The Brighams opened GRNoir in February 2021 and persevered through
the COVID-19 pandemic. Nadia said it was important to them to create
an environment that caters to a range of communities, while
maintaining a focus on equity. Their aim, she said, is to rewrite the
narrative around the pretentious stereotypes of wineries and wine,
showing the community that wine can be accessible for all.
“It is about accessibility and making room for people to explore. You
may not know how to pronounce a particular wine, but we can help you
with that,” she said. “The two components that we know to be the most
communal essences in the world are wine and jazz. They bring people
together in very powerful ways, so we wanted to leverage those and
offer something that the community doesn’t have."
In addition to GRNoir, the Brighams opened Brigham Consulting, which
is where Nadia, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social
work and a master’s degree in public administration, spends the bulk
of her time. There, she assists leaders, organizations and businesses
with equity issues and leadership development.
The work that she has created around diversity and racial equity was
sparked at GVSU, she said. The content of her courses and the
friendships she made helped keep that spark alive.
“The mix between what we learned at Grand Valley and what we came to
Grand Valley with in terms of how we were raised in our communities,
helped to solidify how we wanted to walk in the world,” she said.
