Blazin’ Brazen: Ari Paz, Founder of Acción Community Development

“Not having the responsibility of paying an office lease allowed me to support more student interns seeking high level industry experience in Construction and Project Management.”

-Ari Paz

We took a moment to catch up with Ari Paz, one of our very own Brazen Scholarship, recipients to capture what the experience meant to her as a recipient and how it impacted her business. Here’s what she had to say share:

I lead a Community Development firm in Dallas that supports local businesses in the Construction, Real Estate Development and Transportation industry. In early 2020 the firm began contracting work in wet utility infrastructure, to meet a demand for water and wastewater improvements. It became our area of focus and we needed flexible office space to grow our team. During this time, I came across the Brazen Scholarship at Good Coworking, and found it difficult to believe that a beautiful space like this was offering free space for small businesses! I applied and was accepted! Good Coworking had an immense effect on the growth of the firm. 

The location was suitable for the contracts we had at the time, many projects were within 10 minutes of the office. There were enough well equipped conference rooms and a variety of dining options nearby. The staff was incredibly supportive and my visitors and team members were excited to be working and meeting in such a vibrant space. We all enjoyed taking photos throughout the building and working in the garden.

Not having the responsibility of paying an office lease allowed me to support more student interns seeking high level industry experience in Construction and Project Management. 2021 was the year we recruited the most office team members, from local universities like UNT Dallas and UTA. In the summer we hosted student interns and teacher externs from Dallas ISD’s Career and Technical Education program. I even hosted board meetings for Stars United Global Outreach, a 501c3 equipping youth with financial literacy. For me, this is what capacity building is all about, equipping local groups with resources that will help them thrive. That is what the Brazen Scholarship did for me. Good Coworking was a blessing for my business.

You can follow Ari’s next project by visiting https://vain.blog/. 

Click here, to access the 2022 Brazen Scholarship Information Page.