Foundation
Gussie was born in Chicago, IL, to a large, loving, yet sarcastic family with little to no boundaries. With a host of cousins who were more like brothers and sisters, you had to hold your own during dirty dozens or else! This family dynamic taught her the art of quick wit and humor early on.
Her parents, Greg and Sonja, were together for 32 years before he died. They complimented each other from a child-rearing perspective. Greg showed Gussie the impact of being active in the community by utilizing his resourcefulness, inquisitiveness, and voice. He naturally became a father figure to neighborhood children and Gussie’s friends, who may or may not have had father figures. His life lessons still resonate with Gussie’s friends of 20+ years. They often re-tell the stories from time to time.
Sonja showed an example of what it looks like to be a fantastic wife, mother, and trusted go-to for the family. It seemed to Gussie that her mother could keep her home and family prayed up while managing the house seamlessly AND working outside. Let’s not leave out the fact… SHE CAN COOK! Like really cook. The organization, structure, and follow-through Sonja focused on drove Gussie mad in her youth, but it set her up for her future career and life.
Family
Gussie and her husband, Bernardo, met in 2014 via an online dating service. They met in person a month later, had a fantastic date that ended in a dance-off in a Target parking lot. Fast forward almost a decade, and they have active schedules with their 20-year-old (Chris), 18-year-old (Caleb), and two under two (Creed and Caden). Yes! You read that right… They started over! Gussie and her husband are avid music fans who attend concerts regularly. Gussie’s ten-year term as a volunteer Scout leader speaks to her dedication to community and youth.
Since they are a blended family, Caleb devised an acronym for the three last names. You may hear them refer to themselves as Team IHOP. It stands for:
Ivory
Hopkins
OR
Patterson
Personality
Gussie is a straight shooter who loves to spread joy everywhere she goes. Although she is “no fluff,” she is bubbly and uplifting in her delivery. Her mother, Sonja, always says, “Gussie has never met a stranger!”. She enjoys spending time with family, traveling, music, karaoke, and camping (as long as nature doesn’t touch her). BTW… She has many videos and posts of her tumultuous battles with the insect world.
***Spoiler alert!!!***
She usually loses the bug battle.
Career
Gussie Hopkins started her career in Project Management over 13 years ago after leaving a job as a cable technician specializing in aerial and underground cable splicing. It took 16 years for Gussie to earn her Bachelor’s degree after pushing through layoffs, health scares, moving states, losing loved ones, financial woes, and so much more.
Gussie is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Scrum Master (CSM) project manager who has worked in Construction, IT, Operations, Healthcare, and Education. She learned to utilize her high-energy and inquisitive nature to craft solutions for her clients. She strives to understand the “why” so the company and team can benefit by making better decisions for future implementations.
Later in her career, Gussie discovered her passion for teaching and training while serving as a Senior Project Manager. Back then, part of the role was to mentor and coach project managers and coordinators. Gussie felt incredibly rewarded when she witnessed the ‘aha’ moments when the team members started piecing together the intricate puzzle of project management. Helping them unlock the secrets to mastering all facets of this dynamic field was a joy she couldn’t ignore.
Eventually, Gussie decided to take a chance on herself after receiving coaching from an amazing Director and mentor, Andrea. Thus, Hopkins Consulting was born.
Affordable Housing Advocacy
The family’s journey took an unexpected turn when Gussie faced health challenges in 2019 and 2020. After a brief discussion, the family concluded there were two top priorities: Their health and spending quality time together. So, they began brainstorming ways for how both goals could be achieved.
Fast forward to over two years of research… Tiny homes came up multiple times. The challenge is Team IHOP is a multi-generational family of 5, and zoning restrictions prevented plans from coming to fruition. The family tried many ways to make the tiny model work, but the model failed to solve the overall needs. Then it hit Team IHOP…. What if everyone had their own micro/tiny home but on the same property? EUREKA!!
The micro-community model would allow grandma to have her space, the married couple could enjoy their space, and the two young adults would become homeowners while learning financial literacy. After deciding to sell their home and move forward with building the micro-community, they hit a roadblock. The realtor couldn’t find a suitable transitional home to live in! Rental inventory was meager, and the rentals located were not reasonably priced. This issue opened their eyes to the affordable housing crisis plaguing the country (even for high earners). Eventually, they decided to marry the ideas of a micro-community and affordable housing. Boy, oh boy, are they a match made in heaven!
Gussie and Bernardo’s mission is to advocate and develop micro-communities so others can afford homeownership while providing financial literacy tools/resources along the journey. Team IHOP proves that homeownership can be a financial catalyst to break generational poverty. The numbers don’t lie… On average, homeowners have a net worth 80 times higher than renters per the Census Bureau.
Thank you for reading this far and being part of our journey. We can’t wait to share more with you as we strive to make a difference in our community and beyond.
With heartfelt thanks,
Gussie and Team IHOP