We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dr. Jennifer & Krystal Hills a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Dr. Jennifer & Krystal, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with education – we’d love to hear your thoughts about how we can better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career

Education often happens in silos. Children, as well as adults, learn alongside peers who have shared experiences and opportunities. However, this hinders learners from sharing and gaining knowledge from those not the same age or grade level.

The Leadership Academy of Creative Arts provides equitable, intergenerational experiences to grow healthy leaders and empower fundamental world changes. Members undergo leadership development that builds transferable skills between school, work, home, and community. As a result, members participating in our leadership academy are more prepared to be successful in the workplace, as entrepreneurs, or as viable leaders in the community. For example, 92% of our 2023 student leaders (ages 6-17) expressed that they have seen a positive shift in their mindset and behavior since joining our program. In addition, 100% of these participants said they want to continue working with our organization to help others become better community leaders.

Students thrive when they can work cohesively with students of other ages, which promotes leadership and ultimately can increase early graduation and college readiness rates for minority students. If we could make any changes to education, we would make sure that schools accommodate the whole family

Currently, communities build educational institutions to serve particular grade levels or areas of focus. However, we believe in the power of learning as a village. Over 80% of people in our community need a high school diploma. Many of these people are parents with students in school, yet why are they not in the same learning facility? Families learning together can increase academic readiness and decrease negative classroom behaviors, ultimately allowing the community to be the backbone of education.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

The Leadership Academy of Creative Arts (TLACA) mission is to restore the role of the village by building healthy leaders in communities. TLACA utilizes a multi-generational approach toward promoting equitable leadership development, social-emotional wellness, and thriving communities. Dallas ranks #16, with approximately 130,000 households receiving government assistance (statisticalatlas.com). We believe that the lack of financial resources limits an individual’s ability to engage in appropriate leadership development.

TLACA has offered hope and alleviated some barriers by building a bridge of academic resources and financial relief so families can focus on growing healthy and academically with access to equitable leadership development. Last year, we advocated for quality educational experiences for over 250 individuals. 84% of our members are low-income, and quality education and leadership development can help increase economic opportunities. Furthermore, we provide quality Out of School Time (OST) enrichment to youth and adult learners seeking to improve their education and leadership skills.

Krystal and I are the organization’s founders and have worked as community educators and advocates for over 15 years. By serving in this capacity, we have learned that social mobility is critical in ensuring people in the community connect to opportunities that can expand their economic mobility.

In addition, youth and elders are essential voices in our communities. We believe in giving youth a platform to lead. Therefore, members of all ages can be involved in creating the organization’s strategy and decision-making. Along with the youth, the elders who may often feel overlooked also have a place to lead and share their unique wisdom with those who may still be finding their way. This multi-generational approach to leadership allows the organization to have diverse perspectives that can help mold, reshape, and heal communities.

We believe in bringing out the best in everyone. Therefore, if you have a goal you wish to achieve, let the village support you in reaching that goal. It takes one to help all and all to help one.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

Krystal and I believe in the power of connection. Unfortunately, in today’s world, it is growing ever so more challenging to be connected with people. However, our organization believes in making personal contact and staying in touch with the people we serve. We do this through consultations, phone calls, emails, and one-on-one meet-ups. We have learned that when we make a point to make personal connections with members, they are more likely to achieve their goals. Furthermore, members pay it forward by helping others accomplish their aspirations.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

The best source of new clients has been word of mouth. People in the village help drive the mission forward by sharing the success stories that happen every day within our community. We see this through sharing social media posts and inviting others to our unique events and experiences. Just recently, we had a member reach out to us. In the past, we helped his son obtain his high school diploma through GED. He shared that he had a niece with the same goal and wanted to surround her with a village that could help. Since then, his niece has received assistance with enrolling into Dallas College’s free HSE courses, and we have paid for her to take a GED practice exam which she was able to pass. She is well on her way to completing her goal and is already engaging her family in our programs.

Our social media and website also draw new clients our way. We need help spreading the word to help more people reach their goals!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tlacadallas.org
• Instagram: @thevillageof_tlaca
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theleadershipacademyofcreativearts
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tlaca/

Image Credits
Images taken by Krystal Hills, C.G.