[caption id="attachment_2126" align="alignleft" width="300"]Odessa Kelly at SEIU's "Activist Day 2018"[/caption]

Odessa Kelly, a member of SEIU Local 205 and an employee of Metro Parks and Recreation, was named “Activist of the Year” by Nashville Scene magazine.

By day, Odessa works as a recreation manager at Napier Recreation Center, which is located in one of Nashville’s poorest neighborhoods. There, she supports and inspires kids every day by helping them with their homework and helping them acquire the skills and confidence they will need to thrive after they leave school.

When she’s not on the clock, Odessa has taken a lead role as a co-chair of Stand Up Nashville—a community non-profit which has, among other things helped draft the “Do Better Bill”. The legislation requires that before the Metro Council votes to give tax incentives to a company, the developers must release details about the jobs they claim will be created, including how many, what kind, whom they’ll hire, and what they’ll pay. This is landmark legislation for Nashville and for Tennessee.

Odessa was also one of the key players involved with the community benefits agreement (“CBA”) for the upcoming Major League Soccer stadium coming to Nashville. The CBA, which is a legally-binding agreement between Stand Up Nashville and Nashville Soccer Holdings, requires the soccer group to provide affordable housing on the privately developed land and it sets a minimum wage of $15.50/hour for both construction workers and the employees who will eventually be hired by the soccer arena and its surrounding businesses.

And if all of that wasn’t enough, Odessa is also the co-chair of the economic equity branch of Nashville Organizing for Action and Hope (“NOAH”). She was part of the team which helped push through Nashville’s Construction Readiness Partnership, an initiative to ensure that Nashvillians have the skills and access necessary should they want to be employed as part of the city’s construction boom.

Congratulations to Odessa on receiving this incredible award!