Dara Eskridge calls herself “a kid from U City.” Last month, Time magazine called her one of “the World’s Most Influential Rising Stars.” The publication has identified Eskridge — along with 99 artists, innovators, advocates and leaders — as someone who is “truly changing the world this year.”
It’s been quite a year for Eskridge’s hometown and for Invest STL, the nonprofit she’s led since 2019. The organization’s mission has always centered on north St. Louis and its residents. So when the May 16 tornado ripped through some of the city’s most vulnerable, underinvested and predominately Black neighborhoods, Eskridge and Invest STL were one of the first to respond. Their recovery work was highlighted in Time by Boston Celtics forward, and fellow St. Louisan, Jayson Tatum.
Eskridge told St. Louis on the Air that the tornado added urgency to an already urgent mission: helping community members build systems that will allow them to thrive.
“[The tornado] confirms for us that the work, the mission that [Invest STL] adopted in 2022 is so important,” she said. “This focus on legacy Black neighborhoods and facilitating investment to them is critical, and that can't change.”
Under Eskridge’s leadership, Invest STL has prioritized improving policies and promoting direct investments to combat — and correct — decades of neglect in north St. Louis. While her leadership has earned national attention, she insists the recognition from Time is a shared one.
“It really is a privilege and honor to be able to receive this honor on behalf of the collective work,” Eskridge said. “There are 17 people in my organization. I have eight board members, and I have so many partners. I am grateful for all of them and their efforts and partnership.”
Eskridge’s interest in shaping and supporting communities began early. From her mother, she learned the importance of “quiet power.” From her father, a St. Louis restaurateur and real estate professional, she learned how places and people interact. Those early lessons led Eskridge to study architecture and urban planning.
“I realized I wanted to be in a position to shape how places operate and what they look like,” she said. “Through undergrad, I discovered urban planning and that I really enjoy all of the decisions that occur before a line is put onto a paper and a building is drawn. I like to bring that into the work today because I'm balancing, ‘How am I making people feel in community. … What are all these legacies of policies that have restricted people's opportunities and their ability to thrive?’”
The work is especially important to Eskridge because, she said, physical design choices, policies and practices have persistently excluded Black communities from being able to advance.
Changes won’t happen overnight, but Invest STL’s time is finite. As part of its 20-year theory of change, the organization will close its doors at the end of 2042.
“St. Louis has a lot of nonprofits … we don’t want to necessarily add to that volume,” she explained. “We decided to set a sunset for ourselves to say, ‘Look, we've got really important work that we want to hyper focus on. If we can't get it done in a generation's time, we're probably not the right mix of people and strategies to get it done, and therefore we should move aside.”
Invest STL is just three years into its 20-year plan, so the recognition Eskridge has received, and shared with her team and collaborators, is a sign that “the work” is moving in the right direction.
“We don't have the big corporate flair and huge platforms. So this kind of recognition says the work on the ground matters. The voices on the ground matter. And that's huge for us,” she said.
For more with Invest STL’s Dara Eskridge, including how she and her family initially reacted to Jayson Tatum’s write-up in Time magazine, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or click the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Darrious Varner is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
