In the Spotlight: Stephen Michael
A young Builder called to community leadership after finding his core strength: Activation
This week in the Village Stories spotlight is one of our Village Builders from the first Builder’s Cohort - Stephen Michael, a 22 year-old activist and community leader based in Queens, NY and working in NYC/Manhattan. Stephen’s story is a reminder of the power of defining our purpose. His vision inspires us to be curious about the challenges our communities are facing and a reminder to engage in open collaborative discord.
A Guiding Star
A defining moment for Stephen was during his freshman year at NYU, when he took a “Strengths Finder” test and discovered his top strength: Activation. “I’d never heard of it before. It changed my life,” he recalls. This word represented what he had naturally been doing for years: motivating friends, forming groups, and encouraging them to accomplish bigger goals. From this key insight, he embraced his role as a catalyst for collective action.
This word guides everything Stephen does, from grassroots activism to his career to organizing groups and bridging people. His current role as a Community Lead with a non-profit startup incubator reflects his unwavering commitment to collaboration and innovation, with the organization currently supporting over 50 startups focused on social impact.
Stephen’s dedication to community organizing has deep roots. In Queens NY, he was part of a grassroots campaign that successfully converted New York’s largest power plant into a source of clean energy. This movement taught him invaluable lessons - the importance of listening, amplifying community voices, and harnessing collective power to create meaningful change. “There are local leaders making great strides, and there’s always more effort that can be put toward listening to and supporting their work,” Stephen explains.
Now, back in Queens after many years away, Stephen is focused on building a Village from the ground up. He’s using this opportunity to reconnect with his roots and forge new connections in the community where he grew up. “Starting a Village here is my way of meeting people and establishing a place of belonging,” he says.
Becoming a Village Builder
Stephen’s first encounter with Village took place at a local Village gathering in Seattle, where he first discovered the gathering toolkit that would become foundational to his personal visions for community leadership. “It sounded like a blueprint for connection,” he recalls. The Builder’s toolkit inspired him to imagine mission-based activities focused on sustainability and equity - core values that inspire his desire to foster inclusive spaces.
For the Village he is initiating, Stephen imagines gatherings where people voice their challenges and passions, then collaborate in subgroups dedicated to tackling these issues. Stephen’s goal? To build places where people not only come together for a shared purpose but where lasting relationships are formed while also having a lot of fun.
Stephen defines a Village Builder as someone who strives to connect deeply with those around them, taking intentional steps to create a community that thrives beyond any single person’s efforts. As Stephen shares, “a Village Builder is someone interested in understanding how to connect with his neighbors and people around him. They make a concerted effort to build a community that is larger than themselves - effort that provides the staying power for positive impact and a sense of belonging.”
As the youngest of our 20 Village Builders in the current cohort, Stephen is committed to creating spaces for local people to be consistently welcomed and heard. VillageCore, the coaching group for Builders at VillageCo, will be beside him for a 6-month program to support his journey creating sustainable community.
Quick Facts:
The Village Builders Cohort is a project running from October 2024 to April 2025 to test our Village Gathering Model.
This pilot project is being offered as a co-learning experience with all Builders in the cohort.
Our Builders represent diverse people passionate about bringing their local communities together.
Your Voice:
We want to hear from you!
Have you ever attended a community brainstorming event? How was it organized?
What do you think your core strength is?
I was also deeply impacted when I took the strengths finder assessment a long while back, also in my 20's. My top strength was visionary, which felt like validation from repeated experience with bosses telling me I'm too optimistic 😂
I don't think I took that test but whenever I took the career aptitude test, I got social worker. Pretty accurate!
I've partaken in community talks. It was always full of just complaining and not really much problem solving... Wish there were facilitators that could prompt the discussion to more informed and practical directions.