2008 Minority Business Awards finalists: Rising Star Award

2008 Minority Business Awards finalists: Rising Star Award

Date: Sunday, August 17, 2008, 11:00pm CDT – Last Modified: Friday, August 15, 2008, 12:05am CDT

L’Tryce Slade has been climbing a high hill since setting up shop in February 2006. Now she may be coming over the crest. Slade Land Use, Environmental and Transportation Planning shows people how to make smart planning choices, taking into account all the factors suggested by the firm’s name.

L’Tryce Slade has been climbing a high hill since setting up shop in February 2006.

Now she may be coming over the crest.

Slade Land Use, Environmental and Transportation Planning shows people how to make smart planning choices, taking into account all the factors suggested by the firm’s name.

In its early days, the company focused mostly on community organizing, talking with residents about transformation within evolving Birmingham neighborhoods.

One example is the Enon Ridge development, which will encompass a 35-parcel residential development, as well as the demolition of blighted properties in the area.

The project is aimed at cleaning up the area’s reputation, and also making it an attractive place for young professionals.

For Slade, it’s all a part of making the community a better place – one that the residents can be proud of.

“The people who live in the community have been trying to do this for over eight years, and I see this as providing new options for these people,” Slade said.

Slade brings a highly diverse background to the table, with a master’s degree in city and regional planning, along with a law degree from the University of North Carolina.

She’s worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Highway Administration and the North Carolina Department of Transportation, just to name a few.

Now she is bringing all that experience to bear in the service of ailing urban environs.

It’s an effort that encompasses not just her professional energies but also a piece of her heart.

“These existing neighborhoods, they really need some help, and I possess the skill sets to help breathe life into those neighborhoods,” she said.

“What I am doing is my passion, and what I love to do.”