Anasa Troutman is a cultural strategist, writer, producer, and developer whose work is reshaping how cities understand and invest in culture. She is the founder and CEO of The Big We, a Memphis-based social enterprise building the resources, systems, and infrastructure needed for a thriving cultural economy. A storyteller by trade, Anasa has spent her life exploring how stories shape the way we see, experience, and interact with ourselves and each other. At the heart of Anasa’s work is a simple but transformative idea: culture is not a byproduct of a thriving society — it is the foundation. Through The Big We, she leads initiatives in creative placemaking, cultural entrepreneurship, and storytelling that activate communities’ cultural assets as drivers of economic growth, civic engagement, and narrative transformation.