Author: NNS

Ex Fabula Fellow Elaine Maly originally shared this story at two events in February. Ex Fabula Fellows tell personal stories to inspire community-led dialogue around some of the most pressing issues in the Greater Milwaukee area — segregation, and economic and racial inequality. While looking for an old photo to go with a blog I was working on, I came across some letters I’d sent my grandparents from Girl Scout camp almost 50 years ago. Mostly I wrote about the typical stuff. “It’s really cold.” “We went swimming.” “My counselor is really nice.” But there is one letter I...

Alvin Watts, a 16-year-old sophomore at Carmen Northwest High School, is one of two U.S. students selected to be part of a Group of Seven (G7) Youth Summit designed to create conversations about international peace. Before he left, Watts said the trip is a chance to change global perspectives about America and bring stories back to his home on the South Side and his school. “(The trip) means the whole entire world to me,” he said. Being selected to join the summit has already benefited him. “This has definitely given me a lot of confidence.” Twenty-four teens, 12 from...

LISC Milwaukee’s new executive director, Donsia Strong Hill, said she is drawn to urban communities. Strong Hill, who has worked as a public finance attorney, said, “My financial work was transactional and I want to go deeper (into community projects). I’ve wanted to do community development for a very long time.” As an attorney she provided bond and underwriter’s counsel services to tribal governments, municipalities, housing authorities, banks, developers and redevelopment authorities, according to LISC. In 2014, she and her husband, Richard G. (Rick) Hill founded Hill Group Companies, a business development and consulting firm, in Oneida, Wisconsin. Strong...

More than 850 attendees at the Milwaukee Awards for Neighborhood Development Innovation (MANDIs) dinner Wednesday night were among the first to learn that attorney Donsia Strong Hill will be LISC Milwaukee’s new executive director. LISC CEO Michael Rubinger introduced Strong Hill, an attorney and consultant, who follows Laura Bray in the role. Bray resigned in December after a short tenure. Rubinger also announced a $25 million investment in Milwaukee over the next five years. COA Youth and Family Centers was a big winner at the annual event, held at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino. COA won both the BMO Harris...

On a recent snowy, blustery Wisconsin-winter day, Harvard sociologist Matthew Desmond pointed out the window and said that about 40 families are formally evicted every day in Milwaukee, “including days like today.” Maudwella Kirkendoll, a housing advocate at Community Advocates, confirmed the statement, saying that at least 50 people a day walk into Community Advocates who are being evicted or are at risk of being evicted. “This is the reality of many low-income families in the city of Milwaukee,” Kirkendoll said. “(Desmond’s) work highlights eviction, an issue no one talks about.” Desmond, a 2015 recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship,...

A first-of-its-kind initiative that combines youth athletics with education and cultural awareness is underway in the U.S. This summer, students from the Journey House’s Felix Mantilla Little League will travel to Puerto Rico to play in a tournament with local athletes – and more importantly, will have new experiences that contribute to their education and understanding of the world. In summer 2017, players from Puerto Rico will visit Milwaukee. The league is headquartered at the Journey House, 2110 W. Scott St., Milwaukee, WI, a large and highly respected community center that empowers families on Milwaukee’s near Southside to move...