Follow The Brand Podcast with Host Grant McGaugh

Architecting Change: How Davielle Phillips is Transforming North Omaha from the Ground Up

• Grant McGaugh CEO 5 STAR BDM • Season 2 • Episode 41

Share episode

Send us a text

What if buildings could heal communities? In this captivating conversation, architect Davielle Phillips reveals how his journey from Chicago's South Side to Omaha is reshaping urban spaces and mindsets.

When young Davielle asked his mother who decides what buildings look like, her simple response—"Google it"—sparked a lifelong mission. Growing up surrounded by boarded-up houses and neighborhood decline, Phillips discovered architecture as a powerful tool for community transformation. Now armed with dual master's degrees in architecture and business administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, he's bringing both creative vision and practical implementation to North Omaha's revitalization.

Phillips offers fascinating insights into the "broken window theory," explaining how physical deterioration perpetuates cycles of neglect in communities. Rather than seeing decay, he recognizes opportunities for intervention and renewal. Through his work with the Omaha Inland Port Authority and projects like the Great Plains Black History Museum renovation, he's creating spaces that inspire pride and possibility.

Beyond professional accomplishments, Phillips shares the personal philosophy that drives him: "faith, consistency, and hard work." He speaks candidly about moments of doubt, as often the only Black professional in academic and workplace settings, finding strength in the pioneering Black architects who came before him without mentors or representation.

For aspiring architects and critical thinkers, Phillips offers this advice: be curious, ask "why," and have the courage to raise your hand. His vision extends beyond individual buildings to creating cohesive environments where people can thrive—truly architecting dreams that transform communities from the ground up.

Connect with Davielle Phillips on LinkedIn and Instagram @dreams2live4 and discover how architecture can become a framework for solving community challenges.

Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Follow The Brand! We hope you enjoyed learning about the latest marketing trends and strategies in Personal Branding, Business and Career Development, Financial Empowerment, Technology Innovation, and Executive Presence. To keep up with the latest insights and updates from us, be sure to follow us at 5starbdm.com. See you next time on Follow The Brand!

Speaker 1:

I want to welcome everybody to the Follow Brand Podcast. This is Grant McGaugh. We're going to talk to someone I am so intrigued about this conversation I'm going to have. A lot of people don't know.

Speaker 1:

I used to live out in New England in the 1990s and I had a really good friend of mine who was an architect or he was studying to become an architect and he told me a lot of the different disciplines that you had to know in order to become an architect.

Speaker 1:

And he told me a lot of the different disciplines that you had to know in order to become an architect. I had no idea all the things that you have to factor in when you're doing something that's building a building, or building a bridge or whatever it may be that you have to understand all these different facets in order to get a building actually built and to be sustainable, and you need to understand so many different things. So, with that said, I want to bring to you Daviel. Daviel is a current architect and he's out of the Omaha area and we met at the Omaha Inland Port Authority and I got a chance to talk to him. I said you've got to be on my show because I'm so intrigued about what you do. So, daviel, would you like to introduce yourself?

Speaker 2:

Yes, daviel Phillips, I'm originally from Chicago, illinois, came to Nebraska by way of University of Nebraska-Lincoln, got a master's in architecture and a master's in business administration and moved up here to Omaha in 2019 BC, before COVID. I like to say that Moved up here and then got started right away, but originally, being interested in architecture started when I was in about sixth grade. It was a direct response to the environment I was growing up in, you know, on the south side of Chicago. You know there's a lot of great things there.

Speaker 2:

There are also some conditions that could be improved, you know, and so I noticed those conditions that could be improved, like boarded up houses and things like that, and I asked my mom one day who decides what buildings look like, and so her immediate response to any question was Google it. Because I have two little sisters and we were always asking her questions, always consistently asking her questions and so she told me to Google it. I got home that day, I Googled it, put that into my search browser, and then I saw these beautiful buildings around the world, things that I was truly inspired by. I was like man, I love that building. I wish I could pop that building right here in my neighborhood. So that set me on my journey and path towards architecture, becoming an architect.

Speaker 1:

Man that is. I love that. I love how your mom said find out. Find out for yourself, because that means you have to lean into them and then you get the answers that you're looking for Now. You went to the University of Nebraska. I'm a big, giant Cornelisker fan, so I love the fact you're able to come from Chicago, come all the way to Nebraska and learn a lot about culture. But in earning for you, earning both a Master of Architecture and an MBA is absolutely no small feat. It takes years of discipline, vision and sacrifice in order to do that. And, if you will be so kind, just walk us through what drove you to pursue those dual paths and how that experience shaped your identity as a young.

Speaker 2:

And so, thinking back, you know that response to the conditions of my neighborhood and the environment I was growing up in, you know, often, like the, I tell the story in a creative way to not make things sound as bad as they were. You know, and it's in a sense because sometimes getting into those details can cause, you know, either memories to come up for people or cause them to feel uncomfortable. You know, but really I stuck with architecture because I knew what I could do with it. I was like I want to give back to my community, I want to change the way my community looks, these poor conditions that I grew up in. Who's doing something about it? I didn't necessarily see anybody doing anything about it and I got tired of waiting on people, so I decided I was gonna be the person to do something about it. That was the first thing.

Speaker 2:

And then, throughout this journey of pursuing architecture, I did other things. I had other jobs, like at one point in undergrad I had three jobs and I was working at Target. I was working in the dining and I was working at Target. I was working in the dining halls and I was working at the information technology at the College of Business. And then once I got that position at the College of Business, that continued on for like the next three to five years while I was in school, all through undergrad and then all through grad school once I started there. But that position at the College of Business in the IT department once I started there.

Speaker 2:

But that position at the College of Business in the IT department starting out as a technician, I really didn't know anything about IT. You know, I used that principle that my mom taught me Google it. I was Googling so I was figuring out the answer just by doing research. You know, for the IT issues that will come up. But over time I started to develop specialties and things and when professors and staff had issues with their IT equipment I would go assist them, and especially with the professors if a projector wasn't working in a class or something. After I fixed the issue I would sit in the class just to make sure things were working.

Speaker 2:

But when I would do that I would get really intrigued by what they were teaching and teaching and drew a fascination for business. And then when people would come in, staff would come in and people would come to the IT department and talk to us about whatever they had going on, whatever problem they were solving at the time through business, I was just fascinated and then I understood after a while architecture is a business, so I want to understand the business side of architecture is the epiphany I came to and that's why I ended up mixing them both together and then over time, like reading books like the Miseducation of the Negro, that really helped me because in a sense, it was what I was trying to do put into a book, put into words, because I wanted to be the person to go back to take my education, go back into the community and help uplift the people and in the environment, uh, totally, the quality of life, uplift the quality of life.

Speaker 1:

I think that's so important and and to your point, like when you come outside every day, especially in the south side of Chicago, and you see where you're at, you see architecture in other neighborhoods, other places, even in the local area across the world, you say, wow, how can I make a significant change? Change, and I love that you saw that and that you took on the initiative to. I want to pursue this and what I can see already. You must be very, very in intelligence, because architecture is often called a marathon of professions because of the intensity of the training, the certification process. I want to still understand even more, because you had to go deep in order to get those kinds of degrees. I want to know what motivated you through the grind and how does that same discipline translate into the work you're doing now in Omaha, nebraska?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, really, I think what kept me going through the grind was understanding what I can do with what I was trying to do. You know what I can do with architecture and business and putting the two together and creating comprehensive, cohesive developments that respond to our environment. You know, but really that sense of what I can do, or architecture, came from knowing what my purpose is, and in a sense I kind of defined it for myself, but I also feel like it was given to me, you know, and it's to give back with the skills, talents and resources I've been blessed with. And I feel that those skills, talents and resources are architecture, design, business, entrepreneurship, those kinds of things.

Speaker 2:

And then also my values are deeply rooted in quotes, and so a quote that I learned fairly recently is always try to be nice, but never fail to be kind, you know. So I try to practice that as well, because niceness could be a facade, since we're talking about buildings. A facade is just the front of a building, but then the layers, the layers behind that niceness is what makes the person kind and truly, responding in a kind way, and I think that buildings can respond to our environments in a kind way. We respond to each other in a kind way and so just having that purpose, that sense of what I need to do, what I want to do, having a mission and a vision for my life, and then just people and mentorship and values along the way, helped me stay on the path I love that I like how you put that metaphor, that analogy together about the facade.

Speaker 1:

And I want you to think about this, because now you've been in Omaha, nebraska, for four or five years. Think about, like when you're working with the Omaha Inland Port Authority and there's a certain region now that you're looking to impact, when you drive down, like, let's say, from 30th Street and let's say it's Ames Avenue going down to 16th Street, or you're going from 24th and Ames all the way down past 24th and Lake, and before you see the facades of the buildings, you see the architecture there, you see some historical things there. I think I just learned that a lot of those buildings came up during the manufacturing age or were around some of the agricultural buildings, there were mills, there was something like that. Some of that is from the past, yet they still maintain some of the facade. Some of those buildings are now empty. Now Some of them are occupied.

Speaker 2:

What feeling do you get when you're flowing through there? From an architectural lens, I see opportunity. You know, I took sociology classes when I was in school too, to diversify my perspective a bit, and I heard of the broken window theory like my perspective a bit, and heard of the broken window theory. And since the broken window theory is that something is broken or something is dilapidated or in a poor condition and people will continue to treat it that way, if a few windows are broken out of a window, I mean out of a building, then someone's going to break another window in that building. You know, that's kind of the thing, and so things it has a ripple effect. The things will continue to get worse with this building because it's already in a bad spot, and then that happens with other buildings on that same block. You know, because it's a ripple effect, this building is being treated poorly, no one wants to deal with it. Now the building next to it is going to go under the same condition and the building next to that, and so you see this trickle effect of a poor condition perpetuating.

Speaker 2:

But I see it as an opportunity for us to go in and do something about it. And this opportunity with the Port Authority, with the Black History Museum and a few other organizations. They're a combination of everything I wanted to do, everything I said I wanted to do with architecture and business. I get to put the two together. So I truly feel it's a blessing and I was bestowed upon me to be appointed to this board and be able to give back to the community. I just want to do a good job, and so you may see me put pressure on people, or even put a lot of pressure on myself.

Speaker 1:

It's because I really want to do a good job with this effort. I love what you just said. That is so important because if we lead with intentionality to make something better and when I think architecture, I think of art, I think science, I think of social responsibility and I see that we all have a role in making our community, especially our shaping of our culture, to be better. And there is an opportunity in North Omaha because I'm seeing, when I go down that street now, I see a technical ecosystem that could be built, something because you're coming from North, which is the high school there. Soviet's already a magnet program. They're already doing some innovative things.

Speaker 1:

You've got Metro Community College right there and then, as you flow down, you've also got the library that's right there. So I'm starting to see a future that can be built. You've got an airport that you can just fly in there. You've already got a recreational center in Curlew Lake, so I'm starting to see that this could look so completely different. So when you think about the OIPA and the community vision and that project in Omaha, how did you become involved? And then, what excites you most about its potential to create a long-term impact for North Omaha and other communities?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I got involved initially because I think it's just the work I've been doing in the community, working on the Great Plains Black History Museum, a renovation to the Urban League of Nebraska, a new space for the North Omaha Visitor Center, renovated Holy Name School and, for the exterior doors, there's Sacred Heart School as well. So just having a footprint in the community, and also I volunteer a lot. So even this past Saturday I organized a community cleanup. I helped to organize a community cleanup that I led for this particular cleanup and we do cleanups every month during the spring through the fall, and so I was just deeply involved in the community, talking to some good people like Chief Warren, Chief of Staff to the Mayor and Mayor Stothert at the time, and I think through some of those connections, through the involvement I had in the community, that I was appointed to the board, you know in that way. And then, what was the second question? I'm sorry.

Speaker 1:

I want to know how you see the, especially the project that you're working through right now. How do you see the framework for problem solving Now? You see the building structure right. You see what Omaha is today. How do you see this changing? How can you create the long term impact for North Omaha? So now you're involved with the community.

Speaker 2:

I think one of the ways we create that long-term impact is by directly responding to the issues.

Speaker 2:

I feel that a lot of times that we either get shortchanged because we put in a grant but we only got half of the grant the dollars that we asked for or even less than that grant the dollars that we ask for or even less than that as times where we know what the issue is, but some of the people holding the keys to get things done they tend to kind of do things their way versus responding to things that the way what the community said we want this, we need this they kind of get part of it or half of it, or half of it or not it at all.

Speaker 2:

So I think this is a unique opportunity for the Port Authority, who has funding, to directly respond to some of the issues that are in the community that are prevalent and we can directly respond and get things done and not have to sit around waiting for someone else to do it. I think that's the biggest thing. I see this in communities like whether it's the South Side of Chicago, north Omaha or any other place that I've been to around the nation or around the world that really you just have to have somebody that's a champion, that's gonna go and get things done.

Speaker 1:

I like that because this is important. So, like you said before, it's always like it's wishful thinking, right? And then everybody's like, yeah, nice, but we don't have the money, we don't have the funding. Now you've got the funding. Now you say, okay, what can we do to shape something that's different and do something that's going to really make and shape and be historical when you really think about it, you know, for a number of years to come. So I'm going to ask you in your role I mean design thinking, is architectural discipline at play Now? Do you see architecture as a framework for problem solving beyond just building the environment?

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah, most definitely. I often tell, especially the youth that I speak with about architecture, that everybody is an architect in a sense. If you ever had an idea that you saw approved to fruition, something that just lived in your head and then now it's a physical thing, I think you architect that dream. You turn that word from a noun to a verb, you know. So I see, like the awards that you have behind you and some of your credentials. You know, that credential that you have, like going to college, for example, you said I'm going to do this. Then you actually went and got that receipt, that piece of paper. You know, you got that degree. You architect that dream. You saw your way through becoming a scholar at that level. You know, and so that's what I do as an architect. Really.

Speaker 2:

Someone approaches me about a dream or a vision that they have for either a piece of land or a building that they want to do, like the Great Plains Black History Museum, and then I bring them through the process to actually realize that building actually getting done.

Speaker 2:

So one of the first projects I got to work on from literally beginning to end was over at Micah House, over at Council Bluffs, because they also built an early education center right next door to the shelter that they have, and so I was on that project from beginning to end shelter that they have and so I was on that project from beginning to end. So I was able to see that vision for early education center for the youth from zero to five years old, that they wanted to have a space for them, and now I got to see the youth running through that building and enjoying the spaces that helped to create. You know so, architecting that vision and we all can do that and I think design thinking is a big piece of it, because it's about being solution oriented, understanding the issue. Especially when you get down to the root cause of the issue, now you can really do something about it. You could be creative in what you do to solve that issue.

Speaker 1:

That is so important, especially today and you've got some information technology background as well. In the age of information technology and now artificial intelligence, so important for our youth and for everyone to understand critical thinking principles. You've got to now problem solve. No one like you know memory in school like, oh, now we're going to do problem solving, right? No one like to do that because you know it's just. You know you have to utilize your brain. You're not just operating out of memory.

Speaker 1:

A lot of times you're taking testing. They're just saying, hey, did you learn this? Let's see what you remember, right? Well, critical thinking is a lot deeper than that. Right, there's no right or wrong answer, especially when I took physics and things like that. They want to understand the process, your thought process, of how you got to the answer. That is what is critically important to understand. I know from an architectural standpoint, this is where you take off in what you do and how you're being to do that. What I want you to, my question for you, is I want you to speak to our youth right now, those that are potentially, let's say, they're in middle school, high school, they're in their undergrad program. What advice would you give to them so they can go deeper and not just Googling for that information, but utilizing things like our large language models, their chat, gpts, their clouds and things like that to get the answers. To begin to think critically, because this is things that machines cannot do, that are uniquely human in aspect.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, one of the biggest questions is because I'm a very curious person, right, and very meticulous in some ways, you know. And so I was thinking to myself what's one question that I can ask, no matter what you say, literally no matter what, whatever answer you give me, what's the question that I can ask? And that question is why, you know, ask why. You know there is a poster of Muhammad Ali right here on my wall, you know. If someone sees that, they can say why. And I'll say, well, my favorite quote is on that poster as well, you know. And so then you can say, well, why is that your favorite quote? And it can go deeper and deeper. So that's one of the things that I would ask or I would tell to the youth is be curious, ask questions, especially ask why. And when you do that, then you're able to discern who you're able to create. You're that you're looking to put into chat, gpt as a prompt and things Cause. You're able to say this is why I'm asking this question, this is what I'm hoping to learn from asking this question, you know. And so then you start to kind of get a little bit deeper into, a little bit past the surface level of things you know so you can create a deeper understanding of things. Also, level of things you know so you can create a deeper understanding of things. Also, be bold, because asking a question could be hard sometimes, yeah, and so I was one of the kids that would raise my hand and ask a question, and I didn't care who, whoever felt any way about it. I know class is about to end in 60 seconds. I'll still raise my hand and keep us there for another two minutes, you know, just because I was curious and I was bold enough to raise my hand and ask that question. And even if I didn't ask the question during class, I'll go up to the teacher and ask, you know, because I wanted to get maybe probably a deeper answer than they would have gave me, in front of the whole class too, you know. And so I think, just understanding that, asking questions and being bold, but then also the values, and one of my values is, uh, uh, faith, consistency and hard work.

Speaker 2:

I think with those three things, you can achieve anything. You have faith that you can do it and faith that it can be done. You know, uh, you have to have consistency, which means you have to practice. You've got to be consistent. You, you've got to keep showing up. You can't just do it once and think you're going to be a rock star at it. You've got to practice. And then hard work is that you have to work hard. Nothing's going to be easy. You know, if it was easy then most people would be doing it. You know. So. If you've got to work hard to separate yourself from the others and to actually show yourself that, hey man, I do care about this. You know, that's where the hard work comes in. So, faith, consistency and hard work.

Speaker 1:

You have a framework. I encourage everyone listening to this particular podcast. What you just said, wl, is having a framework, your own personal mission statement. This is my why, as you just unpack right. This is why I do what I do. This is why I was able to achieve the results that I have today, because I put in the work, but I adhered to my own framework, my own discipline.

Speaker 1:

I work with the BRAVE framework right, that's my acronym, because I think, no matter what you do and I'm almost certain you did the same thing you had to be brave in order to become an architect. Because if you look at that mountain, you know from a distance, from the bottom, you're like you're going to have to learn this, you're going to have to learn this, you're going to have to learn this, you're going to have to learn mathematics and geography and weather and all these different things. You're like, wow. But then you look at that like this is a challenge that I want to take on. This is exactly what I want to do, so you have to be brave. Brave stands for for me, it's bold. You've got to be bold, right, you've got to be bold, right. You've got to be resilient right, you've got to be authentic, you've got to have a vision and you've got to execute. That's brave. For me, that's the framework that I wake up every day and doing what I need to do in order to get done. But you develop that framework for yourself. You've developed your framework for yourself.

Speaker 1:

When you look at muhammad ali behind you, man, if you really go through his story, it's really an incredible story because he had already achieved the fact of becoming a world champion, but then it was taken away from him and he had to go through years of hardship and putting in the hard work to finally get to the point of getting to that championship again, and he took on the United States government in order to do that. That is huge. So when I look at you and I want to talk to you about a legacy and a leadership and membership and you've taken on a lot of these leadership roles that you talked about, especially like at the urban league of Nebraska and professionals and Alpha, phi, alpha and some others how have these or those experiences in community and professional leadership prepared you for coalition building work like the OIPA? So I want people to understand, especially in young youth, that this is a community effort and the more that we are engaged and involved, it won't be like someone built this for us.

Speaker 2:

We built this for ourselves, yeah and it's really like those organizations, like the Urban League and NAACP. You know, it started out learning about history, learning about our history and why those organizations were started, you know, and then learning about the work that those organizations did and still do to this day. I just grew deeply passionate for them and this deep responsibility to protect those institutions as well. And this deep responsibility to protect those institutions as well, and the best way for me to protect them is to be a part of them. That was at least my mindset.

Speaker 2:

Wanted to be a part of these organizations and wanting to be a part of this history led me to different literature. So, like the Souls of Black Folk, Miseducation of the Negro, Autobiography of Malcolm X, you know, these kinds of books and this literature is is teaching me and gave me this deep passion for the black community. You know, cause I know what we're capable of, Like even, uh, my favorite basketball player, Derrick Rose, cause he's from South side of Chicago, like me, you know, and I was able to see him go and become MVP. Yeah, you know somebody that people able to see him go and become MVP.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

You know somebody that people probably doubted when he was growing up.

Speaker 2:

People thought he wouldn't amount to anything, probably, and then he became the rose that grew from the concrete, you know, and so like things like that. Those kinds of stories really deeply inspire me, you know, and so I can get inspired like that, like a snap, like I can get inspired because there's so much out there. Like it was a time where I was thinking I'm going to, I'm not going to do architecture anymore and I'm going to lean on my business degree, and because all throughout school I was the only black kid, even at my job, for a while I was the only one, you know, and now it's two of us. But you know, know that sense of being the only, I was starting to get defeated by it. Then I started to do my research like and why, and I was like I found out about the first black architect in the state of Illinois, the first black woman architect in the state of California, the first black architect in the state of New York, you know things like that, and I was like they probably didn't have anybody teaching them.

Speaker 2:

They probably were in a similar condition that I'm in Like who am I to just give up? You know at this point, when they did it, who they have. So I was inspired by that and I got mad at myself, so much so that I got right back to work. I got right back to work and then something else I want to share with you too is growing up in these poor conditions and stuff that I was in, even though I had everything I needed, Because I'm very proud of the young man I am today, so I don't like to really complain. But kind of, growing up in these conditions, I was angry. I was mad at the way that my family had to live, that, the conditions I had to grow up in, the violence that you hear about in Chicago. I was upset and I think the thing that drove me was going to get my education. I was mad at my situation. So I went and got my education Because I felt like that was the one thing that can't be taken from me my ability to think for myself.

Speaker 1:

I've heard that a few times, what you just said. I know a lot of people in the Caribbean, a lot of people. I know a doctor, yes, who worked at Microsoft, very keen on artificial intelligence, worked with the people that actually developed open AI. He said my way out growing up was education. So I fell in love with education and once you are aware, you can apply what you have learned, and I always look at architecture. It's applied science. You have to apply the mathematics and other things that are so important. So when you look at a building, you just don't see concrete and steel and paint. You see a representation of a lot of thought, emotion and impact, and I like that and the fact that you even cited Malcolm X, and maybe you knew this, maybe you didn't, but then he was born in Omaha, nebraska. And he was born, you know, in Omaha Nebraska. And then and now, as you come into your own in Omaha Nebraska, we can host the first mayor, first black mayor of Omaha, nebraska, who I went to high school with no-transcript with.

Speaker 1:

You know we would just get a name for ourselves. You know, northwest wasn't, you know the central of the time, or it used to be a school called Tech at the time, or even Omaha North at the time. Those had names for themselves. Northwest was just starting out, but we made a name for ourselves because we went out there and we won championships. I think you're making a name for yourself. So when you go back to the south side of Chicago some of the places that you grew up in you see they're going to look up to Davi L Phillips and we were able to showcase someone like an artist. Right, an artist always has a showcase, and then you can showcase your work and when it goes up as a building, that showcase lasts probably beyond yourself. How does that make you feel?

Speaker 2:

Oh, it feels fantastic, Like I said, like seeing those young kids running through the early education center, Like I'm, like I hope, to create an environment in ways they can learn and be safe learning, you know. And then, like I know, like Steelhouse here in Omaha, I had some I had a very small role on that project. I got some details up in the balcony and things I like to say. Those details led to me having a lot of leg room, because I'm pretty tall, you know. So I'm used to my knees touching the seat in front of me if I'm at a stadium kind of environment or kind of in an entertainment venue. Now I have ample leg room, you know. So it's like those little details and I'm very comfortable when I go to Steelhouse, you know, because of that reason, you thought about yourself and the design.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Speaker 2:

But then also all the other tall people out here that you know things are already built or made for us, you know. So yeah, we just add a little bit more legroom and it makes a world of difference.

Speaker 1:

Makes a big difference. Now here's the thing I know. When I was asking my even my parents, they were just a little bit unclear about what the Omaha Inland Port Authority is all about. What is its, its aim, its goal? How do you see that from?

Speaker 2:

your from your viewpoint. Yes, so the Omaha Inland Port Authority is meant to help development in the district, you know, and so we can do development ourselves, but we can be a financial vehicle for others doing development, and we do have initiatives that we started, like the Innovation District, the Airport Business Park. I know we have a housing initiative that's a statute requirement to build some new housing and there's a lot of vacant lots so we can do some infield development with an innovation district. There's so many different things you can do in innovation. You talked about tech, you talked about architecture. I think those two things professions have space within the innovation district, you know.

Speaker 2:

And then also entertainment things to get our youth excited, invested in their education and then put them on a trajectory where they can win, you know, and not not just teach them how to win by themselves, but teach them how to win together, you know, and like because you mentioned, like coalition building and getting people together, I think that educational piece and the teaching people how to get along, you know we need to learn how to love each other, you know, know. So I think those things are how we make it what we need it to be as far as the Port Authority, and then we have a board retreat coming up soon, and so, hopefully, the mission and the vision is more clearly defined. After our retreat, we're going to get some information from other Port Authorities that have established and done great work, and so, yeah, I'm excited for what the future holds for us.

Speaker 1:

Well, I tell you from our conversation, one of the things that really stood out from what you just said is so important when you see a building and you see a broken window and it encourages other people to break another window and then another window. So if you can see something that is uh, more substantial, like you're saying, like the steel house and some other architecture that has been rebuilt, especially like, on, uh, 24th street, I remember going down the street and I saw, uh, I'd be black girl, right, and I and I said, oh, that's nice, so you wouldn't want to throw a rock through that window, right, it's something you want to appreciate and we can build more architecture that's down there. You know, we've got some other things that are there that are starting to look good. I like Dreamland that they built on 24th Street. I think that does look good.

Speaker 1:

Remember, I've been gone from the area since 1991. I would come back, obviously, periodically to visit, but to live here full time. I'm starting to appreciate a lot of these different things that I see there that I did not see before, and I'm like all right, I'm starting to see some change in a positive direction and I like that. You are part of that. Now we're coming to the end of this particular interview and I always ask this of my guests here of late, because now you're at the end of the interview and then it's real time. You just did this. How'd you feel about being on the Follow the Brand podcast?

Speaker 2:

Oh, I feel great, you great. I feel the same way as before we started Super excited, willing to share. I think it's a wonderful platform. I'm one of the guys that likes to be in the background, Even though I'm bold and I speak up. I like to be in the background getting the things done. I'm happy to have a moment where I can come and share what I'm about to the people.

Speaker 1:

Oh man, that's the whole thing. Share what you're about to the people. I love what you're doing. I tell you, when I first saw you there, I was like this is exactly what I want to see A younger person who's very professional, who's bringing something to our community to make a positive change. So, as your children and children and children, they walk through these particular areas like, hey, yeah, you can see old Omaha in pictures, but this is what new Omaha looks like today, and I'm glad that you're making that vision happen for us and I really, truly appreciate you being on the show. And before I let you go, you got to tell us how to contact you. Whether you've got email, whether it's LinkedIn, what is the best way to reach Daviel Phillips?

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah, linkedin, mylinkedincom, like a name on there, is the same as, like my Instagram. It's dreams number two live and number four, dreams to live for, because that's what I feel like. I have Dreams to live for. I want to keep going. I love it.

Speaker 1:

Dreams to live for man. You can't get no better than that. I encourage your entire audience to visit us. Visit us at 5starcom that is the number five. That is star S-T-A-R. B for brand, d for development. Infomasterscom You're going to see over 200 other individuals like Daviel that are catching there. They're sharing their expertise, they're sharing their story, they're sharing their experiences to help us all to move forward and create a near future. So thank you again for being on the Follow Brand Podcast.

Speaker 2:

Thank you.