Kailen Gore: Community Profile- Ms. Joy Nelson-Thomas
Ms. Joy Nelson-Thomas
By: Kailen Gore
Joy Nelson-Thomas always had a knack for design.
“I’ve always been real fascinated with colors, how spaces affect people, the architecture of things, and how things look.” Nelson-Thomas said.
However, she wasn’t satisfied with how things looked for the low-income girls in Winston-Salem. Equipped with an interior design degree and some management experience, Nelson-Thomas took a risk and did something about it.
In October of 2015, she found LEAD (Learning Everyday Accomplishing Dreams) Girls of NC, a non-profit organization that provides resources and mentorship for low-income and at-risk preteen girls to inspire them to excel academically, emotionally, and creatively.
After only 18 months, LEAD is not only serving 103 girls, but has also contracted with Communities in Schools, won grants from the Women’s Fund of Winston-Salem, received the BB&T Lighthouse Project, and has partnered with the Winston-Salem Urban League, Goodwill Industries, and local Title One Schools to expand its impact.
Before LEAD, Nelson-Thomas found a desire to help others through her college senior project called ‘Digits’.
The purpose of Digits was to address the issue of digital technology availability.
“People want to believe that everyone has access,” Nelson-Thomas said, “but the reality is it’s still a mass quantity that is suffering and don’t have access to computers or cell phones.”
At the S. G. Atkins Center, a non-profit focused on revitalizing neighborhoods surrounding Winston-Salem State University, Nelson-Thomas created a resource center that offered classes, and had books and computers for under-privileged people to utilize.
She had to use some of her design skills to pull this off. The building of this resource center was not already created when Nelson-Thomas came up with the idea for it: it was a swimming pool.
She emptied it out and took advantage of its architecture.
“I actually used the structure of the pool,” she said, “[to create] components where the kids can go down in it and read. I added flooring in it, [as well as] interactive flooring for the kids.”
A new perspective blossomed.
“My life was about design,” Nelson-Thomas said, “but not about a physical space. But to design this opportunity for low socioeconomic status individuals. My vision was the redesign of a life.”
After graduating from high school, Salem College, and doing some design and management work, she prepared to move forward in the non-profit business.
“My plans,” she said, “were to open an organization that allowed girls with a passion for arts to be cultivated in design [work] and use that to give back to the community.”
This would accompany her design degree nicely. But Nelson-Thomas knew that she wanted to have an effective impact on the entire community. So she broadened her scope.
“With our current poverty rate,” she said, “I realized that I wanted to focus my attention on reality. This would include cultural awareness, individuality, communication styles, conflict styles, etc.”
Nelson-Thomas hit the ground running. “Steady but smart,” she said.
“I knew I wanted the organization to have phenomenal women on the board to bring something dynamic,” she said. “so I went to women that I knew could do just that.”
Nelson-Thomas recruited an executive board that includes: a sociologist, a psychologist, and Salem College professors who are experts in art, architecture, economics, and entrepreneurship.
The program began with 62 participants, some at High School Ahead Academy in Guilford County (Greensboro) and some at Salem College, where girls from any middle school can attend.
Since then, Nelson-Thomas has extended the program to three other school sites: Allen Middle School in Guilford County, and Wiley Magnet Middle School and Philo-Hill Magnet Academy in Forsyth County.
The girls in the program meet once every other week and participate in workshops, perform skits, write in journals, and hear guest speakers and presentations centered around topics related to LEAD’s principles: Awareness, Communication, Leadership, and Perspective.
Last year, the topics included team building, goal setting, building positive support, saving and managing money, suicide prevention, and one called “Making Our Yes Real and Our No Real.”
Another topic was art appreciation and the associated activity had the girls do similar work as seen on the hit TV show “Project Runway.”
“One of my board members is heavy into textiles and repurposing.” Nelson-Thomas said. “The girls actually went to Goodwill, they had like a set theme, and they repurposed clothing around this theme.”
Volunteerism is another aspect of LEAD Nelson-Thomas likes to include, so the girls also had the opportunity to volunteer behind-the-scenes of Winston-Salem Fashion Week.
Despite how much fun this was for the girls, Nelson-Thomas was impressed by their suggestions for next year. She is already working on top of it.
“They loved fashion week because it was a different experience,” Nelson-Thomas said, “but they really wanted to do something like feeding the homeless or doing something for animals. So that’s kind of what our focus will be this year with any volunteer activities that we do.”
In addition to running workshops and events effectively, Nelson-Thomas also wants facilitators to maintain a certain atmosphere for the girls.
A safe space for them is top priority.
“As one girl said, LEAD means protection to her so I want them to feel secure when they come in and comfortable saying whatever it is that they want to say,” Nelson-Thomas said.
“I love the honesty.”
The LEAD program works off of an evidenced based curriculum. At the beginning and end of each meeting, the girls fill out surveys that are later analyzed by researchers on the board.
That way, Nelson-Thomas can track LEAD’s effect on the girls, and shift the program if need be.
“You want to make sure with any program,” Nelson-Thomas said, “that it’s working and if it’s not, what’s not working?”
Nelson-Thomas wants LEAD to be a great experience for these girls and for the people working with her.
Her board members can attest to this.
“I think everyone should know,” Ms. Gillian Morrow said, “that she is genuine and real and she has nothing but the girls’ best interest at heart for the future.”
Dr. Rosa Otero, another board member, said, “She listens to those she leads and allows for everyone to have a voice. I believe that a true leader is one that inspires others to do better and I clearly see that with Joy.”
Nelson-Thomas is currently working to expand LEAD to another school in Forsyth County and she is also planning the recruitment and training of new volunteers for this year’s programming.
“I have found my passion, my purpose,” Nelson-Thomas said, “and I am committed to giving girls in our community resources and opportunities that will help them chart a path of success.”
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