Print pageNeighborWorks® America launched its Community Leadership Institute (CLI) this week with a commitment to resident voices, a commitment that is renewed every year. This year, 60 teams of community leaders gathered in Minneapolis, Minnesota to learn, to connect and to commit to making their communities stronger.
Inspiration and gratitude filled the room Friday night as NeighborWorks America honored five community leaders with the Dorothy Richardson Award for Resident Leadership. The ceremony took place in Minneapolis during the NeighborWorks Community Leadership Institute (CLI), an event that trains community leaders to amplify their voices as they build skills to further help their communities. It also gives them a chance to connect.
Growing up in the Rose Park neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Michael Ulibarri didn’t have what he calls “the best examples.” There was love in his childhood home, but there were drugs in the garage. When he was a toddler, being pushed along in his stroller, chances were some relative had packed drugs in there with him.
Alpresteon “Sabrina” Billings wanted to see her Mississippi neighbors living safely and comfortably. And she figured out a way to make it happen.
When the single-family rental community of Roberts Estates and League Cove, originally financed through Low Income Housing Tax Credits, became available to purchase once the tax credits expired, she worked with the tenants to purchase those homes. That was the original lease-purchase agreement, she explained, and that’s what she’d envisioned from the beginning. But some residents needed a little extra help to make it across the finish line. Billings, Chief Executive Officer of Gateway CommunityAlpresteon Billings smiles in front of a home with a garage. Development Corporation, was there to provide it.
Get the latest in housing and community development trends and news.
Visit the NeighborWorks' store for homeownership resources.
Connect With Us
1255 Union St. NE, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20002
202-760-4000