Conversations with Ani Steele

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ani Steele.

Hi Ani, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I am a proud born and raised Coloradan, first generation. My family is from Louisiana and Mississippi, coming here because of the military or better job opportunities. I went to a small private school, from Kindergarten to high school, and my graduating class was a whopping 6 people!
I went to Baylor University and majored in social work. Once I graduated, I moved back to Colorado and went to CSU for my Master’s in social work. I practiced social work- case manager, working in the juvenile justice system and as an at-home/office based therapist- for about 7. 5 years. I felt myself burning out in the field and I didn’t think my clients deserved that.
During my 30th birthday cruise, I decided I want to go back to school related to food. I loved baking and cooking but I knew I didn’t want to go to culinary school. I was more interested in food writing, history and cultures of food. I came across Chatham University’s Food Studies program and fell in love. In 2020, I quit my job in Greeley, Colorado and moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for school.
At Chatham, I focused a lot on culinary tourism and cultural representation through food. I was specifically interested in how food could be used as a lens to view communities and culture. I found that tourism could provide an engaging and fun way to interact with the people around us.
My thesis focused on Disney World’s Animal Kingdom and how they used food and dining to authenticate their version of Africa at the Animal Kingdom park. As someone who grew up watching Disney movies and going to their theme parks, it was important for me to interrogate this love I have for Disney and their role in perpetuating some harmful rhetoric.
After graduating in 2022, I moved back to Denver and got a job at History Colorado. I am public programs and events manager here, managing the Stories Through Food and Blaxplanation adult programs. I love to use tours, workshops, lectures, panel discussions and other engaging formats to talk about the history and cultures of Colorado communities.
I recently was accepted in a PhD program at the University of North Texas where I am excited to continue my learning in food studies and history.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has been far from a smooth road! Social work was rewarding but it was emotionally hard. It was so hard. My first job out of grad school was as a case worker for the department of human services. I was an intake caseworker and was the first person to respond to concerns of abuse and neglect to children. The mental and emotional balance of ensuring the protection of children and teens, while also keeping in mind the overrepresentation of children in foster care for Black and Brown communities was draining. I had a lot of difficult jobs in my career as a social worker but I wouldn’t change it if I could. My time as a social worker instilled in me the importance to work with communities, families and individuals. It showed me that in the darkness that is our lives sometimes, we already have the strengths and skills to make our way through. We just need someone to believe in it and show us how to use what we already have.

Returning to school during the pandemic was an interesting experience, to say the least. I was in a new city that I had never been before in a time where interpersonal relationship building was strained by a global and deadly virus. Also returning to school after having been gone for almost 8 years brought about its own challenges. I had to learn to pace myself so I didn’t burn out.

Moving back home after my food studies program was extremely difficult for me. I had built deep friendships with my cohort in Pittsburgh and it felt like I lost that when I moved back home. Coming back to Colorado was the right thing to do, I have no doubt. But it was one of the hardest things to do and it took even longer to heal from the hurts of having to let go.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
When I came back to Colorado in 2022, I started my business Builder/Weaver. In graduate school, the concepts of “Warrior, Builder, Weaver” were explained to me and it stuck. The warriors were the ones who were on the streets protesting, fighting, and the voices of social justice. The builders were behind the scenes, building the organizations, the policies, and the programs needed to address societal needs. The weaver was the bridge between the two, connecting the warrior to the opportunities built by the builder.
I am not the loudest person in the room and consider myself an introvert (an ambivert if you catch me on a good day). I had an insecurity of not being the “vocal” warrior, as if it meant I wasn’t doing enough for my communities. But I found a home in the concept of the builders and weavers. I wanted to incorporate this into my business/creative process; I want to build educational, engaging, empowering and fun programs to learn about the world around us. And if I am not creating, I want to use writing and research to point back to those who have been doing the work.

Builder/Weaver is a place where I can write, do research and consult on culinary tourism, food and culture programming and find ways to learn more about the world through food, history and culture. I believe my time as a social worker prepared me to be able to work with communities and people so they can tell their stories in their own words. Despite best intentions, communities are often exploited or misrepresented in the tourism industry and in history/cultural institutions. I have found that when you work with folks and create a platform for them to speak for themselves rather than speaking for them, you get a richer and more humanizing program, event, or experience.

What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
I have to tell myself that “the only way to it, is through it”. What I mean by this is that I often get excited about the end project or the end goal. Whether it is professional growth, a new job opportunity or gaining a new skill, I love the excitement of growing. I don’t always love the process of growing. I have learned that it is the experiences, the ups and downs that build you into the person you are excited to become. Without the mountaintops and valleys, you cannot reach your goals. I embrace being comfortable being uncomfortable. It’s a hard lesson and I wish I could say that I ace the test every time. But I’m getting better.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://builderweaver.com
• Other: ani@builderweaver.com