Given the scope and intersections of many of the issues that our communities face, partnerships serve as one way to combine resources and share strengths. Both the 2008 foreclosure crisis and the impact from COVID-19 have continued to demonstrate the complex links among housing, health, economic well-being and educational outcomes.

Mel Willie is NeighborWorks America's new director of Native Partnerships and Strategy. He began this position in May 2022 to help expand NeighborWorks' investment in Tribal communities, and has spent his first six months speaking, listening and problem-solving as he's talked with representatives around the network. Willie comes to NeighborWorks with more than 23 years of experience in nonprofit management, government, political, public and intergovernmental affairs.

A cohort of a dozen NeighborWorks network organizations is assessing the benefits of community health workers. Since September of 2021, the organizations have learned from one another, all while innovating and exploring the way community health workers fit in with their community and their goals. 

A cohort of a dozen NeighborWorks network organizations is assessing the benefits of community health workers. Since September of 2021, the organizations have learned from one another, all while innovating and exploring the way community health workers fit in with their community and their goals. 

In Missouri, a NeighborWorks network organization partners with a school district to improve educational outcomes for youth. Another network organization in California preserves cultural assets while combatting gentrification and displacement. In Ohio, they're collaborating with the healthcare sector to improve social determinants of health.