Hi, I'm Grizel Ubarry from woodbury NJ United States

For the last 40 years of my adult life, I have been a community development practitioner working primarily in economically depressed communities facilitating the work of nonprofit organizations whose mission is to rebuild neighborhoods using every possible tool for change. Over the years, I have been fortunate to travel throughout the US to learn and work in communities doing amazing projects to survive and thrive. This experience has awakened in me a desire to travel and explore how communities all over the world are managing economic and cultural changes while at the same time experiencing my own emotional and physical changes within me as I age. I am hoping to inspire others through my blog, photos and other collaborations pushing the envelope of what’s possible through a relentless pursuit to create and explore.
I retired as a community development practitioner/consultant after 38 years and am dedicating much of my newfound time to photography, traveling and writing. I see myself more as a documentary lens-based artist using my community development experience working with underserved communities to explore other cultures and their economy I have particular interests in learning about indigenous communities, their ability to thrive in a rapidly changing world and their economic models. I am presently working on a couple of themes concerning solo vendors in different countries as well as the preservation of traditional customs impacted by over tourism and modernization. I also have an interest in how urban cities evolve to manage population changes caused by in and out migration, climate change and the creation of new economic models with a focus on both immigrants and historically underserved black and brown communities.