Empowering Youth Through Opportunity with Dream Builders 4 Equity

In this episode of Confluence Conversations, host Dr. Lewis-Kelly sits down with Michael Woods, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Dream Builders 4 Equity (DB4E), to discuss DB4E’s partnership with Confluence Academies through the Summer Youth Academy. This eight-week program supports underserved youth ages 16–24 through paid employment, mentorship, and personal and professional development—while also offering hands-on exposure to real estate and opportunities for ownership in book publishing projects.

Joining the conversation is Confluence Academies senior Antone Wilson, who recently completed the Summer Youth Academy and shares a firsthand perspective on what the experience offered and how it helped shape his future.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hi everyone, and welcome to Confluence Conversations, where we explore the programs, partnerships, and experiences that elevate student success. I'm your host, Haley Bruick, and today we're highlighting a powerful youth development partnership making a real impact in our community. Our focus today is Dream Builders for Equity and their Summer Youth Academy, an eight-week experience that provides employment, mentorship, real estate training, and book publishing opportunities for youth ages 16 to 24. Many Confluence Academy students participate in this transformative program, gaining real-world skills and meaningful pathways to success. Joining us today is Michael Woods, co-founder and executive director of Dream Builders for Equity. And we are also joined by Anton Wilson, a Confluence Academy student who recently completed the Summer Youth Academy and will share his experiences. Michael and Anton, thank you for joining us.

SPEAKER_02 0:57

Very nice to be here. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 0:59

So let's start. Could each of you um share a bit about your background and your connection to the Summer Youth Academy?

SPEAKER_02 1:05

Absolutely. So uh my name is Michael Woods. I'm the co-founder uh and president of Dream Builders for Equity. Um this has been a beautiful ride for me uh since 2016. So next year will be 10 years uh of us existing and creative impact. Um it's been great. We're centered in Hyde Park. Hyde Park is a neighborhood that I lived in uh for a very long time. So being able to be a part of the transformation of that neighborhood uh means a lot to me. And then also this age group between 16 and 24, uh, those are the students that we work with. Those were very important moments for my development. So I love to be able to like really support and give back to those young people from that same age group as well. So I'm excited to have this conversation. Um our summer academy is probably my favorite thing that we do all year long. Uh we hire about 60 kids to participate in the Summer Academy. They participate in rehabs and book publishing. They get to work at our retail store called House of Vision. Um, and they get so much exposure. So we take them everywhere, and then we are really just looking for them to identify the thing that they love the most. And then we want to connect them to those resources and then uh give them access to those careers. So that's that's really us in a nutshell.

SPEAKER_00 2:27

Well, it's interesting because it's an academy, but you say hire, so that's how let's talk about your experience. So you were hired.

SPEAKER_01 2:35

Yes, ma'am. My name's Anton Wilson. I'm a senior here at Confluence Preparatory Academy. I'm also a Titan ambassador. All right, but my experience there at Dream Builders, I really actually liked it. It was very motivational. It actually helped me work on my leadership skills. Yeah, and it helped me become like more so uh outspoken person, like being able to speak up more in like situations where we need a solution. And it helped me become a better problem solver and being able to like work with people.

SPEAKER_00 3:01

You went this past summer. Yes, we're gonna do it. Because I can see a difference. As, you know, I've seen that. I've seen the I've seen the benefits of the experience. Is that your mission? Tell me a little bit about your mission and your purpose.

SPEAKER_02 3:13

Yeah, before we even go there, I want to say when I first met Anton, it was before the Summer Academy. And I just remember he had that. He had that leadership quality. Uh, he had a big personality, but he was also laid back and chill. So I was excited to work with him this summer. Uh, and like you said, he did an amazing job of being the leader, being able to be a person that can actually uh get his peers to kind of line up and do the right things as well. Uh so that's been that's been great. So I'm sorry, I just wanted to give Anton's credit before we get started. And you guys too, I want to give Confluencer credit because we had a few of your students, and and all of them were just amazing and on point. So that that goes to y'all leadership as well. That is great to hear.

SPEAKER_00 3:52

Okay, so now let's get back to the city. No, that's good. Let's get back to it. No, that was important. Because I mean, honestly, that connection that's important. Um, so what is your mission and purpose? Like, is it that connection? Is it turning them into leaders?

SPEAKER_02 4:07

So it's it's it's it's twofold. So one is we're a place based in Hyde Park, so we want to transform that neighborhood. We're doing a 50 property development. So that's 25 rehabs and 25 free home repairs for seniors. So uh we really want to see this neighborhood uh become whole. It's already beautiful and great. We already have some amazing residents, but we want to be a part of like really bringing it to that next level. Uh we're doing high-quality rehabs, we're finding seniors in the community that need repairs on their home, and we're building up equity in their houses. So we might put a new kitchen in, we might put a new bathroom in, um, just things that add value to those houses. Um and really just being a part of the transformation of the neighborhood. Like again, I said we had a retail store. So when we were thinking about uh rehabbing the homes, we knew that that alone would not be enough to transform the entire neighborhood. We need schools, we need grocery stores, we need um hospitals, all of those things really make a neighborhood whole. So we decided on our own to open up a retail store in the same community. We have our headquarters, which is the 11,000 square foot building that is a resource hub. Uh, and then we also are working on a daycare facility in this same neighborhood. We won't be the daycare providers, but we'll be the landlord of the building. Um so just thinking about how to holistically transform the neighborhood. And then the second part is how do we give young people gangful employment? Um, how do we teach them all of the skills that they're gonna need to actually be super successful in the real world? Uh, and then how do we give them equity while doing that? So we pay the students between$15 and$20 an hour while they're working with us, uh, but we also give them an equity stake in the houses. So whenever we sell properties, we share that revenue with our students. Uh next, we have those students journal every single day. So every day that they're at the academy, they have to write down um all their experiences. We compile those journals and make it into a book that they didn't have 100% ownership of. So they're not just making the hourly wages, they're also able to sell that book. They're also able to receive scholarship dollars from the selling of those properties. And then in House of Vision, uh, it's a retail store that sells books, art, and apparel. Um, but we also have a screen printing machine inside of this building. We have an embroidery machine inside of this building. We have a direct-to-film machine inside of this building. So the students can actually come there, create their own products, and then sell them directly to consumers. So it's about training them and getting them the skills and also teaching them how to be an employee, but also giving them the resources and the skills to think about like how to create assets, how to have equity and ownership as well. So this is why we typically have a lot of buy-in in our program. Like we don't go out and look for students. We typically have a long list of young people uh looking to looking to sign up. Um, but but that's that's the holistic mission is thinking about how to transform the neighborhood, but also how to empower young people by teaching them skills but also give them equity.

SPEAKER_00 7:16

That sounds like an incredible experience. Um, tell me about your experience.

SPEAKER_01 7:20

Yes, ma'am. My experience with dream builders, honestly, I would say it was very, very good. When I say good, I mean by like being able to go out and actually like knowing how to like talk to someone and not even just being able to talk to them, but also being able to work with them. Because I will be honest with you, like at the beginning of the program, it was kind of shaky because I was very like, hmm, shy. I really didn't know how to talk to people, really didn't know what to say. But I would say, like, as the days went by, definitely, definitely grew on being able to talk to people, being able to work together, teamwork, being a leader, being able to like work together, not trying to take over the whole team, be the only one who's doing the most work. Basically, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:01

You're nodding over there, Mr. Woods. So you're right with them.

SPEAKER_02 8:06

So every Friday, uh, they compete in competition. So each week we have a different theme of the week. So the week might be poetry. Um, so they might have like a writing exercise or you work with your words, STL. Shout out to your words, STL, and they might just be writing and doing poetry. But then on that Friday, they typically work in groups or they work individually and they have to present. Uh so what Anton is talking about, he's talking about like him building those skills to be able to present in front of audiences, also being a leader, like having those group uh settings, and because the winner of those uh competitions get paid extra. So they get some extra dollars, so there's an incentive in that. Uh, and I have seen that really create a different level of intensity and a different level of appreciation for like being an orator uh in our students. Like a lot of the kids, when they come in, they don't like speaking in public, they don't like writing, they don't even know if they really want to do construction. But because of the way we create the environment, it makes it easy for them to like do those things. And it's so rewarding when they do it. And I think that's kind of the trick in it all is like you gotta get folks those easy wins, and those wins need to be incentivized. They need to feel something tangible from those wins, and then you can potentially become addicted to that. You can get excited about that, you can start wanting to do that uh often, and then you do that outside of Dream Builders because now you know if I work hard, I give it all I got, something good happens at the end of that. And I've seen that with Anton over and over.

SPEAKER_00 9:44

And now he's shaking his head. Like, you know, those of you who are watching or listening, I should say, you can also watch it on YouTube, but if you're listening, you know, I'm watching both of you just nod your head like, yeah, it's such agreement.

SPEAKER_01 9:55

Yeah, because like I'm gonna be honest with you. What I'm not able to say at the moment right now, he's definitely like tearing it all, like exactly what I'm thinking, more so, especially about like being able to talk out in public, especially helping me with my employment skills, honestly. Because currently I have a job at Full Locker, and I will say that summer program definitely helped me out because I get a lot of sales. I can say that for sure. It's very easy to talk to people. Like, definitely, like a lot of help came from them. I'm gonna be honest with you, a lot of help.

SPEAKER_00 10:21

Can they, is it a one-time thing or can he go back every summer? And is that your plan?

SPEAKER_01 10:25

Yes, ma'am. I definitely plan on going back.

SPEAKER_02 10:27

That's what's up. That's what's up. Yeah, and we uh we work with them till they graduate college, basically. So it's 16 to 24. Um, they can continue to participate in whatever capacity that they have. Uh, and then throughout the year, they got access to our to House of Vision. So if this is, if if if Anton is ever interested in going to House of Vision and work, that's something that he could do. We also have a chess program that's in the Riverview Garden School District for all of the elementary school kids teaching chess. Uh, they're able to do that Monday through Friday and get paid$30 an hour to do that. And then whenever uh we have real estate opportunities, rehabs going on, um, they're able to actually participate on that throughout the year. So I'm looking forward to him coming back in the summer, but also looking forward to him engaging a little bit more throughout the year. And matters of fact, Anton, we got team lunch Saturday. So you should be pulling up. It's an ugly sweater day on Saturday. Definitely need you in the building. I'm gonna definitely try to come. Yeah, this is gonna be good energy, man. Good food, fellowship, and it's gonna be great. For sure.

SPEAKER_00 11:28

Well, one of my questions about is how you've evolved, but you've kind of covered that. Like this seems, I mean, you're 10 years young and it's shocking all you do. For sure.

SPEAKER_02 11:38

I appreciate that. Yeah, it's been a it's been a journey. So when we first started, me and Neil, uh, Neil Richardson is the other co-founder of Drain Builders, we started with five students. And uh to watch those five students now be professionals, they all graduated from ranking technical school with with honors uh and now working in their fields, uh, that's one thing that motivates me and let me know we're doing the right thing. Uh, but two, uh, them being able to see us scale and grow as an org. Because when they first met us, we were just picking them up and driving them to the house. And so they got to see the evolution of the org uh while seeing the evolution of themselves. So I think it's again being that living proof that any and everything is possible. Because we was just young kids with a dream, and and they got to see us make that dream a reality, and now we're watching them make their dreams a reality.

SPEAKER_00 12:31

That's really cool. Um, how has the experience changed your future?

SPEAKER_01 12:35

Like, I would say honestly, it changed it a lot because honestly, walking into the program, you really wouldn't, well, I'm not gonna say anybody wouldn't know what they want to do, but like some, I'm saying similar for myself because I didn't know what I wanted to do at the time, but then as more as I talked to them and the students, it helped me like find out what I wanted to do and helped me find out what I wanted to be serious about or my goal in life because we had a lot of conversations where he was like where all of them came around telling us how did they come, like what brought them along with the journey that they're going on right now. And honestly, one of the ones that stuck with me were like he he always wasn't into like education, he wasn't into school for real, and then he slowly became towards the kids. He wanted to do it for the kids, and that honestly, like I was like, yeah. And I liked it because I see over the years and over the days and weeks go by now for myself. I'm starting to like educational more. I'm starting to like want to do more for my my own self. Yeah, like myself and like that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:29

That's beautiful. Yeah, that was my journey. Like this uh academia, like I graduated college, but that wasn't intentional. That was um kind of forced because I wanted to come back to St. Louis. I was I was living in Chicago, got into some trouble in St. Louis, um, and the only way that I can convince my family to let me come back to St. Louis is if I was going to college. So uh yeah, Anton is absolutely right. Like my journey is the reason why I do what I do. I like to catch young people at that same age where I was bumping my head to make sure that they know that there's other opportunities and there's other routes. I think a lot of times if you grow up in underserved communities, you just see the same couple of things that look like it's success. And it's really not success. It really only have two paths, whether that's uh death or jail. So I, we as in Dream Builders, we like to show students all the other options. Like, it's not just about real estate, it's not just about book publishing. Like, we connect our young people to lawyers and bankers and investors and all of the gamuts uh around the world so that they can have that exposure and then choose what you know resonates with them the most. And then it's our job to connect them with resources and give them access to actually go into those careers and those paths. So that's what it's about for me is you know, catching them before they make some of the same mistakes that I made, and then um being able to put them in a position to do whatever that that is that they dream. I I read a book called Conversations with God, and I say this on a couple of um podcasts I've been on, but um, it said the only way that you can help a person is if you connect them to their purpose. So, like giving them money or like buying them shoes or any of that, like those things kind of fleed and go away. But if you help them identify what they're truly called to do on this earth, that's true help. So from that point forward, I've always been like, let me engage with people and just see what's special about them, see, like let me see if I can connect them to that thing that can keep them happy and and and chasing that and actually fulfilling that and living in their purpose.

SPEAKER_00 15:38

Well, and you're touching on it a little bit. You also work with minority contractors, is that's kind of part of that, right? That fits right in with helping and supporting.

SPEAKER_02 15:47

That's super important part of the work. So we're investing about$10 million into this Hyde Park neighborhood, and we want all$10 million of those dollars to go through the hands of those minority contractors. So just being intentional about how we do this transformation and how we get buy-in from those contractors too. So if they know that we're not just doing one house, we're doing 20 or 50, uh, that makes them buy in a little bit more. But then when they have that understanding of like, this is about really transforming this neighborhood. It's not about, you know, selling the house for the most profit. It's about how do we actually impact a community and change it, that gets them to really dig even deeper into this buy-in of the project. And then when they have young people on site and they're able to coach them and teach them and see their eyes light up, and then in a lot of cases, our contractors then hire those same students. Um, that's where you you see like real transformation and you know that this could be replicated in different cities and different states.

SPEAKER_00 16:49

Did you get a sense of that? Like where you weren't where you weren't working for the paycheck, but you were working for a purpose.

SPEAKER_01 16:54

Yeah, honestly, I was actually working to like find my goal, and that's literally what I did. I really know my goal now.

SPEAKER_00 17:00

Well, tell me your favorite part of the program because you guys do real estate, publishing. I mean, what was your highlight? What did you get?

SPEAKER_01 17:06

All right, my highlight of it was honestly, it really wasn't like an activity. It was more so like being able to like the conversations, being able to be a sponge and taking as much as I can and being like being able to like tell you what I'm telling you right now, being able to give you all the information that I have and still being able to take in information.

SPEAKER_02 17:22

That's beautiful. I I I love that. I think uh I think that's that's super real because we uh the staff included, we all say we're all in the program. Like it's something about us showing up and you seeing 60 kids running around the building. It's probably 25 staff running around there too. And it's it feels great. Like it's nobody watching us and telling us how to do this thing. It's the the building, the atmosphere. Uh, that's what I love more than anything, too. It's just knowing that, you know, this is really a space that we created, and we're able to, like, the students are able to see this. Like, they're able to see what I consider is black excellence. They're able to see um just the beauty of us caring about each other, loving each other, and doing that unapologetically. Um, it feels great. It feels amazing to be able to do that. I'm thankful every single day to be able to do that. Uh, and I think you can see that and feel that in the space. Like you can feel that everyone knows that this is something special that we're doing. This is something that is not normal uh to be able to come learn and get paid, come fellowship, and enjoy each other's company and get access and get equity. Uh, I think this is this is a really special program.

SPEAKER_00 18:47

Well, what I'm hearing, uh what I'm hearing is you're not a boss or a teacher, you're a mentor.

SPEAKER_01 18:52

For sure.

SPEAKER_02 18:52

Right.

SPEAKER_01 18:53

Yeah, I was going to I was so gonna say, I was gonna pick up on that because I was about to say, talking about the bank and all that, honestly, the building is like more so not just more so of a workspace or a place that we just come to. I look at it as more so of a safe space because all of the, you know, knowing what type of generation that we is in and all of that, with our young males and females, we know we have a lot of hood and all that coming in there, but I feel like all of that went out the window. It was just like, we're all a big group, we all a team, we all a family. We all coming in here, work together now, and I feel like that's that's more so what I really did like to also. I'll lift that out, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:24

Well, we'll get to it. There's a lot. There's a lot here. Um, well, and on that note, let's talk about this. You partner with schools or Confluence Academies specifically? How does that work? How does how does a student find you who's listening to this or watching this and they have interest? What do they do?

SPEAKER_02 19:37

So, Confluence, you guys are super intentional. So I I I get reached out to by Dr. Warren and others and Linda, like all of uh the staff is intentional about making sure that the students have all of the opportunities. So I think that's super special and it makes it easy for us to collaborate and partner. Uh, we we come to a lot of the events that you guys. Have all of the career fairs and we're able to engage with the students. I end up playing chess with them, so I bring the chess board out. Anytime somebody gets close to beating me, I'm like, yeah, they gotta definitely be on the be on the team. I think Anton and Lamar and uh Javante, they all gave me a run for my money. Maybe, maybe, maybe Lamar beat me, but I think he was cheating with his all good, you know, let that slide.

SPEAKER_00 20:23

Um How do you cheat in chess?

SPEAKER_02 20:28

Maybe I'm just being a sore loser right now, but shout out to Lamar. I love Lamar. Uh he's super talented at everything he does too, like music-wise, and just as a as an individual, he's a great kid. But um, yeah, so I typically bring out the chess board, kind of engage their personality uh through that, and that's kind of like how I quote unquote interview uh the students. But um, yeah, it's it's been great working with you guys. And again, I I take my head off to y'all because it's a lot of intentionality around you guys making sure y'all students got every single opportunity, not just dream builders, but post-secondary education, careers. I see that every time I'm in this building.

SPEAKER_00 21:07

That's wonderful to hear. Yes, thank you for that. Um, what what did we miss? What would you like to add?

SPEAKER_02 21:13

Um Yeah, um I wish we had a date for our book signer. So we have book signers coming up uh in 2026. Definitely we'll come back or make sure I get you guys the information, let you know when that is. This is where we get to celebrate the students. Every dollar that's made at the book signing goes directly to the students. Um I'm I'm very much looking forward to that. Uh again, we're coming into 10 years, so I'll be keeping you guys uh in the loop about like how we decide to celebrate that. It's been a lot of impact, it's been a lot of transformations of not only the neighborhood, but our students and our contractors. So um we're we're looking forward to telling a story and a narrative.

SPEAKER_00 21:54

Anything to add, Anton?

SPEAKER_01 21:56

All right, yeah. What I actually have to add is I would really just gonna say, I really, really do. Oh, what's the word I'm looking for?

SPEAKER_00 22:03

Recommend, maybe?

SPEAKER_01 22:04

Yeah, recommend. I really recommend everyone to really check out Dream Builders because like it can really help you find out your passion and what you're really looking for in life.

SPEAKER_00 22:12

And assume they could just go to the website or is there contact information you'd like to share?

SPEAKER_02 22:16

So uh dreambuildersfore equity.org. The four is the number four. So dreambuilders4equity.org. Uh, that is our website. Same thing on Instagram, uh, and Facebook and LinkedIn, just Dream Builders for Equity. Um, I'll also say come down to House of Vision, which is our retail store that's at 2707 14th Street. So if you know where Crown Candy is, it's right there at that same plaza. Uh it's a gorgeous space. We have some of the best merchandise ever. You can get books from our students, you can get clothes from our students, you can get clothes from the community members as well. And we have a huge art presence there as well. So if you guys are looking for paintings and things of that nature, that's the spot. And then, like even Confluence or anybody else that's listening, uh, if you need any shirts, merchandise for your companies, whatever, this is another way that we generate revenue, is by doing those type of shirts and merchandise too. So please come to us for any of your screen printing and embroidery needs too.

SPEAKER_00 23:15

That sounds great. Well, we'll put that information in our show notes. So those of you who are listening or watching, you guys can check it out there. And I want to thank you both for being here and sharing your experience and you know, the dream builders for equity and the impact that it's having on our students, especially with the Summer Youth Program. Um, did you have something to add there? Okay, just checking uh, because there's just so much, right? I I think people, if they go to your website and reach out to you. Um, but once again, thank you for joining us on this perspective of the program's real-world outcomes, living proof right here. Uh, partnerships like this demonstrate what's possible in education, mentorship, and opportunity when they all come together to support our next generation. So, everyone watching and listening, thank you. Uh, be sure to check out the show notes and subscribe to our podcast, The Confluence Conversations.