Excellence and innovation in community health care, affordable housing development, accessibility, recreation, entrepreneurship support, and leadership were recognized last week at
LISC Milwaukee’s annual Milwaukee Awards for Neighborhood Development Association or MANDI awards.
Held for more than 20 years by the Milwaukee chapter of The Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), a non-profit community development financial institution (CDFI) that supports community development initiatives across the country, the MANDIs recognize excellence in community development.
Finalists and winners are selected by an independent, cross-sector volunteer selection committee. The committee reviews nominations and selects two finalists in each of seven categories.
During an awards banquet on Thursday at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, representatives from the charitable arms of various local businesses that help provide financial support to LISC, announced the winners in the seven categories.
Before the awards were presented, however, Suzanne Zwaska, vice president and community affairs manager for U.S. Bank, in Wisconsin, noted that what all the finalists and their supporters have in common is a great love for the city of Milwaukee. U.S. Bank was the presenting sponsor of the event.
“It is the intention of all of us to see that our great community, and more specifically, every individual in our community, has the opportunity to create a meaningful life,” Zwasksa said. “What does that mean? It means that they have options and opportunities for housing, and stability, fulfilling careers, physical and financial health, surrounded by rich and beautiful culture and environment.”
Community Health Award
The winner of the inaugural Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment Community Health Award was the
Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers which was recognized for its Healing Spaces Initiative. The award recognizes an organization’s work to eliminate health disparities through systems change.
“Community health is what we do. It’s who we are. It’s what we love,” said Julie Schuller, president and CEO for Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers, who thanked the board and staff at the organization, as she accepted the award.
Sixteenth Street was one of two finalists for the award. The other finalist was
MKE FreshAir Collective, which was nominated for its community-led air monitoring, delivering real-time air quality information to empower and protect residents.
Praising the collective, Schuller noted that one of the nonprofit’s first air monitors was installed at a Sixteenth Street Community Health Center clinic.
Trailblazer Award
The winner of the Associated Bank Trail Blazer Award, which recognizes innovative approaches to community problems, was
The Ability Center.
The nonprofit, which strives to provide places for people with disabilities to be active and healthy, was recognized for its plans to construct the nation’s first fully inclusive and universally accessible park. Under construction in Wauwatosa, the first phase of Moss Universal Park is expected to open next summer.
“Often times we are limited by design, not by our abilities or disabilities,” said Damian Buchman, founder and executive director of The Ability Center accepting the award. “If we design things a little better, than maybe no one in our community has a disability.”
The Ability Center was one of two finalists for the award. The other finalist was
Acts Housing, which was nominated for Homeownership Acquisition Fund, which buys single-family homes in Milwaukee to prevent them from being purchased by absentee-landlords and makes them available for first-time homeowners.
Cornerstone Award
The winner of the BMO Cornerstone Award, which recognizes a program or organization with a long-standing commitment to a neighborhood or neighborhoods and has demonstrated persistence and effectiveness over time, was Acts Housing Living legacy.
Acts Housing was recognized for its longstanding work to help Milwaukee residents become first-time homebuyers by helping to remove the sort of socio-economic barriers that can prevent individuals and families from attempting the journey on their own.
Acts Housing Living Legacy was one of two finalists for the award. The other was Scale Up Milwaukee, which was nominated for hosting impactful events and accelerators designed to infuse growth into every corner and help spread inclusive economic prosperity.
Public Space Award
The winner of the Brewers Community Foundation Public Space Award, which honors the creation or use of public space that contributes significantly to the overall well-being of the community, was
MKE Rec.
An arm of the Milwaukee Public School District, MKE Rec was recognized for the Burnham Playfield Renovation, which updated the playground with, among other things, a user activated splash pad, and turf soccer field.
MKE Rec was one of two finalists for the award. The other was the
Northwest Side Community Development Corporation, which was recognized for its work to develop Green Tech Station that turned a former brownfield into an environmental education destination.
Economic Development Award
The winner of the Chase Economic Development Award, which recognizes outstanding programs that stimulate economic and business development on a neighborhood scale, was
Scale Up Milwaukee.
Scale Up Milwaukee was recognized for its SPARC program, which is a growth-centric virtual training program focused on helping Black, Hispanic, and women-owned businesses under $1 million grow their ventures.
Scale Up was one of two finalists for the award. The other was
Riverworks Development Corporation, which was recognized for its Business Development HUB that provides one-on-one coaching to and comprehensive support to local entrepreneurs.
Building Blocks Award
The winner of the Husch Blackwell Building Blocks Award, which recognizes a real estate project that contributes significantly to the enhancement of the community, was the
Westlawn Renaissance affordable housing development, phases IV and VI on the city’s northwest side.
Developed by
Travaux, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM) the project transformed five city blocks of barracks-style public housing into 198 modern, affordable and energy-efficient housing units.
Trauvax was one of two finalists for the award. The other was the
Journal Square Block project, a project by real estate development firm J. Jeffers & Co. that transformed the former Milwaukee Journal Sentinel headquarters into an educational and housing complex that now includes student housing for Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) students, market rate apartments and a home for Seeds of Health‘s Tenor High School.
Navigator Award
The winner of the Navigator Award, which recognizes an outstanding individual that has demonstrated and provided leadership and collaboration for change, was
Coretta Herring, a longtime financial coach and the financial clinic director at Riverworks Development Corp.
Herring was nominated for dedicating her entire career to breaking the cycle of multi-generational poverty by motivating families to realize their financial potential.
Herring was one of two finalists for the award. The other was
Marjorie Rucker, executive director of The Business Council, Inc. Rucker was nominated for being a passionate advocate for the ethnic and diverse business community in Milwaukee and Wisconsin at large.
Herring and Rucker were among 16 nominees for the award this year, which was a record breaker, LISC Milwaukee said.
People’s Choice Awards
Three organizations received People’s Choice awards: The Ability Center, Acts Housing, and Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers.
LISC received more than 1,400 votes for community development entities, according to staff.
