By County Executive Chris Abele
Chris Abele
I have always been committed to tackling the challenges facing Milwaukee County, investing in sustainable programs and infrastructure that empower people to live better lives, and continuing to build the foundation for a stronger, healthier community.
Milwaukee County’s new Office on African American Affairs has the ambitious mission of recognizing and resolving the County’s racial inequities for the benefit of all of its citizenry and for the region to achieve its full potential.
I am deeply committed to this mission and have made it the top priority of my second full term as County Executive. I fully expect and hope to be held accountable for improving outcomes in a tangible and measurable way.
We’ve made progress, but to really move forward, we need a strong director in place that will devote their full attention every day to achieving the Office’s mission. I’m asking the community to help us find the right leader who can step in and build on our successes.
In 2016, we began the work by building the foundation necessary to pursue long-term meaningful and measurable improvements to Milwaukee racial inequities. We did this by engaging the community and listening. We learned what the community wants us to focus on: building a comprehensive approach to workforce development in Milwaukee County, expanding entrepreneurship in the African American community, and laying the groundwork for meaningful criminal justice reform. This is what we’ve been working on and what our new director will build on.
We’ve already had great success with two Office on African American Affairs initiatives, the Opportunity Knocks program and Up- Lift MKE.
Opportunity Knocks, which launched in fall of 2016, is a novel housing model that utilizes home equity created through home renovation to fund reentry services and first time home ownership.
Opportunity Knocks takes tax-foreclosed homes in Milwaukee County suburban municipalities, renovates the homes while providing job training to nonviolent House of Correction (HOC) offenders, provides reentry services to the offenders after the renovation, and sells the house to a firsttime homeowner through the County’s new Section 8 Homeownership Program paired with HOME funds for down payment assistance.
This program will help expand the House of Correction’s existing reentry services and job training and placement capability, allowing us to empower more people to live a better life.
Will it make a difference? We’re already seeing proof that it will. One program participant learning new job skills, Robert Charles Alexander, told Fox 6 News last month, “I’ve never worked before.
This is my first time. I’ve been dealing with depression most of my life, and I used medication before. Well, guess what my medication is now? This program.”
The County has helped even more people to date with UpLift MKE, a unique job training and placement program that began one year ago.
Working with community partners like the Milwaukee Bucks, Milwaukee County has already placed more than 100 individuals in jobs averaging more than $15 per hour through UpLift MKE.
These job training and placement efforts are targeted directly to workers, particularly those in and near the Sherman Park area, who most need support to successfully climb the ladder of opportunity. This program has been so successful that I decided to expand it less than a year in. My 2017 budget added an extra $500,000 in funding for UpLift MKE and $165,000 for the Boys and Girls Club of Milwaukee to add a Youth Career Development project manager to serve teenagers in Sherman Park and other areas. In 2015, more than 300 teenagers found employment through the efforts of the Boys and Girls Club, and this funding will expand their efforts. Moving forward in 2017, the Office on African American Affairs will build on the strong foundation that’s been laid and will move full speed ahead with a full-time staff dedicated to improving racial issues in Milwaukee County.
Most critically, we are actively recruiting a leader to serve as OAAA Director who will provide strategic leadership for all aspects of the Office. We are looking for disciplined, accountable, performance-minded individuals who have a proven track record of getting things done.
The Director will also lead the implementation of coordinated plans in areas that include workforce development, criminal justice, and other strategic areas.
I am not looking to “check a box” with this hire. I am looking for a unique candidate that can unify the community, navigate internal and external politics, manage complex projects, and maintain a steadfast focus on producing quality outcomes. I look forward to working side-by-side with a candidate who is not concerned with appearances and flash, but is dedicated solely to bringing meaningful, actionable progress to Milwaukee.
While we have searched nationally for a Director, I know that the ideal candidate will understand Milwaukee and its unique history, assets, and challenges.
If you think you have what it takes to lead an ambitious effort to meaningfully address Milwaukee racial inequities once and for all, I encourage you to apply at county.milwaukee.gov/careers.