Alumni Highlight

Manuel Whitfield

Manuel Whitfield graduated from the Perspectives Rodney D. Joslin Campus in 2012 and currently serves as Director of Community Engagement with the Community Safety Coordination Center (CSCC), an office conceived during Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s term that now continues under Mayor Brandon Johnson’s leadership. Through the lens of violence as a public health crisis, Whitfield seeks to bring support and solutions to fifteen of Chicago’s most troubled communities on the south and west sides. These communities, Whitfield explains, “...Have historically been disinvested in, so there’s a need to focus heavily on working with the community to devise a plan to help reduce the violence from a holistic approach with the full support of the government.”

Whitfield’s journey from Perspectives’ middle school classrooms to Perspectives’ high school graduation stage to college prepared him for his current civic leadership. After receiving the Baldwin Richardson scholarship, Whitfield studied in Babson College’s nationally recognized business and entrepreneurship program. Whitfield chose Babson not only for its excellent academic programs, but also because he believed that the network he would develop there would give him a global perspective on business.

The A Disciplined Life® principles were a touchstone for Whitfield during his time at Perspectives. Reflecting back on his middle school years, Whitfield describes, “At that age, you must be very intentional to outline these principles and make them a part of a student’s life while they’re still in the phases of developing.” Today, Whitfield still uses the A Disciplined Life® principles as he continues his professional and leadership journey.