Evelyn Burnett, 25
Former project director, Sustainable Cleveland 2019
eaburnett@gmail.com
NEW CHALLENGES: Recently, Evelyn Burnett had breakfast in New York City. “It was just eggs, bacon, a couple slices of toast — nothing fancy,” Burnett says. “I got my bill, and it said $19.50. I didn’t have pancakes or anything that could help me figure out why I was about to spend $25 on breakfast.” Affordability is just one of the reasons Burnett has missed Cleveland since she moved to Harlem last month. A University of Akron grad with a master’s degree in public administration and undergrad minor in dance, Burnett ended her tenure as the project director for Sustainable Cleveland 2019 to take on a new position with Living Cities, where she is working with the American City Agenda project in the areas of education, health, economic development and housing. ON LEAVING CLEVELAND: Cleveland is a pilot city for American City Agenda, so Living Cities will use Burnett’s insider knowledge of the area. “They’re looking for a dot connector on the ground,” Burnett says. “Sometimes organizations like this, especially when they’re not located in the city, are kind of in an ivory tower.” Burnett will be traveling between the two cities. BACK IN A FLASH: Cleveland hasn’t seen the last of Burnett. “I’m proud Youngstown-born and -raised,” Burnett says. “Northeast Ohio is where my home is. It’s where my heart is. I’ll be back in Cleveland in a few years.”
How has your dance background helped you in the business world?
I think that my dance background really helped out to see ideas and see how they can be improved. I don’t consider myself the best dancer by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s about being able to express yourself.
What does sustainability mean to you?
Sustainability is about thinking holistically: It is recycling. It is urban farming. It is urban gardening.
How did you become interested in sustainability?
Sustainability caught my ear because it’s living in a way and functioning in a way that is cost-effective. People have been being sustainable for forever because they had to, because it was a way to survive. But I think there are others who have just realized the importance of not beating up on the earth. Ultimately, sustainability is the decisions that you make every single day.
The goal is to make Cleveland a “green city on a blue lake.” What was one positive outcome of the Sustainable Cleveland 2019 summit?
At the summit, we were able to bring people together across sectors but also, more importantly, across socioeconomic lines. I think it becomes amazing when you take people out of their comfort zones and see how innovative and creative they can be.
Where does Sustainable Cleveland go from here?
As we continue to listen to what people are saying, we can create some really good policies to get us toward that goal. And it’s not an easy goal. We were a city that 40 years ago saw our river on fire. People have to change their lifestyles. We have to educate people about why we’re doing this.
What are you going to miss most about Cleveland?
I know that they have neighborhoods in New York, but Cleveland is a huge neighborhood city. In Cleveland, you have Hough, the Warehouse District, the Flats — all these different neighborhoods, and it gives the city a lot of identity and character. It’s a pretty tight-knit city, and I’m going to miss that.
What’s the best unknown thing about Cleveland?
There’s a lot of talk about what it used to be, but Cleveland has so much character that people are not aware of. There’s a little museum, Sarah Benedict House, on Prospect and 37th, and it shows what Euclid Avenue and Carnegie used to look like. To see a farm on Euclid, to me, is just unbelievable. It makes me think about how this city has been through so many transformations, and I think it’s on its way to another one.