Real change takes more than a good idea. It takes trust.

In this episode of Sustainably Nonprofit, we sit down with Joi Cuartero Austin of Main Street America to talk about the tension between being known in a serving role within your community and being trusted as a champion who can help move the mission forward. Joi helps us unpack what it looks like to guide decisions with the people you serve, not just for them.

It is a conversation about listening well, leading with humility, and remembering that sustainable change moves at the speed of trust.

Show notes

Data or deception:

• Statement #1: Mixed-use developments (so spaces that combine residential, retail, and office) tend to increase surrounding property values by about 5–20%.
• Multi-use properties have surged in popularity as consumers increasingly favor walkable, amenity-rich environments where they can live, work, shop, and play without extensive travel. This shift represents a return to traditional urban planning principles, championed by influential urbanist Jane Jacobs, who argued that mixed-use development creates more vibrant, safe, and economically resilient communities.
• https://microflexspace.com/unlocking-potential-multi-use-commercial-properties/#:~:text=Multi%2Duse%20properties%20have%20surged,Commercial%20Property%20&%20How%20It's%20Structured
• Statement #2: The average American city allocates over 35% of its annual budget to public transportation infrastructure.
• As a share of state and local direct general expenditures, highways and roads were the fifth-largest expenditure in 2021,

1. less than 6% behind Public welfare, Elementary and secondary education, Health & Hospitals, Higher education.

• https://www.urban.org/policy-centers/cross-center-initiatives/state-and-local-finance-initiative/state-and-local-backgrounders/highway-and-road-expenditures#:~:text=State%20spending%20is%20typically%20for,general%20funds%20and%20federal%20funds
• Statement #3: Access to safe parks and green spaces in urban neighborhoods has been linked to improved focus and academic performance in students.
• University of Chicago psychologist Marc Berman, PhD, and his student Kathryn Schertz explored in a 2019 review. They reported, for instance, that green spaces near schools promote cognitive development in children and green views near children’s homes promote self-control behaviors. Adults assigned to public housing units in neighborhoods with more green space showed better attentional functioning than those assigned to units with less access to natural environments.
• https://www.apa.org/monitor/2020/04/nurtured-nature#:~:text=Spending%20time%20in%20nature%20can,2019%20opens%20in%20new%20window)

Contact:

Richard:

• Area Code Audio
• Linked In

Guest:

• [email protected]
• Mainstreet.org

Heather:

• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kwitschau/
• The Executive Geek: TheExecutiveGeek.com