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.
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.
ACT BOARD
OF DIRECTORS
Officers
CHAIR
Larry Williams
Broker, State Farm Insurance
VICE CHAIRMAN
Bradly Johnson
Chief Community Officer, BUILD Inc.
SECRETARY
Jerrod Williams
Law Clerk, Illinois Appellate Court
ACT STAFF
Leadership
Darnell Shields
Executive Director
Research & Evaluation
Andrew Born*
Senior Director of Community Impact
Mia Almond
Research Associate
Operations
TREASURER
LaDarius Curtis
Senior Director of Community Engagement & Health, West Side United
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
Deirdre Bates*
Director of Operations
Dearra Williams
Executive Operations Lead/ Assistant to the CEO
Londen Mance
Office Administrator
*Also part of the ACT Leadership Team
Strategic Initiatives
Sandra Diaz*
Service Delivery Enhancement Manager, Austin Community Hub
Emone Moore
Engagement Coordinator, Austin Community Hub
Dollie Sherman
Engagement Specialist, Austin Community Hub
ACT MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS
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
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
Erikson Institute
Friends of the Children
Friendship Community Development Corp. of Austin
Greater West Town Community Development Project
Housing Forward
Tenisha Jones
Executive Management Professional
Reginald Little
Business Development Specialist, Great Lakes Credit Union
Dawn Ferencak
Senior Marketing Strategist, Chicago Parent
Deborah Williams-Thurmond
Founder & CEO, D.W. Provision Consulting Services
Saenovia Poole
Community Resources Coordinator, Austin Community Hub
Clara Bonnlander
Social Services Coordinator, Austin Community Hub
Ethan Ramsay*
Planning and Investment Manager
Grace Cooper Lead Organizer
i.c. stars
IFF
Institute for Nonviolence Chicago
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
Nyla Larry
Project Coordinator
Arewa Karen Winters
Ruth Kimble
Founder & CEO, Austin Childcare Providers Network
Max Komnenich
Associate Principal, Lamar Johnson Collaborative
In Memoriam
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jack Macnamara 1937–2020
FOUNDING BOARD CHAIR
Mildred Wiley 1955–2019
Strategic Initiatives
La’Shawna Bundy
Community Land Trust Coordinator
Community Organizer
Natalie Goodin
Special Projects Manager
Nicholas Galassini
Chicago Neighborhood Recovery Program Associate
Mary Shyrese Daycare
Maryville Academy
Mercy Housing Lakefront
New Moms
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
Marketing & Development
Jon Widell Marketing and Development Specialist
Sydni Hatley Marketing and Development Coordinator
District, Inc.
Towers of Excellence
UIC Jane Addams College of Social Work
VOCEL
Westside Health Authority
St. Leonard’s Ministries
Stone Community
Development Corporation
West Side Forward Worldvision
Youth Guidance
The Catalyst Schools
The Journey Forward
The North Avenue
A Reflection for Progress: How community has shaped its vision
By Darnell Shields Executive Director, Austin Coming Together
As we settle into 2025, a new era for the Austin community, it’s crucial to reflect on our progress and acknowledge the tremendous momentum we’ve built along the way. This past year has seen significant achievements in implementing the Qualityof-Life Plan, most notably the introduction of the Highlighted Agenda. Since then we have been able to strengthen our approach to implementation and refine our objectives, ensuring we effectively serve the residents and the community.
Looking ahead, while celebrating Austin’s progress, we must remember our starting point. Seven years ago, nearly 500 Austin residents and community stakeholders collaboratively identified the community’s most glaring needs and priorities. This powerful display of community ownership led to the Austin Forward. Together. (AFT) quality-of-life plan. This plan, created by and for the community outlines 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, spanning 2019-2023.
2024 marked a year of immense progress and growth for our organization, our impact, and the Austin community. We welcomed new AFT leadership to drive collective action and collaboration, saw the near completion of the Aspire Center for Workforce Innovation, launched our first Culinary Grantmaking effort through the Austin Eats initiative, and concluded the year with the release of the Central Avenue Corridor Plan.
As we enter this new era, we must continue to work together as a community, making decisions and taking action collectively. We are striving for stability and ultimately a thriving community, but there is still work to be done. n
I believe we can own this transformation of our community into one that not only we’ll be proud of, but generations beyond us and to come will always be proud of too.
DARNELL SHIELDS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AUSTIN COMING TOGETHER
Lead Organizer for Austin Forward. Together, Grace Cooper, leads an AFT meeting
ACT’s 2024 Major Highlights
This past year was one of many highs. Major accomplishments were achieved following the launch of the Austin Forward. Together. (AFT) Highlighted Agenda. Here are some implementation highlights initiated after its release at the AFT Summit in March 2024.
AWC HOSTS HEALTHCARE CAREER EXPLORATION TOUR
APRIL
AFT ACTION: Build out the Austin Workforce Collaborative (AWC)
BLACK RESEARCHERS COLLECTIVE PARTNERS WITH ACT
JULY
AFT ACTION: Develop a Mental Health Initiative
AUGUST
AFT ACTION: Create a Local Housing Policy Agenda
COMMERCIAL
CLUB OF CHICAGO TOURS AUSTIN
SEPTEMBER
AFT ACTION: Coordinate an Authentic Storytelling Campaign
LAUNCHED GRANTMAKING INITIATIVE FOR CULINARY ENTREPRENEURS
SEPTEMBER
AFT ACTION: Sustain the Austin Eats Initiative
ASPIRE CENTER REACHES SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION AND BEGINS TENANT BUILDOUT
DECEMBER
AFT ACTION: Advance the ASPIRE Initiative
CENTRAL AVE CORRIDOR PLAN RELEASED DECEMBER
AFT ACTION: Build Resilient Commercial Corridors
With the release of the AFT Highlighted Agenda, ACT is going “on the road!” Our team will be on tour and available to co-host discussions about the new phase of Austin’s AFT quality-of-life plan and its vision and strategy, with block clubs, churches, community organizations, coalitions, etc. Other ways we’ll ensure to update the community on the progress of implementing the Highlighted Agenda are through newspaper sections like this, emails, and social media.
Plan Leaders
Community
Narrative
TASK FORCE CHAIRS
Kenneth Varner
Healthy Schools Campaign
Dearra Williams
Austin Coming Together
Reesheda Graham
Washington
The Kehrein Center for the Arts
STRATEGY LEADS
Suzanne McBride
Austin Talks
Cindy Gray Schneider
Spaces-n-Places
Maria Sorrell
Community Resident
Megan Hinchy
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
Andraya Yousfi By the Hand Club for Kids
Jai Jones
PSPC, The Chicago Community Trust and Community Resident
Adrienne Otkins
Community Resident
Michael Romaine The Culture
Keli Stewart Front Porch Arts Center
Maiya Sinclaire
The Kehrein Center for the Arts
Economic Development
TASK FORCE CHAIR
Roxanne Charles West Side Forward
STRATEGY LEADS
Erica Staley Manufacturing Renaissance
Emily Peters Jane Addams Resource Corporation
Tina Augustus
Community Resident
Melissa O’Dell Defy Ventures
Baxter Swilley Community Stakeholder
Education
TASK FORCE CHAIR
Charles Anderson
Michele Clark High School
STRATEGY LEADS
Ruth Kimble
Austin Childcare Providers Network
Cata Truss Community Resident
Housing
TASK FORCE CHAIRS
Athena Williams Oak Park Regional Housing Center
Allison McGowan Community Resident
STRATEGY LEADS
Shirley Fields Community Resident
Rosie Dawson Westside Health Authority
Public Safety
TASK FORCE CHAIRS
Bradly Johnson BUILD Inc.
Marilyn Pitchford Heartland Alliance
STRATEGY LEADS
Edwina Hamilton BUILD Inc.
Jose Abonce The Policing Project
Ruby Taylor Taproots, Inc.
Youth Empowerment
TASK FORCE CHAIR
D’elegance Lane
Community Stakeholder
STRATEGY LEADS
Aisha Oliver Root2Fruit
Helen Slade Territory NFP
Dollie Sherman
Austin Coming Together
Chris Thomas YourPassion1st
Civic Engagement
TASK FORCE CHAIR
Deborah Williams-Thurmond
D.W. Provision
Consulting Services
The Next Chapter for AFT Leadership: Why we are excited for the new era
By Jonathan Widell Marketing & Development Specialist, Austin Coming Together
Reflecting on the past year and looking forward to 2025, the importance of leadership in implementing the AFT Quality-of-Life Plan, particularly the Highlighted Agenda, has become abundantly clear. Effective leadership has been essential for fostering collaboration, driving collective action, and achieving our desired impact. This involves uniting diverse leaders from various task forces and focus areas, drawing on a wide range of expertise. The ability to unify and collaborate, especially during challenging times like the global pandemic, has been crucial to our progress. Leadership rooted in community engagement, authenticity, and a commitment to shared goals is key to catalyzing change and sustaining our momentum.
Our journey has included valuable lessons. The release of the Highlighted Agenda last year provided a more focused approach. Through our evaluation process, it emerged as a powerful tool to leverage and enhance collaboration among our
diverse leadership representing different task forces. Implementing the AFT Quality-of-Life Plan has demonstrated the critical importance of connectivity among partners, even with differing expertise and perspectives. The Highlighted Agenda has fostered this collaboration, enabling leaders to work together innovatively, seize unique opportunities, and address challenges collectively. The Plan’s actions, focal projects, and infrastructure have been instrumental in gaining traction, catalyzing change, and attracting investment.
In order for Austin’s Highlighted Agenda to succeed, the leadership implementing it must be diverse, authentic, and deeply rooted in the community. Acknowledging this, we are renewing our focus on leaders with the intent of building “people power” to drive engagement and sustain momentum. The AFT leaders we have recruited have demonstrated a deep commitment to the Plan, adaptability to changing circumstances, and the ability to unify diverse stakeholders. Moving forward, leadership must continue fostering collaboration, addressing unrealized opportunities, and leveraging the Plan and the Highlighted Agenda as a compass for their collective impact.
As we enter this new era, we are thrilled to introduce new AFT leaders! These individuals bring diverse mindsets, authentic leadership, and strong community roots. They were carefully selected to ensure a broad range of perspectives and skills, maximizing our chances of success and addressing unrealized opportunities within the Plan. Expanding our strategic thinking
around Authentic Storytelling, we welcome our new Community Narrative Task Force Chair, Reesheda Graham Washington, and Strategy Leads Maiya Sinclair, Keli Stewart, and Michael Romain. Their inclusion
strengthens our AFT leadership, grounding it in community engagement, authentic storytelling, and the collective power of diverse leaders working toward shared goals. n
What excites me about being an AFT Leader is the synergy and collaboration that we share across areas for change. Whether we are talking about housing, mental health, or narrative sharing, we are finding ways to address the expressed areas of need to realize a better quality of life for everyone who loves and lives in Austin.
RASHEEDA GRAHAM WASHINGTON, AFT LEADER COMMUNITY NARRATIVE
Lead Organizer for Austin Forward. Together, Grace Cooper, showcasing AFT community agreements
