This month’s Westside community member Q&A is with Samuel Culbreath of Goodie Nation, a nonprofit composed of changemakers and entrepreneurs using innovation to help under-served communities globally. Samuel attended our Jan. 6 #TransformWestsideSummit meeting and shares below his thoughts on the Westside revitalization efforts and why he loves the Westside!

How long have you been attending the Westside Future Fund Summits?  Past half year. Have attended 5 meetings to date.

What initially influenced you to attend and why have you continued?
I wanted the chance to preview development/community building efforts in AUC/Westside at its beginnings to possibly model in my own community of Austell and to build relationships within the Westside community for Goodie Nation. I continued to attend because it has exceeded my expectations for engagement/information.

Of all the meetings you’ve attended, which presentation or aspect of a meeting has had the greatest impact on you?
Torn between the AUC presentation by Dr. Mary Scmidt Campbell last month and this month’s on community engagement because it is important to highlight the history/work of anchors such as the Atlanta University Center and to listen to representative community voices to gain perspective and foster engagement between stakeholders

What can you tell us about Goodie Nation’s work on the Westside?
With the help of a community partner grant from Google, we have just wrapped up our six-month social impact incubator/accelerator cycle, Goodie Innovation. Goodie Innovation was designed to launch tech companies that help raise basic need averages of under-served communities up to their respective country’s national average by combining contributions from passionate and committed people, subject-matter experts, and skilled professionals.

We hope this latest cohort of 10 startups will help address the topics of gentrification and financial inclusion within the Westside area (and beyond).

What are your hopes for the future of the Westside?
My hope is that this will serve as a beacon for similar community efforts throughout the Atlanta area and beyond and for the movement of “real” community engagement/development to increase.

Want to learn more about the Goodie Nation movement? Visit their website or follow them on social – Twitter: @goodienation , Facebook: @goodiehack, Instagram: @goodienation

Goodie Nation will also be hosting Demo Day for its Goodie Innovation series on #Gentrification. Eleven teams will showcase their tech products created during the Innovation series, each focused on connecting people impacted by gentrification to ways to make/save money. Click here for details.