We are so excited to welcome Lisa Barroca as our new Online Community Manager to the Cultivators Community! Cultivate’s Head of Marketing sat down with Lisa to ask 15 questions in 15 minutes. Here’s what we learned about how Lisa landed in a community-centric career, her dream dinner guestlist, and her favorite coffee combination.

Lisa, where are you from? 

I am from Long Island, NY, where I lived until the end of high school. Then I spent some time in Washington DC and South Florida before moving to Ithaca, NY, where I live now. Ithaca is my new favorite place, with incredible community, nature, and coffee.

What’s your earliest memory of being in Community?

On the block where I grew up, I was part of a group of about 8-12 kids. We all had different interests and ages, but we all came together and spent all of our afternoons and weekends together. If we got locked out of our house we could eat dinner at a friend’s house. If someone needed something from the store, someone else would pick it up. Looking back, I think about not only how impactful that community of kids was to me, in having people I could rely on when I needed them, but also how the adults, our parents and caregivers, modeled that community feel for us. The ways they checked in on each other, making sure folks were okay, that they had what they needed and just really showing up whether it was a good time or bad, all of it was really impactful to me and set the stage for how I think about community now. 

What are some identities that are important to you and that you plan to bring to the work that you’ll do in the community?

There are three that came to mind, though of course there are a constellation of others that factor in as well. First, I’m first generation, which I think informs my ability to sit in that liminal space between what has been traditionally done and new opportunities and ways of learning and being together. Second, I am sober, which I like to talk about because when I encounter other sober folks in the wild we are always really thrilled to find each other, especially in a business setting. That choice for me was an empowering way to take care of myself and to sit in my integrity and get in touch with my personal value, which is very important to me and impactful to my work. The last I’ll mention is queerness. I think of queerness not just as an identity but as a politic, a way of seeing and experiencing the world. It has made me a born questioner. I believe that when we question the way things are and get curious about why they are that way and if they could be other ways, we create a lot more space not just for ourselves but for everyone. 

In line with that, what values guide you? 

In my life and community work I am most guided by integrity, being really in alignment and honest about my values. I think about community as a value, that ability and willingness to show up for each other in commitment and solidarity. Fun, which isn’t a traditional value but should be one! Curiosity, because any time you get folks of different experiences and identities in a room, it’s important to be curious about why they feel the way they do and what they’re bringing with them into the conversation. And the last value, I’ll frame as mindfulness. I believe that the small ways that we interact day to day are what echoes out into the work that we do and the way that we live our lives. So I really value and try to cultivate mindfulness in all of my interactions so that I can make sure that I show up to the world in my integrity.

When you came to Cultivate, your previous job was as a community manager but before that you had some other different types of jobs. Something about community obviously stood out to you because you’re here now and continuing that journey. What inspires you about community work?

The people, always. Getting to meet new people, to learn about them, to hear about what they’re going through, what challenges they face, and how they think about the world really inspires me. I love that community work is necessarily curious and necessarily interdependent. It challenges the ways that we can get really siloed in our work and our lives, and challenges us to reach out and talk to each other. I love that it creates a lot of opportunities for listening. 

It’s also just really fun! I had the opportunity in my first community role to see two members from across the US meet in person for the first time. It was so exciting to see this friendship that hadn’t existed before, that had built in this container, and now exists outside of it. It was the most beautiful and amazing thing in the world. 

What’s one go-to thing that brings you joy? 

I’ll always say coffee, but probably a better example is taking my dog, Remy, for a walk. I like to go to the creek in our neighborhood, preferably with no phone or headphones and just take a moment to listen to the water with him. 

If you could invite 5 people, dead or alive, to a dinner party who would you invite and why?

I shuffled my roster a whole lot in thinking about this! The first person that came to mind was Prince. He’s one of my idols. Prince was not only an incredible performer, creator, and musician, but he also did a lot of work to really open up the music industry and to stand in his integrity and make change, even when it was really hard and as he met a lot of resistance and pushback, which is something I really respect. The second person who came to mind was Octavia E. Butler, who was a science fiction writer. I love the ways she created these really complex and incredible characters; often queer people, women of color, young people, and put them in these really complex worlds and futures and challenged them to lead in innovative and interesting ways. I’d just love to talk to her. adrienne maree brown, who wrote Emergent Strategy, is one of my community building idols. I love the ways that she thinks about the world and talks about change, evolution, and adaptation. She also bases a lot of her work on Octavia’s work, and I figure that if I can resurrect people for the day, I should use that to make someone else’s dream come true. It would be amazing to see them in conversation with each other. Four would be Tilda Swinton. I think she’s strange and wonderful and would just selfishly really like to meet her. And fifth, because I’d need someone to sit in the corner with and freak out with, I’d invite my partner, Max. They would also never forgive me if I didn’t give them the opportunity to meet Prince! 

What’s the last thing you read, heard, or saw that you had to tell someone about? 

I just mentioned her but I bring this book up at every opportunity. I’m re-reading Emergent Strategy and my copy is full of post-its, with every line underlined (to the point that it defeats the point of underlining!). This book teaches me so much about learning from nature and the ways we interact with change. It has also called a lot of my own behaviors into question and made me think about ways that I can get defensive or resist change. I really appreciate and love that book and her work so much. 

I also just saw My Octopus Teacher which is a documentary. I cried my way through it. If you can, please watch it. It’s beautiful, powerful, and really sad. 

What can Cultivators expect from you in the next few weeks in or out of the community? 

This is being recorded on my fourth day and it’s been a real joy to get into the community and see the folks that are there. If you’re an existing member, you can expect to see me bopping around the community, probably asking a lot of questions, maybe reaching out and checking in with you. If I haven’t reached out to you yet and you want to reach out to me, please do that! Reach out on slack or via my email at lisa@cultivateall.com. In the coming weeks, I’ll be meeting with some of you and hosting events, but really what I’m here to do is listen to what would make this community valuable to all of you. What would make it something you’d want to come back to? What do you love about it as it exists now? What are your hopes, dreams, and visions for what it could be? I am just really excited to build on the beautiful thing that’s already been built. 

What makes you a cultivator? 

When I was a little kid I had that common little kid trait of asking “Why?” about everything. I was really curious about why things were done the way they were, why we couldn’t do them a different way. Curious about the world and the ways that we interacted in it. What I love about the Cultivator Community and ethos is that curiosity. That willingness to ask why something is done a certain way and how we might change it to make it even better. I think what I want to bring to the Cultivators Community and what I see there already, is the level of care involved in making change. It’s really easy to point out problems or things that you don’t like. It takes a lot of commitment and care to actually put in the effort and work to build towards change that will be impactful for yourself, your peers, the folks that will come after you. And so, that’s what inspires me about the Cultivator Community. They're qualities I want to build and hone in myself and I think that willingness to show up and learn is what makes me a Cultivator.

The Rapid Fire Round!

Favorite book?

Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown
Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster 

Go-To Coffee Order?

Cold brew with a little half-and-half, no matter what the weather!

Favorite Snack?

Peanut butter and jelly, specifically on potato bread 

Karaoke Song of choice: 

“Father Figure” by George Michael, or “We Belong” by Pat Benetar 

Share your ideas. Solve problems. Make a difference.

We’re building a community where your voice is heard, solutions are shared, and changemakers around the world can mobilize for change. If you are passionate about change, culture, and innovation, this is the place for you.