Patricia Hoben, founding leader of Milwaukee public charter school network Carmen Schools of Science and Technology, will lead the new organization born out of the merger of Milwaukee nonprofits Partners Advancing Values in Education (PAVE) and Schools That Can Milwaukee.
The school support nonprofit unveiled its new name, City Forward Collective, and Hoben as its new leader on Thursday. PAVE and STCM, both of which were focused on recruiting and developing leaders in Milwaukee schools, merged in May 2018.
“The children of our city deserve more and faster progress,” said Leslie Dixon, board chair of City Forward Collective. “After considerable due diligence and community input, the board of directors has identified a new model for how this organization can best move our city forward for all students – and Dr. Hoben is the right leader for this work.”
Hoben assumed daily leadership of the organization this month after several months spent working with the organization’s board and staff on a volunteer basis to assist with strategic planning, according to a news release. She stepped down as chief executive officer of Carmen at the end of the school year. The charter network operates three high schools, two middle schools and an elementary school serving more than 1,800 Milwaukee students.
“Dr. Hoben has a distinguished career of leadership at the federal, state and local levels, including more than a decade heading one of Milwaukee’s strongest school networks,” said John Grogan, City Forward Collective board co-chair. “She has a strong record of setting up new organizations and designing strategy. We couldn’t be happier or more excited about this pick.”
City Forward Collective’s name reflects the need for dramatic improvement to Milwaukee’s education ecosystem as a means of advancing the city as a whole, the organization said. Some of its goals include: promoting family and community organizing, community-informed policy, diverse governance in schools, representative teacher pipelines, and establishing an investment fund that will funnel philanthropic dollars to support schools.
“The City Forward Collective model has the potential to make significant, positive, lasting change for our city and its families,” Hoben said. “We’re building on the strengths of PAVE + STCM to create something new that meets the needs Milwaukee has right now.”
The organization will work with all school types, including district, charter and private.
