Written by Nicole Chavas, President + COO of Greenprint Partners
I'm pleased to share that Greenprint is now a certified MBE with the City of Chicago! This certification adds to our existing WBE certification, fully recognizing our status as a women- and minority-owned sustainable planning and civil engineering firm.
As a Filipino American and child of immigrants, it's particularly meaningful to me to have received this certification during Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month. (While that timing was not intentional, we can thank the City of Chicago's Procurement Department for this happy coincidence!) As this celebratory month comes to a close, I'm proud to see Greenprint recognized as an AAPI-owned business by the City.
I discovered my passion for the urban environment when I moved to Chicago from Wisconsin 20 years ago. There truly is no other city like it — a city on the greatest of the Great Lakes, a city of beautiful architecture, a city of distinct neighborhoods, each boasting its unique culture and cuisines. I also became acutely aware of the clear ways systemic racism had shaped which neighborhoods received meaningful investments in their built infrastructure, and which ones went without.
I was drawn to the planning field by a desire to work with communities that have historically not had a voice in decisions that directly impact their quality of life — the same communities that are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. I felt compelled to start Greenprint to find ways to break down barriers to bringing more resources to these neighborhoods, guided by the voices and priorities of the communities themselves.
Ten years later, I am proud that Greenprint continues to focus on developing high impact water and green infrastructure projects across the country and helping to funnel funds into priority neighborhoods. I am also proud to be headquartered in Chicago; proud to be leading this company with our forward-thinking CEO and co-founder, April Mendez; and proud to have grown to a team of over 25 mission-driven doers. With this new certification, we look forward to even more opportunities to partner with like-minded firms to plan, design, and implement sustainable, community-centered projects in our own backyard and beyond.
