Sep 5 (edited) • General discussion
WHAT 👏 A 👏 WEEK!!! 👏😭🔥🥹
I told y’all before DELTA FEST that for these two days, I was putting my regular content schedule to the side because my assignment was simply to SHOW UP.
And I genuinely don’t think I understood what that was going to mean until I got there 😮💨
For two days, I sat in rooms listening to conversations about philanthropy, community development, access to capital, entrepreneurship, AI, workforce development, infrastructure, procurement, the creative economy and what it actually takes to build and scale something that creates lasting impact 🔥🧠🙇♀️
I heard directly from funders, technologists, community leaders, bankers, entrepreneurs and people who are actively shaping economic development across Mississippi and the South.
And somewhere in the middle of all of that… I stopped feeling like I was trying to figure out how to get into the room and started realizing that Between Worlds BELONGS in these conversations. 🥹💙
I NETWORKED, y’all. 😂😂😂
And I learned something hilariously simple about myself:
“Hi, I’m Paris.”
THAT WAS IT. 😭
I had been overthinking how to approach people when apparently all I needed was an opening. Once I said hello, everything else came naturally.
I made real connections. People approached ME. I exchanged LinkedIns and business cards. I met people in technology, business, media and community development that I genuinely want to continue building relationships with.
I also attended an incredible conversation on new careers and businesses in AI, healthcare and education with Dr. Nashlie Sephus and Phil Chow.
During Q&A, I got the opportunity to ask about something I’ve been thinking deeply about: as AI becomes more powerful, what happens when the models, infrastructure and data are concentrated among a small number of companies—and what role can open-source AI play in distributing access and opportunity more broadly?
That conversation gave me even MORE clarity about what I want Between Worlds to teach.
AI literacy cannot stop at teaching people how to prompt ChatGPT.
I want people in our community to understand the technology well enough to ask:
- Who owns it?
- Where does our data go?
- Who gets to build with it?
- Who benefits economically?
- What jobs and businesses are being created?
- And how do WE make sure we participate in that future?
But one of my favorite moments happened completely unexpectedly.
During the MainStage closing conversation, the host, Rita Brent, looked into the audience, asked if anyone had anything to add…and then looked at ME. 😂😭
“What about you?”
Next thing I know, somebody is handing me a microphone and I’m speaking from my seat during the DELTA FEST MainStage 😆😭🙌
That’s the video I’m sharing with this post.… And it means more to me than just getting a microphone.
Because two days earlier, I was literally thinking about how to introduce myself to strangers 😭😭
By the end of the conference, I was contributing my perspective to the room. THAT is growth.
And the biggest thing I walked away believing is this:
Funding is possible. Partnerships are possible. The resources are there. And sometimes the relationship that changes the trajectory of what you’re building really is ONE introduction away.
I also walked away with an even bigger vision for Between Worlds 🔥😭🙌
I want a permanent home in Jackson where people can learn AI, build businesses, develop technical skills, create art and music with emerging technology, explore entrepreneurship, and understand enough about this new economy to participate in building it—not just consume whatever gets built around them
And AMP family… while ALL of this was happening, our fiscal sponsorship agreement for Between Worlds was officially completed by Stephen Brown , the founder of Briarwood Arts Center, I can officially apply for funding under a 501c3 status 😭💙😮💨💰
AND THEN I came home and found out that I was selected to interview for the 2027 Change Collective cohort 🥹😭🙌
WHAT. A. WEEK !!!!
I’m still processing everything I learned, and I have a ridiculous amount of follow-up to do now 😂, but I wanted to share this moment with the people who have watched me build this from the beginning.
has told us over and over that we cannot just keep preparing forever. Eventually we have to put ourselves, our work and our vision in the room.
I went into DELTA FEST thinking my assignment was to show up.. and I came home understanding WHY I needed to be there. 💙
Now the assignment is FOLLOW THROUGH.
Let’s WORK. 😭🙌🏽🔥
#AMP #BetweenWorldsFoundation #DELTAFEST2026 #AILiteracy #AIForBusiness #JacksonMS #CommunityDevelopment #Entrepreneurship #WorkforceDevelopment
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WHAT 👏 A 👏 WEEK!!! 👏😭🔥🥹
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