Through Northside Achievement Zone’s partnership with the Empowerment Institute at Twin Cities R!SE, Vincent Frazier expected to gain tools to better support others. Instead, the training also challenged him to look inward, strengthening his self-awareness, relationships, and leadership.
What changes when people better understand themselves, recognize their value, and have the tools to navigate emotions, relationships, and challenges with greater intention?
For Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ), the answer reaches far beyond the training room.
Through the Empowerment Institute at Twin Cities R!SE, NAZ has brought Personal Empowerment and emotional intelligence training to its staff and families as part of a long-standing partnership focused on strengthening people and communities.
The training gives participants practical tools to build self-awareness, understand the beliefs that influence their choices, communicate more effectively, strengthen relationships, and approach challenges with greater confidence.
For Vincent Frazier, Program Director of Family Academy at NAZ, the impact became personal.
The Training He Thought Was for Someone Else
Vincent works with parents and families in north Minneapolis, helping parents recognize themselves as their children’s first and primary teachers.
When he first became involved with training through the Empowerment Institute at Twin Cities R!SE, he saw it as another way to become better equipped to support the people around him.
Then the training began changing the way he understood himself.
“I thought the training was going to help me better support others, but I came to find out that I needed it too.”
One of the most powerful shifts came from examining beliefs and recognizing that some of the ideas we carry about ourselves have been shaped by experiences, expectations, and messages we have received throughout our lives.
Vincent realized he had the ability to question those beliefs and decide which ones still belonged in his life.
“I never realized that I get to choose whether or not a belief is mine.”
That realization influenced more than his work. It changed how he approached his relationships, leadership, and personal growth.
“A lot of my relationships began to heal because I started looking at myself before I looked at the relationship.”
From Personal Growth to Organizational Impact
That individual transformation is part of what makes empowerment so valuable within an organization.
At NAZ, Vincent has seen the impact show up in the way people work, lead, learn, and engage with one another.
He has watched staff pursue opportunities with greater confidence. He has seen families become more deeply engaged in programming. Parents have stepped forward as stronger advocates for their children and their communities.
For Vincent, the connection is clear.
“When we have empowered people, we have empowered communities.”
Emotional intelligence is not separate from the work organizations are already trying to accomplish. It can shape how employees communicate, collaborate, respond to challenges, build trust, and recognize their own ability to grow.
As Vincent puts it:
“The barrier is often not ability. The barrier is belief in self.”
A Partnership Built on Shared Purpose
The relationship between NAZ and Twin Cities R!SE works because both organizations believe lasting change begins by investing in people.
NAZ strengthens families and supports parents in creating better outcomes for their children. Twin Cities R!SE helps people build the Personal Empowerment and emotional intelligence skills that allow them to recognize their strengths and move forward with greater confidence and intention.
Through the Empowerment Institute at Twin Cities R!SE, that work can extend into organizations and communities beyond TCR’s own participant programs.
Vincent sees that alignment as one of the greatest strengths of the partnership.
“Our missions have so much alignment.”
The result is more than a training session. It is an investment in the people who shape an organization every day.
Because when people grow, the impact does not stop with them.
It shows up in their teams. Their families. Their leadership. Their relationships. And ultimately, their communities.