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The Asiko Group offers authentic community engagement and development strategies, results-based facilitation skills and creative communication techniques with an emphasis on increasing the volume and diversity of participation.

02/10/2025

We'd like to extend a warm welcome to our newest team member, Jessica Thomas , who is a Community Engagement Manager with The Asiko Group.

Much of her professional and personal life has been dedicated to justice-centered science and policy advocacy, combining the power of community and academic expertise to understand problems and shape solutions to address environmental and public health and safety issues. Her savvy is in authentically connecting with people, working through challenging processes, and facilitating solutions that work for impacted and underserved communities. She spent over 10 years at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) as an outreach specialist and campaign manager. Jessica also held roles at the Science and Community Action Network and the University of Massachusetts Boston. Her undergraduate studies were in biology with a focus on environmental science. She volunteers with a number of nonprofits working on environmental justice, and her life is filled with plants, animals, working on her home, and spending time with family and friends.

13/05/2025

We are a growing team looking for individuals who are committed to engaging the community with creativity and authenticity for the following positions…
- Digital Communications Freelancer
- Project Manager
- Cultural Preservation & Research Intern
- Community Engagement Manager

We offer flexible hours, professional development opportunities, and a supportive team that allows you to bring your full self to the work. If you have skills or experience that would be a good fit for any of the above positions, please send us your resume at [email protected].

10/05/2025

In late March, we partnered with the Town of Summerville, SC and the Public Works Art Center for a community pop-up to provide an example of how old, unused buildings can be revitalized to serve the need as communities change over time. We learned about the Art Center’s history as a former post office, which was constructed in 1938. The building consisted of marble-trimmed walls that are four bricks thick, and ceilings made from steel beams and 10-foot by 10-foot timber. The building changed hands to the Commissioner of Public Works in 1985. Public Works Art Center officially opened in 2020.

The building contains some unique characteristics consistent with the era in which it was built: a vault was installed by the Post Office to protect gold, currency shipments, and other valuables from robberies, and a secret catwalk passageway runs through the upstairs galleries with a special side door, built-in ladder, view glass, and hearing portals, which was used by the postmaster to keep an eye on employees and ensure that mail was handled securely.

The Public Works Art Center is merely a snapshot of the ways that old buildings can be given new life. The Town of Summerville Brownfields Assessment Grant program seeks to conduct environmental assessments of properties in the Town to identify potential brownfield sites for redevelopment, to create job opportunities, boost the local economy, and create other community resources.

Do you have a story of how an old building has been given a new life in your community? We’d love to hear from you!

08/05/2025

And just like that, we closed out our second year participating in the Clemson University School of Architecture's Community Build 1:1 fellowship program. We had the opportunity to work with Thomas Meacham, second year architecture student, for the Taveau Church Restoration Project, which is coordinated by Preservation South Carolina.

He worked with our Chief Strategist, Thetyka Robinson, to design the community engagement report used to communicate the community’s vision for how Taveau Church can best serve the community. We enjoyed having Thomas’s knowledge from the field and classroom on this project.

Thomas describes his semester with us, “During my time with The Asiko Group, I have had the privilege to learn the importance and impact community engagement has. The inclusion of voicing local people's perspectives and their involvement for the future development of surrounding communities is vital to nurturing healthy communities.”

Read more about the project at https://www.preservesc.org/taveau-church

20/04/2025

In late March, we joined Audubon South Carolina, Surculus, Robinson Design Engineers, Catalyst, and members of the Building Resilient Communities with Nature Steering Committee for a Project Area Tour. We met with community leaders and community members at respective landmarks and meeting locations in their area and spent time walking the community together as a form of “groundtruthing”. Transportation was provided by Footprint Transit.

The purpose of this tour was to better understand what kind of changes they have seen in their communities and identify where they are impacted the most by high tides, flooding, storm surge, and other environmental hazards exacerbated by sea level rise. Community leaders shared on-the-ground expertise related to sites that would benefit from nature-based solutions, which can help to increase their resilience to climate change, create bird habitat, and protect valuable ecological resources like marshes, beaches, and barrier islands.

We want to thank the following community leaders and members for spending their Saturday with us and helping us learn more about the communities they call home:
- Tibwin, Germantown, and Buck Hall unincorporated communities of McClellanville
- Ten Mile unincorporated community of Charleston County

Engagement with communities in the Project Area will continue in the form of listening sessions throughout April and early May. We look forward to continuing the conversations and learning more from community members’ about areas of opportunity for co-creating nature-based solutions.

10/04/2025

Meet our team member, LaCrystal Robinson of Cre8torzone, who is one of our design specialists that focuses on communications & marketing.

She is a creative thinker with a passion for people, products, and problem-solving, and an experienced marketing professional that thrives in a highly collaborative, fast-paced, and results-driven environment. As a diversity & inclusion advocate, she is passionate about creating and expanding opportunities for marginalized communities and minorities to ensure messaging and marketing strategies align with project goals and desired outcome for community representation.

03/04/2025

We are thrilled to announce that Caroline Bourscheid (left) and Bianca LaPaz (right) have been promoted to the role of Project Managers with The Asiko Group! Both joined the team last year, and work tirelessly to ensure our community engagement projects run smoothly and efficiently, in service to both our clients’ goals and community members’ collective vision. Please join us in congratulating them!

Here’s why they are dedicated to this work:

Caroline says, “I love being a part of projects that bring disparate groups of people together around a mutual goal with a lasting positive impact, as it's a great reminder of our collective power and shared humanity within a community.”

Bianca says, “In order to create the change we want to see in the world, communities have to be at the table. I so appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with our clients on projects that empower communities’ voices through trust and relationship-building.”

Photo by Banyan Headshots.

01/04/2025

In mid-February, we kicked off the first of our series of Building Resilient Communities with Nature listening sessions with Audubon South Carolina, Surculus, Robinson Design Engineers, and Catalyst. The purpose of these listening sessions is to engage community members on co-creating inclusive community resilience projects with nature-based solutions in the Cape Romain region.

We met with approximately 20 members of the Concerned Citizens of Unincorporated Communities group at Buckshots Restaurant, who come from a handful of communities in the Project Area including South Santee, McClellanville, Tibwin, and Awendaw. The attendees shared stories, and spoke of the things they love most about their communities and the rural character of the Project Area, but also vocalized the challenges they are facing and what they would like to see improved as it pertains to flooding, stormwater, and climate change. One attendee commented, “Your questions made me think about my community. I have a new appreciation for it.”

We will be back for more listening sessions throughout the Project Area in April. Stay tuned for more! (Photos provided by Audubon SC.)

25/03/2025

Join us tomorrow at 5:30 - 7:00 PM for a community pop-up with the Town of Summerville, SC at Public Works Art Center and the Summerville Museum and Research Center on Wednesday, April 23rd at 5:30 - 7:00 PM.

As part of the Evolving Places pop-up series, we will celebrate how these historic sites (a former post office and police station) have been transformed into a thriving arts center and museum.

At the Public Works Art Center, we will have a tour of the latest exhibition, discuss the Brownfields Assessment Grant, and explore how the new space has enlivened the block.

At the Summerville Museum & Research Center, we will hear stories of the past and explore opportunities to breathe life into historic buildings.

Join us to learn how you can take part in co-creating Summerville’s future!

22/03/2025

In early February, the Building Resilience with Nature Steering Committee, along with Audubon South Carolina and Surculus, went on a tour of our Project Area in preparation for listening sessions we will be hosting in communities this Spring.

We visited the following communities, most of which are unincorporated and home to many Gullah Geechee residents:
-South Santee
- Germantown
- McClellanville
- Tibwin
- Buck Hall
- Pineland
- Awendaw
- Woodville
- Ten Mile

Community representatives, including Takeya White from the Town of Awendaw Planning Department and Angela Singleton from the Ten Mile Historic Preservation Committee, offered on-the-ground expertise regarding environmental challenges and historical information about their communities, remarking on what has changed. Transportation was provided by Footprint Transit.

We’ll be in the Project Area today to complete a more in-depth Project Area Tour with Catalyst, Robinson Design Engineers, the Steering Committee members, and community leaders and members at key locations throughout the Project Area.

13/03/2025

Over the last year, we have been doing intentional community outreach and engagement with Audubon South Carolina, Surculus, Catalyst, and Robinson Design Engineers on a grant called “Building Resilient Communities with Nature: Co-Creating Inclusive Community Resilience Projects with Nature-Based Solutions in the Cape Romain Region”, funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the Ga***rd & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation.

Our project area* encompasses the following communities adjacent to Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge:
- Germantown
- South Santee
- Moss Swamp
- McClellanville
- Tibwin
- Buck Hall
- Pineland
- Awendaw
- Woodville
- Ten Mile

Bearing the brunt of increasingly high tides, intense storms, and flooding, these frontline communities are experiencing environmental challenges like land erosion and marsh dieback. Alongside the Building Resilient Communities with Nature Steering Committee, which consists of residents, municipal officials, local non-profits, faith / community-based leaders, and others who live or work near the Wildlife Refuge, we are engaging with communities to co-create and prioritize a list of potential nature-based solutions, that could benefit both people and birds.

Learn more about the project and nature-based solutions at https://sc.audubon.org/conservation/building-resilient-communities-nature.

*Map designed by Surculus.

11/03/2025

We are excited to announce that we are working on our fourth project with Terracon on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfields Assessment Grant for City of Liberty - South Carolina. As the community engagement partner on the project, our role will be to gain input from the community in order to identify a list of potential brownfield sites and complete environmental assessments. These efforts will help to create opportunities for redevelopment, jobs, and other community resources in the City of Liberty.

Read more about the project at https://www.libertysc.com/community/epa-brownfields-assessment-grant-program/

We’ll be engaging with community members in Liberty at the first annual SC Waffle Fest on Saturday, March 29th at 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM: https://www.facebook.com/events/1406674380150492/?_rdr

And we’ll be in Liberty again on Monday, April 14th at 5:30-6:30 PM at the Rosewood Center for a community kick-off meeting.

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+18433433399

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https://theasikogroup.com/

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