lacy beach barrier: south middle school DIRECTOR

lacy@urbanpromisecharlotte.org

Lacy Beach Barrier was born and raised on the outside of Charlotte, growing up in Belmont, NC. It was as a high school student working in an afterschool program where her passion for working with students, creating engaging activities, and fostering intentional connections began to flourish. She pursued her higher education, as a first generation college student, at Lee University, where she studied Intercultural Studies. Throughout her college journey, Lacy seized every opportunity she could to work with students in many different cultural settings, in Tennessee, Cambodia, Haiti, Chicago, and Miami. 

After graduating, Lacy embarked on a professional journey that led her back to where it all started for her, engaging students in after-school programming in a meaningful way. Lacy worked for five enriching years at Dream Center Academy in Gastonia as a Family Involvement Coordinator and as the Middle School Coordinator. It was during this time that Lacy's appreciation for community-based organization blossomed, leading her to discover UrbanPromise and their impactful work in Charlotte. 

Lacy's deep-rooted "why" for joining UrbanPromise is grounded in her belief in the transformative power of education and UrbanPromise’s commitment to developing the next generation to be compassionate leaders. Lacy's hopes to bring warmth into every conversation with the UrbanPromise community in pursuit of  fostering meaningful relationships. She is dedicated to leading with kindness and empathy as this resonates deeply with the ethos of UrbanPromise, where she envisions making a lasting impact, with middle schoolers, Streetleaders, and the whole community, one relationship at a time.