Kristen Baker takes the helm at LISC Greater Cincinnati to expand investments in homes, businesses, health and employment

CINCINNATI, June 8, 2020 / PRNewswire / – The Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) has named Kristen Baker, a longtime community investment leader in Cincinnati and Northern Kentuckyas the new managing director of LISC Greater Cincinnati.

Baker has served as the program’s associate director since 2011, overseeing affordable housing loan programs and business development. At the same time, it helps advance efforts to improve the safety, health, education, and financial stability of families in the community.

She takes the helm of Kathy Schwabwho helped set up LISCs $ 136.6 million Portfolio of local investments during her 11 years as managing director. So far, the efforts of LISC have practically proven themselves $ 546 million All development activity across the region is designed to help people build stronger futures for their families and communities.

“We are so grateful that Kathy has shared her many years of expertise and dedication with LISC,” she said Maurice A. Jones, President and CEO of LISC. “She has been a remarkable local leader and a driver of economic opportunity across the region.”

“We are also fortunate that the best candidate for her successor is already part of the LISC family,” continued Jones. “Kristen’s energy and creativity will help us respond to critical local challenges and opportunities – especially now as we work with communities to tackle the COVID-19 crisis and economic decline and make the region more inclusive. She will help expand our investments in affordable housing and small businesses, advance programs that prepare people for living wage jobs, and deepen community engagement on issues ranging from health and racial justice to education and economic development. “

Baker’s work at LISC spanned the organization’s entire programming offering. It expanded the reach of the ambitious local collaboration Place Matters to catalyze economic opportunities in more communities. She helped develop and manage comprehensive strategies to address the region’s lack of affordable housing. And she worked with other impact-driven organizations like ArtsWave, Partners for a Competitive Workforce, and Success by Six to drive creative placemaking, job training, and early childhood education efforts.

“Kristen will enable LISC to make a seamless transition and is the right person to take the organization forward,” he said Robie Suggs, Chairman of the LISC Greater Cincinnati Local Advisory Board and Director of Economic Development and Public Relations at First Financial Bank. “She brings a strong work ethic and unmatched knowledge that supports the needs of our region.”

Prior to joining LISC, Baker was a community development specialist at the Center for Great Neighborhoods of Covington and a Senior Community Impact Associate at United Way of Greater CincinnatiThere she helped develop Place Matters and coordinated efforts with 28 local service organizations.

“Our neighbors and communities are facing significant new pressures as the pandemic has so severely affected the economic progress we have made in recent years,” Baker said. “LISC is focused on immediate business and job preservation efforts, as well as growing needs related to affordable housing, professional training and health inequalities. If we can reduce health and wealth inequalities, we can make our communities more resilient and capable of our local communities Economy more productive. “

Baker graduated from the University of Dayton with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s degree in public administration. Among other things, she is a member of Cincinnati Community Oriented Policing Review Board of the Chief of Police, Cincinnati USA The 2018 Regional Chamber’s We Lead Class and the leadership team of All-In Cincinnati, a coalition to promote racial justice.

Baker can be contacted at [email protected].

About LISC
With residents and partners, LISC forges resilient and inclusive opportunity communities across America – great places to live, work, visit, do business, and raise families. LISC has been investing since 1979 $ 22 billion Build or renovate more than 419,000 affordable homes and apartments; and develop 70.3 million square feet of retail, community and educational space. More information is available at www.lisc.org.

Media contact:
Colleen Mulcahy, for LISC
312-342-8244
[email protected]

SOURCE Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)

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https://www.lisc.org