How does one claw their way out of the deep hole of generational poverty and income inequality if the walls are too steep and slippery to climb? David Garfunkel has tackled this problem with meaningful results in his hometown of Jacksonville, FL. As President & CEO of the non-profit LIFT JAX, David has created meaningful and measurable community revitalization initiatives in Jacksonville’s Eastside, less than a mile from downtown. And it’s not just lofty talk and abstraction. "OutEast" is widely considered to be one of Jacksonville’s most important historically African-American neighborhoods dating back to the mid-1800s. LIFT JAX seeks such culturally rich, generationally inclusive, and economically diverse neighborhoods, where social connections across socioeconomic and racial demographics are commonplace. Instead of gentrification and displacement, legacy residents feel valued and part of the fabric of the growing community with newer residents. David's team is working to activate parks and green spaces and upgrade schools to better support activities for families. Home improvements and other investments in physical infrastructure support the ability for the community to thrive. These basic lifestyle improvements make a house a home and a neighborhood a village. This way, all residents feel welcomed, valued, and integral to the composition of their neighborhood. Their Purpose Built Communities model, grounded in the foundational beliefs that race and place matter, makes it possible for residents to experience greater racial equity, improved health outcomes, and increased upward mobility in their neighborhoods. For example, the beloved Debs Store was a neighborhood staple for more than 90 years until its closure left the Eastside a food desert. LIFT JAX reopened this community wellness anchor that now, once again, provides easy access to healthy food. David spent 3 years in the Peace Corps in community economic development in the Dominican Republic and then, following the 2010 earthquake, he moved to Port-au-Prince, Haiti to lead a rural loan and education program. David received a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.

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Nate Monroe writes a column about Florida for USA Today, exploring how power works in the gilded, strange human heart of the modern Republican Party. His intrepid irony and rapier wit have made him a reader favorite but have also ruffled some significant feathers. Previously an investigative reporter for Jacksonville's Florida Times-Union, Nate focused on covering Jacksonville City Hall, the largest municipal government in Florida. His most notable deep-dive exposed a massive, nefarious scheme to sell Jacksonville's city-owned power company to Florida Power & Light ... and led to an indictment and jail time for the local CEO, an enormous win for justice and transparency. For this excellent work, he was surveilled and threatened. Nate says, “It was obviously surreal to open a batch of records that I had some sense was about the controversy and to actually discover that there was stuff about me in there” - his full Social Security number, driver’s license and a list of friends dating back to childhood — information not readily available as a public record. Nate's lived experience as a target of attack on the media and honest reporting is emblematic of the challenges facing democracy today. Still, Nate loves his job; he's built for it. An old school journalist who came up through the ranks, Nate remains undaunted about speaking truth to power. Prior to arriving in Jacksonville in 2013, he was a small town beat reporter for newspapers in the Deep South, where he wrote about hurricanes, small-town corruption, oil spills, Army Corps screw-ups, Mardi Gras, and bingo nights at the senior citizens center. Nate's work is absolutely critical to keeping our democracy healthy and alive.

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The Stanford Arts Review described Samantha Rose Williams as a “Mezzo-Soprano with ‘jaw-dropping vocal power.” This opera singer and arts activist is committed to creating space for critical discussion about art, culture, and social change. Her latest project is American Patriots, an opera she created that seeks to examine patriotism from four vastly different perspectives: African-American, Native American, New American and white Working-Class American. For this piece, Samantha asked 50 Americans from diverse racial, socio economic, political, cultural and gender backgrounds to answer the question, “What is a patriot?” Their verbatim answers became the lyrics for her newest opera, which she sings magnificently. She hopes that through sharing nuanced stories of people of all backgrounds and beliefs, she can be a part of breaking down the walls of “us and other” and help to create a more sympathetic and equitable world.

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We are always looking for Swan Dive Stories to share so hit us up, send an e mail to Ron: Ron@artbikesjax.com or Stu: Stuart@stuartsheldon.com