After 8 years of transforming a neighborhood, Keith Stanley leaves Near West Side Partners
Keith Stanley, who served as founding executive director of Near West Side Partners for eight years and helped transform the neighborhood, is ending his tenure at the end of this year.
“It’s been an exciting journey to work with our anchor institutions, work with our residents, our businesses, our elected officials and really make an impact,” Stanley said in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Stanley plans to serve as president and CEO of nonprofit University City Partners in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Lindsey St. Arnold Bell, associate director, will serve as interim executive director of Near West Side Partners. The organization is conducting a national search for its next executive director.
More:Near West Side Partners launches $5 million fundraising effort
Stanley believes the Near West Side Partners model can be replicated in other cities.
“I’m so confident that the team we have, the network of people we have, that this was a good time to take this show on the road to Charlotte, North Carolina,” Stanley said.
Near West Side Partners covers the neighborhoods of Avenues West, which includes Marquette University and Advocate Aurora; Concordia, which includes Potawatomi Hotel & Casino; Miller Valley, which includes Molson Coors; Martin Drive, which includes Harley-Davidson; and Cold Spring Park, The Valley/Piggsville and Merrill Park.
Stanley said the group's Promoting Access Reducing Crime initiative helped reduce crime in the area by 30%.
Expanding the business improvement district to 10 companies was a key development, he said.
“That doesn’t happen often where businesses come together and they want to be a part of something positive and something growing in their community,” Stanley said.
The launch of Rev-Up MKE, an annual pitch competition, has helped boost local entrepreneurs and some of them now employ more than 100 people.
Under Stanley's leadership, Near West Side Partners secured a $1.3 million Choice Neighborhood Planning Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which led to a 40% increase in home values.
Rana Altenburg, associate vice president of public affairs for Marquette University and Near West Side Partners board president, said when the organization was formed years ago there were questions about how long it could last.
“The anchor institutions, Marquette, Harley Davidson, Advocate Aurora, Molson Coors and Potawatomi Business Development Corp., came together eight years ago in crisis, but we have stayed together,” Altenburg said. “We stayed united out of a shared sense of purpose and mission.”
Altenburg said Stanley was instrumental in putting the right team together to bridge any gaps in services and communication between public and private entities.
“We’ve never been stronger and I’m very excited about all the momentum that we built up over the years and that we will continue to have moving forward,” Altenburg said.
Stanley hired St. Arnold Bell when he became executive director and believes she should apply for the full-time job if she’s interested.
“I have been so impressed with Lindsey and her skill sets and her talent,” Stanley said. “What she’s able to do administratively, logistically, the support, her vision, her creativity, her innovation, I am so confident in her ability to lead the organization during this transition.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Stanley leaves Near West Side Partners after transforming neighborhood
