Blogging with Dean Lisa Servon

Back in January I wrote one of my very first blogs about research and student work in New Orleans and I am just returning from another exciting and productive trip there.  I have spent my academic career studying and thinking about urban poverty in the US, and I have traveled to and worked in many, many low-income communities around the country.  But few cities have gotten under my skin the way New Orleans has.  And from what I can see of our students, many have the same reaction.  New Orleans, with its spirit, culture—or really, cultures—pride, and history, is like no other place.  I recently started reading a book called Nine Lives: Death and Life in New Orleans, by Dan Baum, a journalist who spent a lot of time in New Orleans following Katrina.  The book weaves together the lives of nine very different New Orleanians starting in the mid1960s, and it’s a terrific read.

I’ve been to New Orleans probably eight times in the past two years, for a variety of reasons. I learn something new every time. This time, my trip was motivated primarily by the group of Milano and Parsons students who presented their final project to Neighborhood Empowerment Network Association , a community-based organization located in the lower ninth ward which, as you probably know, was devastated by Hurricane Katrina.  The students’ work  will be entered into the Chase Community Development Competition, which the New School has won more than any other school, in the fall.   The students presented a terrific piece of work—a design for a new building that will house offices, retail space, and a business incubator—and the client was thrilled.   On Sunday evening, the night before the students’ presentation, we all had dinner and were joined by Ed Blakely, former Milano dean and current Executive Director for Recovery Management in New Orleans, as well as Amber Seely (Urban Policy ’07) and Denise Beal (Urban Policy ’03).

I spent the rest of my time there with Denise, who is working with us to develop deeper relationships with historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).  Denise is also a Xavier alum, and we are beginning this work with Xavier and Dillard.  We had terrific meetings with a range of people at both institutions and we are excited about the potential for partnerships that could enrich all of our institutions.

As engaging as New Orleans is, and as much progress has been made since Katrina hit nearly four years ago, there is so much work that remains to be done.  Reading the current issue of The Economist on the flight down, I came across a short article called “City of Sickness ” that discusses how the numbers of chronically sick have risen dramatically since the storm while the medical services industry continues to struggle. Hospitals have closed, and many medical professionals have left the city or commute out of the city to work. Problems like this are invisible to those of us who are temporary guests, but they seriously threaten the viability of this amazing place and deserve our continued attention and best effort.

One of the Milano’s best kept secrets is the great work that our part-time faculty members are doing outside the classroom. Well let this be a secret no longer!

I was particularly excited to find fellow bloggers among this group. Hank Goldstein is consultant for philanthropic organizations and has been with the firm the Oram Group since 1964. Wow! (Don’t worry, Hank, we won’t do the math).  Hank contributes some great posts on Oram Group's blog, commenting on current events and matters of importance to the non-profit community. Interesting stuff!

Another part-time faculty member, Leo Quigley, is a consultant for Housing and Community Development, and you can check out his current work and impressive background at on his website.  He recently added to the online public policy dialogue on thebigmoney.com with his article Run for Shelter, Use the federal TARP money to preserve affordable housing.

Finally, for all you folks who are still searching for summer employment, this article by Lee Miller may be just the advice you need. When Lee Miller isn’t teaching at Milano, he is a career coach and works with a social media company.  This company has developed private professional/social networking tool that was designed so that relatively small not for profits can have their own network and avoid the downsides that come with placing their network on Facebook or LinkedIn. Maybe your current or future organization (wink wink Milano students) could benefit, have a look!

 Let this post be just a sampler of the great work being done by Milano folks. I will keep you posted on other cool projects as I hear about them, and I hope you all will do the same and send stuff my way. 

What a couple of days at Milano!  Last night I opened the annual Bill Green forum, an annualevent that memorializes the late Honorable Bill Green (1929–2002), who represented the East Side of Manhattan in Congress from 1978–1992. Bill Greenwas an independent thinker who frequently crossed the aisle to collaborate on critical issues such as the environment, urban policy, and affordable housing. He served as a trustee of The New School and a board member of Milano. This forum pays tribute to his deep commitment to bipartisanship.

This year’s topic was The Obama Agenda: Overcoming Poverty in New York and the Nation.  And Center for New York City Affairs director Andrew White and his team did a fabulous job of putting together a panel of experts from think tanks, the public sector and nonprofit organizations that serve the poor.  The panel was terrific—lively, provocative, somewhat in your face.  Many of us are incredibly excited to see renewed support forpublic programs to address poverty. It’s been a long time, ladies and gentlemen, since the federal government gave this problem the attention it deserves.  And that means not only $$$, but a willingness to experiment, innovate, test new ideas, tinker with them and try them again. 

At the same time as the Bill Green panel was happening, the Echoing Green competition kicked off with a dinner.  We are hosting the competition this year, and I opened the Friday morning session.  Echoing Green is an organization that supports social entrepreneurs with funding, networks, and other assistance.  This year, nearly 1,000 people applied for fellowships; the final 22 were in our Henry Cohen conference room at 8:30 Friday morning ready to sell the judges on their ideas.  After welcoming the group to Milano, I watched them do their “90 second pitches” tothe rest of the group, and I was completely blown away by the ideas.  One finalist is working on ways to build housing using charcoal in order to lower moisture and decrease disease rates such as tuberculosis. Another is developing technology that will allow people to do volunteer work during down times—like riding the bus or waiting in line—via their smart phones.  Yet another is working on an application that will allow consumers to find out all kinds of information about food products—how is it grown? What are the labor practices of the company?—using, once again—you guessed it—the smart phone.

We are so proud that Maritza Martinez, Milano Non Profit Management alumna from 2005 is a part of the Echoing Green team, and I thank Mary Watson, Management Chair, and John Green, Associate Dean, for making the event a big success.