Introducing... Kendra David!

Kendra is the newest member of the Office of Social Justice team. She joins our team as our Immigration and Justice Specialist.  Kendra comes to us with a background in community development. Most recently, she worked at the Inner City Christian Federation.

We are thrilled to welcome Kendra to the team!

1. Who is one of your social justice heroes?

Of course there are lots of people, and I could try to be fancy and list someone who's been famous for a lot longer, but my gut tells me to go with my first answer. One of my social justice heroes is Steve Corbett. He’s one of the authors of “When Helping Hurts”, and he was one of my professors in college. He’s been a huge influence on my life, and on my thought process of the importance of social justice work.

2. You have a degree in Community Development and English. What has been one of the most formative experiences or lessons learned from either your education or work in that field?

In my Community Development classes, I learned about my position as a privileged person, and just as importantly, what to do with that privilege. The Community Development program at Covenant emphasized the theology of social justice, and I always appreciated that foundational understanding. Between the disciplines, I've learned the importance of writing and the power that writing can have in telling your story. I always had newfound joy when reading some texts with a Community Development lens, such as North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, which, in many ways, is an important examination of two warring ideas of how to address poverty and injustice.

3. Tell us about a time you have been inspired by your congregation or church.

At the church I attended in Chattanooga while I was in college, they ran an ESL program through the church. Every Tuesday. They asked college kids to contribute and not just be “takers” during their college years, and so my friends and I volunteered with the program. I always appreciated the invitation to get involved, even when its hard.

4. For the past several years, you have worked with the Inner City Christian Federation for their Individual Development Account program, providing housing counseling and ongoing support for individuals. What have been some of the most formative experiences you had in that role and how you think that experience will enrich your work in the area of social justice?

In my role working with the Individual Development Account program at Inner City Christian Federation, I was privileged to walk alongside families as they worked towards their goal of home ownership. One of the best things during my time at ICCF is when families would purchase homes. It’s an amazing goal to achieve, because there’s so many barriers, and there were plenty of families who were first generation home-buyers, which made the purchase even more important. Through my role there, I became increasingly aware of my privilege as someone who came from a family with a long history of home ownership, including great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, and siblings. There were many people who were there to help me through my own purchase, but for too many families, becoming a homeowner is a daunting task that they must navigate alone. I hope I can use my own experience of coming to terms with my privilege to help others do the same.

5. What TV show or book character or best embodies you and why?

My gut answer is Anne of Green Gables. She’s idealistic, feels everything deeply, and is immersed in her own world half the time.  Speaking of which, if you haven’t seen the 1985 version of Anne of Green Gables, you have not seen the correct version.