Blogging with Dean Lisa Servon

I’m very pleased to announce that Amber Seely (Milano, Urban Policy ’07) was recently named as one of Gambit Weekly’s Top 40 Under 40! This publication, a New Orleans free newspaper, publishes an annual “40 Under 40” issue that highlights young New Orleanians “who have already achieved amazing accomplishments,” as well as those who’ve shown “great promise.” The publication also recognizes “people who will be instrumental in shaping New Orleans' recovery and its future.” The nominees were selected from over 200 candidates; check out the Gambit’s 40 Under 40 video to hear more from Amber and the other winners.

 

Currently, Amber Seely is the Director of Finance for Renaissance Neighborhood Development, the housing and neighborhood development unit of Volunteers for America Greater New Orleans. Amber’s passion and fascination with New Orleans began in 2007 when she traveled there with the Milano community development finance lab to conduct research in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Amber was drawn to the unique challenges and culture of the area. Since graduating from Milano, she has returned to New Orleans through a Rockefeller fellowship with the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Urban Redevelopment Excellence. At this time her work includes development of two mixed-income housing areas (350 units in the Gentilly and Tulane Avenue area, and 150 units in the Covington and Lower Garden District), as well as active involvement in community-outreach programs.

My congratulations to Amber! Her commitment and hard work over her (relatively few) years in New Orleans -- in addition to her enthusiasm for the people and the area -- are exemplary! She is truly an agent of social and economic change and we, of course, are extremely proud of her ongoing success!

Be well-

Lisa

What accounts for the enormous and extensive racial wealth gap and racial inequality in the United States, specifically among whites and blacks?

Darrick Hamilton, assistant Assistant Professor at Milano – The New School for Management and Urban Policy and William Darity Jr., Arts & Sciences Professor of Public Policy Studies and Professor of African and African American Studies and Economics at Duke University, explore this question in a recent article, Race, Wealth, and Intergenerational Poverty in the September 2009 issue of The American Prospect. Focusing on the disparaging racial gap in the United States, the article traces its history and indicates, “regardless of age, household structure, education, occupation, or income, black households typically have less than a quarter of the wealth of otherwise white households.”

Hamilton and Darity’s work aims to understand why the black-white wealth gap persists and how to directly close (or at least greatly decrease) the gap, through public-sector intervention. Perhaps the most interesting and crucial aspect of this article dispels the commonly cited discriminatory myths that were “crafted” to explain why inequity exists, such as “blacks are less frugal when it comes to savings” and lack “financial literacy.” Through their research, Hamilton and Darity find that both statements are false and present their findings in the article.

To further get at this question of why the racial wealth gap remains, the authors’ analysis indicates that “inheritances, bequests, and intra-family transfers account for more of the racial wealth gap than any other demographic and socioeconomic factor, including education, income, and household structure.” Hamilton and Darity provide necessary policy proposals that will help us begin move far and beyond this racial divide.

Be well-

Lisa

Only a few days remain before Milano Cares Day, which will take place this coming Saturday, October 24th at various project sites located all over New York City. Ten organizations will be involved with volunteer projects, including: Directions for our Youth (Beacon Program), East River Development Alliance  (Scholars Program), The Doe Fund, Inc., Brooklyn Bureau of Community Service, Parkchester Arts and Recreation Community Center, Women in Need, United Community Centers, Boys Town of New York, Huairou Commission, and Isabella Geriatric Center. Over 65 students and alumni have signed up so far to volunteer their time supporting the community and making a difference by helping those in need. Volunteers are still needed for two projects, however, and I hope that you’ll consider joining us for this important work. (Please see below for more information and sign-up instructions).

I look forward to volunteering on Saturday along with students and alumni, as well as with my own kids, in East New York, Brooklyn, at the Transitional Living Community (TCL) Therapeutic Garden. This project will consist of sprucing up -- raking, weeding, pruning, and painting -- a quarter-acre community garden that is mainly used as a psychiatric and therapeutic space for 40 mentally ill homeless women in the neighboring woman’s shelter. Originally a vacant lot, this outdoor space has since been turned into a vegetable and flower garden.

Milano Cares Day not only provides us with opportunities to help local organizations do much-needed work in the community, but, perhaps more importantly, it also provides opportunities for us to see first-hand and also reflect, and question the policies and institutions that make volunteering necessary. While volunteering is only one step, what else, we must ask ourselves, can be done to help those in need?

I hope you’ll join us this coming Saturday -- thank’s in advance to those of you participating in the 2009 Milano Cares Day; we hope to make this an annual event, and with your help, I’m sure we can. Please let me know about your own experience on Saturday, and also check back for my recap of the day.

Be well-

Lisa

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If you are interested in volunteering for either of the two projects (below) that still need volunteers, please sign up by sending an email to reichv@newschool.edu and write “Milano Cares Day” in the subject line. Also, please indicate your preference of projects.

Volunteer Project 1

Boys Town of New York 

Project: Annual Career day. Volunteers sit on a panel and speak about their careers.

Date: Saturday, Oct. 24th, 2009

Time: 9:45 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Location: 167 Willoughby Street, at the corner of Flatbush/Willoughby

Each year Boys Town holds a “career day” for its students in which men and women from all professional walks of life come in and talk about how they achieved their careers. The students will receive valuable tips (secrets, strategies, do’s and don’ts, etc.) on how to “get there” in the professional world. About 45 boys, in all, are placed in the Boys Town organization’s care by New York City’s juvenile justice system. Boy’s Town is always looking for good role models as it endeavors to introduce distinct, varied and critical aspects of society to the resident youths.

 

Volunteer Project 2

The Doe Fund, Inc 

Address: 89 Porter Ave, Brooklyn, NY

Time: 11:00 am - 3:00 pm

Project: Teams will participate in round-table discussions on a career-prep type of day with previously homeless trainees.