September 5, 2025 • 38 mins
What if buildings could heal communities? In this captivating conversation, architect Davielle Phillips reveals how his journey from Chicago's South Side to Omaha is reshaping urban spaces and mindsets.
When young Davielle asked his mother who decides what buildings look like, her simple response—"Google it"—sparked a lifelong mission. Growing up surrounded by boarded-up houses and neighborhood decline, Phillips discovered architecture as a powerful tool for community transformation. Now armed with dual master's degrees in architecture and business administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, he's bringing both creative vision and practical implementation to North Omaha's revitalization.
Phillips offers fascinating insights into the "broken window theory," explaining how physical deterioration perpetuates cycles of neglect in communities. Rather than seeing decay, he recognizes opportunities for intervention and renewal. Through his work with the Omaha Inland Port Authority and projects like the Great Plains Black History Museum renovation, he's creating spaces that inspire pride and possibility.
Beyond professional accomplishments, Phillips shares the personal philosophy that drives him: "faith, consistency, and hard work." He speaks candidly about moments of doubt, as often the only Black professional in academic and workplace settings, finding strength in the pioneering Black architects who came before him without mentors or representation.
For aspiring architects and critical thinkers, Phillips offers this advice: be curious, ask "why," and have the courage to raise your hand. His vision extends beyond individual buildings to creating cohesive environments where people can thrive—truly architecting dreams that transform communities from the ground up.
Connect with Davielle Phillips on LinkedIn and Instagram @dreams2live4 and discover how architecture can become a framework for solving community challenges.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I want to welcome everybody to the Follow Brand
Podcast.
This is Grant McGaugh.
We're going to talk to someoneI am so intrigued about this
conversation I'm going to have.
A lot of people don't know.
I used to live out in NewEngland in the 1990s and I had a
really good friend of mine whowas an architect or he was
studying to become an architectand he told me a lot of the
(00:21):
different disciplines that youhad to know in order to become
an architect.
And he told me a lot of thedifferent disciplines that you
had to know in order to becomean architect.
I had no idea all the thingsthat you have to factor in when
you're doing something that'sbuilding a building, or building
a bridge or whatever it may bethat you have to understand all
these different facets in orderto get a building actually built
(00:44):
and to be sustainable, and youneed to understand so many
different things.
So, with that said, I want tobring to you Daviel.
Daviel is a current architectand he's out of the Omaha area
and we met at the Omaha InlandPort Authority and I got a
chance to talk to him.
I said you've got to be on myshow because I'm so intrigued
(01:06):
about what you do.
So, daviel, would you like tointroduce yourself?
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Yes, daviel Phillips, I'm originally from Chicago,
illinois, came to Nebraska byway of University of
Nebraska-Lincoln, got a master'sin architecture and a master's
in business administration andmoved up here to Omaha in 2019
BC, before COVID.
I like to say that Moved uphere and then got started right
(01:32):
away, but originally, beinginterested in architecture
started when I was in aboutsixth grade.
It was a direct response to theenvironment I was growing up in
, you know, on the south side ofChicago.
You know there's a lot of greatthings there.
There are also some conditionsthat could be improved, you know
, and so I noticed thoseconditions that could be
improved, like boarded up housesand things like that, and I
(01:56):
asked my mom one day who decideswhat buildings look like, and
so her immediate response to anyquestion was Google it.
Because I have two littlesisters and we were always
asking her questions, alwaysconsistently asking her
questions and so she told me toGoogle it.
I got home that day, I Googledit, put that into my search
browser, and then I saw thesebeautiful buildings around the
(02:18):
world, things that I was trulyinspired by.
I was like man, I love thatbuilding.
I wish I could pop thatbuilding right here in my
neighborhood.
So that set me on my journeyand path towards architecture,
becoming an architect.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Man that is.
I love that.
I love how your mom said findout.
Find out for yourself, becausethat means you have to lean into
them and then you get theanswers that you're looking for
Now.
You went to the University ofNebraska.
I'm a big, giant Corneliskerfan, so I love the fact you're
able to come from Chicago, comeall the way to Nebraska and
(02:54):
learn a lot about culture.
But in earning for you, earningboth a Master of Architecture
and an MBA is absolutely nosmall feat.
It takes years of discipline,vision and sacrifice in order to
do that.
(03:14):
And, if you will be so kind,just walk us through what drove
you to pursue those dual pathsand how that experience shaped
your identity as a young.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
And so, thinking back , you know that response to the
conditions of my neighborhoodand the environment I was
growing up in, you know, often,like the, I tell the story in a
creative way to not make thingssound as bad as they were.
You know, and it's in a sensebecause sometimes getting into
those details can cause, youknow, either memories to come up
(03:47):
for people or cause them tofeel uncomfortable.
You know, but really I stuckwith architecture because I knew
what I could do with it.
I was like I want to give backto my community, I want to
change the way my communitylooks, these poor conditions
that I grew up in.
Who's doing something about it?
I didn't necessarily seeanybody doing anything about it
and I got tired of waiting onpeople, so I decided I was gonna
(04:09):
be the person to do somethingabout it.
That was the first thing.
And then, throughout thisjourney of pursuing architecture
, I did other things.
I had other jobs, like at onepoint in undergrad I had three
jobs and I was working at Target.
I was working in the dining andI was working at Target.
I was working in the dininghalls and I was working at the
information technology at theCollege of Business.
(04:29):
And then once I got thatposition at the College of
Business, that continued on forlike the next three to five
years while I was in school, allthrough undergrad and then all
through grad school once Istarted there.
But that position at theCollege of Business in the IT
department once I started there.
But that position at the Collegeof Business in the IT
department starting out as atechnician, I really didn't know
(04:51):
anything about IT.
You know, I used that principlethat my mom taught me Google it
.
I was Googling so I wasfiguring out the answer just by
doing research.
You know, for the IT issuesthat will come up.
But over time I started todevelop specialties and things
and when professors and staffhad issues with their IT
equipment I would go assist them, and especially with the
(05:12):
professors if a projector wasn'tworking in a class or something
.
After I fixed the issue I wouldsit in the class just to make
sure things were working.
But when I would do that I wouldget really intrigued by what
they were teaching and teachingand drew a fascination for
business.
And then when people would comein, staff would come in and
people would come to the ITdepartment and talk to us about
(05:35):
whatever they had going on,whatever problem they were
solving at the time throughbusiness, I was just fascinated
and then I understood after awhile architecture is a business
, so I want to understand thebusiness side of architecture is
the epiphany I came to andthat's why I ended up mixing
them both together and then overtime, like reading books like
(05:57):
the Miseducation of the Negro,that really helped me because in
a sense, it was what I wastrying to do put into a book,
put into words, because I wantedto be the person to go back to
take my education, go back intothe community and help uplift
the people and in theenvironment, uh, totally, the
quality of life, uplift thequality of life.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
I think that's so important and and to your point,
like when you come outsideevery day, especially in the
south side of Chicago, and yousee where you're at, you see
architecture in otherneighborhoods, other places,
even in the local area acrossthe world, you say, wow, how can
I make a significant change?
(06:41):
Change, and I love that you sawthat and that you took on the
initiative to.
I want to pursue this and whatI can see already.
You must be very, very inintelligence, because
architecture is often called amarathon of professions because
of the intensity of the training, the certification process.
(07:02):
I want to still understand evenmore, because you had to go
deep in order to get those kindsof degrees.
I want to know what motivatedyou through the grind and how
does that same disciplinetranslate into the work you're
doing now in Omaha, nebraska?
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Yeah, really, I think what kept me going through the
grind was understanding what Ican do with what I was trying to
do.
You know what I can do witharchitecture and business and
putting the two together andcreating comprehensive, cohesive
developments that respond toour environment.
You know, but really that senseof what I can do, or
(07:45):
architecture, came from knowingwhat my purpose is, and in a
sense I kind of defined it formyself, but I also feel like it
was given to me, you know, andit's to give back with the
skills, talents and resourcesI've been blessed with.
And I feel that those skills,talents and resources are
architecture, design, business,entrepreneurship, those kinds of
(08:05):
things.
And then also my values aredeeply rooted in quotes, and so
a quote that I learned fairlyrecently is always try to be
nice, but never fail to be kind,you know.
So I try to practice that aswell, because niceness could be
a facade, since we're talkingabout buildings.
A facade is just the front of abuilding, but then the layers,
(08:28):
the layers behind that nicenessis what makes the person kind
and truly, responding in a kindway, and I think that buildings
can respond to our environmentsin a kind way.
We respond to each other in akind way and so just having that
purpose, that sense of what Ineed to do, what I want to do,
having a mission and a visionfor my life, and then just
(08:52):
people and mentorship and valuesalong the way, helped me stay
on the path I love that I likehow you put that metaphor, that
analogy together about thefacade.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
And I want you to think about this, because now
you've been in Omaha, nebraska,for four or five years.
Think about, like when you'reworking with the Omaha Inland
Port Authority and there's acertain region now that you're
looking to impact, when youdrive down, like, let's say,
from 30th Street and let's sayit's Ames Avenue going down to
(09:28):
16th Street, or you're goingfrom 24th and Ames all the way
down past 24th and Lake, andbefore you see the facades of
the buildings, you see thearchitecture there, you see some
historical things there.
I think I just learned that alot of those buildings came up
during the manufacturing age orwere around some of the
(09:51):
agricultural buildings, therewere mills, there was something
like that.
Some of that is from the past,yet they still maintain some of
the facade.
Some of those buildings are nowempty.
Now Some of them are occupied.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
What feeling do you get when you're flowing through
there?
From an architectural lens, Isee opportunity.
You know, I took sociologyclasses when I was in school too
, to diversify my perspective abit, and I heard of the broken
window theory like myperspective a bit, and heard of
the broken window theory.
And since the broken windowtheory is that something is
broken or something isdilapidated or in a poor
(10:32):
condition and people willcontinue to treat it that way,
if a few windows are broken outof a window, I mean out of a
building, then someone's goingto break another window in that
building.
You know, that's kind of thething, and so things it has a
ripple effect.
The things will continue to getworse with this building
because it's already in a badspot, and then that happens with
other buildings on that sameblock.
(10:52):
You know, because it's a rippleeffect, this building is being
treated poorly, no one wants todeal with it.
Now the building next to it isgoing to go under the same
condition and the building nextto that, and so you see this
trickle effect of a poorcondition perpetuating.
But I see it as an opportunityfor us to go in and do something
(11:13):
about it.
And this opportunity with thePort Authority, with the Black
History Museum and a few otherorganizations.
They're a combination ofeverything I wanted to do,
everything I said I wanted to dowith architecture and business.
I get to put the two together.
So I truly feel it's a blessingand I was bestowed upon me to
be appointed to this board andbe able to give back to the
(11:34):
community.
I just want to do a good job,and so you may see me put
pressure on people, or even puta lot of pressure on myself.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
It's because I really want to do a good job with this
effort.
I love what you just said.
That is so important because ifwe lead with intentionality to
make something better and when Ithink architecture, I think of
art, I think science, I think ofsocial responsibility and I see
that we all have a role inmaking our community, especially
(12:04):
our shaping of our culture, tobe better.
And there is an opportunity inNorth Omaha because I'm seeing,
when I go down that street now,I see a technical ecosystem that
could be built, somethingbecause you're coming from North
, which is the high school there.
Soviet's already a magnetprogram.
(12:25):
They're already doing someinnovative things.
You've got Metro CommunityCollege right there and then, as
you flow down, you've also gotthe library that's right there.
So I'm starting to see a futurethat can be built.
You've got an airport that youcan just fly in there.
You've already got arecreational center in Curlew
(12:46):
Lake, so I'm starting to seethat this could look so
completely different.
So when you think about theOIPA and the community vision
and that project in Omaha, howdid you become involved?
And then, what excites you mostabout its potential to create a
long-term impact for NorthOmaha and other communities?
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Yeah, I got involved initially because I think it's
just the work I've been doing inthe community, working on the
Great Plains Black HistoryMuseum, a renovation to the
Urban League of Nebraska, a newspace for the North Omaha
Visitor Center, renovated HolyName School and, for the
(13:33):
exterior doors, there's SacredHeart School as well.
So just having a footprint inthe community, and also I
volunteer a lot.
So even this past Saturday Iorganized a community cleanup.
I helped to organize acommunity cleanup that I led for
this particular cleanup and wedo cleanups every month during
the spring through the fall, andso I was just deeply involved
(13:57):
in the community, talking tosome good people like Chief
Warren, Chief of Staff to theMayor and Mayor Stothert at the
time, and I think through someof those connections, through
the involvement I had in thecommunity, that I was appointed
to the board, you know in thatway.
And then, what was the secondquestion?
I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
I want to know how you see the, especially the
project that you're workingthrough right now.
How do you see the frameworkfor problem solving Now?
You see the building structureright.
You see what Omaha is today.
How do you see this changing?
(14:39):
How can you create the longterm impact for North Omaha?
So now you're involved with thecommunity.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
I think one of the ways we create that long-term
impact is by directly respondingto the issues.
I feel that a lot of times thatwe either get shortchanged
because we put in a grant but weonly got half of the grant the
dollars that we asked for oreven less than that grant the
(15:08):
dollars that we ask for or evenless than that as times where we
know what the issue is, butsome of the people holding the
keys to get things done theytend to kind of do things their
way versus responding to thingsthat the way what the community
said we want this, we need thisthey kind of get part of it or
half of it, or half of it or notit at all.
So I think this is a uniqueopportunity for the Port
(15:29):
Authority, who has funding, todirectly respond to some of the
issues that are in the communitythat are prevalent and we can
directly respond and get thingsdone and not have to sit around
waiting for someone else to doit.
I think that's the biggestthing.
I see this in communities likewhether it's the South Side of
Chicago, north Omaha or anyother place that I've been to
(15:51):
around the nation or around theworld that really you just have
to have somebody that's achampion, that's gonna go and
get things done.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
I like that because this is important.
So, like you said before, it'salways like it's wishful
thinking, right?
And then everybody's like, yeah, nice, but we don't have the
money, we don't have the funding.
Now you've got the funding.
Now you say, okay, what can wedo to shape something that's
different and do somethingthat's going to really make and
shape and be historical when youreally think about it, you know
(16:24):
, for a number of years to come.
So I'm going to ask you in yourrole I mean design thinking, is
architectural discipline atplay Now?
Do you see architecture as aframework for problem solving
beyond just building theenvironment?
Speaker 2 (16:43):
Oh yeah, most definitely.
I often tell, especially theyouth that I speak with about
architecture, that everybody isan architect in a sense.
If you ever had an idea thatyou saw approved to fruition,
something that just lived inyour head and then now it's a
physical thing, I think youarchitect that dream.
(17:04):
You turn that word from a nounto a verb, you know.
So I see, like the awards thatyou have behind you and some of
your credentials.
You know, that credential thatyou have, like going to college,
for example, you said I'm goingto do this.
Then you actually went and gotthat receipt, that piece of
paper.
You know, you got that degree.
You architect that dream.
You saw your way throughbecoming a scholar at that level
(17:28):
.
You know, and so that's what Ido as an architect.
Really.
Someone approaches me about adream or a vision that they have
for either a piece of land or abuilding that they want to do,
like the Great Plains BlackHistory Museum, and then I bring
them through the process toactually realize that building
actually getting done.
So one of the first projects Igot to work on from literally
(17:51):
beginning to end was over atMicah House, over at Council
Bluffs, because they also builtan early education center right
next door to the shelter thatthey have, and so I was on that
project from beginning to endshelter that they have and so I
was on that project frombeginning to end.
So I was able to see thatvision for early education
center for the youth from zeroto five years old, that they
(18:12):
wanted to have a space for them,and now I got to see the youth
running through that buildingand enjoying the spaces that
helped to create.
You know so, architecting thatvision and we all can do that
and I think design thinking is abig piece of it, because it's
about being solution oriented,understanding the issue.
(18:32):
Especially when you get down tothe root cause of the issue,
now you can really do somethingabout it.
You could be creative in whatyou do to solve that issue.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
That is so important, especially today and you've got
some information technologybackground as well.
In the age of informationtechnology and now artificial
intelligence, so important forour youth and for everyone to
understand critical thinkingprinciples.
You've got to now problem solve.
(19:03):
No one like you know memory inschool like, oh, now we're going
to do problem solving, right?
No one like to do that becauseyou know it's just.
You know you have to utilizeyour brain.
You're not just operating outof memory.
A lot of times you're takingtesting.
They're just saying, hey, didyou learn this?
Let's see what you remember,right?
Well, critical thinking is alot deeper than that.
(19:24):
Right, there's no right orwrong answer, especially when I
took physics and things likethat.
They want to understand theprocess, your thought process,
of how you got to the answer.
That is what is criticallyimportant to understand.
I know from an architecturalstandpoint, this is where you
(19:47):
take off in what you do and howyou're being to do that.
What I want you to, my questionfor you, is I want you to speak
to our youth right now, thosethat are potentially, let's say,
they're in middle school, highschool, they're in their
undergrad program.
What advice would you give tothem so they can go deeper and
not just Googling for thatinformation, but utilizing
(20:10):
things like our large languagemodels, their chat, gpts, their
clouds and things like that toget the answers.
To begin to think critically,because this is things that
machines cannot do, that areuniquely human in aspect.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Yeah, one of the biggest questions is because I'm
a very curious person, right,and very meticulous in some ways
, you know.
And so I was thinking to myselfwhat's one question that I can
ask, no matter what you say,literally no matter what,
whatever answer you give me,what's the question that I can
ask?
And that question is why, youknow, ask why.
(20:50):
You know there is a poster ofMuhammad Ali right here on my
wall, you know.
If someone sees that, they cansay why.
And I'll say, well, my favoritequote is on that poster as well
, you know.
And so then you can say, well,why is that your favorite quote?
And it can go deeper and deeper.
So that's one of the thingsthat I would ask or I would tell
(21:12):
to the youth is be curious, askquestions, especially ask why.
And when you do that, thenyou're able to discern who
you're able to create.
You're that you're looking toput into chat, gpt as a prompt
and things Cause.
You're able to say this is whyI'm asking this question, this
is what I'm hoping to learn fromasking this question, you know.
(21:34):
And so then you start to kindof get a little bit deeper into,
a little bit past the surfacelevel of things you know so you
can create a deeperunderstanding of things.
Also, level of things you knowso you can create a deeper
understanding of things.
Also, be bold, because asking aquestion could be hard
sometimes, yeah, and so I wasone of the kids that would raise
my hand and ask a question, andI didn't care who, whoever felt
(21:57):
any way about it.
I know class is about to end in60 seconds.
I'll still raise my hand andkeep us there for another two
minutes, you know, just becauseI was curious and I was bold
enough to raise my hand and askthat question.
And even if I didn't ask thequestion during class, I'll go
up to the teacher and ask, youknow, because I wanted to get
maybe probably a deeper answerthan they would have gave me, in
(22:18):
front of the whole class too,you know.
And so I think, justunderstanding that, asking
questions and being bold, butthen also the values, and one of
my values is, uh, uh, faith,consistency and hard work.
I think with those three things,you can achieve anything.
You have faith that you can doit and faith that it can be done
(22:38):
.
You know, uh, you have to haveconsistency, which means you
have to practice.
You've got to be consistent.
You, you've got to keep showingup.
You can't just do it once andthink you're going to be a rock
star at it.
You've got to practice.
And then hard work is that youhave to work hard.
Nothing's going to be easy.
You know, if it was easy thenmost people would be doing it.
You know.
So.
If you've got to work hard toseparate yourself from the
(23:01):
others and to actually showyourself that, hey man, I do
care about this.
You know, that's where the hardwork comes in.
So, faith, consistency and hardwork.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
You have a framework.
I encourage everyone listeningto this particular podcast.
What you just said, wl, ishaving a framework, your own
personal mission statement.
This is my why, as you justunpack right.
This is why I do what I do.
(23:32):
This is why I was able toachieve the results that I have
today, because I put in the work, but I adhered to my own
framework, my own discipline.
I work with the BRAVE frameworkright, that's my acronym,
because I think, no matter whatyou do and I'm almost certain
you did the same thing you hadto be brave in order to become
(23:54):
an architect.
Because if you look at thatmountain, you know from a
distance, from the bottom,you're like you're going to have
to learn this, you're going tohave to learn this, you're going
to have to learn this, you'regoing to have to learn
mathematics and geography andweather and all these different
things.
You're like, wow.
But then you look at that likethis is a challenge that I want
to take on.
This is exactly what I want todo, so you have to be brave.
(24:16):
Brave stands for for me, it'sbold.
You've got to be bold, right,you've got to be bold, right.
You've got to be resilientright, you've got to be
authentic, you've got to have avision and you've got to execute
.
That's brave.
For me, that's the frameworkthat I wake up every day and
doing what I need to do in orderto get done.
But you develop that frameworkfor yourself.
(24:39):
You've developed your frameworkfor yourself.
When you look at muhammad alibehind you, man, if you really
go through his story, it'sreally an incredible story
because he had already achievedthe fact of becoming a world
champion, but then it was takenaway from him and he had to go
through years of hardship andputting in the hard work to
(25:00):
finally get to the point ofgetting to that championship
again, and he took on the UnitedStates government in order to
do that.
That is huge.
So when I look at you and Iwant to talk to you about a
legacy and a leadership andmembership and you've taken on a
lot of these leadership rolesthat you talked about,
(25:22):
especially like at the urbanleague of Nebraska and
professionals and Alpha, phi,alpha and some others how have
these or those experiences incommunity and professional
leadership prepared you forcoalition building work like the
OIPA?
So I want people to understand,especially in young youth, that
(25:43):
this is a community effort andthe more that we are engaged and
involved, it won't be likesomeone built this for us.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
We built this for ourselves, yeah and it's really
like those organizations, likethe Urban League and NAACP.
You know, it started outlearning about history, learning
about our history and why thoseorganizations were started, you
know, and then learning aboutthe work that those
organizations did and still doto this day.
I just grew deeply passionatefor them and this deep
(26:15):
responsibility to protect thoseinstitutions as well.
And this deep responsibility toprotect those institutions as
well, and the best way for me toprotect them is to be a part of
them.
That was at least my mindset.
Wanted to be a part of theseorganizations and wanting to be
a part of this history led me todifferent literature.
So, like the Souls of BlackFolk, Miseducation of the Negro,
(26:36):
Autobiography of Malcolm X, youknow, these kinds of books and
this literature is is teachingme and gave me this deep passion
for the black community.
You know, cause I know whatwe're capable of, Like even, uh,
my favorite basketball player,Derrick Rose, cause he's from
South side of Chicago, like me,you know, and I was able to see
(26:56):
him go and become MVP.
Yeah, you know somebody thatpeople able to see him go and
become MVP.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
You know somebody that people probably doubted
when he was growing up.
People thought he wouldn'tamount to anything, probably,
and then he became the rose thatgrew from the concrete, you
know, and so like things likethat.
Those kinds of stories reallydeeply inspire me, you know, and
so I can get inspired like that, like a snap, like I can get
inspired because there's so muchout there.
(27:20):
Like it was a time where I wasthinking I'm going to, I'm not
going to do architecture anymoreand I'm going to lean on my
business degree, and because allthroughout school I was the
only black kid, even at my job,for a while I was the only one,
you know, and now it's two of us.
But you know, know that senseof being the only, I was
(27:40):
starting to get defeated by it.
Then I started to do myresearch like and why, and I was
like I found out about thefirst black architect in the
state of Illinois, the firstblack woman architect in the
state of California, the firstblack architect in the state of
New York, you know things likethat, and I was like they
probably didn't have anybodyteaching them.
They probably were in a similarcondition that I'm in Like who
(28:03):
am I to just give up?
You know at this point, whenthey did it, who they have.
So I was inspired by that and Igot mad at myself, so much so
that I got right back to work.
I got right back to work andthen something else I want to
share with you too is growing upin these poor conditions and
stuff that I was in, even thoughI had everything I needed,
(28:25):
Because I'm very proud of theyoung man I am today, so I don't
like to really complain.
But kind of, growing up inthese conditions, I was angry.
I was mad at the way that myfamily had to live, that, the
conditions I had to grow up in,the violence that you hear about
in Chicago.
I was upset and I think thething that drove me was going to
(28:47):
get my education.
I was mad at my situation.
So I went and got my educationBecause I felt like that was the
one thing that can't be takenfrom me my ability to think for
myself.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
I've heard that a few times, what you just said.
I know a lot of people in theCaribbean, a lot of people.
I know a doctor, yes, whoworked at Microsoft, very keen
on artificial intelligence,worked with the people that
actually developed open AI.
He said my way out growing upwas education.
(29:20):
So I fell in love witheducation and once you are aware
, you can apply what you havelearned, and I always look at
architecture.
It's applied science.
You have to apply themathematics and other things
that are so important.
So when you look at a building,you just don't see concrete and
steel and paint.
(29:40):
You see a representation of alot of thought, emotion and
impact, and I like that and thefact that you even cited Malcolm
X, and maybe you knew this,maybe you didn't, but then he
was born in Omaha, nebraska.
And he was born, you know, inOmaha Nebraska.
And then and now, as you comeinto your own in Omaha Nebraska,
(30:03):
we can host the first mayor,first black mayor of Omaha,
nebraska, who I went to highschool with no-transcript with.
(30:47):
You know we would just get aname for ourselves.
You know, northwest wasn't, youknow the central of the time,
or it used to be a school calledTech at the time, or even Omaha
North at the time.
Those had names for themselves.
Northwest was just starting out, but we made a name for
ourselves because we went outthere and we won championships.
I think you're making a namefor yourself.
(31:08):
So when you go back to thesouth side of Chicago some of
the places that you grew up inyou see they're going to look up
to Davi L Phillips and we wereable to showcase someone like an
artist.
Right, an artist always has ashowcase, and then you can
showcase your work and when itgoes up as a building, that
(31:28):
showcase lasts probably beyondyourself.
How does that make you feel?
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Oh, it feels fantastic, Like I said, like
seeing those young kids runningthrough the early education
center, Like I'm, like I hope,to create an environment in ways
they can learn and be safelearning, you know.
And then, like I know, likeSteelhouse here in Omaha, I had
some I had a very small role onthat project.
(31:54):
I got some details up in thebalcony and things I like to say
.
Those details led to me havinga lot of leg room, because I'm
pretty tall, you know.
So I'm used to my kneestouching the seat in front of me
if I'm at a stadium kind ofenvironment or kind of in an
entertainment venue.
Now I have ample leg room, youknow.
So it's like those littledetails and I'm very comfortable
(32:14):
when I go to Steelhouse, youknow, because of that reason,
you thought about yourself andthe design.
Speaker 1 (32:20):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
But then also all the other tall people out here that
you know things are alreadybuilt or made for us, you know.
So yeah, we just add a littlebit more legroom and it makes a
world of difference.
Speaker 1 (32:31):
Makes a big difference.
Now here's the thing I know.
When I was asking my even myparents, they were just a little
bit unclear about what theOmaha Inland Port Authority is
all about.
What is its, its aim, its goal?
How do you see that from?
Speaker 2 (32:50):
your from your viewpoint.
Yes, so the Omaha Inland PortAuthority is meant to help
development in the district, youknow, and so we can do
development ourselves, but wecan be a financial vehicle for
others doing development, and wedo have initiatives that we
started, like the InnovationDistrict, the Airport Business
Park.
I know we have a housinginitiative that's a statute
(33:12):
requirement to build some newhousing and there's a lot of
vacant lots so we can do someinfield development with an
innovation district.
There's so many differentthings you can do in innovation.
You talked about tech, youtalked about architecture.
I think those two thingsprofessions have space within
the innovation district, youknow.
And then also entertainmentthings to get our youth excited,
(33:35):
invested in their education andthen put them on a trajectory
where they can win, you know,and not not just teach them how
to win by themselves, but teachthem how to win together, you
know, and like because youmentioned, like coalition
building and getting peopletogether, I think that
educational piece and theteaching people how to get along
, you know we need to learn howto love each other, you know,
(33:58):
know.
So I think those things are howwe make it what we need it to
be as far as the Port Authority,and then we have a board
retreat coming up soon, and so,hopefully, the mission and the
vision is more clearly defined.
After our retreat, we're goingto get some information from
other Port Authorities that haveestablished and done great work
(34:19):
, and so, yeah, I'm excited forwhat the future holds for us.
Speaker 1 (34:25):
Well, I tell you from our conversation, one of the
things that really stood outfrom what you just said is so
important when you see abuilding and you see a broken
window and it encourages otherpeople to break another window
and then another window.
So if you can see somethingthat is uh, more substantial,
like you're saying, like thesteel house and some other
(34:47):
architecture that has beenrebuilt, especially like, on, uh
, 24th street, I remember goingdown the street and I saw, uh,
I'd be black girl, right, and Iand I said, oh, that's nice, so
you wouldn't want to throw arock through that window, right,
it's something you want toappreciate and we can build more
architecture that's down there.
(35:08):
You know, we've got some otherthings that are there that are
starting to look good.
I like Dreamland that theybuilt on 24th Street.
I think that does look good.
Remember, I've been gone fromthe area since 1991.
I would come back, obviously,periodically to visit, but to
live here full time.
I'm starting to appreciate alot of these different things
(35:31):
that I see there that I did notsee before, and I'm like all
right, I'm starting to see somechange in a positive direction
and I like that.
You are part of that.
Now we're coming to the end ofthis particular interview and I
always ask this of my guestshere of late, because now you're
at the end of the interview andthen it's real time.
(35:53):
You just did this.
How'd you feel about being onthe Follow the Brand podcast?
Speaker 2 (35:58):
Oh, I feel great, you great.
I feel the same way as beforewe started Super excited,
willing to share.
I think it's a wonderfulplatform.
I'm one of the guys that likesto be in the background, Even
though I'm bold and I speak up.
I like to be in the backgroundgetting the things done.
I'm happy to have a momentwhere I can come and share what
(36:20):
I'm about to the people.
Speaker 1 (36:23):
Oh man, that's the whole thing.
Share what you're about to thepeople.
I love what you're doing.
I tell you, when I first sawyou there, I was like this is
exactly what I want to see Ayounger person who's very
professional, who's bringingsomething to our community to
make a positive change.
So, as your children andchildren and children, they walk
(36:45):
through these particular areaslike, hey, yeah, you can see old
Omaha in pictures, but this iswhat new Omaha looks like today,
and I'm glad that you're makingthat vision happen for us and I
really, truly appreciate youbeing on the show.
And before I let you go, yougot to tell us how to contact
you.
Whether you've got email,whether it's LinkedIn, what is
(37:07):
the best way to reach DavielPhillips?
Speaker 2 (37:10):
Oh yeah, linkedin, mylinkedincom, like a name on
there, is the same as, like myInstagram.
It's dreams number two live andnumber four, dreams to live for
, because that's what I feellike.
I have Dreams to live for.
I want to keep going.
I love it.
Speaker 1 (37:28):
Dreams to live for man.
You can't get no better thanthat.
I encourage your entireaudience to visit us.
Visit us at 5starcom that isthe number five.
That is star S-T-A-R.
B for brand, d for development.
Infomasterscom You're going tosee over 200 other individuals
like Daviel that are catchingthere.
They're sharing their expertise, they're sharing their story,
(37:50):
they're sharing theirexperiences to help us all to
move forward and create a nearfuture.
So thank you again for being onthe Follow Brand Podcast.
Speaker 2 (37:59):
Thank you.
I want to welcome everybody to the Follow Brand
Podcast.
This is Grant McGaugh.
We're going to talk to someoneI am so intrigued about this
conversation I'm going to have.
A lot of people don't know.
I used to live out in NewEngland in the 1990s and I had a
really good friend of mine whowas an architect or he was
studying to become an architectand he told me a lot of the
(00:21):
different disciplines that youhad to know in order to become
an architect.
And he told me a lot of thedifferent disciplines that you
had to know in order to becomean architect.
I had no idea all the thingsthat you have to factor in when
you're doing something that'sbuilding a building, or building
a bridge or whatever it may bethat you have to understand all
these different facets in orderto get a building actually built
(00:44):
and to be sustainable, and youneed to understand so many
different things.
So, with that said, I want tobring to you Daviel.
Daviel is a current architectand he's out of the Omaha area
and we met at the Omaha InlandPort Authority and I got a
chance to talk to him.
I said you've got to be on myshow because I'm so intrigued
(01:06):
about what you do.
So, daviel, would you like tointroduce yourself?
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Yes, daviel Phillips, I'm originally from Chicago,
illinois, came to Nebraska byway of University of
Nebraska-Lincoln, got a master'sin architecture and a master's
in business administration andmoved up here to Omaha in 2019
BC, before COVID.
I like to say that Moved uphere and then got started right
(01:32):
away, but originally, beinginterested in architecture
started when I was in aboutsixth grade.
It was a direct response to theenvironment I was growing up in
, you know, on the south side ofChicago.
You know there's a lot of greatthings there.
There are also some conditionsthat could be improved, you know
, and so I noticed thoseconditions that could be
improved, like boarded up housesand things like that, and I
(01:56):
asked my mom one day who decideswhat buildings look like, and
so her immediate response to anyquestion was Google it.
Because I have two littlesisters and we were always
asking her questions, alwaysconsistently asking her
questions and so she told me toGoogle it.
I got home that day, I Googledit, put that into my search
browser, and then I saw thesebeautiful buildings around the
(02:18):
world, things that I was trulyinspired by.
I was like man, I love thatbuilding.
I wish I could pop thatbuilding right here in my
neighborhood.
So that set me on my journeyand path towards architecture,
becoming an architect.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Man that is.
I love that.
I love how your mom said findout.
Find out for yourself, becausethat means you have to lean into
them and then you get theanswers that you're looking for
Now.
You went to the University ofNebraska.
I'm a big, giant Corneliskerfan, so I love the fact you're
able to come from Chicago, comeall the way to Nebraska and
(02:54):
learn a lot about culture.
But in earning for you, earningboth a Master of Architecture
and an MBA is absolutely nosmall feat.
It takes years of discipline,vision and sacrifice in order to
do that.
(03:14):
And, if you will be so kind,just walk us through what drove
you to pursue those dual pathsand how that experience shaped
your identity as a young.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
And so, thinking back , you know that response to the
conditions of my neighborhoodand the environment I was
growing up in, you know, often,like the, I tell the story in a
creative way to not make thingssound as bad as they were.
You know, and it's in a sensebecause sometimes getting into
those details can cause, youknow, either memories to come up
(03:47):
for people or cause them tofeel uncomfortable.
You know, but really I stuckwith architecture because I knew
what I could do with it.
I was like I want to give backto my community, I want to
change the way my communitylooks, these poor conditions
that I grew up in.
Who's doing something about it?
I didn't necessarily seeanybody doing anything about it
and I got tired of waiting onpeople, so I decided I was gonna
(04:09):
be the person to do somethingabout it.
That was the first thing.
And then, throughout thisjourney of pursuing architecture
, I did other things.
I had other jobs, like at onepoint in undergrad I had three
jobs and I was working at Target.
I was working in the dining andI was working at Target.
I was working in the dininghalls and I was working at the
information technology at theCollege of Business.
(04:29):
And then once I got thatposition at the College of
Business, that continued on forlike the next three to five
years while I was in school, allthrough undergrad and then all
through grad school once Istarted there.
But that position at theCollege of Business in the IT
department once I started there.
But that position at the Collegeof Business in the IT
department starting out as atechnician, I really didn't know
(04:51):
anything about IT.
You know, I used that principlethat my mom taught me Google it
.
I was Googling so I wasfiguring out the answer just by
doing research.
You know, for the IT issuesthat will come up.
But over time I started todevelop specialties and things
and when professors and staffhad issues with their IT
equipment I would go assist them, and especially with the
(05:12):
professors if a projector wasn'tworking in a class or something
.
After I fixed the issue I wouldsit in the class just to make
sure things were working.
But when I would do that I wouldget really intrigued by what
they were teaching and teachingand drew a fascination for
business.
And then when people would comein, staff would come in and
people would come to the ITdepartment and talk to us about
(05:35):
whatever they had going on,whatever problem they were
solving at the time throughbusiness, I was just fascinated
and then I understood after awhile architecture is a business
, so I want to understand thebusiness side of architecture is
the epiphany I came to andthat's why I ended up mixing
them both together and then overtime, like reading books like
(05:57):
the Miseducation of the Negro,that really helped me because in
a sense, it was what I wastrying to do put into a book,
put into words, because I wantedto be the person to go back to
take my education, go back intothe community and help uplift
the people and in theenvironment, uh, totally, the
quality of life, uplift thequality of life.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
I think that's so important and and to your point,
like when you come outsideevery day, especially in the
south side of Chicago, and yousee where you're at, you see
architecture in otherneighborhoods, other places,
even in the local area acrossthe world, you say, wow, how can
I make a significant change?
(06:41):
Change, and I love that you sawthat and that you took on the
initiative to.
I want to pursue this and whatI can see already.
You must be very, very inintelligence, because
architecture is often called amarathon of professions because
of the intensity of the training, the certification process.
(07:02):
I want to still understand evenmore, because you had to go
deep in order to get those kindsof degrees.
I want to know what motivatedyou through the grind and how
does that same disciplinetranslate into the work you're
doing now in Omaha, nebraska?
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Yeah, really, I think what kept me going through the
grind was understanding what Ican do with what I was trying to
do.
You know what I can do witharchitecture and business and
putting the two together andcreating comprehensive, cohesive
developments that respond toour environment.
You know, but really that senseof what I can do, or
(07:45):
architecture, came from knowingwhat my purpose is, and in a
sense I kind of defined it formyself, but I also feel like it
was given to me, you know, andit's to give back with the
skills, talents and resourcesI've been blessed with.
And I feel that those skills,talents and resources are
architecture, design, business,entrepreneurship, those kinds of
(08:05):
things.
And then also my values aredeeply rooted in quotes, and so
a quote that I learned fairlyrecently is always try to be
nice, but never fail to be kind,you know.
So I try to practice that aswell, because niceness could be
a facade, since we're talkingabout buildings.
A facade is just the front of abuilding, but then the layers,
(08:28):
the layers behind that nicenessis what makes the person kind
and truly, responding in a kindway, and I think that buildings
can respond to our environmentsin a kind way.
We respond to each other in akind way and so just having that
purpose, that sense of what Ineed to do, what I want to do,
having a mission and a visionfor my life, and then just
(08:52):
people and mentorship and valuesalong the way, helped me stay
on the path I love that I likehow you put that metaphor, that
analogy together about thefacade.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
And I want you to think about this, because now
you've been in Omaha, nebraska,for four or five years.
Think about, like when you'reworking with the Omaha Inland
Port Authority and there's acertain region now that you're
looking to impact, when youdrive down, like, let's say,
from 30th Street and let's sayit's Ames Avenue going down to
(09:28):
16th Street, or you're goingfrom 24th and Ames all the way
down past 24th and Lake, andbefore you see the facades of
the buildings, you see thearchitecture there, you see some
historical things there.
I think I just learned that alot of those buildings came up
during the manufacturing age orwere around some of the
(09:51):
agricultural buildings, therewere mills, there was something
like that.
Some of that is from the past,yet they still maintain some of
the facade.
Some of those buildings are nowempty.
Now Some of them are occupied.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
What feeling do you get when you're flowing through
there?
From an architectural lens, Isee opportunity.
You know, I took sociologyclasses when I was in school too
, to diversify my perspective abit, and I heard of the broken
window theory like myperspective a bit, and heard of
the broken window theory.
And since the broken windowtheory is that something is
broken or something isdilapidated or in a poor
(10:32):
condition and people willcontinue to treat it that way,
if a few windows are broken outof a window, I mean out of a
building, then someone's goingto break another window in that
building.
You know, that's kind of thething, and so things it has a
ripple effect.
The things will continue to getworse with this building
because it's already in a badspot, and then that happens with
other buildings on that sameblock.
(10:52):
You know, because it's a rippleeffect, this building is being
treated poorly, no one wants todeal with it.
Now the building next to it isgoing to go under the same
condition and the building nextto that, and so you see this
trickle effect of a poorcondition perpetuating.
But I see it as an opportunityfor us to go in and do something
(11:13):
about it.
And this opportunity with thePort Authority, with the Black
History Museum and a few otherorganizations.
They're a combination ofeverything I wanted to do,
everything I said I wanted to dowith architecture and business.
I get to put the two together.
So I truly feel it's a blessingand I was bestowed upon me to
be appointed to this board andbe able to give back to the
(11:34):
community.
I just want to do a good job,and so you may see me put
pressure on people, or even puta lot of pressure on myself.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
It's because I really want to do a good job with this
effort.
I love what you just said.
That is so important because ifwe lead with intentionality to
make something better and when Ithink architecture, I think of
art, I think science, I think ofsocial responsibility and I see
that we all have a role inmaking our community, especially
(12:04):
our shaping of our culture, tobe better.
And there is an opportunity inNorth Omaha because I'm seeing,
when I go down that street now,I see a technical ecosystem that
could be built, somethingbecause you're coming from North
, which is the high school there.
Soviet's already a magnetprogram.
(12:25):
They're already doing someinnovative things.
You've got Metro CommunityCollege right there and then, as
you flow down, you've also gotthe library that's right there.
So I'm starting to see a futurethat can be built.
You've got an airport that youcan just fly in there.
You've already got arecreational center in Curlew
(12:46):
Lake, so I'm starting to seethat this could look so
completely different.
So when you think about theOIPA and the community vision
and that project in Omaha, howdid you become involved?
And then, what excites you mostabout its potential to create a
long-term impact for NorthOmaha and other communities?
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Yeah, I got involved initially because I think it's
just the work I've been doing inthe community, working on the
Great Plains Black HistoryMuseum, a renovation to the
Urban League of Nebraska, a newspace for the North Omaha
Visitor Center, renovated HolyName School and, for the
(13:33):
exterior doors, there's SacredHeart School as well.
So just having a footprint inthe community, and also I
volunteer a lot.
So even this past Saturday Iorganized a community cleanup.
I helped to organize acommunity cleanup that I led for
this particular cleanup and wedo cleanups every month during
the spring through the fall, andso I was just deeply involved
(13:57):
in the community, talking tosome good people like Chief
Warren, Chief of Staff to theMayor and Mayor Stothert at the
time, and I think through someof those connections, through
the involvement I had in thecommunity, that I was appointed
to the board, you know in thatway.
And then, what was the secondquestion?
I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
I want to know how you see the, especially the
project that you're workingthrough right now.
How do you see the frameworkfor problem solving Now?
You see the building structureright.
You see what Omaha is today.
How do you see this changing?
(14:39):
How can you create the longterm impact for North Omaha?
So now you're involved with thecommunity.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
I think one of the ways we create that long-term
impact is by directly respondingto the issues.
I feel that a lot of times thatwe either get shortchanged
because we put in a grant but weonly got half of the grant the
dollars that we asked for oreven less than that grant the
(15:08):
dollars that we ask for or evenless than that as times where we
know what the issue is, butsome of the people holding the
keys to get things done theytend to kind of do things their
way versus responding to thingsthat the way what the community
said we want this, we need thisthey kind of get part of it or
half of it, or half of it or notit at all.
So I think this is a uniqueopportunity for the Port
(15:29):
Authority, who has funding, todirectly respond to some of the
issues that are in the communitythat are prevalent and we can
directly respond and get thingsdone and not have to sit around
waiting for someone else to doit.
I think that's the biggestthing.
I see this in communities likewhether it's the South Side of
Chicago, north Omaha or anyother place that I've been to
(15:51):
around the nation or around theworld that really you just have
to have somebody that's achampion, that's gonna go and
get things done.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
I like that because this is important.
So, like you said before, it'salways like it's wishful
thinking, right?
And then everybody's like, yeah, nice, but we don't have the
money, we don't have the funding.
Now you've got the funding.
Now you say, okay, what can wedo to shape something that's
different and do somethingthat's going to really make and
shape and be historical when youreally think about it, you know
(16:24):
, for a number of years to come.
So I'm going to ask you in yourrole I mean design thinking, is
architectural discipline atplay Now?
Do you see architecture as aframework for problem solving
beyond just building theenvironment?
Speaker 2 (16:43):
Oh yeah, most definitely.
I often tell, especially theyouth that I speak with about
architecture, that everybody isan architect in a sense.
If you ever had an idea thatyou saw approved to fruition,
something that just lived inyour head and then now it's a
physical thing, I think youarchitect that dream.
(17:04):
You turn that word from a nounto a verb, you know.
So I see, like the awards thatyou have behind you and some of
your credentials.
You know, that credential thatyou have, like going to college,
for example, you said I'm goingto do this.
Then you actually went and gotthat receipt, that piece of
paper.
You know, you got that degree.
You architect that dream.
You saw your way throughbecoming a scholar at that level
(17:28):
.
You know, and so that's what Ido as an architect.
Really.
Someone approaches me about adream or a vision that they have
for either a piece of land or abuilding that they want to do,
like the Great Plains BlackHistory Museum, and then I bring
them through the process toactually realize that building
actually getting done.
So one of the first projects Igot to work on from literally
(17:51):
beginning to end was over atMicah House, over at Council
Bluffs, because they also builtan early education center right
next door to the shelter thatthey have, and so I was on that
project from beginning to endshelter that they have and so I
was on that project frombeginning to end.
So I was able to see thatvision for early education
center for the youth from zeroto five years old, that they
(18:12):
wanted to have a space for them,and now I got to see the youth
running through that buildingand enjoying the spaces that
helped to create.
You know so, architecting thatvision and we all can do that
and I think design thinking is abig piece of it, because it's
about being solution oriented,understanding the issue.
(18:32):
Especially when you get down tothe root cause of the issue,
now you can really do somethingabout it.
You could be creative in whatyou do to solve that issue.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
That is so important, especially today and you've got
some information technologybackground as well.
In the age of informationtechnology and now artificial
intelligence, so important forour youth and for everyone to
understand critical thinkingprinciples.
You've got to now problem solve.
(19:03):
No one like you know memory inschool like, oh, now we're going
to do problem solving, right?
No one like to do that becauseyou know it's just.
You know you have to utilizeyour brain.
You're not just operating outof memory.
A lot of times you're takingtesting.
They're just saying, hey, didyou learn this?
Let's see what you remember,right?
Well, critical thinking is alot deeper than that.
(19:24):
Right, there's no right orwrong answer, especially when I
took physics and things likethat.
They want to understand theprocess, your thought process,
of how you got to the answer.
That is what is criticallyimportant to understand.
I know from an architecturalstandpoint, this is where you
(19:47):
take off in what you do and howyou're being to do that.
What I want you to, my questionfor you, is I want you to speak
to our youth right now, thosethat are potentially, let's say,
they're in middle school, highschool, they're in their
undergrad program.
What advice would you give tothem so they can go deeper and
not just Googling for thatinformation, but utilizing
(20:10):
things like our large languagemodels, their chat, gpts, their
clouds and things like that toget the answers.
To begin to think critically,because this is things that
machines cannot do, that areuniquely human in aspect.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Yeah, one of the biggest questions is because I'm
a very curious person, right,and very meticulous in some ways
, you know.
And so I was thinking to myselfwhat's one question that I can
ask, no matter what you say,literally no matter what,
whatever answer you give me,what's the question that I can
ask?
And that question is why, youknow, ask why.
(20:50):
You know there is a poster ofMuhammad Ali right here on my
wall, you know.
If someone sees that, they cansay why.
And I'll say, well, my favoritequote is on that poster as well
, you know.
And so then you can say, well,why is that your favorite quote?
And it can go deeper and deeper.
So that's one of the thingsthat I would ask or I would tell
(21:12):
to the youth is be curious, askquestions, especially ask why.
And when you do that, thenyou're able to discern who
you're able to create.
You're that you're looking toput into chat, gpt as a prompt
and things Cause.
You're able to say this is whyI'm asking this question, this
is what I'm hoping to learn fromasking this question, you know.
(21:34):
And so then you start to kindof get a little bit deeper into,
a little bit past the surfacelevel of things you know so you
can create a deeperunderstanding of things.
Also, level of things you knowso you can create a deeper
understanding of things.
Also, be bold, because asking aquestion could be hard
sometimes, yeah, and so I wasone of the kids that would raise
my hand and ask a question, andI didn't care who, whoever felt
(21:57):
any way about it.
I know class is about to end in60 seconds.
I'll still raise my hand andkeep us there for another two
minutes, you know, just becauseI was curious and I was bold
enough to raise my hand and askthat question.
And even if I didn't ask thequestion during class, I'll go
up to the teacher and ask, youknow, because I wanted to get
maybe probably a deeper answerthan they would have gave me, in
(22:18):
front of the whole class too,you know.
And so I think, justunderstanding that, asking
questions and being bold, butthen also the values, and one of
my values is, uh, uh, faith,consistency and hard work.
I think with those three things,you can achieve anything.
You have faith that you can doit and faith that it can be done
(22:38):
.
You know, uh, you have to haveconsistency, which means you
have to practice.
You've got to be consistent.
You, you've got to keep showingup.
You can't just do it once andthink you're going to be a rock
star at it.
You've got to practice.
And then hard work is that youhave to work hard.
Nothing's going to be easy.
You know, if it was easy thenmost people would be doing it.
You know.
So.
If you've got to work hard toseparate yourself from the
(23:01):
others and to actually showyourself that, hey man, I do
care about this.
You know, that's where the hardwork comes in.
So, faith, consistency and hardwork.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
You have a framework.
I encourage everyone listeningto this particular podcast.
What you just said, wl, ishaving a framework, your own
personal mission statement.
This is my why, as you justunpack right.
This is why I do what I do.
(23:32):
This is why I was able toachieve the results that I have
today, because I put in the work, but I adhered to my own
framework, my own discipline.
I work with the BRAVE frameworkright, that's my acronym,
because I think, no matter whatyou do and I'm almost certain
you did the same thing you hadto be brave in order to become
(23:54):
an architect.
Because if you look at thatmountain, you know from a
distance, from the bottom,you're like you're going to have
to learn this, you're going tohave to learn this, you're going
to have to learn this, you'regoing to have to learn
mathematics and geography andweather and all these different
things.
You're like, wow.
But then you look at that likethis is a challenge that I want
to take on.
This is exactly what I want todo, so you have to be brave.
(24:16):
Brave stands for for me, it'sbold.
You've got to be bold, right,you've got to be bold, right.
You've got to be resilientright, you've got to be
authentic, you've got to have avision and you've got to execute
.
That's brave.
For me, that's the frameworkthat I wake up every day and
doing what I need to do in orderto get done.
But you develop that frameworkfor yourself.
(24:39):
You've developed your frameworkfor yourself.
When you look at muhammad alibehind you, man, if you really
go through his story, it'sreally an incredible story
because he had already achievedthe fact of becoming a world
champion, but then it was takenaway from him and he had to go
through years of hardship andputting in the hard work to
(25:00):
finally get to the point ofgetting to that championship
again, and he took on the UnitedStates government in order to
do that.
That is huge.
So when I look at you and Iwant to talk to you about a
legacy and a leadership andmembership and you've taken on a
lot of these leadership rolesthat you talked about,
(25:22):
especially like at the urbanleague of Nebraska and
professionals and Alpha, phi,alpha and some others how have
these or those experiences incommunity and professional
leadership prepared you forcoalition building work like the
OIPA?
So I want people to understand,especially in young youth, that
(25:43):
this is a community effort andthe more that we are engaged and
involved, it won't be likesomeone built this for us.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
We built this for ourselves, yeah and it's really
like those organizations, likethe Urban League and NAACP.
You know, it started outlearning about history, learning
about our history and why thoseorganizations were started, you
know, and then learning aboutthe work that those
organizations did and still doto this day.
I just grew deeply passionatefor them and this deep
(26:15):
responsibility to protect thoseinstitutions as well.
And this deep responsibility toprotect those institutions as
well, and the best way for me toprotect them is to be a part of
them.
That was at least my mindset.
Wanted to be a part of theseorganizations and wanting to be
a part of this history led me todifferent literature.
So, like the Souls of BlackFolk, Miseducation of the Negro,
(26:36):
Autobiography of Malcolm X, youknow, these kinds of books and
this literature is is teachingme and gave me this deep passion
for the black community.
You know, cause I know whatwe're capable of, Like even, uh,
my favorite basketball player,Derrick Rose, cause he's from
South side of Chicago, like me,you know, and I was able to see
(26:56):
him go and become MVP.
Yeah, you know somebody thatpeople able to see him go and
become MVP.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
You know somebody that people probably doubted
when he was growing up.
People thought he wouldn'tamount to anything, probably,
and then he became the rose thatgrew from the concrete, you
know, and so like things likethat.
Those kinds of stories reallydeeply inspire me, you know, and
so I can get inspired like that, like a snap, like I can get
inspired because there's so muchout there.
(27:20):
Like it was a time where I wasthinking I'm going to, I'm not
going to do architecture anymoreand I'm going to lean on my
business degree, and because allthroughout school I was the
only black kid, even at my job,for a while I was the only one,
you know, and now it's two of us.
But you know, know that senseof being the only, I was
(27:40):
starting to get defeated by it.
Then I started to do myresearch like and why, and I was
like I found out about thefirst black architect in the
state of Illinois, the firstblack woman architect in the
state of California, the firstblack architect in the state of
New York, you know things likethat, and I was like they
probably didn't have anybodyteaching them.
They probably were in a similarcondition that I'm in Like who
(28:03):
am I to just give up?
You know at this point, whenthey did it, who they have.
So I was inspired by that and Igot mad at myself, so much so
that I got right back to work.
I got right back to work andthen something else I want to
share with you too is growing upin these poor conditions and
stuff that I was in, even thoughI had everything I needed,
(28:25):
Because I'm very proud of theyoung man I am today, so I don't
like to really complain.
But kind of, growing up inthese conditions, I was angry.
I was mad at the way that myfamily had to live, that, the
conditions I had to grow up in,the violence that you hear about
in Chicago.
I was upset and I think thething that drove me was going to
(28:47):
get my education.
I was mad at my situation.
So I went and got my educationBecause I felt like that was the
one thing that can't be takenfrom me my ability to think for
myself.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
I've heard that a few times, what you just said.
I know a lot of people in theCaribbean, a lot of people.
I know a doctor, yes, whoworked at Microsoft, very keen
on artificial intelligence,worked with the people that
actually developed open AI.
He said my way out growing upwas education.
(29:20):
So I fell in love witheducation and once you are aware
, you can apply what you havelearned, and I always look at
architecture.
It's applied science.
You have to apply themathematics and other things
that are so important.
So when you look at a building,you just don't see concrete and
steel and paint.
(29:40):
You see a representation of alot of thought, emotion and
impact, and I like that and thefact that you even cited Malcolm
X, and maybe you knew this,maybe you didn't, but then he
was born in Omaha, nebraska.
And he was born, you know, inOmaha Nebraska.
And then and now, as you comeinto your own in Omaha Nebraska,
(30:03):
we can host the first mayor,first black mayor of Omaha,
nebraska, who I went to highschool with no-transcript with.
(30:47):
You know we would just get aname for ourselves.
You know, northwest wasn't, youknow the central of the time,
or it used to be a school calledTech at the time, or even Omaha
North at the time.
Those had names for themselves.
Northwest was just starting out, but we made a name for
ourselves because we went outthere and we won championships.
I think you're making a namefor yourself.
(31:08):
So when you go back to thesouth side of Chicago some of
the places that you grew up inyou see they're going to look up
to Davi L Phillips and we wereable to showcase someone like an
artist.
Right, an artist always has ashowcase, and then you can
showcase your work and when itgoes up as a building, that
(31:28):
showcase lasts probably beyondyourself.
How does that make you feel?
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Oh, it feels fantastic, Like I said, like
seeing those young kids runningthrough the early education
center, Like I'm, like I hope,to create an environment in ways
they can learn and be safelearning, you know.
And then, like I know, likeSteelhouse here in Omaha, I had
some I had a very small role onthat project.
(31:54):
I got some details up in thebalcony and things I like to say
.
Those details led to me havinga lot of leg room, because I'm
pretty tall, you know.
So I'm used to my kneestouching the seat in front of me
if I'm at a stadium kind ofenvironment or kind of in an
entertainment venue.
Now I have ample leg room, youknow.
So it's like those littledetails and I'm very comfortable
(32:14):
when I go to Steelhouse, youknow, because of that reason,
you thought about yourself andthe design.
Speaker 1 (32:20):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
But then also all the other tall people out here that
you know things are alreadybuilt or made for us, you know.
So yeah, we just add a littlebit more legroom and it makes a
world of difference.
Speaker 1 (32:31):
Makes a big difference.
Now here's the thing I know.
When I was asking my even myparents, they were just a little
bit unclear about what theOmaha Inland Port Authority is
all about.
What is its, its aim, its goal?
How do you see that from?
Speaker 2 (32:50):
your from your viewpoint.
Yes, so the Omaha Inland PortAuthority is meant to help
development in the district, youknow, and so we can do
development ourselves, but wecan be a financial vehicle for
others doing development, and wedo have initiatives that we
started, like the InnovationDistrict, the Airport Business
Park.
I know we have a housinginitiative that's a statute
(33:12):
requirement to build some newhousing and there's a lot of
vacant lots so we can do someinfield development with an
innovation district.
There's so many differentthings you can do in innovation.
You talked about tech, youtalked about architecture.
I think those two thingsprofessions have space within
the innovation district, youknow.
And then also entertainmentthings to get our youth excited,
(33:35):
invested in their education andthen put them on a trajectory
where they can win, you know,and not not just teach them how
to win by themselves, but teachthem how to win together, you
know, and like because youmentioned, like coalition
building and getting peopletogether, I think that
educational piece and theteaching people how to get along
, you know we need to learn howto love each other, you know,
(33:58):
know.
So I think those things are howwe make it what we need it to
be as far as the Port Authority,and then we have a board
retreat coming up soon, and so,hopefully, the mission and the
vision is more clearly defined.
After our retreat, we're goingto get some information from
other Port Authorities that haveestablished and done great work
(34:19):
, and so, yeah, I'm excited forwhat the future holds for us.
Speaker 1 (34:25):
Well, I tell you from our conversation, one of the
things that really stood outfrom what you just said is so
important when you see abuilding and you see a broken
window and it encourages otherpeople to break another window
and then another window.
So if you can see somethingthat is uh, more substantial,
like you're saying, like thesteel house and some other
(34:47):
architecture that has beenrebuilt, especially like, on, uh
, 24th street, I remember goingdown the street and I saw, uh,
I'd be black girl, right, and Iand I said, oh, that's nice, so
you wouldn't want to throw arock through that window, right,
it's something you want toappreciate and we can build more
architecture that's down there.
(35:08):
You know, we've got some otherthings that are there that are
starting to look good.
I like Dreamland that theybuilt on 24th Street.
I think that does look good.
Remember, I've been gone fromthe area since 1991.
I would come back, obviously,periodically to visit, but to
live here full time.
I'm starting to appreciate alot of these different things
(35:31):
that I see there that I did notsee before, and I'm like all
right, I'm starting to see somechange in a positive direction
and I like that.
You are part of that.
Now we're coming to the end ofthis particular interview and I
always ask this of my guestshere of late, because now you're
at the end of the interview andthen it's real time.
(35:53):
You just did this.
How'd you feel about being onthe Follow the Brand podcast?
Speaker 2 (35:58):
Oh, I feel great, you great.
I feel the same way as beforewe started Super excited,
willing to share.
I think it's a wonderfulplatform.
I'm one of the guys that likesto be in the background, Even
though I'm bold and I speak up.
I like to be in the backgroundgetting the things done.
I'm happy to have a momentwhere I can come and share what
(36:20):
I'm about to the people.
Speaker 1 (36:23):
Oh man, that's the whole thing.
Share what you're about to thepeople.
I love what you're doing.
I tell you, when I first sawyou there, I was like this is
exactly what I want to see Ayounger person who's very
professional, who's bringingsomething to our community to
make a positive change.
So, as your children andchildren and children, they walk
(36:45):
through these particular areaslike, hey, yeah, you can see old
Omaha in pictures, but this iswhat new Omaha looks like today,
and I'm glad that you're makingthat vision happen for us and I
really, truly appreciate youbeing on the show.
And before I let you go, yougot to tell us how to contact
you.
Whether you've got email,whether it's LinkedIn, what is
(37:07):
the best way to reach DavielPhillips?
Speaker 2 (37:10):
Oh yeah, linkedin, mylinkedincom, like a name on
there, is the same as, like myInstagram.
It's dreams number two live andnumber four, dreams to live for
, because that's what I feellike.
I have Dreams to live for.
I want to keep going.
I love it.
Speaker 1 (37:28):
Dreams to live for man.
You can't get no better thanthat.
I encourage your entireaudience to visit us.
Visit us at 5starcom that isthe number five.
That is star S-T-A-R.
B for brand, d for development.
Infomasterscom You're going tosee over 200 other individuals
like Daviel that are catchingthere.
They're sharing their expertise, they're sharing their story,
(37:50):
they're sharing theirexperiences to help us all to
move forward and create a nearfuture.
So thank you again for being onthe Follow Brand Podcast.
Speaker 2 (37:59):
Thank you.
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