During the Milwaukee Awards for Neighborhood Development Innovation on March 16, Local Initiatives Support Corporation Milwaukee, LISC, announced that its new executive director will be Donsia Strong Hill.
Strong Hill is a principal consultant and attorney who has previously worked as the Brown County District Attorney, a senior policy analyst for former President Bill Clinton’s administration and a senior adviser for the U.S. Department of Energy.
She will replace Laura Bray, who resigned from the position in December 2015 after just four months at the helm.
The MANDI Awards were held at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino in Milwaukee.
The five winners at this year’s MANDI awards included ACTS Housing, St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care — Bucyrus Campus, COA Youth & Family Centers, Rodney Bourrage, Sr. and Milwaukee County.
ACTS Housing won the Trailblazer Award for its Foreclosure Reclamation Project, which helped 138 families transition from renters to homeowners though financial counseling, brokerage and rehabilitation management in partnership with the City of Milwaukee.
St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care won the Building Blocks Award for creating jobs and sparking neighborhood revitalization on Milwaukee’s near north side by building its $21 million, 800,000-square-foot Bucyrus Campus at 2450 W. North Ave.
COA Youth & Family Centers won the Cornerstone Award for its 110 years of service to the city’s low-income children and families and its efforts in the Amani neighborhood. COA centers serve 10,000 children and families at 11 locations.
Bourrage, founder of Operation Dream, won the Navigator Award for his dedication and innovative approach to counseling at-risk boys in Milwaukee.
Milwaukee County and its community partners won the Public Space Award for their renovation of the 4.1-acre Moody Park in Milwaukee’s Amani neighborhood.
Each winner received a trophy and a $1,000 donation.
