Seeding Success

Today, a decision on a potential data center pause in Memphis is pending at City Council. Back in August, S2 Policy Advisor Rachel Starks examined the moratorium, how SpaceXAI is currently operating, and what considerations and guardrails residents here and across the country are asking for when data centers come to town. 🔗 If you missed it before, check it out now (4-minute read!): https://loom.ly/5hvesOc

Centering the Data on Data Centers — Seeding Success As cities across the U.S. grapple with the rapid revolution of artificial intelligence, Memphis finds itself in the center of the debate over how to balance protecting community needs with the expansion of the Mississippi Delta’s data center alley. In this update, we examine the proposed moratori

WONDERFUL NEWS: Westside Middle School recently won the Tennessee Charter School Center's “Community Impact Project of the Year“ award for their incredible Parent Resource Center! 🏆❤️

As a community school, Westside is dedicated to improving the lives and academic outcomes of its students by offering free access to the resources and services families need. Using funds from the federal Full-Service Community Schools grant received by the Shelby County Community Schools Partnership in 2023, Westside Middle established an essential Parent Resource Center, providing food, clothing, and other necessities to people across the community.

We are so proud to call Westside Middle a partner, and we are excited to see the continued benefits that this center has on youth, families, and neighbors in Frayser. Great job, Westside!

“I sat down with [Superintendent Dr. Ted Horrell] and Deputy Superintendent Dr. Angie Delloso to find out exactly what has made their 13-year-old school district (which just graduated its first 12th grade class last year) one of the top-performing districts in Tennessee. ’As much money as possible stays in the classroom, as opposed to administration,’ they said. As it should, if you ask me.”��

In the third installment of our "What Works" series, Senior Director of Policy & Advocacy Anthony Hanna visits Lakeland School System to learn about how the system honors teachers’ collaboration time, incorporates feedback, and uses data for continuous improvement.

�🔗 Read the full story linked in the comments!

S2 is proud to support the Black Chamber of Memphis and the Building Wealth In Our Community Symposium. Strong businesses lead to strong communities, and the Black Chamber of Memphis is building the connective tissue between entrepreneurs and the resources, technology, and relationships they need to thrive!

Special thanks to Alan Gumbel, the Chamber’s COO and co-chair of our More For Memphis Governance Board, for the invitation.

Are you registered to vote? 🇺🇸

Midterm elections are coming up! Make sure to register by Monday, October 5th to cast your ballot in the November 3rd election. Check your voter status today: Vote.org 🗳️

Thank you New Memphis for bringing together recently elected Shelby County officials for an amazing conversation today! New leadership can bring fresh energy and commitment to the priorities that will help Memphis flourish, such as expanding pre-K access, developing a stronger workforce, and removing obstacles to the lives residents want and deserve.

We appreciated hearing everyone on stage discuss the importance of our local government working together more effectively for the people they serve, rather than letting the views, opinions, or priorities of any one person in leadership get in the way of progress. This is a promising start.

We look forward to working with Mayor Mickell Lowery and the Shelby County Commission to transform local systems for the better and raise the quality of life for everybody in Memphis and Shelby County! 🌱💚

In March this year, Seeding Success joined StriveTogether, Ballmer Group, and the University of Memphis to co-design and establish the nation’s first career certification program to develop local leaders to build place-based partnerships like More For Memphis 📍

Lisa Williams, Vice President of Communications for Seeding Success, completed the training!

“One highlight for me was getting to examine the ways that my personal identity, background, and roles I hold in my life influence how I approach leadership and systems change work. We got to think about what we bring to the table that can help or hinder, especially when interacting with colleagues who each bring their own backgrounds, roles, and identities. The program gave me tools to pause and assess how the way I show up can shape my interactions and decision-making—whether it’s keeping me from hearing an important perspective or if it can lead to a collaborative breakthrough.” — Lisa Williams 🌱

“[…]institutionalization is not permanence. Public funding must survive elections, leadership changes, and competing government priorities. Progress is rarely linear: agreements fall through, decisions stall, and settled questions reopen. Relationships must become policies and budgets, then be defended and renewed.

“The work in Memphis shows what progress looks like before it becomes a story: institutions learning, slowly and laboriously, to act together.”

Collaboration, and adequate resourcing for that collaboration, matters at every scale—whether it is in the form of something as small as time dedicated to a conversation between two people or something as far-reaching as the United Nations Resident Coordinator Offices, who translate “global goals into national action.” In her recent Newsweek op-ed, Garance Choko lifts up our collective impact efforts and connects them to a broader international system.

As founder and CEO of Coda Societies, Choko has been a vital strategic planning partner for Seeding Success, helping us carve the path forward through More for Memphis. Thank you for the spotlight!

💡Read it here: https://loom.ly/Esv8N-U

What Memphis knows that the General Assembly forgets | Opinion "The work in Memphis shows what progress looks like before it becomes a story."

Strong business communities aren’t built by one organization alone. They’re built together. 🤝🏾

Thank you to the sponsors and partners helping us create stronger pathways to opportunity for entrepreneurs throughout Memphis and the Mid-South.

Want to help us build Entrepreneur City? Sponsorship opportunities are still available.

“'Our kids know that we care.'

"That’s the message that stuck with me for the rest of the day after spending 90 minutes with a portion of the leadership team at University Schools. It was immediately evident while walking through the school with Dr. Sally Parish, the Director of Schools, as a group of middle school students excitedly invited her to a function that their class was planning."

🎓💡 In the second installment of our "What Works" series, Senior Director of Policy & Advocacy Anthony Hanna explores the success of University Schools, the state's first Innovative School District. Read it in full at the link in the comments!