Once you get to know Gloria Cartagena just a little bit, it becomes obvious why her husband calls her “the mayor.”

J’Tanya Adams will do whatever it takes to get things done. After founding a nonprofit dedicated to promoting the economic development of her historic neighborhood, Adams went even further and ran for the Charlotte, North Carolina, city council. Although she lost, it was by a razor-thin margin of 21 votes—the closest race in the town’s history.

It was January 2010, the height of the opioid epidemic. Not long before, Michelle Overstreet and her husband Jeff had returned to their home state of Alaska from Arizona, seeking a safer environment for their young daughter. Overstreet was working at an alternative high school as a graduation-prep coach.
 

Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC), a NeighborWorks network member in Los Angeles, California, soon will complete the first year of scheduled construction for its upcoming multipurpose community center and sports complex, the Paul I. Terasaki Budokan.

Sheila Rice came to her community development career rather late in life—going to college after having three children, having lots of jobs, starting a career in her 30s and spending 25 years as an executive with a natural gas company.

"People should take pride in their community and treat each other with respect," says SaRah, a community gardener and Dwelling Place resident. Dwelling Place, based in Grand Rapids, is a NeighborWorks network member that owns and manages more than 1,100 apartments and homes in 25 housing communities throughout west Michigan.