AUSTIN FORWARD. TOGETHER. 2023 QUARTER 1.
March 8, 2023
THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY PUBLISHED ITS FIRST QUALITY-OF-LIFE PLAN CALLED AUSTIN FORWARD. TOGETHER. (AFT) IN 2018. THIS QUARTERLY PUBLICATION DESCRIBES HOW AUSTIN COMING TOGETHER (ACT) IS SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY TO IMPLEMENT AFT AND OTHER EFFORTS.
FROM SURVIVING TO THRIVING PAGE 3 | SUPPORTING PLAN IMPLEMENTATION YEAR FIVE PAGE 4
MARCHING AHEAD PAGE 7
Special thanks to these Austin Forward. Together. quality-of-life plan
legacy investors:
Since 2010, Austin Coming Together (ACT) has facilitated collaboration to improve education and economic development outcomes in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood.
Today, we serve a network of 50+ organizations committed to improving the quality of life in the Austin community. Our strategic plan is called Thrive 2025 and outlines how we will mobilize our resources to achieve four impact goals by the year 2025: Quality Early Learning, Safe Neighborhoods, Living Wage Careers, and Stable Housing Markets.
Officers
CHAIR
Larry Williams
Broker, State Farm Insurance
SECRETARY
Bradly Johnson
Chief Community Officer, BUILD Inc.
TREASURER
LaDarius Curtis
Senior Director of Community Engagement & Health, West Side United
Leadership
Darnell Shields
Executive Director
Andrew Born
Strategic Advisor Operations
Deirdre Bates*
Director of Operations
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Darnell Shields
Austin Coming Together
Directors
Sharon Morgan
Director of Graduate Support & Community Outreach, Catalyst Schools
Reverend Reginald E. Bachus
Pastor, Friendship Baptist Church
Tenisha Jones
Vice President of Community & Government Engagement, Catholic Charities
Dearra Williams
Executive Operations Lead/ Assistant to the CEO
Strategic Initiatives
Sandra Diaz* Service Delivery Enhancement Manager, Austin Community Hub
Janelle Martin Austin Community Hub Specialist
A House in Austin Academy of Scholastic Achievement
Austin Childcare Providers Network
Austin Community Family
Center
Austin Weekly News (Growing Community Media)
Be Strong Families
Beat the Streets Chicago
Because I Care
Bethel New Life
Beyond Hunger
BUILD Inc.
By The Hand Club For Kids
Cara
Catholic Charities
Chicago Austin Youth Travel Adventures
Chicago Community Loan Fund
City of Refuge
Defy Ventures Illinois
Reginald Little
Business Development Specialist, Great Lakes Credit Union
Dawn Ferencak
Senior Marketing Strategist, Chicago Parent
Deborah Williams-Thurmond
Community Outreach & Engagement
Specialist, Habilitative Systems, Inc.
Ruth Kimble
Founder & CEO, Austin Childcare Providers Network
Jerrod Williams
Law Clerk, Illinois Appellate Court
Emone Moore Engagement Coordinator, Austin Community Hub
Dollie Sherman Engagement Specialist, Austin Community Hub
JeVon D. Moore* Planning & Investment Manager, Austin Forward. Together.
Ethan Ramsay Lead Organizer, Austin Forward. Together.
Erikson Institute
Friends of the Children
Friendship Community Development Corp. of Austin
Greater West Town Community
Development Project
Housing Forward i.c. stars
IFF
Institute for Nonviolence
Chicago
Grace Cooper Project Specialist, Austin Forward. Together.
Natalie Goodin
Micro Market Recovery Program Coordinator
Nicholas Galassini Micro Market Recovery Program Intern
Jane Addams Resource Corporation
Kids First Chicago
KRA Westside American Job Center
Learning Edge Tutoring (fka Cluster Tutoring)
Legal Aid Chicago (fka LAF)
Manufacturing Renaissance
Mary Shyrese Daycare
Maryville Academy
Mercy Housing Lakefront
New Moms
Max Komnenich
Associate Principal, Lamar Johnson Collaborative
In Memoriam
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jack Macnamara
1937–2020
FOUNDING BOARD CHAIR
Mildred Wiley
1955–2019
Marketing & Development
Alicia Plomin*
Director of Marketing & Development
Scott Prywitch Marketing & Development Coordinator
Maria Romero Luther Marketing & Development Associate
*Also part of the ACT Leadership Team
OAI, Inc.
Oak Park Regional Housing Center
Open Books
PCC Community Wellness Center
Project Exploration
Renaissance Social Services, Inc.
Sarah’s Inn
South Austin Neighborhood Association
St. Joseph Services
St. Leonard’s Ministries
Stone Community Development Corporation
The Catalyst Schools
The Journey Forward
The North Avenue District, Inc.
Towers of Excellence
UIC Jane Addams College of Social Work
VOCEL
Westside Health Authority
West Side Forward
Worldvision
Youth Guidance
By Darnell Shields Executive Director, Austin Coming Together
Going into 2023, the Austin community has found itself at a crucial moment. With the Austin Forward. Together. (AFT) quality-of-life plan entering its fifth and final year of implementation, many key projects and developments are rapidly advancing Austin toward a full transformation and a flourishing future. And I’m proud to see that many of these efforts are led by residents, community stakeholders, or local organizations who have answered the call to get involved in the ongoing activities laid out in the AFT plan.
In celebrating the progress of the Austin renaissance, it is important to remember where we started. Five years ago, nearly 500 Austin residents and community stakeholders came together to define what they felt were the community’s most glaring needs and priorities. This profound display of community ownership ultimately gave life to the Austin Forward. Together. (AFT) quality-of-life plan, the definitive set of goals created by and for the community designed to address 23 strategies with 84 total actions across seven Issue Areas between 2019 and 2024: Community Narrative, Education, Housing, Youth Empowerment, Economic Development, Public Safety, and Civic Engagement.
Community ownership leads the way. By enabling community residents and stakeholders to leverage the Quality-of-Life planning process, they feel empowered to create permanent, dynamic change. When our community feels heard, they have power. That power then becomes motivation to get and stay involved. Quality-ofLife plans like this have been created in other communities, but they have not built the level of momentum that Austin’s plan has.
Moving forward, we must continue to work as a community, decide as a community, and act as a community. For many decades, residents of Austin have faced a collection of challenges, many of which have prevented them from gaining sufficient access to extremely basic resources. Though many leaders have stepped up and volunteered their time, more is needed for the AFT plan to be fully achieved. Today, the community perseveres to stay ahead in improving its own quality of life. These days, we’re not just merely surviving but are instead moving toward stability. With all that is in the works, this moment is helping the community remain on the path to
“The change we’re creating together is being done by Austin and for Austin.
DARNELL SHIELDS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AUSTIN COMING TOGETHERBELOW—Baxter Swilley, Director of Legislative & Public Affairs, at The Oak Park Regional Housing Center, speaks to a group of AFT plan leaders in Sept. 2023 about the Austin United Alliance and their plans for reviving and redeveloping the landmark Laramie State Bank site into a functioning bank, business incubator, and mixed-income housing. TOP—Donnita Travis, Founder and Executive Director of By The Hand Club For Kids, speaks about the North Austin Community Center at the Jan. 2023 Austin Community Summit (photo by Maria Romero Luther). BOTTOM—The Youth Empowerment Task Force of the AFT plan, representing a handful of local organizations, hosted a Youth Job Fair in April 2022. BELOW—Jermaine Abdual, owner of Spirit & Soul Catering Company, speaks about food access inequities at Rosie’s Peace in the Valley Garden during the postfilm discussion at an outdoor movie and food event hosted by the Austin Eats Initiative in July 2022.
TASK FORCE CHAIRS
Jerrod Williams South Austin
Neighborhood Association
Heather Sattler
TASK FORCE CHAIRS
Briana Shields
Briana Janeé Arts
Kenneth Varner
Healthy Schools
Campaign
Dearra Williams
Austin Coming Together
STRATEGY LEADS
Lasondra Kern
Community Resident
Suzanne McBride
Austin Talks
Michael Romain
Community Stakeholder
Alicia Plomin
Austin Coming Together
Cindy Gray
Schneider
Spaces-n-Places
Community Development Consultant
STRATEGY LEADS
Erica Staley
Manufacturing Renaissance
Emily Peters
Jane Addams Resource Corporation
Tina Augustus
Chicago West Side
Chamber of Commerce
Roxanne Charles West Side Forward
TASK FORCE CHAIRS
Crystal Bell
Ella Flagg Young
Elementary School
(retired)
Charles Anderson
Michele Clark High School
STRATEGY LEADS
Ruth Kimble
Austin Childcare
Providers Network
Madelyn James
Austin Childcare
Providers Network
Pam Price
Chicago Public Schools
Cata Truss
Community Resident
Sean Schindl
Kids First Chicago
TASK FORCE CHAIRS
Athena Williams
West Cook
Homeownership Center
Allison McGowan
Community Resident
STRATEGY LEADS
Shirley Fields
Coldwell Banker Realty
Rosie Dawson
Westside Health Authority
Athena Williams
West Cook
Homeownership Center
TASK FORCE CHAIRS
Bradly Johnson
BUILD Inc.
Marilyn Pitchford
Heartland Alliance
STRATEGY LEADS
Adam Alonso
BUILD Inc.
Edwina Hamilton
BUILD Inc.
Bertha Purnell
Mothers OnA Mission28
Jose Abonce
The Policing Project
Ruby Taylor
Taproots, Inc.
TASK FORCE CHAIRS
Carmen Scott-Boria BUILD Inc.
D’elegance Lane
Community Stakeholder
STRATEGY LEADS
Deonna Hart BUILD Inc.
Aisha Oliver
Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
Helen Slade
Territory NFP
Dollie Sherman Austin Coming Together
TASK FORCE CHAIRS
Deborah Williams-Thurmond
Habilitative Systems Inc.
STRATEGY LEADS
Arnold Bearden
South Austin Neighborhood Association (SANA)
Crystal Gardner
Protest to the Polls
Sharif Walker
Bethel New Life
On Saturday, January 21st, ACT and the quality-of-lifeplan task forces hosted the Austin Forward. Together. (AFT) Community Summit at By The Hand Club For Kids. The Austin residents, community stakeholders, ACT members, and local organizations carrying out the AFT quality-oflife plan were able to provide an overview of progress to date and an outlook on what is to come.
More than 300 guests enjoyed a performance by The Happiness Club, heard from community leaders about community development projects, and learned more about the plan in-depth. This year’s Summit helped to inspire more residents and stakeholders to become part of the AFT work as it begins its fifth year of implementation.
ACT Executive Director Darnell Shields hosted a panel of guests who shared updates on the significant progress of community development projects: the Aspire Center for Workforce Innovation; Build The Future Youth and Community Hub; North Austin Community Center; and Laramie State Bank Redevelopment. These projects, which have garnered over $100 million dollars in total investment, are the direct result of community-led action in improving the quality of life for all who live in Austin.
The Aspire Center for Workforce Innovation is an effort to repurpose a closed school at Madison and Central Avenues into an anchor for commercial revitalization and a destination for top-notch workforce training. The site will have already been activated with a POPfit area that has year-round outdoor workout equipment and a field that will transform into an ice rink in the winter.
Build The Future is a welcoming and supportive safe space that will dramatically expand the organization’s services and capacity and allow them to open more widely to the community. The transformed
campus will stand for growth, opportunity, joy, and every child’s right to grow up and achieve their potential. The site had its ribboncutting ceremony on February 25th.
The North Austin Community Center serves 400 Austin kids from kindergarten through twelfth grade. The innovative space is a 150,000-square-foot professional-level sports, education, and wellness facility on a 10-acre campus. It provides the same opportunity for growth, impact, and sustainability as their other sites offer. It held its grand opening ceremony on February 2nd.
Economic Development, Public Safety, and Civic Engagement. During these sessions, attendees learned in great detail about their selected issue area and discussed various ways to get involved in the plan. The time is now to create real and lasting change. Not only are we seeing more investment in revitalizing the physical environment in Austin, but also in opportunities that specifically lend to the advancement of its people.
The Laramie State Bank Redevelopment Project will revive the now vacant yet prominently known site at Chicago and Laramie Avenues and transform it into a hub with a variety of commercial and residential amenities. As an Austin landmark, this project will preserve history and fuel the growth to come in the community.
Following the panel, Summit attendees had the unique opportunity to directly engage with the community leaders of the seven AFT issue areas in breakout sessions. The issue areas are Community Narrative, Education, Housing, Youth Empowerment,
It will be up to the community and AFT leaders to make sure that these large-scale development projects continue living up to the vision and actions laid out in the plan.
Gatherings like the Austin Community Summit have been instrumental in the plan’s progress because it creates more awareness for an effort that will take the entire community to execute. If you or anyone you know would like to get involved in the Austin Forward. Together. (AFT) quality-of-life plan, please contact AFT Lead Organizer Ethan Ramsay at eramsay@austincomingtogether.org. n
I am so grateful to be a part of the family in Austin. In our community, we continue to come together despite our age, ethnic differences, religious preferences, and affiliations to make Austin better.ACT Executive Director Darnell Shields called to the stage all those involved in the implementation of the Austin Forward. Together. (AFT) quality-of-life plan so Summit attendees could get an idea of how many people are needed to carry out this work, including ACT staff, AFT task force chairs and strategy leads, Austin youth, and representatives from local organization (photo by Maria Romero Luther).
AUSTIN FORWARD. TOGETHER: 2023 QUARTER 1.
