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 and associate vice president of public affairs in Marquette’s Office of University Relations. “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 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 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.
St. Arnold Bell was additionally a co-chair of communications on Marquette’s President’s Task Force on Community Safety.
“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 seven 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.
