I lost my two year-old son in a hit and run accident. I was deep in grief, but made a conscious decision to heal by transforming my pain into passion and loss into love. I did it by rebuilding my community - one yard, one project, and one house at a time.

There was a rundown house in my neighborhood that always caught my eye. One morning it had a "For Sale" sign on it. So I put in an offer. I didn't even have the $3,000 it cost, but I put in the offer anyway and I made it work. I started fixing up that house, cleaning, painting, gardening, until it looked like a place you might like to live. Then I bought another. That's how I started Avalon Village.

Now, I've built a self-sustaining eco-village that's an anchor for our community just outside of Detroit in one of Highland Park's most forgotten neighborhoods. It took years of dreaming, working, and convincing others to dream, too. We have a Homework House for kids, parks, and a marketplace for women entrepreneurs. There's a park named after my son, Jakobi RA. Nobody's going to fix this place up for us if we don't do it ourselves. It's up to us to create the neighborhood we want and deserve.