Hi! I am Cassidy Porter, and I am the Community & Brand Ambassador at the Albion Community Foundation. This is a new position working towards improving the positive outlook and understanding of Albion. The role is a partnership between the Albion Community Foundation, Caster Cares, the City of Albion, and the Greater Albion Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Bureau. I have been writing the recent blog posts on the Downtown Albion website along with the creation of the Naturally Connected newsletters. I am also kicking off a new season of the Brick by Brick Podcast. All of this work is to help generate a better understanding about all the great opportunities and work going on right here in Albion.
My Albion story is rooted in connections and love for this community for generations. Born and raised in Albion, I went to Albion Public Schools through 8th grade and graduated from Marshall Public High School. I was on the swim and soccer teams, and a member of the band. My Albion journey continued as I am a recent graduate from Albion College, where I studied business and art, as well as concentrated in the Carl A. Gerstacker Institute for Business & Management. I was a Build Albion Fellow, AmeriCorps Member, Social Innovation Fellow, among other organizations. I loved any and all opportunities to give back to the community that helped raised me as well as study our connections deeper. As part of my final year at Albion College my capstone project combined my passion for Albion and interest in women’s work through #OurAlbion. Through this study I was able to talk and photograph with some truly amazing women in our community. This passion project helped guide me to my current role as Community & Brand Ambassador as the work of positivity is never done.
I am a life-long resident of Albion and love being a part of this community. Along with the Community & Brand Ambassador position, I am the full-time manager at Pure Albion and the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) Advisor at the Albion Community Foundation.
If you have a great Albion story that needs to be shared, don’t hesitate to email me at ambassador@albionfoundation.org. I hope you’ll continue to follow along with me as we explore how Albion naturally connects!