Destination Innovation, a hub of youth leadership development owned and operated by Marquetta Atkins-Woods, has a new home in Revolutsia.
The offices are directly across from Mulberry Art Gallery on the second floor of the complex.
“We mostly worked from home during the pandemic, but as we started to get back to in-person activities, the youth needed a place to call home. This place was occupied by the Wichita Foundation when they moved, they put me in touch with Mike Ramsey, the owner of Revolutsia,” Atkins-Woods said. “We’re going to have a ribbon-cutting ceremony coming up eventually. I want to stretch the ribbon all the way around from one door to the other so the kids can all line up to participate,” she said.
Atkins-Woods grew up in Wichita and went to Wichita State University’s Elliott School of Communication, earning her degree in integrated marketing communication.
She had a career in accounting and accounts receivable for years, and was working for the Urban League when she created Camp Destination Innovation, a summer program that fosters youth entrepreneurship.
As part of Camp DI, she created KYVEC, the Kansas Youth Virtual Entrepreneurial Challenge, which will kick off this year in October.
Another spoke in the DI hub is Progeny, a program for youth touched by the juvenile justice system. She said the youth leaders chose the name because they wanted to emphasize the message: “We are what you created.” Progeny works at the state and national level.
The third spoke of the DI hub is “Root the Power” a program that teaches youth the importance of making their voices heard in the political arena and on the critical need to vote. Root the Power youth are visible at political events in their standout purple shirts.
