Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Daquanta Copeland. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

DaQuanta , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with talking about how you serve the underserved, because in our view this is one of the most important things the small business community does for society – by serving those who the giant corporations ignore, small business helps create a more inclusive and just world for all of us.

Every position I hold, every board or committee I’m on, and the organization I founded, has allowed me to intentional serve, represent, educate, and uplift the underserve community. As the first and only Community Engagement Coordinator with the Affordable Housing & Community Revitalization Dept. for Wake County Government, I get to bridge the gaps between government and community residents, non-profits, businesses, town & city staff by creating effective and sustainable relationships with education of resources, how to access resources, and advocacy to provide resources specially to the needs of the community. Our goals are to make sure that homelessness is short and few while providing homelessness prevention resources to prevent others from entering into the homeless system. Being apart of the Housing Leadership Team with National Award winning programs to end a prevent homelessness.
Much of my life I have served the community of the underserved and historically marginalized population by sitting as Vice Chair of the Health and Human Services Board in this role I assisted in setting policy, advocated for needed changes in service delivery and resource allocation, advised the Health & Human Services Director and Environmental Services Director on needed resources in the community, and set the priorities of the board. As Co-Chair of the Social Service Committee, I assist in leading strategic planning and caring out the priorities of the HHS Board and create partnerships with service providers to collaborate effective and positive outcomes for the community. As Co-Chair of the Live Well Wake Affordable Housing Committee, I assist and lead in creating strategic ways to identify housing barriers and collaborate with community leaders to overcome barriers while minimizing trauma within the housing crisis. As Co-Chair of Wake Continuum of Care NC507 Racial Equity Committee, I assist with leading the team to evaluate the CoC policies and data related to racial equity to ensure that access to safe and affordable services and housing is the norm for the historically marginalized group of people. As Co-Chair Crosby Advocacy Group, I assist in leading the initiative to dismantle systemic and racial disparities around social & economic injustices by creating intentional pathways for upward mobility while educating the resident on sustainability, financial literacy, and the importance of the change in mindset. As Vice Chair State Employees Credit Union, I assist in providing valuable feedback to help SECU best meet the needs of the members and represent SECU at local and community events and actively promote our products and services. As a member of Passage Home Board of Directors, I assist in directing the agency strategic planning to break the cycle of poverty and create multi-generational self-sufficiency for the individuals and families of Wake County by helping them achieve housing and income security. As the Founder and President of 2B’s Brains and Brothers “2 Smart to be Statistic”, I develop a team that assist in changing the viewpoint of our youth by empowering them to use their voices, become positive leaders, and connecting them to resources that will enhance their education, social, and mental health. The thing that all the roles and positions I hold is to serve, enhance, and uplift the lives of the underserved community while still supporting the community as a whole.

DaQuanta , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a mother, grandmother, and woman of strong faith. I became a servant of my community to be the change I needed to see, a resource to those that needed resources, a voice for the unheard, a fighter for the weak, and bridge between governmental leaders and the community they vowed to serve.
The service I provide is love, respect, humility, honor. My gifts are seeing what’s not being shown and hearing what’s not being said. I am naturally a communicator, collaborator, and a great listener. I understand that our community is a melting pot of different races, cultures, and religions and that’s what makes us great. When the Wake Continuum of Care system crashed in the summer of 2023, our county was left without a phone system to access resources for the unhoused population, critically homeless, and those facing homelessness. I created a system of collaboration with service providers by learning all of the programs available in the county and the best way to access the resources. I then worked off my single phone to become the navigator to resources by triaging the person in need and connecting them to the service provider according to the need and qualification. By doing so, I connected hundreds of residents across the county’s 12 municipalities to housing resources that either got them housed, saved them from becoming unhoused, or began on a path of self-sufficiency. There was a need within our community but government and neighborhoods and I knew that I could be the solution. So, the solution I became.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Culturally, I had to learn early when to be an advocate and when to be an activist.
When you have a heart to serve, I think everyone has both characteristics of both. But, knowing when to be an effective advocate/advocate is the key. You don’t have to fight when a conversation is all that’s needed.
When I first was selected to be on the Health and Human Service Board which is the 3rd policy setting board in Wake County. I thought, this is my time to let these people know just how bad of a job they are doing. Suring this time all meetings were virtual due to Covid. In that first meeting, I had some many questions. Once I listened to the work that was happening, I just wanted to know why. I quickly became a student in the room. I listened to the passion that was in the voices of the other board members. I remember thinking, Lord, some of these people do have a clue about the damage they were causing with their decision making. But, even in that moment I realized, although I had become a sponge, I also had to become the teacher. I chose not to listen with offense or anger. I began to study the mindset of those that would speak. I realized, these are good people with good intention but they had the wrong perspective of the outcomes of their decision making. There was only one other person that spoke with the same mindset as I had. I learned that good people with good intentions will still create detrimental outcomes with the wrong perspective. I began to communicate not as a fight activist but as an effective advocate. I didn’t have to discredit the work and efforts that way being brought forth. I had to bring a different perspective conversation that they have never heard before. After being able to connect with communication, the way policies were set changed, the services provided were enhanced, and there was a clear understanding that you can’t positively provide services if you don’t have a clear picture of impact positively or negatively.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I became the Community Engagement Coordinator for Wake County Government Housing Department, I knew I would be educating the community members, however, I also had to use a different strategy to educate the community leaders. Government was not our solution, and the community leaders are the first responders in community crisis. It was very important to educate the community leaders on the policies, guidelines, and available resources. For us to heal our community there must be a clear line of communication as well as consistent and unified language. Wake County has over a million residents and gain about 56 more residents daily. It’s our job as community leaders to minimize the trauma our community is experiencing by absorbing the fluff they are released into our community. I fostered an education tour to educate the community leaders and it begin to change the temperature of the atmosphere from traumatized to hopeful. Together, we did not just bridge the gaps of access to resources but also the lack of accessibility to government and transparency. I stood on the business of my community while representing and advocating of the shoulders of government.