Meet Us Monday: Brian, REAL LIFE Industries Operations Manager

Brian spent 13 years teaching at Anna Julia Cooper School in Richmond’s East End, building relationships with students, families, and the surrounding community. During his time as an educator, he visited Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles and was inspired by its approach to helping people impacted by incarceration and gang involvement build new paths forward through meaningful work, support, and community.

The experience stuck with him. Years later, Brian connected with REAL LIFE just as we were preparing to bring elements of the Homeboy model to Richmond, adapted to meet the unique needs of our community.

For Brian, REAL LIFE Industries brings together so much of what has shaped his career: his relationships in the East End, his understanding of the community, his background in education, and his belief in what can happen when people have the right opportunities and support.

“I can bring all of my experience from Anna Julia Cooper School, all of those relationships, and my understanding of Church Hill, and try to help REAL LIFE in any way I can,” Brian shares.

Since joining the team, he’s jumped right in, helping prepare the new REAL LIFE Industries Center for programming, developing curriculum, building partnerships, and laying the groundwork for what’s ahead.

And he’s excited about the team coming together to make it happen. As Brian puts it, “What can’t you do if you get the right people, you’re all connected, you’re pushing for the same thing, and you’re there for each other?”