Hop in the car for a guided driving tour through Central Fresno, hosted by Every Neighborhood Partnership (ENP). Hear from community members and ministry practitioners as they share their stories while pointing out signs of need and signs of hope in their neighborhoods. Learn more about Fresno, explore new areas and ministries in our city, and consider ways you can get involved in pursuing God’s shalom (peace) through what is already going on in Fresno.
You will start and end at Every Neighborhood Partnership’s office at 1631 N Van Ness Ave in Tower District and drive approximately 18 miles round-trip. We highly encourage you to take some time to reflect and debrief this tour before rushing onto the next thing.
Allow 1.5 hours for the tour and come open to seeing Central Fresno differently!
Download the Tour using the VoiceMap App
Download the VoiceMap Audio Tours app on the App Store or Google Play. Search for “ENP’s Central Fresno Drive Tour”. Purchase the tour or enter a voucher code if you received one. Download the tour and it will appear in your Library under Downloaded items.
When you’re ready to embark on the Drive Tour, head to 1631 N Van Ness Ave, make sure your device is charged and the location is turned on, and hit Start on the tour! You will see a map pop up on your screen and the app will use your location to play speaker tracks and directions.
Meet the Speakers
Andrew Feil
Every Neighborhood Partnership
andrew@everyneighborhood.org
Andrew Feil is a father of four boys and is married to Denise Feil. They love and live in Fresno. Andrew is the current Executive Director at Every Neighborhood Partnership which seeks to connect churches to serve at elementary schools in one of California’s most challenged districts. Andrew is a former Missions Pastor at The Well Community Church. Andrew has his Bachelors from Fresno Pacific University and a Masters from Bakke Graduate University in Social and Civic Entrepreneurship. With whatever free time he has, Andrew loves to be active, garden, read and support the best team in baseball: the Dodgers.
Alice Green
Alicegreen7835@yahoo.com
Hello, I am Alice Green, I am the proud mother of two awesome and amazing sons, and grandmother to a budding 15 year old grandson. I hail from Los Angeles where I lived and served in South Central Los Angeles for over 25 years as a community organizer and educator at the California Science Center and director of a Los Angeles Unified School District- national school based conflict resolution program Peace Games which focused on the development of school and community peacemakers, thus creating a peaceable school/community climate. I also hold a Bachelors Degree in Political Science and Public Administration from UCLA. I am currently a 15-year resident of Fresno, working with the local unhoused community sharing and providing services to assist them with creating a better quality of life.
I have a passion for and enjoy connecting families and neighbors with appropriate resources and opportunities to improve their quality of life. Today, I continue to connect and network with other new groups and organizations to help create positive impacts with families and neighborhoods that are challenged with barriers including homelessness, unhoused, economical and racial disparities. Blessed are the peacemakers.
I find joy in serving and building meaningful relationships with my church and neighborhood. I also enjoy traveling and celebrating life with family and friends.
Kim Feil
kimberlyruth.feil@gmail.com
Kim Feil lives in and loves Fresno! She works as a lactation specialist in her local hospital. She is a wife to an amazing husband and has two children. She has been actively fighting human sex trafficking for the past 7 years. She volunteers with Central Valley Justice Coalition, a local non profit, in holistically supporting women who are in or are coming out of a trafficking situation. She believes that all people are created in the image of God and deserve to experience freedom. In her free time she likes to pretend it’s the 90’s and rollerblade and will never say no to a good book.
Joe White
Neighborhood Church, Jackson Community Development Corporation
joe@neighborhoodchurchfresno.com
Joseph White is a community leader, pastor, and neighborhood advocate with deep roots in Fresno’s urban core. Raised in the Lowell Neighborhood as part of the first generation shaped by the John Perkins relocation movement, he has spent his entire life investing in place-based transformation. Joseph has planted three churches, including Neighborhood Church Fresno, and founded the Jackson Community Development Corporation and the Jackson Neighborhood Association. Over the last decade, he has catalyzed more than 20 local initiatives in the Jackson Neighborhood. His current work centers on creating a network of microchurches across Jackson by equipping residents to be loving missionaries and effective disciple-makers who pursue Jesus’ renwal project.
Ariana Martinez Lott
arimartinezlott@gmail.com
Serving as a consultant and engaged community member for local initiatives, Ariana Martinez Lott leverages her cross-sector relationships to strengthen resident-led transformation in Fresno. In her previous role as Community Relations Director for City of Fresno District 3, Ariana led policy analysis, managed district projects, and proudly helped residents navigate complex issues. An avid thrifter, she spends her spare time smothering her two children with kisses, or trying (relentlessly) to convince her husband to let her bring home more plantitas.
Bonnie Smith
Bio Pending
Vanna In
Hope Now
Vanna@hopenow.org
Vanna is a living example of Hope Now’s transformative impact—he entered the program in 2002, earned his certificate, and never forgot the chance he was given when no one else would. Today, as Executive Director, he uses his personal journey—from prison and gangs to ministry and leadership—to empower others with similar struggles, helping them see their God-given potential. From receiving a governor’s pardon to helping transform over 150 lives, Vanna’s story reflects his unwavering passion to serve those who feel forgotten.
Christian Gonzalez
The Pink House
Christian@everyneighborhood.org
Christian Gonzalez is the eldest daughter of immigrant parents. She identifies as Mexican-American, she/her/ella. She is Fresno born and grown. In 2017 she was part of the Association of Ministry Houses – Pink House, in which her world and faith perspectives were challenged, changed, and continued to evolve. That year was also her introduction to Christian Community Development. She has worked both in ministry and in local place-making initiatives that build on adopted city plans, policies, and smart mobility streetscapes to encourage new mixed-use housing, businesses, public amenities, and jobs. She is excited to apply her skills and experience with the Neighborhood Development team as we continue to grow within the community and most importantly build in deepening relationships with residents. A few Fun Facts about her: For health purposes she now starts her days off with tea, but enjoys coffee more. For fun and mobility, you can catch her at the local latin dancing events, mostly dancing to modern bachata.
Esther Carver
Lowell Community Development Corporation
esther@lowellcdc.org
Esther has lived and worked in the Lowell Neighborhood of downtown Fresno since 2007. Esther grew up on her family’s cattle ranch in the southern- Sierra Nevada Mountains but was transplanted to Fresno to attend Fresno Pacific University where she earned her degree in Intercultural Studies. Esther is an alumni of the Pink House internship (2009) and the DeVos Urban Leadership Initiative (2014). Before her role as the first Executive Director for the Lowell CDC in 2014, Esther worked for Fresno Economic Opportunities Commision and Youth for Christ. Esther has been actively involved in her community using her passions to bring about positive change. In partnership with other community members she helped plan and start the Lowell Community Garden and launch the Community and Economic Development Partnership and the Central Fresno Neighborhood Trust. She has led the work of renovating 3 historic homes in the Lowell Neighborhood and the renovation of over 50 units of multifamily affordable housing in the downtown area.
Esther lives in Lowell with her 3 kids and enjoys photography, riding her motorcycle and hiking in the mountains.
Artie Padilla
Central Valley Community Foundation
artie@centralvalleycf.org
Artie was born and raised in Fresno California. After earning a degree in Business Administration from CSU Northridge, he returned home where he has worked in the nonprofit sector for over 30 years. The last 20 years, anchored and fueled by his faith in Christ, Artie has focused on deeper rooted place-based community development. In 2008 Artie launched Every Neighborhood Partnership which focused on the mobilization of the Church in Fresno. In 2020, Artie was named the Director of the DRIVE Initiative, a 10-year collective impact initiative that is focused on elevating economic upward mobility for our families living in Fresno’s concentrated poverty neighborhoods.
As part of his community-wide work, Artie helped to create the Fresno County Trauma & Resilience Network in 2017. This growing collective of 250+ individuals and organizations has been learning and strategizing on how to develop a more
“trauma informed” Fresno County. Through his work with the Fresno County Health
Improvement Partnership and the Cradle to Career Initiatives he’s leveraging his networks to build an overall collective impact approach to addressing both the individual and community traumas by building resilience in our youth, families, and neighborhoods.
Ivan Paz
Better Blackstone Association
ivan@everyneighborhood.org
Ivan grew up in Fresno and is a graduate of Fresno Pacific University (FPU). Ivan majored in pre-law and in religious studies (general religion). He also has a master’s degree in theology and teaches a master’s level course at FPU called “Forming A Community of Mercy, Justice, and Peace”, where he partners theology with community organizing frameworks to help students think deeply about community and develop plans for engagement. Ivan lives in downtown Fresno with Taz Paz, an Australian cattle dog. He has been active in community development work in Fresno for over 10 years, has launched community programs, and is a member of First Presbyterian Church Fresno. Ivan loves to draw, read, and train in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
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