into a founders only group chat, has now grown into somewhat of an accelerator/navigator for founders of all kinds. It's developed into operating on an informal "curriculum of community" that’s being simultaneously taught, learned, and tested by a conceptual classroom of entrepredoers. Like most startup/founder communities, MFC offers events (https://lnkd.in/gu5CAjbP). What’s special is that these events are created and hosted by the founders who see the value in the event and take it upon themselves to bring it into existence (with the community's support, of course). This approach to growth/operations has resulted in what I think is pretty close to regional PMF, in the sense that MFC’s lead curators are to the point of feeling more pull from those in the community than we are pushing what’s been built. It seems that founders are receiving the uniquely decentralized strategy a bit differently than the common community call-to-action to “get involved.” Several founders (and new MFC curators) have taken the call-to-action as not only an opportunity to get involved & help others, but perhaps more enticingly, as an opportunity to build something that gets them out of the day-to-day grind on their own company, if even for just a few hours a month. It’s why I think MFC’s event offering has grown significantly beyond the popular FOUNDER/FEST experience & now includes events to help founders: 💸 learn more about & connect with investors (#FounderFunderForum) 📈 learn more about & connect with customers (#SaaSClub) 🏕 disconnect from the grind to deeply connect with themselves & other founders (#MidwestFoundersRetreat) ♀feel safe & supported while navigating the challenges faced by female entrepreneurs (#LesFemmes) 💡 discuss, discover, workshop & test new product ideas (#ProductMarketRiff) 💻 build with AI-powered tech & tools in a casual, no pressure environment(#MilwaukeeGPT) 🗣 launch their startup idea with a formal, on-stage pitch for microgrant funds (#Launchpad) 🤓 learn from expert resource providers about nuanced aspects of the founder journey (#HowTo) -- Recordings are here 👉 https://lnkd.in/gfnu5fG8 And there’s still more being built by founders who have answered the call to become MFC builders and lead curators! We’re super proud of the new brand, website, and event offerings, so we’d love for you to check it out, sign up for the free founder membership and get yourself to the events that fit your needs as a founder. Maybe I’ll see ya at this week’s Product/Market Riff or next week’s FOUNDER/FEST! #midwestfounders #founderscommunity #founders #startups #entrepreneurs #startupcommunity #midwest

Over the past few years, our journey with youth leaders have been incredibly rewarding. Through this experience, one important lesson has become clear: the profound impact of community. At ACT4FOOD, community is not just a concept; it's our driving force. It's about empowering youth and fostering authentic connections that drive real change. In a world where relationships can feel transactional, these genuine bonds are priceless. They give us strength and amplify our ability to make a difference. Our commitment to community shines through in everything we do, from workshops to grassroots initiatives. By bringing together diverse perspectives, we've seen how collaboration sparks innovation and creates lasting impact in communities near and far. As we embark on another inspiring week, we invite you to reflect on the power of community in your own journey. Whether you work in education, healthcare, or any other field, nurturing relationships is essential for sustainable success. Drop a comment on your name and industry you’re currently working in. Let’s make lasting connections with new people in our industry. P.s: In case you miss us, we are hosting a workshop for our youth leaders, to strengthen our community.

"There is no shortcut to rebuilding communities that listen, designing responsive policies, or re-establishing trust. But, by moving from a stance of confrontational face-off to one of standing shoulder to shoulder together, we can bring community members and government into a more productive conversation with one another." Reflecting on last week's #NationalWeekofConversation, we're inspired by the stories shared and the voices driving change. Check out our latest blog by Cortico's Manager of Government Programs & Partnerships Ethan Walker, for insight on how we're tapping into the power of meaningful conversations to build trust and shape effective public policy. #ListenFirst #DisagreeBetter