Stories of Impact: Genell Anderson

Cultivating Small Business Growth Through Executive Education

Long before she would one day run her own architecture firm, Genell Anderson grew up between Charleston and Johns Island, South Carolina, where her father built their family home by hand. It was there that her path to architecture began. She grew up. She still remembers riding along with him to relatives’ and family friends’ homes to assist in making repairs, cabinets and renovations.

My father was what they call a jack-leg carpenter. Being the youngest, I would always travel with him. Those experiences kind of led me to who I am today.

- Genell Anderson

Architecture became her way of honoring those early lessons, but becoming an entrepreneur was never the plan. However, after being laid off during the recession of 1991, Genell opened the AMAR Group from her home. Today, AMAR Group, LLC is a multidisciplinary practice encompassing architecture, civil engineering, and inspections. Despite her deep expertise in architecture, she quickly learned that technical talent and business leadership were two very different things.

There is a difference between being an architect and being a business owner. I learned along the way what to do.

In 2020, someone on her team received a flyer for the Coalition’s new 2021 ELEVATE executive education program, focusing on helping the District’s local small business owners acquire new skills to help them more effectively and efficiently manage their business, products, and services. Genell felt something click.

I said, ‘Okay, this is interesting.’ It was the pandemic, and everyone was home. I needed help on the business side.

She applied and was accepted into the first cohort of ELEVATE.

ELEVATE offered her a rare chance to pause, reflect, and rebuild her leadership toolkit. She still remembers how each session began.

We had meditation before class started. I had never had that in any of my courses.

The experience stayed with her. During a particularly stressful summer for her inspectors, she even brought the breathing exercises back to her own team.

My inspectors were having a hard time. These hard men. So, I brought someone in to teach breathing. They would go back to their cars and actually do them. It helped them, and it helped the architecture staff, too.

Aside from the breathing exercises, Genell credits ELEVATE for helping her refine the mission and values that guide her firm’s work. Through ELEVATE, she developed a PowerPoint about AMAR Group’s mission and culture, which she now uses for onboarding. She shares that it’s been an incredibly helpful tool for recruitment and staff retention.

Sometimes, one person can come in and create a very negative atmosphere. That PowerPoint helps me communicate who we are and what we stand for.

ELEVATE also helped Genell really hone in on one of her firm’s greatest values and strengths, trauma-informed design.

Right now, we work in a lot of multifamily homes, and we deal with people who are dealing with trauma, and so we design to that. People reflect their environment. If a child is embarrassed to bring friends home because of how the building looks or smells, we design to that child. We soften edges, we add color, we think about safety. You want that child to grow up with beautiful memories, too. We do that in architecture.

Pushing Towards Growth

Her relationship with the Coalition deepened after graduation as she became involved with the DC Community Anchor Partnership (DCAP) program, an initiative designed to help grow District-based businesses through new procurement opportunities and capacity building. She shared that a Coalition staff member was insistent that she pursue work she initially thought was out of reach.

He kept calling me. ‘You need to apply to this company.’ I said, ‘We are not healthcare architects, leave me alone.’ But he was persistent.

Eventually, she applied, won the three-year contract, and opened an entirely new line of business.

Now we are on our fourth project. It helped with our cash flow. I am glad he pushed me.

For Genell, it’s precisely that which distinguishes the Coalition from other community-based organizations.

What is different about The Coalition is that they stuck with us. They do not keep you for four or five weeks. They stick with you.

A Strong Partnership, a Stronger Community

Today, Genell remains an active alumna of ELEVATE and continues to collaborate with the Coalition as her firm grows. Her story highlights what is possible when local talent receives the right mix of training, relationships, and opportunities. Small businesses like hers are core to the District’s economic strength. They hire locally, invest locally, and create the kind of stability that strengthens neighborhoods. As Genell put it best, sometimes leaders need someone else to recognize their potential and open the next door.

Sometimes you may not see the greatness in yourself. But they see it, and they push you to that next level.

The Coalition’s ELEVATE program is made possible thanks to a generous contribution from the Truist Charitable Fund, LISC-DC, and the Capital Readiness Program.

The Coalition’s DC Community Anchor Partnership convened in partnership with the DC Deputy Mayor’s Office for Planning & Economic Development and is made possible thanks to generous contributions from Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Kaiser Permanente, and the DC Council.

Learn More About ELEVATE Learn More About DCAP

Stories of Impact: Genell Anderson

Cultivating Small Business Growth Through Executive Education

The Coalition’s ELEVATE program is made possible thanks to a generous contribution from the Truist Charitable Fund, LISC-DC, and the Capital Readiness Program.

The Coalition’s DC Community Anchor Partnership convened in partnership with the DC Deputy Mayor’s Office for Planning & Economic Development and is made possible thanks to generous contributions from Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Kaiser Permanente, and the DC Council.

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