Community Conversation in Nashua, New Hampshire

The Community Development Finance Authority (CDFA) is a statewide nonprofit public authority focused on maximizing the value and impact of community development, economic development and clean energy initiatives throughout New Hampshire. The organization leverages a variety of financial and technical resources, including the competitive deployment of grant, loan and equity programs. Those resources include New Hampshire state tax credits, federal Community Development Block Grant resources and the CDFA Clean Energy Fund.For more information about CDFA and its programs visitwww.nhcdfa.orgor call 603-226-2170.

New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority

Join your neighbors for a FREE conversation about the evolving role of community and what it means for Nashua, New Hampshire.

Nashua Public Library

Join the Arlington St. Community Center (ASCC) for a dynamic conversation about the evolving role of community and what it means for Nashua, taking place at the Nashua Public Library. This is an opportunity to connect with neighbors, share your experiences, and explore project ideas for a stronger, more resilient community.Spanish, Portuguese, and Arabic translations will be available for this event.This event is free &amp; open to the public. Free child care, raffle prizes, food and non-alcoholic beverages will be available. Help ensure we have enough room, so tell us you are coming!

<h3>What You’ll Experience</h3><ul><li>Interactive Conversations: Join facilitated discussions designed to include all voices and explore complex ideas together.</li><li>Interesting People: Connect with others who are curious about community and want to get to know you.</li><li>Connections &amp; Civic Engagement: Share perspectives, strengthen community ties, and contribute ideas about a community-building experience.</li><li>Creative Reflection: Artist Marek Bennett will use his signature style to record the main themes of each conversation.</li></ul>

<h3>Meet Your Facilitators</h3>Courtney Marshall: Courtney Marshall currently teaches in the English department at Phillips Exeter Academy. Before Exeter, she taught English and Women’s Studies at UNH. She also enjoys researching African-American food history and teaching Zumba classes. She lives in Exeter.Joshua Tepley: Dr. Joshua Tepley is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Philosophy Department at Saint Anselm College, where he has taught for the last decade. He received his B.A. in Philosophy from Bucknell University (2004) and his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame (2013). His research interests include free will, personal identity, ontology (the study of being), and the intersection between philosophy and science fiction.Mohamed Defaa: Mohamed Defaa is certified by the International Center for Educational and Cultural Consulting in Lyon, France. He earned an MA in Communication and Expression at the University Mohamed V in Rabat, Morocco, and a BA in French Language and Literature from the University Ibn Tofail in Kénitra, Morocco. Defaa has served as an assistant professor of Communication and Cultural Expression at the University Hassan the Second in Casablanca, Morocco, and a college instructor in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. He is a French and Arabic teacher at Merrimack High School, and an Arabic instructor at Southern New Hampshire University.

<h3>Discussion Themes</h3>Preview the key topics that will be explored during the event. Your insights about these themes will be essential to keep the conversation flowing.<ul><li>Community</li><li>Change</li><li>Resilience</li><li>Place</li><li>Identity</li><li>Belonging</li></ul>

<h3>About Arlington St. Community Center</h3>The Arlington Street Community Center (ASCC), located in Nashua’s Crown Hill neighborhood, provides a diverse set of free programming, classes, and events to local families and youth, focusing on academic achievement, health and social services, youth and family development, and community engagement.In 2023, CDFA’s Community Center Investment Program awarded the City of Nashua a one-million-dollar grant for major upgrades at ASCC targeting the historical building’s structural integrity, accessibility, and energy efficiency. The renovations were completed last fall, renewing community interest in this space.This valued community resource now hosts daily programming, responding to the community’s requests and needs and offering residents a place to connect with their neighbors and build a support network.

<h3>What’s Next? Turning Conversation into Action</h3>The Arlington Street Community Center has already received grant funding to bring ideas from the discussion to life. By attending this event, you will help shape community-led projects launching later this year.<h4>CTA: Join Us &amp; Share Your Voice</h4>

Agenda

Doors open at 5:30 PM

Welcome Address

Meet the facilitators and artist; overview of the evening’s discussion

Facilitated conversation (participants may be broken out into smaller groups)

Break (if needed)

Wrap-up and sharing of main themes and thoughts

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