Community activist LeVette Fuller sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:

0:31 1. LeVette, in my opinion, you are one of the top thinkers abut community that we have. You see our problems, you see our strengths, and I could talk to you for hours and just be scratching the surface.

I’m going to try today at least to hit some of the high points.

Let’s start here today. Talk to me about sprawl and land use and how the two pertain to our community.

4:54 2. With founding members Tim Wright, Luke Lee, and Chris Lyon, you created Re:Form Shreveport, whose mission is to build a stronger and more resilient Shreveport by growing a culture of engagement and trust between citizens, businesses, and government.

Re:Form Shreveport has achieved some great things. Talk to me about the genesis of Re:Form, how you all decided to start it and what the future holds for this important initiative.

16:50 3. One of the areas where you’ve been most passionate is trying to make our community a more welcoming environment for entrepreneurs.

What are of some of the areas where we are currently falling short in “being open for business”?

25:34 4. One of the things we’ve discussed on this podcast is our struggles as a community to define ourselves, to know who we are and to be proud of what we have and what we can be.

My question is, how do you see us? Or, in other words, what do you think our identity is as a community?

31:50 5. From 2018-2022, you were in the trenches, serving on City Council for District B. And last year you ran for mayor in the 2022 Shreveport Mayoral Race and one of your campaign sayings was, “We can believe in Shreveport”.

As you look around our community, what are some of the things that concern you the most?

43:25 6. Lastly, what are some of the things that make you optimistic about our future?