Welcome to 2 Crates & a Fence. We exist to build community capacity for equity and social mobility through storytelling, literacy, and collective imagination. By amplifying marginalized voices, offering educational resources, and challenging systemic fences, the platform aims to move people from awareness to action, one story at a time.
About Me
My name is Tristen Griffith-Smith
I am a public health practitioner, literacy advocate, and believer in the radical power of storytelling to shape futures. I founded 2 Crates and a Fence as a way to explore the intersection of equity, education, and community capacity; especially for marginalized communities.
The name "2 Crates and a Fence" pays homage to a well-known visual used to teach the principles of equality and equity. For me, 2 Crates and a Fence is about what we build and share to help people see over, and eventually dismantle, the fences in their own lives.
I hold a Master of Public Health (MPH) and bring both academic grounding and real-world experience to the work I do. As a new mother, I’ve found myself even more committed to building a future where our children grow up surrounded by books, stories, and spaces that affirm their identities and spark their imagination.
This platform is the first step toward a larger vision: The Mustn’t House, a hybrid bookstore and social house that will serve as a community anchor for literacy, creativity, and connection. Until then, 2 Crates and a Fence is where I’m telling stories, sharing resources, and inviting others to imagine what’s possible—crate by crate.
