Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) New Jersey — the Newark-based New Jersey branch of a nationwide community development enterprise — visits the Social Profit Center at Mill One on Wednesday, June 25, for “Collective Impact Tools for Growing Leaders, Building Communities.”
The free event runs from 5 to 7 p.m. at 1 North Johnston Avenue, Hamilton, and is designed for community development professionals, corporate partners, nonprofit funders, public employees, policy makers, and community-based organizations interested in helping improve New Jersey’s communities’ physical, social, and economic infrastructure. Registration is required via EventBrite at https://conta.cc/43JItTU. For more information about LISC, visit www.lisc.org/nj.
The first hour of the event is reserved for networking over beer, wine, and hors d’oeuvres, as well as a speed networking session for social impact leaders.
From 6 to 7 p.m. is “Meet the Experts Hour,” featuring a conversation on how foundations, government agencies, resident leaders, and developers collaborate as ecosystem builders to drive sustainable, positive change. Panelists share strategies for aligning partnerships, policies, and resources to amplify impact, offering practical insights for funders, community stakeholders, and civic leaders.
Panelists at the event are Stacey Grant, senior program director for LISC AmeriCorps, and Sharnita Johnson, vice president for strategy, impact, and communication at the Victoria Foundation. The Newark-based nonprofit “partners with Black and Brown residents and other marginalized communities in Newark and nonprofit organizations to champion bold strategies that strengthen community power, foster economic justice, promote youth self-determination, and respond to pressing needs,” according to its website, www.victoriafoundation.org.
Grant manages all aspects of LISC’s AmeriCorps program, from ensuring high quality member service assignments and partner selection to managing LISC’s relationship with the Corporation for National and Community Service and other major funders. She started as an administrative assistant with the LISC Greater Newark office in 1996 before moving on to the group’s national headquarters. She holds a B.A. from the College of St. Rose and an M.B.A. in marketing from Rutgers.
Johnson, the first to hold her role, provides oversight and management of all programmatic activities and leads the development and implementation of Victoria’s grantmaking, success measures, communications, and leadership activities as it transitions to community-centered work focused on equity and justice.
