By Andrea Muñoz
I love it when people tell me that I am a “people person.” This expression is defined as someone who enjoys being with or talking to other people. I don’t think we have an expression like this in Spanish. Indeed, if you used a translation tool it would be “Persona del Pueblo”, which more describes someone who is humble or someone representative of the autochthon, or indigenous, cultures. For me, “people person” makes me think about a combination of loving people and someone that truly belongs where they are.
As a “people person,” when I first read about the People Ready Communities project, I was intrigued. An initiative of the Brushy Fork Institute, the concept of People Ready Communities is to add a ‘people’ layer to economic development in communities that have been struggling to flourish after historical industries closed down. It prioritizes people – and belonging – in how we attract new industries, businesses and individuals to settle in our communities, because, after all, the process of choosing to locate in a place has many factors, including the human one. Does the community have a workforce aligned with my field? Does the community have the infrastructure; housing, schools, places to visit, access to grocery stores, etc.? Does the community welcome me?
I moved to Whitley County, Kentucky in 2012, and to the United States in 2005. For anyone that moves to a new community, it can be a challenging process. Adapting to an unfamiliar environment is hard, even when you love the new place and you want to be successful. One of the most important things that can ever happen is to find a sense of belonging in your new community.
I joined the People Ready leadership program with other members of my Whitley County community this spring 2024. Our initial workshop was held in Berea in March, where the Whitley County cohort and two other counties, Knox and Letcher County cohorts, came together. We gathered to think about how our communities can improve the local economy by getting ready for new companies that want to bring investment (capital and human) and be able to answer “yes”: we are a People Ready Community.
It was very insightful to discover that most of the people that were participating in this leadership program had the same values even though we come from diverse backgrounds and diverse cultures. We all want to have that sense of belonging. We had so many things we could relate to, and at the end of the day, there were more similarities than differences. We just needed it to have a conversation about it.
Becoming a People Ready Community means that we will become more welcoming: that people that come to our communities feel safe, that they want to come back or even live here, that they belong, and that we belong. I am looking forward to working with my Whitley County team and learning from the other cohorts over the next few months as we each work on our mini projects to support our People Ready visions.
Learn more about this initiative by the Brushy Fork Institute at Berea College: https://www.berea.edu/brushy-fork-institute/people-ready-communities
About the Author:
Andrea joined the Mountain Association in 2024. Originally from Santiago, Chile, she immigrated to New York City in 2005 where she found a new career as a community educator with Cornell University Cooperative Extension in Jamaica Queens. In this position, she worked in a melting pot of cultures and brought this experience with her when she moved to Eastern Kentucky with her family in 2012. Prior to coming to the Mountain Association, Andrea worked for Kentucky State University in sustainable agriculture and nutrition education. She also has gained extensive experience as a Spanish-English interpreter throughout her career.
In her position as Outreach Specialist at the Mountain Association, Andrea focuses on getting the word out about Mountain Association’s programs and other resources. She cares deeply about Eastern Kentucky communities and the culture and sense of belonging here. She also loves to travel, meet new people and learn about their stories. In her free time, Andrea enjoys photographing nature, painting with watercolors and listening to Latin music.
