Meet Ranielle, Our New Economic Development Team Member!
We’re thrilled to welcome Ranielle, the newest addition to our Economic Development team!
Ranielle has hit the ground running, and her teammates are already describing her help as “essential” and praising her for “jumping in to support wherever there’s need”—she’s been so helpful!
Ranielle was kind enough to pause her work to share how it’s going, what she’s learning, and what she loves about City Heights. See her thoughts here:
How has the work been so far? What’s been something lovely you’re learning/doing, and what’s been something challenging about the work?
The work so far has been very rewarding. I am new to economic development but I have been learning a lot from my team and they have been nothing but supportive. I have been with City Heights CDC for about a month now and my favorite part of the role is meeting all the business owners and hearing their stories. Each person has had their own unique struggles they have had to overcome to pursue their dreams of owning a business and hearing about how they overcome those struggles is very inspiring.
What is your history with City Heights? Did you spend time here as a child?
I worked for Ocean Discovery Institute, a nonprofit that provides free mentorship and science programming to prepare all the students in City Heights for college and career. It has been interesting to work on the business side of things opposed to education. Some of the businesses that City Heights CDC assists are cafes and restaurants I would go to during my lunch break when working for Ocean Discovery so there is some familiarity there.
What do you admire, appreciate, or love about the City Heights community?
I love the people and how there is a great focus on community. Everyone is so friendly.
Have you found a favorite place to eat here yet? Share a couple of your favorite spots if you have them.
Every place I have visited so far has been great. Two stand out to me. Saigon Sandwiches and Deli have really great banh mi’s and boba drinks that is perfect for lunch. Asmara’s Café serves really great coffee.