A self-described “late bloomer” and “lifelong learner,” Kindra McDonald Greene’s life path has been anything but a straight line, but it ultimately led her to the self-actualization and community she long craved. This same community enthusiastically showed up at The Garage Gallery this month to hear Kindra speak on her inspiring CAMINO, compelling us all to “take the scenic route.”

Kindra has always been happiest outdoors, writing, learning, sharing stories or connecting with others. At five years old, she declared herself a poet. A vivid storyteller, Kindra relished writing, but it would take her nearly two decades to recognize the power of her written words. Starved for inspiration and reconnection after a series of unfulfilling jobs, Kindra turned to the outdoors.

In 2019, what began as a New Year’s resolution to spend more time outdoors led Kindra to hike every state park in Virginia – 38, to be exact! It was also along this path that Kindra had a transformative “aha moment!” She quit her unfulfilling full-time job to become a volunteer with the Virginia Service and Conservation Corps, an assignment that would forever shift her personal and professional trajectory.

“If you come across a trail, take it!”

As an Interpretive Trail Program Education Ranger at Virginia Beach’s beloved First Landing State Park, Kindra’s two loves collided. “These are my people,” she thought. “I could not believe I was getting to spend the majority of the year outdoors, while connecting others to nature through education and storytelling.”

Nine months into her resolution to hike every state park in Virginia, Kindra earned her Master Hiker Certificate. In January 2020, she became a Natural Resource Ranger within the Career Development Program. The experience reignited Kindra’s love of storytelling and writing and sparked the inspiration for the career opportunity that would emerge just down the road.

In 2021, Kindra became the Executive Director of the Elizabeth River Trail Foundation (ERT) in Norfolk, Va. In this role, she oversees the nonprofit organization’s vision to create the country’s most connected, accessible and resilient riverfront trail.

At the ERT, Kindra has had the invaluable opportunity to merge her head and her heart, bringing together what she loves and what she does. One such example is “Poetry on the Trail,” a month-long series featuring displays of local and regional poetry along the trail. Poetry on the Trail, a year’s long program that celebrates Virginia Poets on Virginia Trails. Opening for submissions to Virginia Poets each April during National Poetry Month, 10 poems are selected that appear along the trail via QR code. Visitors can read and hear the poet in their own voice. Each annual cohort of poets is celebrated in a Poetry in the Park event each fall. This is a program in collaboration with our sister trail Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail in King George County

The past six years of Kindra’s life have served as a testament to what’s possible when we are brave enough to leap or to venture down an unknown trail. Looking back on her experiences, Kindra shares that she has never regretted saying “yes” to new opportunities. “When I feel fear,” she shared. “It just means I’m on the verge of possibility.” Certainly, a straight path would’ve been a lot less fun, too.

Since embarking on her unexpected path, Kindra has published three poetry collections, received an MFA from Queens University of Charlotte and served as the Vice President of the Poetry Society of Virginia’s southeastern region. Most importantly, she has found her people.

“I will never regret saying ‘yes’ over and over again and believing in my five-year-old self. Believe in your five-year-old self. That’s the most authentic you!”

You can find Kindra in the woods, on a trail or at kindramdonald.com. Learn more about the ERT’s meaningful work at elizabethrivertrail.org.

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Written by CMVB volunteer blogger Valeria L. Palmertree

Join us every third Friday in 2026 as we explore, along with 236 other cities in 69 countries around the world, 12 new themes in a face-to-face community format. Recent themes have included Soft, Growth and Innovation. March’s theme is LOCAL, and our featured speakers will be from the Old Beach Farmers Market.

CM also has virtual field trips and a database of previous talks to enjoy and explore at home.

Leave it to one of Virginia Beach’s most beloved chefs to warm up an otherwise frigid January morning, as we gathered in The Garage Gallery at The Creative Well Arts Foundation to kick off 2026 in the uplifting spirit of KOOR-SOO, a Farsi word for “glimmer of hope.”

From a young age, Kip Poole implicitly understood the significance of helping others fulfill their full potential. “I have never wanted to be number one, but I want to help others get there,” he said. “I want to see the best in every person.” And his 30-year community-centered culinary career has certainly done just that.

Kip spent the early part of his career in a wide variety of restaurant roles, honed his hospitality skills at Walt Disney World, and saw kids’ desire to connect with and enjoy food as the Kids Club Director at Philadelphia Country Club. Impassioned by his conviction to teach and inspire a new generation of culinary enthusiasts, he returned to college to earn his Master’s in Education from Wilmington University in 2011.

As a culinary arts teacher at Delaware’s William Penn High School, Kip led students through a transformative experience, restoring and retrofitting an abandoned barnhouse into a sprawling farm and dining venue. During this time, Kip experienced first-hand the reward that comes from giving others the time, space and guidance needed to realize a new skill or accomplish something they’d never even dreamed of. He has focused on nurturing that feeling ever since.

The farm’s themed culinary events, catered and organized by his students, grew and grew, snowballing into what ultimately became The Crop Foundation (CROP), a nonprofit organization that has, since 2014, provided hundreds of students with the opportunity to train and work in real-world kitchens and restaurant environments.

Inspired by his father, Kip set out to plant his next chapter “where his roots are,” right here in coastal Virginia, where he grew up. As the Executive Chef for the Virginia Beach City Public Schools scratch-cooking program, Kip helped build 8 school gardens and train dozens of school kitchen staff. He later became the Executive Chef at Commun in Norfolk, a farm-to-table restaurant run by CROP students.

All the while, CROP’s impact has continued to grow, creating opportunities well beyond what Kip had once imagined. A large majority of his students now helm kitchens in renowned restaurants around the country – and continue to count Kip as a mentor and champion.

“Those kids, those are the KOOR-SOO, the glimmers of hope. They’re the ones who make it happen. And it’s all because I just gave them a little push.”

To date, CROP students have been engaged to host a variety of high-profile events Elephant in the Room and Mighty Dream , stewarded by Virginia Beach native Pharrell Williams. Kip and CROP regularly host an array of culinary community events, each intended to bring people together around local food.

In 2024, with the continued motivation of his late dad, Kip opened Yorkie’s in the ViBe Creative District. The modern deli market combines convenience, sustainability and community engagement, all while – you guessed it – cultivating the talent of CROP students, who serve as cooks and servers at the restaurant.

“To me, Yorkie’s isn’t a lunch place, it’s our home.”

In addition to nurturing others, Kip has cultivated his own adventures, pursuing opportunities to get outside of his comfort zone in the spirit of learning and connecting with others. In 2016, he competed in the Food Network’s acclaimed “Guy’s Grocery Games,” hosted by Guy Fieri. Most recently, he was one of three Virginia chefs to participate in HBO Max’s “The Big Brunch,” a reality culinary competition executive-produced by Emmy award-winning actor, producer and creator Dan Levy.

“The way I see it, there are a lot more things to do, events to host, people to bring together. There’s vision behind everything I do. I hope that’s what you all take away from this: if you have an idea, let’s do it! Let’s just get it done.”

To learn more about CROP’s work in our community and be notified of upcoming events, visit thecrop.org.

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Written by CMVB volunteer blogger Valeria L. Palmertree

Join us every third Friday in 2026 as we explore, along with 236 other cities in 69 countries around the world, 12 new themes in a face-to-face community format. Recent themes have included Soft, Growth and Innovation. February’s theme is CAMINO, and our featured speaker is Kindra Greene.

CM also has virtual field trips and a database of previous talks to enjoy and explore at home.

Dr. Sheetal Ajmani on the INNOVATION of Social Prescribing

Our final gathering of 2025 set a fitting tone of healing and transformation, thanks to the empowering insights shared by Dr. Sheetal Ajmani of the Benjamin Goldberg Foundation, which integrates medicine and the arts to create meaningful change for those it serves. In front of more than 50 guests within The Garage Gallery at the Creative Well Arts Foundation, Dr. Ajmani shared her wealth of knowledge about the INNOVATION behind the healing arts.

Innovation, Dr. Ajmani argues, is born from instinct, from that “hunch” that calls us to dig deeper. For her, that hunch arrived during medical school when she began practicing yoga. It was during that time that she scribbled “East meets West medicine” in a journal, evoking the Ayurvedic teachings of her Indian heritage that were now also part of her yoga practice. “While I was all in on medical school, I knew there was more to healing than medicine… the concept of a whole mind, body and spirit called out to me.” For more than 20 years, she has been exploring that hunch.

In 2019, Dr. Ajmani serendipitously met Wendy Goldberg, founder of the Benjamin Goldberg Foundation, named after her late son, Ben, who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma when he was just five years old. In his memory, the foundation works with health systems to integrate the arts into ongoing healing modalities. In early 2023, the two women joined forces to bring the healing arts to the forefront of medical care in our local community (and beyond).

As the Benjamin Goldberg Foundation’s Medical Advisor. Dr. Ajmani now leverages her dual perspective to develop programs that educate and heal, including an annual Healing Arts in Medicine Conference. Passionate about sharing how the arts and social prescribing can be used to make a meaningful impact on the healing journeys of individuals, caregivers and communities, Dr. Ajmani and the Benjamin Goldberg Foundation partner with local arts organizations and artists to provide resources, tools and inspiration to children, caregivers and healthcare professionals through the Peace Out Portal.

Her proudest accomplishment to date has been the development of the Social Prescribing Pilot Program, which will provide critical data on the effects of social interventions – such as mindfulness and art practices – on cancer treatment.

Social prescribing connects patients with nonmedical, community-based activities like the arts to address [practical, social, and emotional factors that we know impact health] holistic symptoms, such as anxiety and loneliness, of poor health. While the concept of Social Prescribing has been adopted by 30 countries around the world, it has only recently become more resonant in the U.S. Through her work at the Benjamin Goldberg Foundation, Dr. Ajmani is working to change that.

“Social prescribing shifts the conversation from ‘what’s the matter with you?’ to ‘what matters to you.”

The data, Dr. Ajmani says, speaks for itself. She shared that research shows 20 percent of general doctor visits in the United Kingdom were related to nonmedical causes. After a year of incorporating Social Prescribing modalities, that number decreased by more than 50 percent. [Referenced from a phone conversation with the Head of Social Prescribing UK, Merton Burrough, on April 10, 2024. Similar statistics are referenced on page 4 here (42-50% reductions. Specific year not mentioned: https://socialprescribingacademy.org.uk/media/y0jjwhlk/nasp-impact-of-social-prescribing-on-health-service-use-and-costs.pdf]

As the Benjamin Goldberg Foundation prepares to spearhead its largest undertaking yet in 2026, Dr. Ajmani is hopeful that Social Prescribing will become a cornerstone in local medical practices.

“We are finally bridging the healing arts and medicine through evidence-based education, clinical research and community programming.”

That medical school “hunch” is paving the path for “East meets West medicine” to become the norm in our local community. To learn more about Dr. Ajmani’s work and find ways to get involved, visit benjamingoldbergfoundation.org.

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Written by CMVB volunteer blogger Valeria L. Palmertree

Join us every third Friday in 2025 as we explore, along with 236 other cities in 69 countries around the world, 12 new themes in a face-to-face community format. Recent themes have included Cycle, Revival, Punk and Soft. December’s theme is KOORSO, and our featured speaker is Kip Poole of Yorkie’s and The CROP Foundation.

CM also has virtual field trips and a database of previous talks to enjoy and explore at home.

Dozens of local artists, educators, and former students of Mark Butts attended Creative Mornings for the first time this month in support of the beloved artist, educator, coach, and mentor. The setting was especially inspiring, thanks to the more than 80 “mini” works of art that lined the walls of The Garage Gallery for the fourth Mighty Minis group art exhibition, held the next day.

“Life is a puzzle,” Mark began, alluding to the connections, experiences and challenges that fuel our growth. “And a lot of those puzzle pieces are in this room today.”

For more than three decades, Mark was a devoted art teacher and coach within Virginia Beach City Public Schools, serving Hermitage Elementary, Salem Junior High School, Green Run High School and First Colonial High School. Today, he’s a recognizable face in the local art community and a regular at the city’s acclaimed Boardwalk Art Show, presented by Virginia MOCA. So, how did that evolution come about?

A Virginia Beach native, Mark had a modest upbringing with his eight siblings but found richness and community in art and sports. His father, who worked multiple jobs to provide for his family, wasn’t one to show emotion, save for when Mark, leveraging discarded styrofoam meat containers as paint palettes, gifted him paintings of animals. “When I showed him those, I could see the emotion in his eyes. That was my first encounter with the power of art,” Mark reminisced.

From a young age, his love of art and basketball became intertwined. By the time he entered high school, he was both a member of the basketball team and an avid participant in art classes. Despite his passion for competing and creating, Mark did not have any college aspirations; in fact, he was determined to become a plumber. “Plumber Butts had a good ring to it,” Mark joked.

In an unexpected but fortuitous turn of events, in 1974, Mark was recruited by a New Jersey community college to play basketball at 17 years old. The experience, which Mark describes as one of the most challenging and growth-fueling opportunities of his life, not only sharpened his basketball skills but cemented his decision to pursue a college degree. He enrolled at Tidewater Community College before continuing on to Virginia Wesleyan University, where he set multiple records and was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

“You can’t have growth without inspiration.”

Inspired by Kellam High School’s Coach Willie Braye (the first Black high school basketball coach Mark had seen), Barclay Sheaks (his college art professor who reminded him of Andy Griffiths’s character in Mayberry), and several artists, including LeRoy Neiman and Peter Max, Mark embarked on a fulfilling and meaningful career as both an art educator and basketball coach, for which he was honored as Teacher of the Year (1986), Beach District Coach of the Year (2007, 2020), Eastern Region Coach of the Year (2020) and Sports Person of the Year by the Virginia Beach Sports Club (2007).

In 2020, Mark retired after 38 years in the public school system, shifting his focus to creating and showing his works at various art shows. Over the past five years, Mark has amassed a strong following, all while evolving his style, which is deeply influenced by pop art and architectural forms. Some of his earliest works depict Vegas architecture, as he completed them during time off from basketball conferences.

Mark’s characteristic building portraits” feature geometric and organic shapes, emphasizing letters, numbers and colors found in societal structures. Rather than realistic depictions, his work invites viewers to fill in the visual gaps, creating a personal and reflective experience. Some of his most cherished pieces include Virginia Beach iconography.

“A lot of art will take you to places you’ve never been. I want my art to bring you back to those you’ve been.”

Fueled by connection – those important puzzle pieces – Mark continues to lend his time and talent through volunteer and mentorship roles, including as an assistant basketball coach at Virginia Beach Middle School. He also enjoys golfing and spending time with his wife and their two children and three grandchildren.

His puzzle continues to be built one meaningful pursuit at a time.

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Written by CMVB volunteer blogger Valeria L. Palmertree

Join us every third Friday in 2025 as we explore, along with 236 other cities in 69 countries around the world, 12 new themes in a face-to-face community format. Recent themes have included Cycle, Revival, Punk and Soft. December’s theme is INNOVATION, and our featured speaker will be Dr. Sheetal Ajmani of the Radiant Living Institute.

CM also has virtual field trips and a database of previous talks to enjoy and explore at home.

Few things are as sweet as a morning spent in community… but a gathering centered around ice cream may just take the cake, as it did this month, thanks to Joey Launi of Lolly’s Creamery. In the spirit of October’s SOFT theme, Joey served up insights, inspiration and a whole lot of joy as he shared his brand’s story with dozens of guests at the Creative Well Arts Foundation.

Lolly’s officially opened its first Virginia Beach location in 2017, but the vision for the brand started long before. Inspired by the nostalgic sense of place provided by neighborhood scoop shops and named after the family’s loving childhood dog, Lolly, the beloved local ice cream shop franchise has exceeded all of Joey’s expectations. Fulfilling his dream of opening a food business with his dad, Dom, a 40-year food services veteran, Joey says, was the culmination of following his heart and knowing his purpose, as well as a touch of serendipity.

After graduating from James Madison University, Joey and his wife, Jacklyn, found themselves craving Virginia Beach’s version of their beloved Kline’s Dairy Bar in Harrisonburg, Va., which punctuated much of their early love story. Slowly and intentionally, the couple laid the foundation for what is now a beloved local ice cream chain.

A passionate mentor and educator, Joey spent nearly two decades as a high school teacher and youth pastor before embarking on his full-time entrepreneurial journey alongside Dom and Jacklyn. From learning the basics of ice cream making and baking (all of Lolly’s delicious inclusions are baked from scratch, in-house!) to managing and scaling a team, they went all in with open hands – that is, with curiosity, humility and an openness to learn from others.

“At the end of the day, Lolly’s is about sharing joy, about bringing people together. Ice cream just happens to be the medium for that, and it needs to be really, really good ice cream!”

Fittingly, Lolly’s was named in honor of Joey’s childhood dog, Lolly, who was the heartbeat of the Launi home. Much like Lolly spread joy and brought everyone together, so too does Joey hope Lolly’s can become a catalyst for connection and a sweet bridge between generations.

With the Joy Bike, a vintage-inspired ice cream cart, Lolly’s began spreading smiles and scoops of deliciously inventive flavors throughout Virginia Beach. Before long, the community was serving them right back, helping kickstart their first brick-and-mortar in the heart of the ViBe Creative District in 2018. The rest, as they say, is history.

“We are humbled to be not just a business but a community. Thanks to the support of our neighborhoods, Lolly’s has the opportunity to build a long legacy.”

With four shops across Coastal Virginia and two more opening in the next six months, Lolly’s joy is more palpable than ever. Their secret ingredient, Joey says, is the brand’s humanity, the acknowledgement that behind every scoop of ice cream is someone’s face and, hopefully, a smile. With a sweet story worth sharing, there’s no doubt Lolly’s smiles are just beginning.

Learn more about Lolly’s Creamery at lollyscreamery.com, or follow @lollyscreamery to join the #spreadthejoyclub.

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Written by CMVB volunteer blogger Valeria L. Palmertree

Join us every third Friday in 2025 as we explore, along with 236 other cities in 69 countries around the world, 12 new themes in a face-to-face community format. Recent themes have included Cycle, Layers, Revival, Punk and Parallel. November’s theme is GROWTH, and our featured speaker will be artist Markt Butts.

CM also has virtual field trips and a database of previous talks to enjoy and explore at home.

Musician Roberta Lea Shares What Has Made Her Career BLOSSOM

Our September gathering settled into The Garage Gallery within the newly formed Creative Well Arts Foundation for the first time. Despite being on the cusp of fall, the morning was warm and sunny, as our community poured into the new venue for an inspiring lesson in the importance of cultivating creativity and community.

In the spirit of BLOSSOM, musician Roberta Lea dove into the various stages that go into seeing something bloom. Our work, wonder and will make up our soil, and community, collaboration and critique keep it watered. The results – the reward, the recognition, the reach – that’s the ultimate sunshine. This beautiful metaphor could not be more reflective of Roberta’s blossoming journey.

In 2019, after 7 years as a high school educator, Roberta experienced a panic attack that markedly shifted her perspective and her professional trajectory. “My inner child was having a temper tantrum,” she shares. “There was this seed inside that needed tending to.”

For Roberta, that seed was music. Storytelling in the form of songwriting and singing had long been her passion and her creative outlet, but criticism and self-doubt chipped away at her dream, forcing her back into the soil. The panic attack, she says, helped recalibrate her. Roberta’s goal became clear: pursue music full-time.

“I hadn’t lost my wonder or my will. It was my responsibility to put in the work, to invest in myself before anyone else did.”

Roberta leveraged the pandemic as an opportunity to lay down the groundwork for her goal. She poured any time she had into writing and recording, and got creative with promoting herself. In 2021, at age 35, she resigned from her teaching career and became a full-time musician. While Roberta follows a long list of iconic artists from coastal Virginia, she is the first local Black woman to pursue country music.

Community, Roberta says, changed everything. The more she connected with others, the more her songs resonated with them, the closer she got to fulfilling exactly what she had set out to do. After receiving a grant to record her “Just a Taste” EP, she began touring with The Black Opry and earned the support of Brandi Carlile and Allison Russell.

In 2023, Roberta kick-started her “Too Much of a Woman” album to critical acclaim, including a spot among CMT’s Next Women of Country Class of 2023. American Songwriter Magazine has described her as “a compelling artist”, and the Nashville Scene has praised her ability to “score hits with catchy, textured and beautifully sung originals.” Every year, she performs at Dollywood.

“There’s nothing like the power of music, of storytelling, to move people. Meeting fans of my music has been so affirming. I’m proud of the integrity of my work. Music is a responsibility.”

In 2024, Roberta saw her highest-grossing tour and officially out-earned her former salary, cementing her vision and propelling her forward. While Roberta had once dreamed of an Emmy, she never envisioned that a documentary showcasing her story would earn one; season eight of WHRO’s “Curate 757” series, on which Roberta was featured, received one this year.

“Having people invest in your story can be life-changing.”

Today, Roberta is embracing the change of the seasons, focusing on her own personal autumn. With hope and conviction, she inspires us all to allow ourselves the space and time to rest, rejuvenate and prepare for our next season of becoming.

If the past five years are any indication, there’s no doubt Roberta’s most colorful and abundant blossoming lies just ahead.

Listen to Roberta’s music, including “Too Much of a Woman,” at iamrobertalea.com, and follow along on her journey and upcoming tour dates on Instagram (@iamrobertalea)..

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Written by CMVB volunteer blogger Valeria L. Palmertree

Join us every third Friday in 2025 as we explore, along with 236 other cities in 69 countries around the world, 12 new themes in a face-to-face community format. Recent themes have included Cycle, Layers, Revival, Punk and Parallel. October’s theme is SOFT, and our featured speaker will be Joey Launi of Lolly’s Creamery.

CM also has virtual field trips and a database of previous talks to enjoy and explore at home.

I pulled this tidbit from WHRO but please feel free to remove if irrelevant or would prefer it not be highlighted.

DJ and Producer Gabe Niles on Life as a Creative NOMAD

Coming up on his second decade as a traveling producer and DJ, Gabe Niles – also known as Bugman, DJSupLadies and one-half of Sunny & Gabe – knows a thing or two about creative life on the road. On this sunny August morning, he settled into The Garage to reflect on his journey as a NOMAD.

Born and raised in Virginia Beach, Gabe grew up surrounded by music. Naturally, he was inspired by homegrown talents like Timbaland and The Neptunes, who “went from rolling down Mt. Trashmore to rocking the world.” The inspiration, Gabe says, was limitless.

During his time at Old Dominium University, Gabe began remixing music and creating original beats. Before long, he was DJing college parties. In music, Gabe found an electric conduit for connection and collaboration in unexpected spaces and with an eclectic group of people. From then on, his mission became discovering his potential through music, because “anything can happen in a song.”

In fact, many things happened as Gabe pursued his passion, embarking on what he calls “the life of a gypsy, hustler and professional couch surfer” as a music producer. His commitment paid off when inclusions on Okay Player in 2009 and Pigeons & Planes in 2012, provided a global platform for his music and set Gabe’s nomadic life into motion, working with the acclaimed DJ A-Trak at SXSW.

From New York to Austin and everywhere in between, Gabe treated “every interaction the same, knowing it could lead somewhere.” Staying unrealistic and unjaded by the outside world, he says, kept him going. A whirlwind chapter of poor management further taught Gabe invaluable lessons about the kind of artist he wants to be.

In 2014, Gabe’s career trajectory was forever changed when rapper, singer and producer DRAM invited him to mix one of his songs and made him an executive producer. Since then, Gabe has had the opportunity to work with people he only once dreamed of.

“I have always stayed open to receiving connections, more dots to map out my journey. I keep chasing. I gotta keep moving.”

Gabe has worked with and amassed an impressive network of nationally acclaimed musicians, large festivals and creatives dedicated to making space for diversity. Through it all, he has remained intentional in giving back to his Virginia Beach community, collaborating with local organizations and creatives in elevating the area’s cultural offerings and opportunities.

“If you can do something here, you can do it anywhere. It’s our people who make all of the difference. I want to put my success back into the 757 soil because this is where I want it to grow. All we need is opportunity. All we need is a little bit of rain.”

With his signature humility and humor, Gabe compels us all to think big, work hard and remember that there’s room and abundance for all, so long as we collaborate. A collective economy, he believes, will always thrive over a competitive one, especially among creatives.

It’s this message that closes out Gabe’s talk to ardent applause and nods in the audience. No doubt we all feel more inspired to chase our next big dream.

Learn more about Gabe’s upcoming gigs, music releases and more on Instagram.

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Written by CMVB volunteer blogger Valeria L. Palmertree

Join us every third Friday in 2025 as we explore, along with 236 other cities in 69 countries around the world, 12 new themes in a face-to-face community format. Recent themes have included Cycle, Layers, Revival, Punk and Parallel. August’s theme is BLOSSOM, and our featured speaker will be Kip Poole.

CM also has virtual field trips and a database of previous talks to enjoy and explore at home.

Deirdre Love on the Power of Being a MENTOR to Local Youth

Over three decades, Deirdre Love has poured herself into her community. From Harlem to Virginia Beach, she has shared knowledge and resources, cultivated relationships and guided young people to tap into the best version of themselves through creative expression.

Several of Deirdre’s mentees, many of whom have turned into her colleagues, were in attendance at The Garage on this Virginia Beach summer morning to applaud Deirdre as she let guests in on her journey as a formidable MENTOR.

Deirdre learned the importance of strong and supportive adult role models at an early age. She was raised in Harlem by a single, widowed mother alongside seven siblings during a time riddled with sociocultural and economic challenges. Short in stature and large in generosity and grit, Deirdre’s mom showed her that anything was possible. So, too, did Sister Bridget Ann encourage Deirdre to see her value, power and purpose despite life’s challenges. These women, Deirdre says, planted the first seeds that would eventually bloom into a career in youth mentorship.

When her cousin and best friend was diagnosed with and eventually lost his battle with HIV/AIDS, Deirdre became steadfast in caring for those in marginalized communities. Moved to help young people with HIV prevention, Deirdre set out to inspire, help and protect others like her beloved Stephen through a youth ministry at the Basilica of St. Mary’s, establishing Teens With A Purpose in 1996. Since then, Deirdre has been on a mission to empower teens.

In 2007, Teens With A Purpose became TWP-The Youth Movement, a 501© (3) nonprofit organization centered on youth development. Encouraged by one of her longest friends and now Board member–the only and only Al Roker of TODAY Show fame–Deirdre poured herself full-time into her nonprofit work.

Under Deirdre’s leadership, TWP has become an impressive arts-centered platform that empowers young people to use their voice, creativity, reflection and action to affect personal growth, transform lives and impact communities. In addition to a wide range of year-round programming, TWP provides the region’s only gateway to the National Youth Poet Laureate Program.

Deirdre credits the organization’s impact to her own mentors, who have included her son Andre, as well as the mentees and young colleagues to whom she’s simply “Momma D.” Over her 30 years in this line of work, Deirdre has witnessed firsthand the importance of serving others with passion and commitment. She believes that by pouring ourselves into others, we can empower others to pour into their communities and so on.

Mentorship, Deirdre says, can often feel like a daunting task, but it’s quite simple. It entails giving of ourselves without expectation so that others can build.

“Mentorship is knowing your worth and being willing to openly share your gifts without pretense.”

Now semi-retired, Deirdre is excited to see TWP continue to evolve in the hands of a new and inspiring generation – fittingly, one that she so lovingly helped mentor.

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Written by CMVB volunteer blogger Valeria L. Palmertree
Photo of CMVB team with speaker Deirdre Love by Misty Saves the Day

Join us every third Friday in 2025 as we explore, along with 236 other cities in 69 countries around the world, 12 new themes in a face-to-face community format. Recent themes have included Cycle, Layers, Revival, Punk and Parallel. August’s theme is NOMAD, and our featured speaker will be Gabe Niles.

CM also has virtual field trips and a database of previous talks to enjoy and explore at home.

Jeff Tarkenton of Mirth Inkorporated on Leading a PUNK Life in the 757

Real, energetic and unapologetically unfiltered, Jeff Tarnkenton stood in front of several original artworks as he kicked off our June Creative Morning gathering in The Garage, needing very little introduction. The artist, curator and filmmaker – a dynamic force and facilitator – within the local arts scene was greeted by cheers and enthusiasm as he kicked off his talk and took us on a journey through his proudly PUNK life.

Jeff’s rebellious journey began not long after losing his father, a satirical cartoonist for The Virginian-Pilot, when he was just nine years old. Unchecked grief, he explained, snowballed into anger, which he channeled in skating and surfing. While these activities were primarily solitary, their punk-music soundtracks provided both company and comfort. In the no-rules-apply environment of the skateboarding scene, Jeff found unlimited freedom.

With an eagerness to break away and with nothing to lose, Jeff followed friends down to St. Augustine, Fla., in his early 20s. There, they transformed the empty pool in an abandoned house in the woods into their own skate park, spray-painting and graffiti-bombing any available surface they could find. Jeff’s handiwork even landed them in several niche skateboarding magazines, cementing his punk “street cred.”

“What could be more punk rock than jumping off a flight of stairs on a piece of wood with wheels?”

Ultimately, it was this “do it yourself” attitude of the punk ethos that would influence Jeff well beyond his younger years. By his early 30s, tired of being tired and determined to nurture his artistic talents, Jeff quit alcohol and drugs and began focusing on art as a serious endeavor.

His sobriety changed everything, Jeff vulnerably shared with the group. Graffiti and street-art projects soon paved the way for commissioned murals at local restaurants, cafés and even the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). As of a year ago, Jeff is officially a full-time professional artist, lending his talents around Coastal Virginia in a variety of mediums.

What began as a pop-up art show 10 years ago is now the area’s well-established Artist’s Block. Imagined and led by Jeff, he refers to the beloved event as a “carnival of which I am the ringleader; it’s like microdosing a circus!” Dozens of local artists and creators have benefited from Jeff’s spirited efforts, which now extend far beyond a block.

In the DIY spirit that has inspired him from the beginning, Jeff pursued filmmaking. In 2020, he produced and directed “The Shadowlawn Creeper,” an homage to his favorite 80s b-horror movies.

“I want my art to show others that they can do whatever they believe they can do.”

Jeff’s Mirth Inkorporated brand was inspired by a sense of “joyful mischief” and the ethos of the punk subculture. Rebelling against the status quo, carving out his own path and remaining authentically himself, Jeff says, is the only way he wants to live. In this way, he plans to be “punk” for the rest of his life – and everyone in attendance can agree, Virginia Beach is the better for it.

“Virginia Beach is punk. Here, it’s not about where you’re from but about where you are. Just be a decent human!”

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Written by CMVB volunteer blogger Valeria L. Palmertree

Join us every third Friday in 2025 as we explore, along with 236 other cities in 69 countries around the world, 12 new themes in a face-to-face community format. Recent themes have included Cycle, Layers, Revival, Punk and Parallel. July’s theme is MENTOR, and our featured speaker will be Deirdre Love, founder of Teens with a Purpose.

CM also has virtual field trips and a database of previous talks to enjoy and explore at home.

Architect Alec Yuzhbabenko Shares His Vision for the Upcoming REVIVAL of the former Virginia Beach Dome Site

Just weeks after The Dome’s long-anticipated opening, over 60 guests gathered in The Garage VB to hear from Alec Yuzhbabenko, the visionary design architect whose vision for the REVIVAL of the storied venue’s former site is coming to life in the heart of the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.

To help introduce his vision for the future of Virginia Beach, Alec took us to his past in Odessa, Ukraine, where he found comfort on the beach, drew inspiration from the port city’s courtyard apartment blocks, Art Nouveau architecture, and nurtured his worldly outlook through travel.

When Alec’s father, a marine electrical engineer, accepted a job in Mobile, Ala., Alec was catapulted to a very different landscape from the one he’d been used to. Surrounded by American suburbia, Alec took up skateboarding and, eventually, surfing, wading into the emerald-green waters of Northwest Florida. By the time the family moved again – this time to Virginia Beach – Alec had come to recognize water as a throughline in his life.

Alec flourished in Virginia Beach, thanks largely to the city’s lively skateboarding and surfing scene and discovered a passion for the arts and for creating things with his hands, which ultimately led him to pursue a career in architecture. Internships at HBA Architecture & Design, Clark Nexsen and, notably, SOM in Chicago cemented Alec’s belief in the impact that architecture could have on urban planning and the future of cities across the world.

In 2015, Alec earned his bachelor’s degree in architecture from Virginia Tech, with a thesis that would have implications beyond his wildest dreams. At the heart of his project was a vision for the revitalization of the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. Titled “Hybrid Typology,” the design proposal envisioned a surf park on the site of what had once been Virginia Beach’s storied entertainment venue, The Dome. Flanked by housing, lush natural elements and gathering spaces inspired by Odessa’s tree-lined cobble-stone streets and courtyard housing, the surf park would serve as the community’s heartbeat.

“I knew right then that I wanted to help create a place that I would want to come home to. I was serious about being able to make a difference through architecture.”

In 2017, Alec, was asked to present his thesis project at a meeting that would change his career and the landscape of Virginia Beach forever. Venture Realty Group was interested in responding to the City’s request for proposals for the revitalization of The Dome’s former site with a surf park as the development’s centerpiece.

Fast forward nearly a decade, and Atlantic Park – a first-of-its-kind mixed-use development in the heart of the Virginia Beach Oceanfront – has begun opening its doors. At the center of it all is a Wavegarden Cove surfing lagoon – the country’s first and the first in the world to be integrated into an urban environment. With 46 wave modules, the lagoon will make it possible for surfers of all levels to catch a wave, just steps from the Atlantic Ocean. And picking up where it left off more than three decades ago, The Dome opened its doors on May 4 as a state-of-the-art indoor-outdoor live entertainment venue operated by Live Nation.

“Every aspect of the space has been thoughtfully considered and designed. It was important for there to be a linear throughway to Virginia Beach’s culture. From carved motifs and natural landscapes to Pharrell’s musical imprint – quite literally – and nods to our history as a military town, everything has been sculpted with this community in mind.”

Now a Design Principal at Hanbury, Alec has worked with more than 40 consulting firms and 250+ individuals who have been involved in Atlantic Park’s planning, design, permitting and final execution. Components of the project will continue to open this summer and into the fall.

“It is humbling to be up here today to talk about this. I thought my thesis would be gathering dust on a bookshelf, but thanks to this community, we have been able to turn a dream into an evolving perpetual reality.”

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Written by CMVB volunteer blogger Valeria L. Palmertree

Join us every third Friday in 2025 as we explore, along with 236 other cities in 69 countries around the world, 12 new themes in a face-to-face community format. Past themes have included Cycle, Rhythm, Endurance, Ritual and Parallel. June’s theme is PUNK, and our speaker will be Jeff Tarkenton of The Artist’s Block.

CM also has virtual field trips and a database of previous talks to enjoy and explore at home.