Whenever we approach a new planning project, one of the first items on my to-do list -- even at the proposal stage -- is to find “The Kheprw Institute of this community.”
What does that mean? And why is it so hard?
And that's what I talk with Imhotep Adisa of The Kheprw Institute in Indianapolis about in our latest podcast.
As we were preparing our proposal to lead the development of Indianapolis’ sustainability and resilience plan back in 2018, we reached out to a number of what you might call nontraditional allies – i.e. we were looking for more than just local environmental groups. And, with a stroke of good fortune, were connected with Imhotep Adisa at The Kheprw Institute. What started as an after school enrichment program, Kheprw now runs programs on youth leadership and entrepreneurship – which Im emphasizes is about building community wealth -- with an intergenerational approach.
From the COVID pandemic to the Black Lives Matter movement, the last 12+ months have only reinforced the need for us to include the voices and experiences of traditionally marginalized and vulnerable people. In the coming months, I’ll invite some of our other equity partners from Beverly, Salem and New Bedford in Massachusetts on to the podcast to discuss their work.
But it’s fitting that we start with Im at Kheprw as our partnership with them on Thrive Indianapolis really helped us refine our approach to equitable engagement – and solidify it as the foundation of KLA’s work. The results shown here are pulled from the final Thrive Indianapolis plan.
Despite some of the heavy topics Im and I covered, on the podcast, the conversation was refreshing. I found myself nodding my head in agreement throughout and scribbling down notes.
I recommend listening to the podcast to hear Im’s take on:
Spoiler alert on the last one: It’s “What book are you reading?” and he definitely asked that of me during our first conversation as I was trying to convince him to join our Indianapolis consultant team. Pro top: Check out Kheprw’s reading list!
We'll invite more of our community equity partners to share their experiences and insights on future SAS Talk episodes. You can check our archive of all 32 podcast episodes, including the latest with Im!
The Kheprw Institute on Thrive Indianapolis!