Near West Side Partners Announces Lindsey St. Arnold Bell as Executive Director

MILWAUKEE – Near West Side Partners today announced that Lindsey St. Arnold Bell will serve as the organization’s next Executive Director. St. Arnold Bell succeeds NWSP’s inaugural Executive Director Keith Stanley, who, at the end of 2022, announced his departure from Milwaukee.

“The Near West Side Partners Board of Directors is so proud that Lindsey has accepted our invitation to become Executive Director,” said Rana Altenburg, Near West Side Partners Board President. “Lindsey is a bridge builder with the unique ability to connect to all the diverse stakeholders that make the organization’s work possible, especially residents, public officials, business leaders and other community members, and we have the utmost confidence in her and her vision for the future of the Near West Side.”

St. Arnold Bell has served as Near West Side Partners Interim Executive Director since January 2023. She joined the organization in 2016 as Associate Director, a role in which she was responsible for leading operations and administration, including by launching the Live, Work, Play housing incentive program, planning and facilitating community events like Near West Side Week and helping secure grant funding to advance revitalization efforts in NWSP’s four key focus areas: safety, housing, health & wellness and economic development. In 2018, Lindsey helped lead NWSP and Marquette University to secure $1.3 million in Choice Neighborhood Initiative funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to support a comprehensive transformation plan focused on inclusive housing opportunities.

“I am honored to have been chosen to lead Near West Side Partners and continue to expand on the foundation we’ve built over the last 7 years,” said St. Arnold Bell. “The Near West Side is on the cusp of some incredible progress – progress that I look forward to shepherding in partnership with this community. Near West Side Partners has always existed to be a force-multiplier, convening individuals and organizations and activating opportunities. That focus on partnership and collective action will be at the root of my role as Executive Director. I look forward to empowering my staff and community as we work together to further our mission of ensuring  the Near West Side’s full potential as a vibrant destination to live, work and play.”

St. Arnold Bell brings to her new role more than seven years of experience working as a convener in the Near West Side. In-progress projects such as Concordia 27 and the Hub Park demonstrate the power of collaboration and community engagement – central values for Near West Side Partners – and exemplify the momentum that St. Arnold Bell and her team will continue to build upon.

Prior to joining NWSP, Lindsey served as secretary to the Board of Zoning Appeals for the City of Milwaukee. She is an alumna of the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, where she earned her Master’s Degree in Urban Studies.

About Near West Side Partners:
Near West Side Partners, Inc. (NWSP) is a non-profit organization with a mission to revitalize and sustain the Near West Side as a thriving business and residential corridor, through collaborative efforts to promote commercial corridor development, improved housing, unified neighborhood identity and branding, and greater safety for residents and businesses. NWSP was founded through the support of business and civic leaders, including the organization’s five anchor institutions – Advocate Aurora Health, Harley-Davidson, Marquette University, MolsonCoors and Potawatomi Business Development Corp.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.