"Bringing the Good Life to Brownsville"
 |
| Nick & Lisa Mitchell-Bennett |
Today's BL People Profile is about Nick and Lisa Mitchell-Bennett. As their hyphenated name implies you can't simply profile one of these amazing people without mentioning the other. I first met Nick & Lisa in 2007, I had recently completed my first home renovation project off Honey Dale. You could often find me outside cultivating my front yard. Well, one of those days I met Nick and Lisa and their children on their nightly walk through the neighborhood. They stopped to complement me on restoring the home, little did I know that would be the beginning of a decade of interacting and getting to know this amazing couple.
 |
| Nick & Lisa on the Bay - Credit Nick's FB |
There are many amazing individuals in Brownsville but there are few couples in Brownsville's present or history that have both dedicated their life to the betterment of our community more than this pair. Nick is the CEO of Community Development Corporation of Brownsville which has a mission of increasing homeownership in Brownsville and the RGV. Lisa is a Senior Research Associate of Campus-based Outreach and Research at UT Health School of Public Health. As you can see both of them have made career choices that dedicate their lives to the public good. Nick focuses on improving home-ownership and the financial health of our community and Lisa focus on the physical and emotional well being of our citizens.
 |
Nick & Julian Castro US Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development in front of a CDCB Home - Credit CDCB |
Nick and Lisa's history in Brownsville's public sector goes back many years to their young adult-hood. Nick and Lisa came to Brownsville over 20 years ago on a church mission. I'm sure with the intent to get back to the California surf and sun after putting in a few years of good work in an impoverished region. But when they got here their work was too big, their passion too deep and their drive too strong for them to pack up and leave this place. They made it their mission in life to make Brownsville a better place. Few would argue that not only have they done this in ways that no one could imagine, but they continue to do so every day and no doubt will continue until the day it is no longer possible for them to physically do so. When that day comes their work will continue through the lives they have changed and people they have touched.
 |
| Photo Credit - Annette Xuchitl Landry |
I have personally worked with Nick on several projects and have gotten to know his business and personal side fairly well. How can I put this... Nick Mitchell-Bennett is an enigma. He appears to me as a hybrid between a die-hard West Coast Liberal and a West Texas Rancher. I know these two can't be more different but their in lies the uniqueness of Nick. On any given day you will find him in the field sweating and spitting nails with his workers or in Austin fighting for more funds to build affordable sustainable housing for the disenfranchised. He has the spirit of an entrepreneur and a strong social conscience. These traits have combined to develop hundreds of homes, create countless jobs and provide financial stability to hundreds of families.
 |
| CDCB Home Design Example - Photo Credit CDCB |
Nick's passion for economic fairness doesn't stop with building and filling homes. Nick recently partnered with other organizations to create the Community Loan Center. This is a program focused on providing an alternative to predatory payday lenders. Having been closely involved with the funding of the homes he develops Nick became keenly aware of the damage these payday lenders can do to the people he works so hard to help. This catalyzed his desire to take action and a couple years ago the company started making loans. I haven't spoken to him about the progress they have experienced but I have no doubt Nick will use his extensive knowledge, drive and determination to make sure the program is successful and beneficial to the people for whom it was founded.
 |
| Photo Credit - Annette Xuchitl Landry |
I could talk a great deal more about Nick's accomplishments but I only have so long that I can keep the reader's attention and I must give Lisa some ink in this post. Nick's better half is an amazing individual in her own right. Lisa's goal in life is to improve health and fitness in our community. Professionally she works for the UT Health System to research health concerns in our area and then develop programs that work to improve these conditions. Lisa's community involvement covers many areas from the Brownsville Farmer's Market to Cyclobia to educational out reach. Put simply her life is dedicated to making our lives better and she takes it very seriously. She even writes an Op-Ed for the "Brownsville Herald" on Healthy Living.
 |
| Photo Credit - Ranch Viejo Paddle School |
There is so much more to this couple then I could touch on in this blog post but these posts are not intended to be a detailed reporting of their lives but instead an introduction to them in a light hearted social sense. Nick and Lisa came down here idealist and remain so... where so many people set out to change the world and give up defeated they wake every morning and make it reality. The impact of these two California kids is deep and lasting and will be felt here for generations from people who won't even know what they did for them.
 |
| Nick & Lisa's Children - Photo Credit Nick's FB |
Beyond being outstanding community members they are also avid Christians attending church regularly and have three beautiful children whom they are raising to be strong, intelligent and independent individuals. Their son Caelan recently went to Scotland to attend a University on International Business and is already off to an amazing start in life that will no doubt echo the example set by his parents. Nick and Lisa came to Brownsville from a blessed position in life and instead of doing their bit here and moving on they stayed to create a healthy and economically stable community for our citizens. Although Rome wasn't built in a day they are working every day to make sure everyone has a fair chance to
Be part of it.
 |
Author Craig Grove
Sponsored By
|
No comments:
Post a Comment