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Ondine Baird
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"City commissioners and state legislators are my customers. I know them and they know me." |
Why would a chemist with a cushy corporate job and a love for arts and culture leave the Twin Cities to run a business in Bismarck?
For 31-year-old Ondine Baird, it was the opportunity to be her own boss and have a real impact on her own community. She owns Latitudes Gallery and Gifts - and art gallery and frame shop in downtown Bismarck - and she marvels at her ability to involved and affect change in her community.
"People pull you into projects here and that just doesn't happen in larger cities," she said. "City commissioners and state legislators are my customers. I know them and they know me."
As she sees it, that kind of access allows her to live her favorite mantra, to "be the change she would like to see in the world" through her professional and community involvement. In addition to owning her own business, Ondine is president of two boards - The Downtowners Association and Urban Harvest - and is an active member of the Bismarck-Manda Young Professionals Network.
"People's perception of North Dakota is so far off from what it really is," Ondine says. "We are such a global culture now and you can really feel that here."
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