An article in NewsOne, an online news outlet run by Urban One, Inc., the country's largest African American media organization, delves into LISC's internship program placing students from HBCUs with community development financial institutions. The program is a "win-win," says LISC president Denise Scott in the piece, because it exposes interested students to the field of community development which, in turn, is "looking for young leaders with all kinds of different skill sets to step into this industry."

By Mona Mangat, LISC VP of Safety & Justice

In an op-ed for The 74, LISC vice president of Safety & Justice Mona Mangat describes how school-based violence prevention programs, like those LISC is helping pilot with funding from the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, are having a profound effect on the lives of students. These high-touch efforts that involve mentoring and other services, with the right funding and community support, can help sow the seeds of success and belonging, and disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline in too many underinvested school districts.

By Jeanne Cola

As lawmakers in Providence confront a crisis in the state’s school system, LISC Rhode Island ED Jeanne Cola weighs in with an appeal to consider the comprehensive factors that contribute to students’ struggles, or successes—particularly housing. “As we look at bold ways to improve dismal test scores and address high absenteeism…now is the time to take a holistic approach and provide a consistent funding mechanism to add, or restore, stable and secure housing for Rhode Island residents,” she writes in an op-ed for The Providence Journal.

If Opportunity Zones are to empower residents, then directing OZ funds to education must be part of the investment equation. That’s the message of an in depth article in Education Next (published by Harvard’s Kennedy School) which cites LISC’s work in the Opportunity Zones—and our OZ playbook for community partners—as vital to helping residents reap the promised benefits of the tax legislation.

by Maurice A. Jones

In a blog for the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Healthcare Quarterly, LISC CEO Maurice A. Jones makes the case for pioneering partnerships between healthcare organizations and community development, uniting to upend the roots of poor health. LISC’s collaborations with ProMedica and Bon Secours Health System, among other companies, are powerful examples of how our combined assets, knowledge and experience can begin to close America’s longevity gap.