Meet Kelly Carpenter | Operation Cultivator, COO at Cultiv8Community

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kelly Carpenter and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kelly, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
Cultiv8Community is a nonprofit organization focused on habitat restoration, environmental education, affordable housing, and connecting people with nature. We envision a world where people are connecting with community and caring for nature, so that all life is flourishing, now and for generations. We build affordable houses and help first-time home-owners qualify to buy a house and receive down payment assistance that might not otherwise make it over those initial hurdles to home ownership. We engage children through field trips and summer day camps to experience and explore nature so that they have a life-giving experience, so that they are inspired to care for our natural world and perhaps even to have a nature oriented career. We help people to relax and find renewal through time in natural settings. We help rural communities identify their strengths and gaps as a community and journey with them to explore their opportunities especially related to poverty alleviation and environmental conservation. We work with land owners of all sizes to return as much land as possible to native habitat benifiting human and animal communities.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Don’t let anybody talk you out of a good theatre degree. I have a BFA in Theatre from Texas Christian University (Go Frogs!) where I focussed on scene design and directing. I have used the skills I learned through that degree in my entire life. In fact, I credit the perspective gained from my theatre degree as a significant element that has set me apart in my career. The skills of collaboration, improvisation, leadership, creativity, and getting the right people in the right roles have transcended my whole career.
When I left college, my dream was to one day open a non-profit that was essentially a community theatre center. I started my career by working in a mix of theatre, arts education and the church. Eventually, I went on to get a Masters degree in Religion and Art, particularly performing arts. As I moved through the early years of my career, I found myself the most fulfilled in roles where I was empowering people, investigating and designing, facilitating change and bringing out the potential in the people or project I am working with. When I was able to determine this, it became clear to me that I could find meaning and be an impact in many fields. I spent thirteen years working in leadership development, first with students, then young adults and eventually all ages including on-going professional development.
I am currently six-months into being the first Operations Cultivator (COO) in a non-profit, Cultiv8Community, which launched in 2022. We have a 10 person staff, 5 of us who started in the last six months and 7 of which are part-time. It is an exciting role to continue expanding my experience and be part of really incredible work in poverty alleviation, community organizing and environmental education and conservation.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
One of the bridesmen from my wedding is coming to town soon, so this question is really timely. I live in Rowlett, so for sure, we will check out several of our local favorite Rowlett parks and trails, downtown Rowlett and probably at least one order from our favorite local restaurant, Arboledas. We’ll head to Dallas one day to go to Union Coffee and hopefully the weather will be good to enjoy the lawn for a while. Our family is also big fans of the Dallas Arboretum and both Zoos – Dallas and Ft Worth. We are lucky enough to live on a small fork of Lake Ray Hubbard, so mostly we’ll enjoy the views and quiet sunsets from the backyard.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My success and where I am in life is entirely thanks to the efforts of an incredible list of people through family, school, church and community that have influenced, supported and challenged me. To lean into one shoutout in this season, it would need to be the individuals that make up the United Methodist Church. I have been formed my entire life by the members, staff and pastors of many different congregations across the country. I was given leadership opportunities in all seasons of life, starting from very young that built confidence and creativity which I was able to carry into my full life.

Website: https://www.cultiv8community.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cultiv8community/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyjocarpenter/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cultiv8community/

Image Credits
Kestrel closeup and Bee on Sunflower Closeup – Rob Spencer
Kids at Environmental Field Trip Cultiv8Community 2024 – The Chicory Creative – https://chicorycreative.com/
other photos collected from Cultiv8Community staff and volunteers