Our Team
In less than an hour after meeting, we knew it was serendipity. Jill Eshelman, an academic scholar and urban environmental sociologist, met Lauren Goldberg, a savvy project manager and community builder. Both of us wanted to help transform public space, centering our work on creative placemaking, environment regeneration, and social justice.
During Summer 2020, we launched Thriving Places Collaborative, LLC, combining our complementary styles and skillsets to help community organizations ensure their placemaking project ideas come to fruition in the Greater Boston-Providence Area. We coordinate all elements of a project with a collaborative spirit and sense of adventure. As a women-owned and disability-owned partnership, we can offer a unique perspective on design, developed through our own lived experiences. Meet our team!
Lauren Goldberg
Personal Mission Statement: Help people feel a greater sense of belonging in their communities
Swiss Army Knife Skills: collaborative partnership-building, project management, marketing and communications, and strategic community engagement
Superpowers: empathy, creativity, and contagious energy
Connect with Lauren on LinkedIn
Jill Eshelman, PhD
Personal Mission Statement: Facilitate the creative expression and connection of local residents in their communities and create equal access to environmental resources in urban places
Swiss Army Knife Skills: data collection and analysis, program evaluation, budget management, grant writing, interviews, focus groups, surveys
Superpowers: groundedness, intuition, and communication
Unique
We believe that the most interesting places contain an element of surprise that differentiates them from anywhere else in the world. We help guide community members through the creative process of expressing their local identities.
Unique
Celebratory
We believe that life is more fun when cities and towns have festive spaces that reflect the culture and values of a neighborhood. We enjoy creating places for memorable community events and celebrations.
Celebratory
Environmentally
Regenerative
Environmentally
Regenerative
We believe placemaking is an ecological practice that helps transform underutilized urban space and prevents destruction of natural habitats. We focus on ecologically regenerative practices like using renewable materials, native plants, and design decisions that honor the well-being of plants, animals, and people.
Socially
Equitable
Socially
Equitable
We believe all people are worthy of a welcoming experience in public space. We prioritize amplifying voices of historically marginalized communities such as racial and ethnic minorities, immigrants, disabled people, and the LGBTQ+ community in every project.
Adventurous
Adventurous
We believe that visiting a place should feel like an adventure and that the transformation of a place should be a joyful and imaginative process too! We chart out a plan and roadmap, but we dive in with our minds and hearts open as we see where the adventure takes us.
Engaging
Engaging
We believe that the best places are not only attractive enough to catch your eye but also interactive enough to make you want to stay a while! We focus on engaging multiple stakeholders to assure that the spaces we create will continue to serve the needs of the community for many years to come.
Energetic
Energetic
We believe all places have their own spirit and that people, whether consciously or not, can sense the essence of that space -whether it's exciting and inspiring or calming and serene. We're invested in understanding the character of a space and bringing our enthusiasm into every part of our work process.
Collaborative
Collaborative
We believe in building spaces together for the community, with the community. In addition to building partnerships with local businesses, community organizations, and residents, we also continue to build a network of technical experts who help us create vibrant places.