We’re excited to announce that Michael Ninen has joined Neighborhood Partnerships as the new IDA Program Coordinator! In the past he has worked in community organizing and development in order to support marginalized communities locally and internationally. In his work he employed diversity, equity and inclusion frameworks and he hopes to bring his experience with that to the IDA Initiative.
Michael is originally from North Portland and he recently graduated with a degree in International Studies and Spanish. In his free time, Michael enjoys studying foreign languages, watching horror and sci-fi movies, traveling, cooking, and reading. Currently, he is working on continuing Spanish studies and practicing Japanese writing.
For starters, tell us a little about yourself.
Although I’m originally from Oregon, I just finished spending 4 years in Seattle attending university. I love to travel when possible and to self-study languages. Currently, I’m working on improving my Spanish and Japanese. I also like to watch all kinds of movies but particularly horror and sci-fi.
What area of expertise and interest do you have?
I come from experience in community organizing with lenses of diversity equity and inclusion as well as an intersectional lens from my education. I hold a lot of interest in accompanying marginalized peoples in my community as well as communities abroad.
What does opportunity mean to you?
To me opportunity is the equitable distribution of resources to all persons with the recognition that some groups need more than others. In a system that was designed to marginalize, opportunity means lifting our communities out of that marginalization with a mosaic of different resources.
What difference can financial security make for individuals in communities?
Financial security brings with it a feeling of safety, comfort, and relief. It is a chance at breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma. It means having a chance to buy good food, invest in hobbies, to not worry about missing rent and more.
Choose one author, living or dead, that you’d like to have dinner with.
Not dinner, but tea with Ted Chiang.
What are you looking forward to most about this position?
Working with NP is an opportunity for me to bring the education I’ve gained to build power and have local impact in my own communities. I look forward to connecting with our various FOs and building upon those existing relationships as well as learning the technical ins and outs of the IDA Initiative.