James Wright

PEOPLE’S EMERGENCY CENTER CDC | PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

THERE IS A POWER that comes from a cohesive community, coming together to take up space and learn from each other. Through my participation in this cohort, it further opened my eyes to the complexities of being a nonprofit leader of color. Yet at the same time, it has added strength to my position in the sector by bolstering my own personal agency, peer inspiration, and goal-oriented perseverance.

When I think about what the nonprofit sector could be, I get excited about healthy nonprofit leaders effectively modeling ways to make real change from the smallest level upward. Healthy and cared-for leaders help to make other healthy leaders in our sector. I think about a new generation of leaders fanning out across communities and implementing programming that centers people with dignity, hope, and strength. To philanthropy I want them to know this: communities are churning solutions daily; nonprofit leaders need more resources that allow us the space to explore, ideate, take care of one another, and adapt programming to meet the present dynamic.

The People’s Emergency Center’s James Wright leads a tour of Lancaster Avenue.

Brad Larrison/WHYY.

ABOUT

James Wright is the Director of Community, Economic, and Real Estate Development at the People’s Emergency Center CDC (PECCDC). James has fifteen years of experience in neighborhood planning, economic and real estate development, and galvanizing multiple stakeholders to leverage community assets, specifically business corridors. James holds an MBA in Urban Economic Development from Eastern University. He was recognized as a 2016 Rising Star by the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations.