Getting to know one of the women setting the pace at Pace Center for Girls and where to voyage this weekend!
Finish strong, Friday.
For National Women’s History Month, we’ve got a local to get to know who has done some incredible work paving the way for the next generation of women through her work for Pace Center for Girls.
Listen up! She has some great recommendations on how to #livelikeyoulivehere well. Take it away, Rosene!
Nothing better than finding a nook with a good book! l Tag either #pulptown or @pulptown to be featured. (📸:@rosenejohnson)
Who are you? What do you do?
I am Rosene Johnson. I am an avid traveler, advocate for children and a developing cook. I am also the Senior Director of Program Operations for Pace Center for Girls, a national non-profit serving 3,000 teen girls each year with 21 centers in Florida and sites in Georgia and South Carolina… and growing.
How does Orlando help you do what you do/influence your work?
Orlando helps us by embracing our girls and believing in them. Our girls at Pace are some of the most vulnerable young ladies, yet they are the most resilient I’ve ever seen. As these young ladies pursue paths to purpose, the community opens up their hearts, minds and hands with so much support. Our community provides employment, recreation and financial support through the center to ensure that our girls receive academic and mental health services for free — every year for the past 35 years. We are grateful!
Wax poetic for a second and tell us: what brings you most alive about this city?
Orlando is the best of both worlds: a vibrant, active big city with Southern small town charm. Orlando is the perfect blend of slow and fast — fast enough to always have something to do, yet slow enough to enjoy and savor life’s beautiful moments.
What’s your favorite Orlando memory?
My favorite Orlando memory… there are SO many. I think it would have to be my first Christmas here with my husband. We spent Christmas on the beach after living in the Midwest all of our lives. It was surreal being on the beach instead of in several feet of snow for the holidays.
If you could eat only one meal from a local restaurant for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I love Hungry Pants! Anything from there is great!
Outside of the obvious stop above, share your other top three destinations for where you’d go on your perfect Orlando day.
My perfect Orlando day would include a Dr. Phillips Center show, an Orlando Magic or Orlando City Soccer game and a relaxing walk around Epcot.
If you could give any one piece of advice to locals, what would it be?
Take in the big and small of Orlando — the quaint cafes and restaurants, the access to NBA and MLS games, world class arts and shopping along with beautiful parks and trails to enjoy.
What’s an unpopular opinion you have about the city?
I don’t know if it’s unpopular, but I truly LOVE ORLANDO!
What are you most looking forward to this year?
I am looking forward to more travels — throughout the states and internationally. I am looking forward to time with my loved ones. I am also looking forward to new experiences and opportunities for our girls this year: new field trips, new college visits and meeting more of our girls across the state. In my new role, I support ALL of our beautiful girls and get to work with them in their centers and in the community.
What’s your favorite local social media account to follow and why?
I love following Stacia Pierce – her posts are SO motivational, timely, fun and full of inspiration. While she has a global following, she is from Orlando.
–
Know of a person or organization that we ought to feature? Send us an email to hello@pulp.town with the subject line “Pulptown Locals to Know,” and you could see their name in an upcoming newsletter!
👋 That’s all for this week
This weekend is jam packed with events, so be sure to explore. As I will be out of the state and missing my favorite event of the entire year, I’m trusting y’all to enjoy the Leu Gardens Annual Plant sale in my stead!
If you find any beauts and want to ‘leaf’ one behind for your local Pulp director 😅… Or share your adventures by taggin’ @pulptown and I’ll be sure to spread the love on our Insta over this weekend.
Spreading the love around our City Beautiful thanks to beautiful readers like y’all. Until Tuesday!
– ✌️ Kit
P.S. Tell your friends about us. And their friends too. 😉 If you found this email fun, enjoyable, or informative, help us grow by forwarding it to a friend. It’d help us out a lot.
🎉 Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
📩 Tell a friend to subscribe.
🏆 Submit your events to our calendar.
❣️ This piece was made with love from Orlando. ❣️