Michele Bria
Chief Executive Officer, Journey House
- Role
- Chief Executive Officer at Journey House, Inc
- Location
- Milwaukee, WI, US
- LinkedIn followers
- 500 followers
About Michele Bria
Dr. Bria serves as CEO of Journey House, a community-based organization on Milwaukee’s near-south side that empowers families to move out of poverty by offering adult education, workforce readiness, youth development, and family engagement programs. Journey House annually serves more than 8,425 low-income, urban youth and families at five locations. Under Dr. Bria’s leadership of over 22 years, the annual operating budget increased from $200K (1996) to $3.2MM (2018) and secured over $22.5MM in capital for catalytic economic development high-impact projects. Dr. Bria successfully negotiated two innovative, ground-breaking development agreements with Milwaukee Public Schools and Milwaukee County, which provide land homes and partnership opportunities for new construction of a $6MM square foot Journey House Center for Family Learning and Youth Athletics (2012) and $3MM Journey House Packers Football Stadium (2013), which is the only one in the United States that contains an NFL logo outside of a NFL stadium. The Green Bay Packers donated their former Ray Nitschke Practice Field to provide a safe place for urban low-income youth football. In 2018, Dr. Bria is steering a community development of $2.2MM for new playing fields for the Felix Mantilla Little League, which will include infield synthetic turf for 4 baseball diamonds and natural grass Tee Ball diamond. Dr. Bria currently leads the Journey House Campus Housing Initiative in partnership with the City of Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative, Cardinal Capital Development, and others to renovate blighted/nuisance properties into affordable housing for motivated youth who are aging out of foster care. In partnership with Cardinal Capital Development, Dr. Bria is spearheading an initiative for a $8.5MM Clarke Square Apartments for affordable housing for low-income families, which will be the largest housing development in over two decades in the Clarke Square Neighborhood.
Experience
Chief Executive Officer
Aug 1996 — Present · Milwaukee, WI, US
For 29 years, she has served as CEO of Journey House, a community-based organization that empowers families to move out of poverty by offering adult education, workforce readiness, youth development, and family engagement programs. Journey House annually serves more than low-income, urban youth and families. She convenes over 291 partnerships with local universities, community organizations, and corporations to implement lifelong learning, workforce development, and youth development programs. Dr. Bria has helped over 2,400 children and adults learn SKY Breathing Meditation to reduce stress and increase mental focus and performance through practice. Dr. Bria successfully negotiated over $30 million in innovative, ground-breaking public-private development agreements with Milwaukee Public Schools and Milwaukee County, which provide land homes and partnership opportunities for new construction of a square foot Journey House Center for Family Learning and Youth Athletics (2012), Journey House Packers Football Stadium in Mitchell Park (2013), and Journey House Felix Mantilla Little League Fields in Baran Park (2020). Dr. Bria has held several teaching positions, given numerous lectures, received numerous local and state civic proclamations and awards, including the 2017 State of Wisconsin’s Martin Luther King Legacy Award for Service, 2016 Donald Driver Driven to Achieve Award, 2014 Business Journal Women of Influence Award, and 2006 Marquette University All-University Spirit Award. She is a member of many professional organizations and serves as an executive board officer for Milwaukee Public Library (Board Vice President/ Immediate Past President), Menomonee Valley Partners (Board Secretary), Froedtert Hospital (Board Trustee, Chair of Community Engagement), United Neighborhood Centers of Milwaukee (Founding Board Member), Milwaukee Public Library Foundation Board (Trustee), and Urban Libraries Council (National Executive Board Director).
Education
Marquette University
Bachelor of Arts (BA), Writing Intensive English and Political Science
1986 — 1990
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Urban Education and Leadership
2005
Marquette University
Master of Arts (M.A.), American and British Literature
1991 — 1992
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