FROM GARDENING TO ADVOCATING

As chief executive officer for management investment company Altaba, Alexi Wellman is a powerful business leader. As a supporter of Abide Omaha, a faithbased group that serves to build community, she helps empower others.

“My whole family likes to be behind the scenes,” she said. “We’re not typically on the front end of fundraisers and that type of thing; we’re where we can get our hands dirty.”

She means that literally. One of her favorite projects for Abide has been helping to create a green space and grow a vegetable garden in North Omaha.

“In the summer, my sister Kim and I go up and care for the vegetable garden, and then every Wednesday we go and pick the vegetables and hand them out to those in the neighborhood,” Wellman said. “It’s really allowed us this opportunity to start building relationships with neighbors.”

Joey McKernan, executive director for Abide, describes the organization as “an inner-city nonprofit organization dedicated to revitalizing North Omaha through building safer neighborhoods, stronger families, and emerging leaders.” The organization hosts an annual Better Together 5K run and sponsors ‘impact trips’ for youth who complete beautification and service projects in diverse communities. Most notable is Abide’s Lighthouse program; Lighthouse Leaders own homes and raise their families in North Omaha neighborhoods, organize block parties, help address safety concerns, and build relationships with residents in hopes of creating trust. Crime is proven to drop 75% in neighborhoods with established Lighthouse Leaders, according to Abide’s website.

McKernan said Wellman and her husband, Scott, have served in an informal advisory capacity, and they and other family members have participated in many Abide projects and events. Wellman said she not only provides personal monetary support, but also uses her connections to help grow awareness about Abide and the organization’s good works.

“Alexi has been supportive in many ways including mentorship, connecting us to other organizations, and financial investment,” McKernan said. “We are 70% funded through private donors and individuals. Not only is their financial support vital, but the networks and connections to others opens pathways for more and more partnership conversations.”

“A lot of people just don’t realize Abide is there and what they’re doing,” Wellman said. “Once they hear about it, they want to get involved.”

Wellman herself understands how important it is for nonprofits like Abide to make connections in the community. She first heard about the nonprofit through a presentation given by Abide CEO Josh Dotzler and one of his colleagues.

“They came and spoke to us about Abide and what they do and shared the stories of these life-changing events, and we figured we would learn more about what they did,” she said. “That’s how we first heard about them, when we went up and went to their church, just to check it out.”

Wellman said she was impressed with the faithbased organization’s love for the community and their North Omaha campus facilities, which include a food pantry and a community center with a dining hall, fitness center, and education center. She also appreciates the wide range of neighborhood-focused activities Abide sponsors, which help develop leaders, build culture, and foster diversity.

“For me, it’s their passion to change lives and with their heart for Jesus,” she said. “We have watched too much to believe just throwing money at a problem is going to solve it. But for Abide, it’s about providing individuals with hope and opportunity. My husband, Scott, and I saw that they were doing things differently...not trying to put a Band-Aid on the problem but making lasting change their goal. Their dream is that there’s no longer an ‘inner city’ in Omaha.”

“Alexi is a friend and a mentor of mine [whom] I respect. She has a heart to see other entrepreneurs and community leaders thrive,” McKernan said. “We are grateful to have someone like Alexi a part of our movement.” Visit abideomaha.org for more information.

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“MY WHOLE FAMILY LIKES TO BE BEHIND THE SCENES. WE’RE NOT TYPICALLY ON THE FRONT END OF FUNDRAISERS AND THAT TYPE OF THING; WE’RE WHERE WE CAN GET OUR HANDS DIRTY.”

-ALEXI WELLMAN

IN THE OFFICE | STORY BY CHRIS HATCH PHOTOS BY BILL SITZMANN