Inspiring Woman on a Mission: Coral Evans

On this Labor Day, our annual day to celebrate working men and women and their enormous contributions to society, it is my pleasure to spotlight a woman whose work has forever changed the city I call home.

Flagstaff Mayor Coral Evans has been a community activist for decades, and her passion for justice, equality and the dignity of all our residents has been the hallmark of an award-winning career.

A third-generation Flagstaff resident, Coral began her work when she helped save a local community center that was not only a vibrant neighborhood asset, it was also a landmark, having been the former site of a school that had historically served the area’s African-American students.

Much of Coral’s work has been focused on the Sunnyside neighborhood, one of Flagstaff’s more socio-economically mixed areas. Packed with older small homes, new condos, light industrial and commercial facilities in just a few city blocks, it is unique in a place where many of the neighborhoods are single-family suburban or multi-acre rural.

In the early 1990s, Sunnyside’s residents banded together to combat a rise in crime in the neighborhood. They started a block watch and then sought to formalize their group as a nonprofit. Working with the local United Way, they secured a federal “Weed & Seed” grant, used to weed out crime while sowing seeds of hope in the form of economic development, and youth opportunity programs.

Coral was hired as Executive Director of the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association to oversee the grant and lead the organization.

It had a major effect on lives in Sunnyside. Crime rates dropped dramatically after only a few years. The association became a powerful lobbying group, successfully getting the city to repair streets and sidewalks and enforce zoning and housing codes for rental properties. And community pride was very visible in the “Sunnyside UP” signs that lined the streets.

In recent years, led by Coral, Sunnyside has expanded tremendously in providing economic and cultural opportunities. Its Market of Dreams (Mercado de los Sueños) is a community cooperative multi-cultural market and small business/micro-entrepreneurship center. An FM radio station provides residents greater access to information concerning the Sunnyside neighborhood and greater Flagstaff area with programming in English, Spanish and Navajo. Other innovations include a program to mentor individuals on probation and an initiative to provide free firewood to county residents who are disabled, senior citizens or low-income (many homes in our region are heated in part by wood burning stoves).

SNA’s latest project seeks to promote better health in the community by training health workers who serve underrepresented groups.

The neighborhood association has a great Facebook page that hits all the right notes. Lots of information about the neighborhood, plenty of event coverage, and a nice big Donate button letting people know donations are welcome. But the page also shows SNA’s concern about the world outside of the neighborhood; recent posts discussed both the white supremacists marching in Charlottesville, as well as a call to action to help relief efforts in Houston under the hashtag #flagstafflovestexas. 

Throughout all her years as an activist, Coral has justly been honored by a variety of organizations and just this summer, she received the 2017 Margie Frost Champion Against Poverty by the Arizona Community Action Association. She is also a recipient of the Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce Athena Award, the United Way of Northern Arizona Community Builder Award, the Coconino Hispanic Advisory Council Cesar E. Chavez Community Award, the State of Black Arizona Community Luminary Award, the Arizona Informant Newsmaker Award and the Soroptimist International AZ Peaks Ruby, and the Women of Distinction (Economic & Social Development) awards.

And during the time she has headed the nonprofit she loves, Coral has also started a business, pursued a PhD in Education, taught at our local university, got onto the City Council and, oh yeah, was elected Mayor of Flagstaff.

Definitely a Woman on a Mission.

Are you a Woman on a Mission? A #ChangeMaker working hard to make the world a kinder, brighter place for those in need? I'd love to share your story.

All you have to do is fill out this form and share with me your vision, your mission, your journey and the impact you're making through the work of your small nonprofit. I'd love to feature you as a Woman on a Mission AND bring a little more attention to your good work with a little marketing love!