Meet Ethan Brisby | Vision Bearer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ethan Brisby and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ethan, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Coming from where I am from and considering where I am now, risk was a great part of my journey. I have taken many, many risks along the way. Some for better, others for worse. When I went back to college in 2008, my parents dropped me off in Atlanta with a 1996 Nissan Altima and $250 to my name. I heroically turned that into multiple paid internships, $50,000 + in scholarships, a college degree, and my first book, “5 Proven Strategies on How to Pay for College.”

When I ran for an At-Large seat on city council in 2015, no African American since 1836 had held an At-Large seat on city council. I self-funded the campaign and ended up broke, busted, and disgusted finishing third out of three in the voting. This however, led to me being appointed to the Planning and Zoning Commission. From this appointment, I learned that at that stage of my life, politics was not for me, but it was taking that risk of putting my name in the public eye that helped me learn this about life and about myself.

When I first visited East Africa in 2021, it was during Covid lock down. The global news said that Uganda was greatly plagued by covid and conventional wisdom said I should not have gone there. As I contemplated my next move from Kenya, the country I visited first, I decided to go to Uganda anyway. It’s turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. I now am resettling in Uganda and enjoy the simplicity of life here in the “Pearl of Africa.”

So for me, risk is a great part of my life and career. As it will have to be for anyone starting from where I began, living within what the statistics say I am supposed to be. I recently wrote about how Peter must have been so scared walking on water as the story tells us in Matthew 14. And that’s how life is when you want to do something larger than you, something meaningful that will stand the test of time. So for me, a quote I really like and have liked since my youth is, “To conquer without risk is to triumph without glory.” For me, I gotta get to the glory part, so risk is an absolute part of the journey.
     

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I have lived one of the most unorthodox lives of all people I know. My approach was always to find my voice, so I could create the world I want to see. The more knowledge I gained, the more inclined I became to pave my own path in life. All traditional education could teach me is how other men and women have lived their lives and conclusions they’ve drawn about reality. So for me, when I heard the charge at Morehouse College to do whatever I do better than any many dead, living or to be born, I took that literal.

My career is two fold, it began with me being a freelance journalist; journalism is my first love. I hosted a radio show for four years called “Word on the Street” and I wrote for local magazines and newspapers covering sports and current events. I later of course worked in banking. When I left banking, I went on what I deemed, ‘a quest for knowledge.’ The little I was discovering about life in my early 20s, led me to believe there must be so much more out there.

With this in mind, I spent six years earning my bachelors and masters degrees. The funny thing is that when I completed my studies I became more restrained. I’d learned “how” things are supposed to be done, so my challenge became figuring out how to not only unlearn some things, but apply the knowledge I gained in a way that aligns with my evolving perspectives.

I spent many years searching and seeking out just who I am and where I fit in this world. It was terribly difficult to find a space where it felt like I fit. So I never allowed myself to get too comfortable in any one role. One of my pet peeves is when people seek to find a box or a title to place upon me that minimizes the totality of my being. Usually this is for means of control, because once you are identified as a type, for the rest of the world there are behavioral tendencies you must adhere to, or you will be ridiculed.

For me however, I was constantly creating my next reality. From publishing books to public speaking , creating youth programs, home buyer programs, running for office, managing campaigns, to advocating for local government policies that aligned with the world I care about most. I just never could find a space where I felt empowered within my highest and best self, so I decided to create that space for myself and people like me.

That’s what SHIFT Enterprise Academy is all about. SHIFT Enterprise Academy by conventional terms is an education technology company with a venture studio model attached. In my heart and mind ‘The SHIFT Approach’ is a ministry of sharing my way of thinking and approaching life’s adversity while maintaining the mindset of a champion. Moreover, SHIFT Enterprise Academy is a safe haven for people to get from where they are now to where they want to be. We work mostly in East Africa now, but I am also working with my team and network to bridge the gap as we like to say, between Africans and African Americans.

Various nations around Africa are evolving into popular destinations. Likewise, many African Americans and others around the diaspora are developing a yearning to connect with the African part of their identity. So for me, this is my safe space for now that I have created. I am doing something I love which includes teaching, leading by example, and community building. My vision for SHIFT is for it to become an evolving ecosystem of entrepreneurs and small business executives forming linkages for not only personal development, but economic mobility.

Throughout this journey, I have held steady to God’s unchanging hand. One of the most awe-inspiring realizations of this is that when I applied for admissions into Texas A&M University’s Master’s in Land & Property Development program, I included a personal vision in my letter of intent. In 2010, I wrote that once I complete the degree I wanted to trace my lineage and then work in that African country in the field of development. Contrarily, I left my A&M program in December 2012 one credit shy of completing the degree. It was not until 2022 that I took that final step, commencing in May 2022. May that it be, I moved to East Africa in December 2022.

The way I see it, God was preparing me for the vision he gave me way back in 2010. I had to go through a unique pruning process. Because for me, I live very free, and with my assignments in life there is a need for a great deal of discipline. I enjoy life to the fullest, so for me to have the level of responsibility I have now, I had to truly grow tall enough to wear the crown that is placed over my head.

Brisby Development Services is the other business I operate. SHIFT has always been a mission based work for me, and quite frankly I am still on the fence about the level of monetization it deserves, because it is more of my gift to the world. Thankfully, many of the SHIFT long term goals align with the need for real estate development when we talk about developing innovation centers and mixed use sites that bring a physical aspect to our ecosystem. So for me, I have struck gold in life such that my vocation is urban planning and real estate development. I was also licensed as a Realtor in Texas for 10 years.

Brisby Development Services specializes in site selection, project management, and land use planning in Texas and across the East African Community. So I thank God I stayed the course and now am living a life I created for myself, my family, and my community to be proud of.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If I were leading a group of my East African friends to Houston for a week, man it would be lit! We will do this soon, by the way. The week would be plastered with visiting various cultural dining locations; from Nigerian food on the Southwest to Soul Food in 3rd Ward. I would make sure my friends understand just how diverse Houston is from a food selection perspective. Three places we would certainly visit are the Museum District to better understand some historical perspectives and specialized learning opportunities. I would take them around to local colleges beginning with Texas Southern for my guests to feel the vibe of an HBCU. Finally, we would certainly vibe out in the night life, most likely somewhere laid back and reserved. And it wouldn’t be right if we didn’t make our way to Bryan/College Station which is the place I call home. One thing we would do for sure is play spades and dominos. If they don’t know how, ‘they gone learn today!’ “Dime that dummy!”

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
If I had to dedicate my success or progress in life to anyone it would be my son and mother. My son because his birth made me change my perspective about legacy and long term thinking. My mother’s been the most solid person in my life since day one. I also have to give credit to Jones, he was my step father growing up. One thing about him is that he has always had my back especially in terms of being supportive in a financial way. He and I have evolved as men together.

Beyond these core people, my life is filled and scattered with people who have propelled me further along the way; some in small ways some in larger more meaningful ways such as William Bowser and Shirley Payton. These are two of my earlier supervisors. William hired me at Pizza Hut at the age of 17, a few months prior to my 18th birthday. Then on my 18th birthday he promoted me to Assistant Manager. So I used to manage a Pizza Hut after school during my senior year in high school. Him doing that put me in a professional leadership role managing the activities of my peers and people twice my age.

Miss Payton hired me as a Service Officer at the age of 22 as a bank officer. She put me on advisory boards and even attempted to send me to get my Series 53 and 7 investment licenses. Ultimately this was a turning point in my life, because I decided to instead leave banking and return to college in ‘pursuit of knowledge’ on my own terms. It was also around this time I met Hill Harper and read his book, “Letters to a Young Brother.” That book really opened my eyes to different perspectives of African American men.

Renowned journalist, Erinn Haines, inspired me during a conversation we had on a rooftop in Atlanta. She told me I should stay in Atlanta after college and she would help me realized some of my dreams and visions. I appreciated the gesture, and of course was so honored to receive the scholarship I earned from the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists, where Erinn was the Chair of the Scholarship Committee. However, I chose to return home to be near my young son. Her belief in me gave me more life at the time.

There are so many people who have helped me along the way that I would have to use this entire article to thank them. I do my best to see the God in everyone. That way it is not hard to find inspiration, mentorship, or support. I have spoken more in-depth about some of the key players in my memoirs, “5 Proven Strategies on How to Pay for College” and the “The Roaring 30s.”

Website: https://www.brisbydevelopmentservices.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanbrisby/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@shiftenterpriseacademy

Other: https://www.shiftenterpriseacademy.com/ https://www.amazon.com.br/Amazing-Life-of-Brisby/dp/B0CBHDJ8Z1

Image Credits
Zebraville, Ltd – Uganda