People for Urban Progress :: Turae Dabney-Mumford in the Momlight
Sustainability. Diversity. Inclusivity... In some job opportunities, leaders might take on one, maybe two of these missions. But not Turae Dabney-Mumford. At People for Urban Progress she's running head on into all three, and championing some massive contributions to the Indy community along the way.
Born and raised in Indianapolis, Turae Dabney-Mumford is proud of her Hoosier roots and committed to giving back to the community.
Most recently she’s been doing just that through her role as Executive Director of People for Urban Progress (or PUP). Founded in 2008 by twins Michael and Jessica Bricker, the non-profit organization was created when the RCA/Hoosier Dome was being torn down: the two designers were able to salvage the well known white roof and begin to repurpose it into products in an effort to keep it from ending up in a landfill.PUP’s sustainability efforts continue today through a team of people that take the old and clean, stitch, and create beautiful products whose sales help fund urban projects like repurposing the former Bush Stadium seats into bus stop seating {PUPstops} and repurposing leather from Amtrak seats into high quality bags.
PUP’s online store is more than a shop: it’s a tangible response to crises and iniquities that are happening around us.
Turae shares that in 2020, PUP has been able to respond to the Coronavirus pandemic by shifting from bag manufacturing to the production of fabric face coverings for donation to essential workers at child care centers, long-term care facilities, and healthcare centers. The organization has also joined in the conversations awakened across the country following the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and so many others through the launch of their "Ignitor" product line. This line of black bags made from repurposed pool cover vinyl {translation: durable AND waterproof} and t-shirts from local designer Byron Elliott will help fund the establishment of a PUP fellowship with the explicit goal of inviting diversity into the design community.
WE LOVE MOMS MAKING OUR CITY GREAT: Check out Leslie Bailey from Indy Maven
The story of how Turae ended up in her current role with PUP is just as enchanting as the organization’s mission.
A first generation college grad, she shares that she went “above and beyond” by earning not one, but two Bachelor degrees and a Master’s of Public Administration, all from the University of Evansville. Following graduation, Turae accepted a job with the Indiana House of Representatives and began to make her mark.Turae’s work and encouragement from Congressman Andre Carson landed her in Washington, D.C., working for the Congressional Black Caucus Institute and considering her political aspirations until her mentor, Representative Bill Crawford, urged her to come home. She says, “He told me, ‘It’s time for you to come home, because Indianapolis raised you. We have trained you. You can’t change D.C.; D.C. will change you before you change it, so you need to come home.’” Come home she did, and Turae reconnected with PUP - she had learned of their work in 2012 while serving on the Super Bowl Committee - and was invited to serve on the Board of Directors. She was recommended as a good fit for Interim Executive Director, dropping the “Interim” in July of this year... and the rest is history.
“My passion is for women to have an equitable seat at the table, my passion is for people who look like me to have equitable seats at the table. It’s that diverse opinion that brings the best idea, said Turae. "If we’re going to agree on the end, then there’s no reason to fight about the means. If we agree with where we want to go, there is no reason to fight about how we’re going to get there.”
Turae talks about her work as PUP’s Executive Director as her “first foray into being a working mom” after a stint as a stay-at-home mom of twins. Turae lives on the city’s northwest side with her husband of 20 years and 4 year old daughters Allanah and Alaysha. Their family loves small “adventures” through their diverse neighborhood, walking to the Jewish Community Center to look at art, or finding a PUPstop to sit on. On her own, Turae highly values quiet time, waking early every morning to start her day with Bible study and finding time during the workday to walk the track across from PUP’s office at the Central State Hospital campus. She longs for the days when she can take an uninterrupted shower again. And don’t we all?.
Turae describes herself as being part of the sitcom generation, saying, “I grew up watching all those sitcoms where everything was wrapped up perfectly in 30 minutes; you didn’t see the backend of the work it took to get there. No, I can’t have everything right now!”
Turae acknowledges the difficult balance of wanting a career and being a mom. As a stay-at-home mom she felt a bit lost as she saw her professional contemporaries zoom forward, and now that she’s back to in the workforce she sometimes thinks to herself “man, I probably should be home.” {Later Turae laughs and says, “The girls are the reason why I lose it half the time, but they’re also the reason why I hold it together.”} She values that PUP is an employer that understands that she is a working mom and has a Board of Directors filled with working moms, and she can even see the current pandemic as a gift as it’s reminded her to slow down and recommit to the perspective that she’ll never regret the time she can spend with her family.
MORE ABOUT PEOPLE FOR URBAN PROGRESS: We don’t know about you, but we’re pretty inspired when we think about PUP and the work they - and Turae! - are doing in our community. Good news: It’s easy to get involved and get behind their efforts. PUP welcomes volunteers to come in and process materials {everything is cleaned, hand cut, and hand stitched in their social distancing friendly warehouse}. Other ways to get involved include making a donation or purchase products. Take the next step to support PUP by emailing volunteer@peopleup.org, or by following their work via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
