As a child growing up in Clinton, Mississippi, Dr. Kimberly Adams hated gardening so much that whenever she got in trouble her parents’ go-to punishment was to send her outside on their five-acre plot to work that green thumb.
Fast-forward a few years, with a business marketing degree from Southern University (Baton Rouge) and master’s degree from Jackson State University in hand, Adams came to Houston where she earned her Ph.D. in urban planning and environmental policy from Texas Southern University. And lo and behold, she not only helped found the Blodgett Urban Garden in 2012, she’s also its executive director.
The Defender spoke with Adams to find out how she leads the Third Ward garden while also specializing in strategic planning for the company she owns, Quinn Development.
DEFENDER: With so many Mississippi and Louisiana ties, why did you make Houston home?
ADAMS: I ran track at Southern University, and we used to come here for the TSU relays. And every time we came, I loved it here. So, I moved here right after undergrad. Houston reminded me a lot of home, believe it or not. The people here were very hospitable. And when I came on campus [at TSU], I met a lot of people, professors and students, who were from either Louisiana or Mississippi. So, it really felt like home. And Southern has the second-largest alumni chapter here in the city of Houston. So, it was a great opportunity to continue to be surrounded by my adopted family.
DEFENDER: How did you get involved with the garden?
ADAMS: The community garden started as a research project. I was obtaining my Ph.D. at the time in the Urban Planning and Environmental Policy department, and we had a special topics class under Dr. Cherise Smith. Initially, food insecurity wasn’t the topic, but there was an [unhoused] individual who came into our class and asked for food. We had junk food, candy, chips, things that were so unhealthy. We gave him what we had. I ran out into the hallway and stopped him and said, “Hey, I’m going to give you some money because we really didn’t have any food. And he would not take the money, which really surprised me. He said, there’s nowhere to go… But all of us students came back together to the table and were like, “Wait a minute. If an individual who is homeless cannot access food at all, even if they have funding, then there’s a bigger issue than we ever thought about. So, we immediately changed our research topic to food insecurity. I was working in the City of Houston Housing Department at the time. There was another student in working in public works, someone else working in the finance department. We had access to information and people and we started delving into our own respective specialty areas to determine why is Third Ward a food desert. We realized Third Ward had been a food desert for decades. We also found was there’s access to land and an opportunity to create a greater use of the property in Third Ward… I tell people it’s a research project gone wild.
DEFENDER: What’s your favorite part of this whole garden experience?
ADAMS: Hearing the stories from the community, hearing the impact, that we’re able to make in the community… I think the driving force to bring me back the next week and continue to do what I’m doing are the young students and the elderly people. People who we’ve been able to assist in their diet. People who have come out and said, “During the pandemic, I lost my job. I didn’t have income, and if it wasn’t for the community garden, I wouldn’t have been able to feed my family.” And then students coming out and saying how they have been able to network with individuals on the corporate side, and students saying, “It was through the garden that I got my internship” or “I got a job offer.”
DEFENDER: So, what are you doing when you’re not executive directing?
ADAMS: So, I specialize in strategic planning. I actually have my own company called Quinn Development. I assist jurisdictions and other private companies in developing strategic plans, community development plans, disaster recovery and budgeting and stuff like that. So, when I say well-versed in community, I’m too feet in, in helping the community on either side.
DEFENDER: What advice do you have for those who are seeking to make an impact on their community?
ADAMS: Start with the resources that you have available. Start with identifying and knowing who you are. Is it the time that you have, is it information that you have, is it access to funding that you have? Provide those skillsets to organizations that are in need. And if you can start from there, then you’ll start to see a significant impact, and you will start to feel the impact that you are able to make. It gives you a sense of pride and a sense of community.
MORE ABOUT DR. KIMBERLY ADAMS
Favorite thing about Houston: My favorite thing about Houston is opportunity.
What are you reading these days: One of the books that I’m reading right now is called Leadership on the Line: How to Lead in Times of Trauma. It is a great book. It has different stories and anecdotes in it, talking about some of the failures and strengths and opportunities of some of our greatest leaders across the world, in different situations in which they have been in. I think it’s an impactful book for individuals who are seeking leadership, who are in leadership or who have gone through tumultuous times in their leadership tenure.
What’s on your playlist right now: Jazz music.
Hobbies outside of work: I like to travel. I would say definitely the community garden gives me a sense of what I’ll call my meditating time. It is an opportunity for me to relax, become one with the Earth, and to just meditate. Being in disaster recovery and going in and seeing so much upheaval and trying to assist people after they’ve lost so much, at the end of the day, you have to figure out what brings you joy. And for me, I recognize that helping other people gives me a sense of joy and gives me a sense of fulfillment.
Mantra: I wouldn’t necessarily say that I have a mantra, but one of the things that I live by is to ensure that each day was impactful. If I only did one thing to help someone to ensure that before that day ends, I did that one thing. And so that’s how I live every day. And so before I can get up from the computer or end my day, I ask myself did I help someone? And if I didn’t, the day can’t end.
