About Us
The Empowered Block is an equity-driven, community-focused community development consulting firm. We provide our services to for-profit, non-profit, and public sector clients in affordable housing, economic development, community engagement, and program development/evaluation.
We pride ourselves on our community-centered approach. We believe that communities should be at the forefront of everything that happens in their community, especially community development initiatives. We make an effort to work collaboratively with our clients to curate an intensive community-centered process.
Equity is an integral and imperative aspect of our approach. We create equitable solutions to ensure that the community achieves equity in all community development projects.
We serve clients and work on projects nationwide.
We are a certified Minority-Business Enterprise (MBE) and certified Women Business Enterprise (WBE).
Our Mission
Our mission is to provide consulting and technical assistance services, driving investment that leads to transformative change, especially in historically excluded and underserved communities.
Our Vision
So, what does it mean to have an Empowered Block? What inspired me to create this community development organization is that I see the transformative power and agency blossoming on our blocks. There is power in our voices and there is agency to cultivate positive change.
I believe in the necessity to empower local communities to assert their own voices. With the Empowered Block LLC, I want to foster the creation of transparent and genuine conversations and partnerships for meaningful, purposeful, and impactful community development.
-Raquel Vazquez, Founder & CEO