Celebrating Hailey’s 3 Years of Visionary Impact

At Dent, we often say “its all about the people”. Few folks have embodied that message more than Hailey Jordan, who was recently awarded as a Technical.ly RealLIST Connector! Her vision of sustainability, communal care, and Black excellence have shaped Dent and countless students and staff. After 3 years, our hearts are filled with gratitude as we say goodbye to Hailey on our full-time team!

As a youth innovation hub, Dent relies on the adults in our community to mentor and inspire our young people in a variety of roles. As Hailey - who has played just about every role in our village and will continue to be involved in our future -? often says, Dent is bigger than any one person. That said, the impact Hailey has had is truly immense. As we launch Bet on Baltimore - a program and community with her fingerprints all over it - we want to take a moment to reflect on her incredible journey.???

Hailey first connected with Dent as a Made@Dent volunteer during our COVID-19 PPE Operation in April 2020. She became a Bet on Baltimore Graphic Design Coach that summer, and despite the program being virtual, she truly wrote the playbook when it came to building community over Zoom with her “Welcome to the Dent Universe” tips, bright outfits and energy, Zoom background of her many plants, good vibes music, and thoughtfully adapted and well-designed lessons.

She joined the full-time team as a Program Manager and has brought magic, community, and human-centered design to our programs. She ran our venture incubator, Accelerate Your Dent - where she supported the first Denter grant winners to receive $30,000 in funding and facilitate workshops at an international conference.?

As our Director of Experiential Learning & Marketing, she brought her sharp design eye to expand Dent’s brand and accessibly communicate complex information in a straight-forward way. She created our beloved mascot, Dentie, who puts a face to our Dent Mindsets. To make our Bet on Baltimore curriculum more culturally relevant and cutting edge, she brought in brilliant creatives and local industry experts to develop our curriculum in our Track Co-Creation process.

Hailey has been instrumental in molding our Denter Journey, allowing more space for youth leadership, encouraging their voices, their creativity, and their perspectives to seep into the fabric of our organization. She has made an indelible impact on our programs, pushing our full-time team to emphasize sustainability and reciprocity in our approach to entrepreneurship.

In onboarding new Program Managers while running Denternship, our externship program where youth bring creative problem-solving skills to partner organizations, she set the tone for what our programs can be and demonstrated her extraordinary capacity to nurture the talent of young professionals who lead with a sense of purpose.?

Her insight, passion, and talent made her a great fit as Dent’s first-ever Chief Programs Officer. In her 3 months in the role, she began to shape our policies to be more human-centered and data-driven. She changed our unlimited PTO policy - which we know many people don’t take - to one that now offers staff up to 20% of weekdays off including holidays and Dent-wide mini-sabbaticals. As Hailey’s sign off email shares, "Rest is a beautiful interruption in a world that has no pause button."? - The Nap Ministry.?

Even in choosing to step back from our team, Hailey’s dedication and value of community shined bright. She gave us 7 weeks notice which allowed us to plan for new team members (more on this soon!) and set us up for success during our flagship Bet on Baltimore program by crafting our Employee Handbook?and developing curriculum for 4 tracks.

Perhaps her most memorable legacy is the sense of belonging she instilled in our youth, especially our queer youth. She has been a beacon of light and a pillar of support for many who were finding their place in the world. Hailey’s dedication to inclusivity has made each and every one of them feel seen, heard, and most importantly, feel they belong.

As Hailey enters this period of rest and embarks on her well-deserved sabbatical, we know she'll continue to inspire and remain a cherished part of our community. Hailey's journey may be taking a new direction, but her legacy at Dent will remain a vibrant force that drives us forward.

Please do reach out to Hailey?at [email protected] if you’re interested in collaborating using her expertise in neighborhood, participatory, and/or information design!? We could not recommend anyone more highly!

Even though we'll miss her day-to-day at Dent, we know her impact stretches beyond her presence. Plus, she’ll still be around to connect with Denters and we too will be hiring her for information design work!?

What’s next for Hailey??As she has written in her sign-off email:

After three wonderful years, I have moved on from my role on Dent Education's full-time team to practice participatory design in community capacity building. It has been a true honor to work alongside such brilliant creatives and makers in the Dent Community.

With joy,

Hailey J.

Hailey J.,?

We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the love and commitment you showed, the values you ingrained in our culture, and the memories made. You made our staff and youth feel valued, you made us feel empowered, and you made us feel capable of creating change. Your influence has touched us all, and we're privileged to have been a part of your journey. As those who know Hailey often say when we talk about her magic, “if you know Hailey you know.”?

We look forward to witnessing your continued growth and are excited for the new adventures that await you! We have no doubt that whatever you turn your hand to, you will continue to create meaningful, inclusive, and impactful relationships and designs. Here's to the next stage of your journey! We're forever grateful for your time with us.

With joy too,

The Dent Team