Meet Roger Horne | Father, Farmer, Healthcare Advocate

We had the good fortune of connecting with Roger Horne and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Roger, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I think that risk taking is for the brave and dumb. It’s for the individual who dream big or about a better world. Risk takers know themselves and have passion for the works they endeavor upon. As a child of privilege in the Caribbean, one takes careless, youthful risks because you think you are invulnerable, the world is yours, you think you know it all, and your privilege makes you feel untouchable.
As a young immigrant boy growing up on the streets of Brooklyn, NY you learn to take educated or calculated risks. These risks while youthful are also taken to protect the self or taken by others to protect you and the potential they see.
As a young man in College, the risks are once again careless and youthful as if an animal was set free to live it’s life. Reckless abandon eventually wanes into semi-socially responsible behavior. Risks once again become calculated and defined.
In Corporate America, as a young professional looking to prove yourself, educated risks are taken. You begin to adopt forecasting and risk management principles into your work style and the everyday behavior. Risk taking is expected as long as it turns a profit or balances out in the end. If not you’re usually out of a job. Some folks follow the status quo because their risk is to avoid risks.
When you work for yourself especially on the NFP side, risks are part of the game. Most hedge their risks but having one go-to program that brings in money to carry in the others. Some, especially those with limited funding or support tend to go all in with programs and projects like throwing darts at a dart board, hoping for a bullseye.
Risks in business also pertain to where you do business. What is your goal? Is it only to earn revenues or are you a socially responsible business person who also want to support communities with disparities, help protect the environment, etc. Do you take money to work in urban inner-cities but are afraid to go and talk with the residents of those communities.
These are all risks and risks are perceptions and perspectives. If we allow ourselves to open up to the diversity of perspectives without judgment then maybe we can have some real impact on the lives of people because then we will be creating community collaboratives rather than community directives.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Urban GreenWorks (UGW) started 10 years ago with the goals of providing south Floridians with improved access to healthy local foods, environmental education, horticulture therapy, and volunteer opportunities. Zoom ahead and the foundation continues to develop, adapt, and evolve yet the core remains the same: …of the Community…for the Community…by the Community! Today, as UGW Global, we are ready to implement a sustainable vision towards three (3) main goals:
1. Personal & Social Responsibility – the ethical obligation, the actions, and the way in which we examine our individual influences to ensure the well being of all members of the community;
2. Food Security – the state of having sustainable access to available quantity, affordable, and nutritious food; and
3. Planetary Health – the health of human civilization and the natural systems on which it depends.
We exist to support and restore the economic, social, & physical health of marginalized communities, where most of the “food deserts” (urban areas where access to affordable and nutritious food is limited) are located. Our work is diversified between:

• Developing, building and planting resilient and sustainable community partnerships, and
• Creating a new narrative of success for these partnerships to develop and grow.

Urban GreenWorks is a 501(c)(3) organization that has evolved from initially implementing our vision on a local level (Miami, FL), to now a decade later, emerging into holding collaboratives and branches in Richmond, VA – Atlanta, GA – St. Vincent and the Grenadines – Haiti – Kenya.

Stay up to date with our current running projects, campaigns, and affiliations at https://donately.com/.

Welcome to UGW 2.1

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We’ll probably spend the week at the W or one of those high-end hotels. My boys like to travel in style. Then I’ll come through and we’ll hit up all of the good eating spots in town. I’ll drag them off the beach to enjoy some local fare. Hit up the 79th St Roti Shop, the Ethiopian Restaurant in North Miami, take a walk around Wynwood, hit up our urban farm in Liberty City, then the little Haiti Cultural Arts Center and Marketplace. Hit the Keys midweek so we can wild out, maybe a jaunt over to Sanibel the way back Friday. Hit Legion Park Farmers Market on Saturday before for some juice from Clive and light snacks. Lunch in the Design District at Itamae. Then back to the beach for a nice dinner and chill.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My great grandfather Charles Boatswain, my good friends Patrick Morris & Christopher Martin, my 7-year old Son, Paul Roberson, Urban Oasis Project, Urban Paradise Guild, Green Garden Organics, the Village Food Pantry (Sherina Jones, you should ask her to do a piece), Fertile Earth, the TACOLCY Center, Roscoe B. Thicke III, DVCAI, Nicky Dawkins (Holistic Doula), and the East/West Foundation as people and organizations I would like to ShoutOut.

Website: www.urbangreenworks.org

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