Community organizer, creative advocate, and co-leader of Brick City Jam shares her approach to building infrastructure that truly supports artists.

The Foundation: From Faith to Action

Naomi Stevens has been immersed in community work since childhood. Raised between Newark and Elizabeth, she watched her parents—both inner-city pastors—organize marches and confront community violence without hesitation.
"One of my earliest memories is my parents organizing a citywide march from Bergen Street to Grove Street. I was about three," Naomi recalls.
That early exposure taught her that community organizing isn't a part-time effort—it’s a way of life.

Her parents set a high bar.
"I saw my mom confront community violence with incredible courage. I always wanted to carry that same strength—to speak life into people, whether they were homeless, had experienced domestic violence, or were just struggling."

Naomi takes a grounded approach. Rather than self-promotion, she focuses on quiet, consistent leadership.
"I let my fruit speak for me. I’m not the type to go around announcing what I do. You can hear someone’s conviction just in how they talk."

Addressing the Real Crisis: Supporting Creative Lives

Through her leadership with Brick City Jam, Naomi is tackling a harsh reality that many ignore: creatives often live on the edge of economic insecurity.
Her guiding question?
"What would you do if money weren’t an issue?"

"Honestly, it can feel like you’re one paycheck away from homelessness. We’ve got artists, tech builders, musicians—but there’s no real infrastructure to support us. That’s what Brick City Jam is trying to provide."

The work is about more than events. It’s about changing systems.
"We want to break the starving artist narrative. Our culture runs on art—but we don’t own it. Others profit while we struggle."

Strategy: Be Proactive, Not Just Passionate

The difference between reactive and proactive organizing came into focus for Naomi during the 2020 uprisings.
While many were moved to action, she saw the dangers of burnout without long-term planning.

Proactive Organizing:

• Build resources before they’re needed

• Educate consistently

• Maintain strong support systems

• Balance urgency with longevity

Reactive Organizing:

• Respond only to crisis

• Operate on emotion, not strategy

• Burn out fast without systems

Building the Right Team

Naomi’s approach to team-building is rooted in transparency and intuition.
"People reveal who they are within five minutes. I listen closely—I don’t cut people off, but I do keep some at arm’s length."

Her process is collaborative and clear-eyed:

• Be honest about your strengths and limits

• Match with people who complement your skills

• Build trust through shared values—not just shared goals

She emphasizes the importance of non-transactional relationships:
"Sometimes I just invite folks over for dinner, host a game night, or do something creative. There has to be room for joy and healing in this work—it can’t all be grind and grief."

Operational Gaps: “We’ve Been Running on Vibes”

Even with a 500-person community and an annual festival, Naomi’s team doesn’t yet have a centralized system.
"We don’t have any real tool. It’s mostly Google Sheets, Notion, Instagram—and a whole lot of chaos."

Key Challenges:

• Contact management

• Vendor contracts

• Metric tracking

• Fundraising reports

Without clear metrics, even accessing funding becomes harder.
"If we had a tool like Pollen8, we’d be able to show funders exactly what we’re doing and who we’re reaching."

Bridging Grassroots and Institutional Worlds

Naomi’s work at SOSV’s HAX accelerator reflects her belief in showing up across ecosystems.
"What better way to learn how things get funded than to work in venture capital? I was the first person from the immediate Newark community they hired."

Her role bridges gaps—between hard tech and grassroots organizing, between corporate power and street-level change.

The Vision: Infrastructure That Elevates, Not Extracts

Brick City Jam is about more than cultural programming. Naomi is building infrastructure that:

• Equips artists to build viable businesses

• Prioritizes ownership of cultural production

• Expands regionally and internationally

• Embraces tech as a tool to eliminate gatekeeping

Her goal is long-term sustainability for marginalized creatives—not just moments of visibility.

Lessons for Other Organizers

1. Consistency > Hype
   "Keep showing up—even when no one’s clapping."

2. Let Growth Be Organic
   "Trust that people will find you if your work has heart."

3. Celebrate Along the Way
   "Make room for joy. It’s not weakness—it’s how we heal."

4. Social Capital Is Real Capital
   "Sometimes it’s not about money. I got here because of who I knew and how we showed up for each other."

5. Get Your Systems Together
   "You can’t scale chaos. Eventually you need tools that work as hard as you do."

Naomi Stevens is proof that grassroots organizing can be visionary, tech-forward, and emotionally intelligent all at once. Her work shows that you don’t have to choose between being a creative, an activist, and a systems builder—you can be all three, as long as you’re committed to consistency, community, and cultural ownership.