March/April 2010
Strong Leadership Shapes the Future
Kaleem Caire Named
Urban League President/CEO
Kaleem Caire Named Urban League President/CEO Kaleem is a native of
Madison, with a proven background, vision, and passion for the work of
the Urban League. He is a graduate of Madison's West High School after
which he served in the U.S. Navy eventually returning to Madison where
he earned his degree in Education from the University of Wisconsin
Madison. Kaleem was Co-Founder of the Next Generation Education
Foundation in 2006 and continues to serve as its President & CEO.
The Next Generation Education Foundation provides after school,
college prep, and leadership development programs for young men. He
has also worked as Executive Director of the Fight For Children/J.E.
Robert Companies, Founding President & CEO of the Black Alliance for
Educational Options, Special Projects Director for the Wisconsin
Center for Academically Talented Youth, and Education Consultant for
the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
Kaleem and his wife Lisa have three sons and two daughters. They have
strong connections to the Urban League, including that Kaleem was the
youngest recipient ever of the Urban League of Greater Madison's
Whitney M. Young, Jr. Equal Opportunity Award and his wife Lisa was an
employee of the League early on in her professional career.
Kaleem's accomplishments over the years are many: He commissioned the
nation's first comprehensive study of high school graduation rates,
which has led to a radical shift in measuring high school quality and
productivity in the U.S.; He was appointed to a panel by U.S.
Secretary of Education Rod to advise on a longitudinal assessment of
Title I - No Child Left Behind; he guided the formation of the
District of Columbia Public Charter School Association and the passage
of unprecedented federal legislation that has resulted in more than
$200 million appropriated for public school reform and expanded school
options for under-served children in the District of Columbia;
Kaleem joins the Urban League at an exciting and pivotal time. The
board believes that he is the ideal leader to take advantage of the
increased accessibility, visibility, and programmatic infrastructure
as we ramp up our efforts to close the racial gaps in education and
economics and improve the quality of life for all the citizens of our
community.
An interview with Kaleem in next issue of VOICES
 "Call
me Mike," said Michael Johnson, the new Executive Director of the Boys
and Girls Club of Dane County.
He only had a half hour to give me for an interview on March 23,
but he was so relaxed and friendly that I felt no pressure as I
questioned him about his work and background. He previously served as
Deputy Recreation Commissioner for the Philadelphia Parks Department,
Executive Director for a YMCA in St. Louis, Special Assistant to the
CEO of Philadelphia Public Schools, and District Director for Boys and
Girls Clubs of Chicago, managing programs in public housing units and
in high schools on the south side of Chicago.
Q: I see you're coming from some big city settings. What
prompted you to move to a place like Madison?
Mike: …If you look at my background and career path, all my life I've
been working to help young people improve the quality of their lives…I
started my career almost 18 years ago volunteering at the Boys & Girls
Club. I became a full-time Boys & Girls Club director; ran programs on
the South Side of Chicago during the time Barack Obama was our State
Senator, and worked with him on an anti-violence initiative and I
started the first Boys and Girls Club to be incorporated inside of a
Chicago public school. The neighborhood I worked in at the time was
called Englewood… [which was] at the time…the "murder capital" of the
United States…so Boys & Girls Club was committed to opening up
community centers inside of schools. We opened a Boys & Girls Club
community center inside of Englewood High School, Robeson High School;
I ran all the Boys & Girls Clubs that were in public housing units.
…So if you look at my history, I've been working for non-profit
organizations, the third and the fifth largest school districts in the
United States, and then I just came from the largest park and
recreation system in the United States, Philadelphia…And so to answer
your question what attracted me to Madison, what I've missed in my
career, was the days I worked at Boys & Girls Club, the days where I
was out raising money doing community organizing, developing programs
for kids. I missed that kind of work.
S.I.S.T.E.R. (Sisters In Sobriety Together
Engaging Responsibly) House, Inc. has a dream and we are working to
make it a reality! SISTER House, Inc. is an organization with an
innovative vision of change for women transitioning into the Madison
community from prison, jail, or treatment.
There are approximately 1200 women
imprisoned in Wisconsin. There are additional women in jail or in
treatment programs (in lieu of incarceration or in post-incarceration
programs). Most of the women committed non-violent property or
drug-related crimes. Many of the women grew up in chaotic family
situations and many were abused as children.
This year at least 400 women will return
to Wisconsin communities from prison. Most of the women will return
without the education, employment history, and life-skills necessary
to successfully reintegrate into society and find employment.
Without help the chances of these women
re-offending is very great and the cost to house a person in prison is
$30,000 a year. It would seem to make more sense to invest in a
woman's recovery than just maintain her in prison.
The goal of S.I.S.T.E.R. House, is Two
Fold First, S.I.S.T.E.R. House will provide a safe place for women to
live as they transition back into the community. Many times women
return from prison to their former neighborhoods or to relationships
or households that have negatively impacted their lives and the result
is re-offending, sending them right back to prison.
The mother feels there is no hope and
their children suffer. We believe that each woman has the potential to
become all she was created to be and with support and the right skill
set, she can achieve more than she ever dreamed possible. S.I.S.T.E.R.
House, Inc. is on the "cusp" of securing the perfect house to make a
"home". We are hoping and praying to open the doors by early to
mid-summer.
No matter what road led her to this place,
we want to assist , her on a positive path to becoming independent,
stable, confident, and healthy and be the mother, sister, or daughter
she desires to be!
S.I.S.T.E.R. House, a 501 (c) (3)
organization, whose mission is to assist women returning to our
community from prison, jail or treatment needs your help.
If you are interested in more information
contact Tamra Oman at:
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