For the latest episode of Nooze Hounds, Ryan figured what better time than the week of Valentine’s Day to bring his girlfriend on the podcast? But don’t roll your eyes and keep moving, this isn’t a sappy romantic episode; Christine Edwards, founder of Civility Localized, is a true newsmaker in Charlotte.
In fact, her work has come up in a few of our past episodes, including recent ones with Charlotte Arts & Culture Officer Priya Sircar and with CMS Board of Education rep Jennifer de la Jara. Through her company, which she launched in 2018 as Amplify Charlotte, rebranding as Civility Localized in June 2022, Edwards offers consulting services related to community outreach, place making and a slew of other services for government agencies, organizations and companies.
On the podcast, Ryan and Christine talk about how she got her start, launching her business as a civic engagement start-up while still working as a community relations director with Mecklenburg County. She describes how she adapted her business from hosting pop-ups where she handed out specially designed “Civic Kits” that helped residents get engaged with their local government to a client-contractor model through which she works behind the scenes for her clients to ensure local community members have their say in major projects such as Mecklenburg County’s participatory budget program or the city’s Vision Zero project.
“There are 65 people moving to Charlotte every day, and if you don’t take control or if you don’t play a part in the way that your community is being shaped, then it’s going to be shaped for you,” Christine told Ryan during an interview in 2019 (before the two had any inkling of their future relationship). “That’s why I think it’s everybody’s responsibility to do that and I think it’s important for the next generation to have something in place for them. That’s why it’s important to me. You have to own that.”
Remember you can catch Nooze Hounds on Spotify and other places where you find podcasts and be sure to check out Queen City Podcast Network for a slew of other great Charlotte podcasts that aren’t quite as good as ours but pretty damn close. Find past Nooze Hounds episodes here.
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