Huge fan of community empowerment, so I knew attending City Civics Day would be right up my alley this past weekend. When I saw the event in my email, I knew I needed to attend – it would definitely help with my policy job. The event looked fun, so I brought my children along, and I’m sooo glad I did! From the emails leading up to the event, I saw there were lots of art activities, which I knew would be perfect for them.

City Civics Day is a free, day-long celebration of civic involvement and community connection for all Chicagoans, run by the City of Chicago and presented by the Department. Our game plan was strategic: I’d attend the CPL session “Learning Together: How Chicago Public Library Designs Programming with the Community,” while my daughter would check out the Public Art session “From Murals to Sculpture: How Public Art Gets There.”

Why me? Well, I’ve spent the last 3 years facilitating workshops in Chicago and now work in policy. I want to keep working in this space where I host community workshops, create learning pathways for people transitioning into tech-based careers, and develop strategies with smaller organizations to boost job placement.
Why Chloe? She’s been passionate about art and music since she was little! She’s even created designs for mosaic pieces with mosaic artist Jovonna Jackson.

During the CPL session, I discovered that the library is literally the coolest place on earth – you can do SO MUCH there! While we often drift towards cafes and bookstores as adults, the library was magical for us as kids, and honestly, it’s still the best spot for adults. One of the coolest things? You can host events AND create programs with the library! (Just need to be a registered nonprofit, define your expertise, and talk to the district manager of your local library.)

My kids got to learn about our alderman and what district we live in. Chloe connected with artists from the panels who run After School Matters programs, and we learned about Marwen.
I left the event inspired to learn more about organizations already providing community resources and training. Now I’m fired up to build my own initiative to help people break into the tech field!