As a part of our RE·Imagine blog, we want to highlight the wonderful people who we work with, and who make the work possible. Facilitator of the Month is a series dedicated to shine light on all of our per diem staff and supporters, and the work that they do both inside and outside of RE·Center.
Meet, Jim Albert, a former Camp Counselor of RE·Center, current Per Diem Facilitator, and future doctor. Jim first joined the RE·Center staff during 2018, during the final season of our Residential Camp Program. Since then, Jim continues to help us partner with different Connecticut school districts to facilitate conversations on race, equity, and systemic oppression.
“When I first started with RE·Center, I had a family member already working there at the time, who brought me on to the organization. After meeting the folks of RE·Center I became connected with the core values of the organization and ultimately decided to work with them”.
Jim brings a personal touch when facilitating with the youth because of his own experiences as a young adult when first moving to the United States. “…When I got to the states [at 13 years old] – I think that’s when a lot of discrimination and separation became visible to me, [I was] really being exposed to it. Being ostracized as an immigrant… all those things became visible to me.” This is why the work is so important to him.
When Jim isn’t working with us, he also works in the medical sector, assisting patients with addiction, and mental illness in Springfield MA, while also pursing an MBA degree. Jim also stays active outside of work and study. In his free time- he’s outside exploring nature, playing soccer, and loves a good laugh.
RE·Imagine:
One of the many reasons we appreciate Jim’s work with RE·Center is his ambition and readiness to lend a helping hand. We asked Jim what he’s trying to re·imagine for his community for a more equitable future, and he’s already taking his own action.
In addition to working, and going to school, Jim is also the CEO Haiti Main Verte, an international startup company seeking to revolutionize the agricultural sector in the Caribbean, beginning with his homeland Haiti. “We started by making sure that the children of our seasonal workers who harvest the land go to school. We pay for [their children] to receive primary schooling”.
It’s that personal touch, and eagerness to connect with youth that makes this work so magical, thank you Jim!
