Women’s History Month Coffee Hour

April 05, 2023

To celebrate Women’s History Month, the HSH E&I committee invited Denisha McDonald, founder of Our Village Initiative, a social impact platform dedicated to closing the racial wealth gap, as a guest speaker. Our Village Initiative provides real estate and financial education. Denisha’s team has helped create over 58 affordable homeownership opportunities for families in Boston. They also provide scholarships to high school students, and advocate for the creation of affordable homeownership inventory.

Denisha presented on her personal journey from sports medicine to building a village focused on Black wealth. Her story begins in Trinidad, where being raised by her aunts and grandparents taught her valuable lessons regarding community. Her journey took her to Boston University for her bachelor’s degree and then Florida, where she worked with elite high school athletes and learned about persistence and focus from her students and their parents. This experience reminded her of her commitment to help those who most need it.

After moving back to Boston, Denisha launched the Our Village Initiative to help close the racial wealth gap. Their mission is “to increase the rate of homeownership in communities of color by creating and curating solutions to help you learn how to save, invest, and own your legacy.”

After the presentation, HSH staff were given the opportunity to ask questions, including how Denisha made the transition from sports medicine to social impact through real estate, challenges she has faced, lessons to those who are interested in helping their communities increase affordable housing, and what keeps her committed to her mission.

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