MY JOURNEY AS A CHANGEMAKER

I didn’t know it at the time, but one brief blurb in the Argus Leader back in 1993 would change the course of my life. It highlighted an upcoming two-day public engagement process about the future of Sioux Falls, facilitated by Sherry Kafka Wagner—an urban designer who helped create the San Antonio Riverwalk.

Sherry, with her warm Arkansas accent, commanded the room and every big personality within it. She orchestrated an engagement process that shaped a blueprint for the downtown we know today—Phillips to the Falls, historic preservation, and the restoration of Falls Park.

I was the youngest person there by at least a decade. Sherry noticed something in me—she recognized potential. After the session, she pulled me aside and encouraged me to apply to Harvard’s Career Discovery Program for Urban Design—a moment that later would help reveal my north star.

At Harvard, I learned how powerful visual communication can be—how ideas become plans, and plans become places.I felt like I had found my voice. Yet I couldn’t shake a thought—that urban design requires decades of patience before the impact is felt. I wasn’t sure I had that kind of patience. So, I pursued other interests.

Still, I kept circling back to the topic of cities. I found myself in bookstores, thumbing through texts like The American City: What Works and What Doesn’t—the kind of book most people would never read for fun. Serving on community boards helped, but it wasn’t enough. My passion was turning into a purpose.

In 2007, I stopped resisting that pull and pursued a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of California–Irvine. Unfortunately, I graduated during the depths of the Great Recession, when planning jobs were almost nonexistent.

By the time I landed my first job, I had submitted hundreds of résumés and cover letters. It was humbling and disheartening. I was determined, however, and the persistence paid off.

John Fernandez, who led the long-term planning division in Aurora, Colorado, brought me onto his team. He entrusted me with meaningful work—a blighted urban-renewal site ready for redevelopment, a growth model for transit-oriented districts. The pay was terrible. I didn’t care. I finally felt like I was making a difference.

A few years later, I joined the Town of Vail, working on high-end developments in a community known for its design standards and high expectations. The developments were impressive, but it didn’t allow me to solve the kinds of real-world challenges that improve people’s daily lives. I wanted to make an impact—a real difference.

Then came the opportunity to return home as Executive Director of Downtown Sioux Falls, Inc. DTSF might have looked like a detour from urban planning. In reality, it brought me right back to my calling: making places better. And there’s no better place to do that than Sioux Falls.

After nearly a decade of leading DTSF and working alongside so many talented people, I once again felt that familiar pull—the desire to make an even larger impact, beyond downtown.

Sioux Falls has a good thing going. We have incredible potential as a city. I want to ensure we don’t just grow—we grow with intention toward a shared vision for the future.

The next version of Sioux Falls can—and should—be the best one yet. Let’s shape it together and build a Sioux Falls for tomorrow that works for everyone today.