Nonprofits and Education
CEO
Nehemiah Center for Urban Leadership Development | Madison
A longtime pastor of Fountain of Life Covenant Church and chief executive officer of the Nehemiah Center for Urban Leadership Development, Rev. Alex Gee has emerged as one of the leading voices in the movement for racial equity in Madison. In 2013, he penned a cover story for The Capital Times, entitled “Justified Anger,” that detailed his experience as a Black man in Madison. The first-person piece raised alarms about persistent racial disparities across the corrections, government, education and business sectors in Madison – holding up a mirror to a city known to be a bastion of liberal politics. That article set off a chain of town halls and community forums where residents discussed injustices and potential solutions. It also birthed Justified Anger, an initiative of The Nehemiah Center to develop partnerships with white allies to help dismantle systems of racial inequities.
In 2018, the Nehemiah Center received a $1 million grant from the Wisconsin Partnership Program at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health to reduce racial health disparities among African Americans.
In 2020, Gee announced plans for the creation of The Center for Black Excellence and Culture, a three-story, 65,000-square-foot cultural center to be built on Madison’s south side. Plans for the $38 million center include theaters, a fitness center, art and recording studios, coworking spaces, and more. The Black-led and -designed project has been described as the first of its kind.
A groundbreaking is expected late this year with an opening slated for next year.
Education: Bachelor’s, University of Wisconsin-Madison; doctorate, Bakke Graduate University
