LWVDC VIRTUAL PUBLIC ISSUES FORUM
Where We Live:
Equitable and Sustainable Neighborhoods
Find a Discussion Unit meeting that's convenient for you and continue the conversation after the Forum!
The League of Women Voters supports policies and organizations that empower communities by providing quality housing, enriching education, community connectedness, and meaningful employment.
It’s no secret: Dane County is growing. In Madison alone, the population is expected to grow by more than 100,000 between 2020 and 2050. Currently, housing growth is not fast enough to keep up with population growth. This shortage in housing and resources oftentimes has a higher impact on historically marginalized groups and has adverse effects on the health, financial stability, and well-being of communities.
To address this need in Dane County, organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, the Bayview Foundation, Meadowridge Public Library, and Neighborhood Food Solutions have worked with communities by garnering feedback and fostering community empowerment.
What are these organizations doing to create positive changes in their communities? How do new developments and programs impact current neighborhood residents? And what can you do to support your own community?
Join us for Where We Live: Equitable and Sustainable Neighborhoods to learn more about current Dane County initiatives and your role in promoting equitable and sustainable communities in Dane County.
Our speakers:
Alexis London
Executive Director, Bayview Foundation
Alexis London has been the Executive Director of the Bayview Foundation since 2016. She provides vision and leadership for the organization. This includes ensuring safe, affordable housing for the 102 families that live at Bayview and the delivery of a wide array of vital services at Bayview’s Community Center.
Alexis is leading Bayview’s redevelopment project that will transform Bayview’s aging townhouses and community center into a vibrant neighborhood that emphasizes social cohesion, mutual aid, sustainability, and community health.
Prior to her work at Bayview Foundation, Alexis held management roles within nonprofit arts and education agencies for more than 20 years. She was the Education Director for seven years at VSA Wisconsin, a statewide organization with the mission of providing multidisciplinary arts programming for people with disabilities.
Robert Pierce
Executive Director, Neighborhood Food Solutions
A longtime resident of South Madison, Robert Pierce has been growing and selling organic produce from his Half the 40-Acres Farm since the mid-1980s. Pierce has become a leading advocate for organic, sustainable, and locally grown food, spearheading several farming initiatives in the Madison area. He has managed the South Madison Farmers’ Market since 2001.
In 2008, Pierce launched the Program for Entrepreneurial Agricultural Training, which works with low-income and at-risk youth, and in 2015 he established the Farming After Incarceration Release Initiative, which gives formerly incarcerated individuals a chance to participate in urban agriculture. Both programs, managed by Pierce under the umbrella of a nonprofit group called Neighborhood Food Solutions, are focused on educating community members about the economic, social, health, and environmental impacts of food. He is the visionary behind BT Farms, an “agrihood” being developed on Madison’s east side.
Yesianne Ramírez-Madera
Supervisor, Meadowridge Library
Yesianne Ramírez-Madera hails from Puerto Rico and received her education in Comparative Literature and Information and Library Science at the Universidad de Puerto Rico. She has worked at Madison Public Libraries since 2016 and is a leader in her community as a supervisor at the Meadowridge branch.
Ramírez-Madera received a Movers & Shakers 2021–Change Agents Award, Issued by Library Journal for her work as a Co-founder of the Madison Public Library Racial Equity Change Team. The team is connected with other library and civic equity initiatives, as well.
Valerie Renk
CEO, Habitat for Humanity of Dane County
Valerie Renk grew up on a dairy farm near Brodhead in Rock County and graduated from UW-Madison, where she studied agricultural journalism. She has been the CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Dane County since 2012. She’s also held positions with AgSource Cooperative Services in Verona, CUNA, World Dairy Expo, the American Society of Agronomy, and the World Council of Credit Unions.
Habitat for Humanity of Dane County partners with families to build 15-20 homes annually, mentors on financial capability, and serves as a bank for the mortgages of the 300+ homes built to date. Habitat brings the community together to strengthen families and improve our communities through affordable home ownership that incorporates sweat equity, a team of motivated volunteers, and below-market financing.
Our moderator:
Jeannine Ramsey
Jeannine Ramsey has been a member of the League of Women Voters Dane County for many of years and became more active in 2021 when she retired from her career as a public high school librarian. She is a co-leader of the LWVDC book discussions and has been involved in efforts to get out the vote, to find a path to fair legislative maps in our state, and to reinstate access to reproductive healthcare in Wisconsin.
Accommodations: This forum will be presented on Zoom and closed captioning will be available. Please notify Sue Jennik at program@lwvdanecounty.org for other disability-related accommodation requests before the event. We will do our best to honor accommodation requests.