Mandela Barnes Tours Northside Community Hub

Mandela Barnes (right) greets Jacob Gatlin, community liaison for Five Star Impact, during a campaign stop Tuesday. Photo taken June 16, 2026, by Sophie Bolich.

Fresh off a weekend of campaigning at the Wisconsin Democratic Convention in Madison, gubernatorial primary candidate Mandela Barnes visited Milwaukee’s North Side Tuesday morning for a tour of Five Star Impact.

Opened in 2025, the business center and workforce hub aims to empower community members through career training, certification courses and youth resources.

Akyaa Smith, the nonprofit’s executive director, led Barnes through the building at 1138 W. Garfield Ave., pausing to observe a ServSafe study session, children’s basketball camp and screen printing workshop, where workers were assembling materials for Juneteenth celebrations later this week.

Speaking outside the building after the tour, Barnes praised Five Star for its commitment to “making communities safer” and said the state should focus on partnerships with organizations “ready to provide those opportunities.”

“There are folks we met [today] who are going through some job training programming, and unfortunately we find ourselves at a point in time in a state and country where there are many more folks who are going to need more opportunities just like this,” he said. “We need to make sure that we use models like this.”

Five Star, housed in a former YMCA facility and school, hosts up to 1,200 youth and families each month, according to Jacob Gatlin, community liaison for the nonprofit. “We have done such a good job with building relationships and repairing broken relationships … we’re expecting more than that now that summer has hit,” he said.

Gatlin said the two-story building has seen “a complete transformation” since Five Star took over and began renovations. A gymnasium, classrooms, conference rooms and commercial kitchen space are spread throughout the main and second floors. The basement, though still in progress, is expected to house a computer lab.

“We’re looking to renovate and get this floor ready for the community,” Gatlin said. “Unfortunately, that part takes funding.”

Five Star receives a portion of its funding through training fees and payments from tenants in its rentable spaces. The organization also was awarded a $25,000 grant from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation in 2025, which Smith said has helped further develop its programming.

The center offers GED resources and apprenticeship programs aimed at creating a pipeline to employment. “That’s the important part,” Smith said.

The Garfield Avenue facility is the second for Five Star, which also operates at 1710 N. 24th St. Politicians including state Sen. Dora Drake, D-Milwaukee, and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley — one of Barnes’ opponents in the Democratic primary for governor — have also recently toured the space.

Asked by Barnes to explain her origin story, Smith traced her work back to childhood. “It always has something to do with how you grew up or what you didn’t have, right?” she said. “I’ve always had a passion to make sure others are good.”

Barnes, former lieutenant governor of Wisconsin, launched his gubernatorial campaign in December 2025 and is competing against a sizable field for the nomination, including Crowley; former Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan; Madison state Rep. Francesca Hong; former Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. Secretary Missy Hughes; Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez; and Madison Sen. Kelda Roys.

A debate is set for July 28 at Marquette University, two weeks before the Aug. 11 primary. A recent straw poll shows Barnes ranked sixth among his opponents; however, he said the data is not a clear indicator.

“If the straw poll was an accurate representation, there would be no Governor [Tony] Evers and no Governor [Jim] Doyle,” he said. “The last two Democratic governors did not win the straw poll at the Democratic Party Convention.”

Barnes went on to reiterate his campaign promises to “lower costs on day one” for health care, energy and utilities, and “focus on improving quality of life to make sure Wisconsin is the best place to live, work, and raise a family.”

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