What happens when community leads—and resources follow? 

In this episode, we spotlight what became possible through Tzedek’s 2025 Community-Led Grantmaking process, where five local community members helped move $500,000 into Western North Carolina through a strategic funding partnership with Dogwood Health Trust, which matched that investment dollar for dollar.

The priorities were clear: People are craving connection, support, and spaces that help move beyond survival mode.

The response? Community built the answer. What emerged were solutions and visions already alive in the region, now resourced to grow:

• The People’s Place AVL is building civic fabric across lines of difference through relational dinners that spark reflection, collaboration, and action.
• LoveJoyLiberation Community Relations Firm is leveraging youth-led, intergenerational play as a tool for joy, healing, and belonging.
• Aflorar Herb Collective Climate Resilience Hub brings together climate resilience, herbal care, and rest through a grassroots model rooted in sustainability and collective healing.
• YWCA of Asheville is advancing inclusive infrastructure, digital access, and expanded safety while reimagining community care.

The result? Real connection. Real care. Real momentum.

This episode is a reminder that the people closest to the challenges are often closest to the solutions. When communities are trusted with resources, they don’t just imagine better futures; they build them.

🎧 Press play to hear what community made possible.

MEET THE COMMUNITY BUILDERS

David Greenson is a longtime grassroots organizer, bridge-builder, and co-founder of The People’s Place AVL. With roots in Oakland, New York City, and now Asheville, his decades of movement work center racial justice, accountability, and helping people connect across lines of difference to build shared power.

alexandria monque ravenel is a creative, spiritualist, and independent educator whose work centers empowerment, culture, and community connection. A native New Yorker now rooted in Western North Carolina, she co-founded The People’s Place AVL and Noir Collective AVL, a Black-owned boutique, art gallery, and bookstore featuring Black entrepreneurs, located on “The Block” within the retail spaces of YMI Cultural Center, one of the oldest operating African American cultural centers in the United States.

Dr. Amieris Lavender (“Dr. L”) is a visionary strategist and founder of LoveJoyLiberation Community Relations Firm. A storyteller, creative, gardener, and community builder, she specializes in turning bold ideas into people-centered systems and joyful public experiences.

Sarah Nuñez, PhD, is a cultural worker, educator, and community organizer based in Asheville. She is a co-founder of Aflorar Herb Collective and is leading the development of its Climate Resilience Hub, in collaboration with Sarita's Healing Hub. Her work weaves herbalism, healing justice, art, and movement-building to strengthen community care networks.

Diana Sierra is the CEO of YWCA of Asheville and its first Latina and openly gay leader. A Licensed Clinical Social Worker, she brings experience across direct service, county government, and nonprofit l

We'll see you same time, same place next month. Until then, peace.