Pursuit of Prosperity: Conversations on Home & Financial Empowerment

Inspired by the themes of Mario Moore’s exhibition at the Gantt, In Pursuit of Home, this educational workshop explores housing & wage stagnation through a fireside chat between Christine Edwards Pitkin and Justine Reed. The conversation will be followed by a financial literacy activity to empower the community to make informed decisions about home ownership, managing debt, and creating long-term financial stability.

About Christine Edwards Pitkin

Christine Edwards Pitkin is a Civic Innovator, a Founder and CEO. After earning her Master of Public Administration with a focus on Urban Management and Policy, Christine excelled at several government affairs leadership roles before launching her community engagement consulting company, Civility Localized©️, in 2018. Christine's mission is to help communities grow with dignity and help people bring their world-changing ideas to life. Christine was recently named a 2025 Charlotte Business Journal Women in Business Honoree, and her work has been featured in numerous publications including Fast Company's World Changing Ideas Issue for the City of Asheville Community Reparations Project. Additionally, in 2025 Christine graced the TEDx stage with her signature talk "Why Quiet Activists Must Unmute" about how civic change accelerates when we create space for every voice to be heard, not just the loudest. When she’s not serving her community, Christine can be found exploring the world through travel, enjoying Southern food, or nurturing her love for civic advocacy by watching it play out in everyday life. Christine lives in Charlotte with her husband Ryan and dog Parker.

About Justine Reed

Justine Reed is a Charlotte-based financial empowerment leader committed to advancing economic mobility in underserved communities. With over six years of experience in pricing strategy and financial operations, she understands how financial systems work and how often they leave communities behind.

For more than a decade, she has served with VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) and currently leads as the VITA Program Manager at the Ada Jenkins Center, where she oversees outreach, volunteer engagement, and free tax preparation initiatives supporting low- to moderate-income households. She also serves as a Financial Education Counselor with Common Wealth Charlotte, expanding access to practical financial education across the community.

After years in corporate analytics, Justine felt called to bridge technical financial expertise with hands-on community impact. She is currently pursuing her Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC) certification as she builds programs focused on financial empowerment, confidence, and long-term financial stability.

Her mission is clear: to move communities from financial survival to financial empowerment by equipping individuals not just with knowledge, but with the confidence and tools to build generational wealth.

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Host or Publisher Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture