Darel Ross II
Juliet Bennett Rylah |
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Program
1167 Madison Ave SE
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49507
Darel Ross II became Co-Executive Director of LINC in 2008, after serving as the board treasurer for LINC for six years. Ross leads LINC’s efforts to revitalize neighborhoods by engaging residents, developing business and housing opportunities, and securing over $42 million in funding in the same neighborhood in which he grew up.
Michigan Nightlight: What does being a leader mean to you?
LINC Community Revitalization Executive Director Darel Ross II: Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “ A leader is a dealer in hope,” and I must agree. Being a leader to him is much more then simply having a vision and purpose – it’s about aligning others around that vision and hope in order to achieve success. It also comes with the responsibility and understanding that those goals should have societal benefits.
A true leader understands that it's not about individual accolades and recognition, so he should also be the first one willing to follow when the situation merits it.
A true leader understands that it's not about individual accolades and recognition, so he should also be the first one willing to follow when the situation merits it.
What is your dream for kids?
Prayerfully, my children will build upon the foundation that not only I established throughout my life’s work, but also that of the leaders before me. I want them to contribute positively to the community and become leaders of their generation.
What is one concrete thing that could be done to improve the environment for social sector work in Michigan?
Our sector needs to come together and agree to work collectively on large-scale issues for true change. We must also agree on how to measure this impact and use as much available data as possible to guide the decision making. This will require broad cross-sector coordination and community input. That is what LINC is all about – connecting and aligning people and resources. Generally, social sectors focus solely on the isolated services of individual organizations. We all need to work together to make a bigger impact on the community.
How do you know you’re making progress?
Simply put, we will know we are making progress when opportunities for success are equal among all neighborhoods and your zip code no longer influences one’s likeliness for success. In addition, we will know we’re making progress when communities come together routinely and self initiate community conversations to address community issues such as improving student achievement gaps, increasing economic development and improving housing for all.
What are you most proud of?
I am most proud of the fact that at LINC, diversity is more than just a talking point and our continued willingness to measure our success by the impact we are having in the community.
We respect the indigenous wisdom of the residents within the communities we serve and will continue to bring their voice into all of our programs and activities.
We respect the indigenous wisdom of the residents within the communities we serve and will continue to bring their voice into all of our programs and activities. We understand that in order to sustain change, ultimately we have to ‘pass the mic’ over to the community so that the capacity lies within them.
Reflecting on your career, what would you say was your greatest professional learning experience?
I have come to learn that every situation is a learning opportunity. The lessons learned in those moments when things are not necessarily going the best or from failure have often led to the wisdom behind some of my greatest accomplishments.