I volunteered as the Executive Director of BOOM – Building Opportunities & Opening Minds from 2016 – 2021, and worked as a racial justice consultant to make my living. I didn’t have startup capital for BOOM, so I applied to fellowships over the years in hopes of gaining the seed funding and development necessary to evolve into a sustainable institution that could pay employees and have a meaningful impact. It seemed like it wasn’t going to happen, so, in 2019, feeling overwhelmed and out of gas, I sent an email to BOOM’s board members (at that time: Taylor Toynes, Kyle Ali, and William White Mba)  expressing that I was thinking we should shut BOOM down in 2020. Then 2020 came and the world changed. Watching the vision and passion of my young teammates: Nadia Alyse Williams, Jordan Stearn, Shaneria Nicole, Gladys Benitez, Christana Green, and Nicole Luevano, as they pivoted in the pandemic, helped me to center and refocus. And 2021 brought blessings in full force.