A New Haven native is bringing positive changes to Elm City through a grassroots organization.

Doreen Abubakar is the founder and executive director of Community Placemaking Engagement Network (CPEN).

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As a native of the city, she said she started the grassroots organization in an effort to transform urban areas and improve the quality of life for underserved areas.

The first initiative was the transformation of a former mudhole into a sitting park in Newhallville known as The Learning Corridor.

I then had a vision of things that can be in this space in hopes of making the community thrive, just having a place to sit down and take in beauty didn't exist here. Doreen Abubakar, CPEN Founder & Executive Director

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