YOUNGSTOWN — Helping residents organize their neighborhoods to create positive change is the focus of the final in a series of workshops organized by Wick Neighbors, Inc., Youngstown 2010 and local banks.
The workshop will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at the Butler Institute of American Art. The subject is "Who Speaks for the Neighborhood? Who Sets the Neighborhood Agenda?"
The speaker will be Philip Star, director of the Center for Neighborhood Development, Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University. He will discuss techniques residents can use to empower themselves to improve their neighborhoods.
Panelists will be Kirk Noden, lead organizer, ACTION (Alliance for Congregational Transformation Influencing Our Neighborhoods); Jackie Austin, ACTION board member; and Mark Peyko, president, North Side Citizens' Coalition. The moderator will be Margaret L. Murphy, Wick Neighbors executive director.
The workshop series is titled "Neighborhood Reinvestment: How To's." The series features speakers with national reputations in their fields who have discussed successful strategies on topics including strengthening weak markets, returning vacant land to productive use and the role of the public and private sectors in neighborhood redevelopment.
Previous workshops can be viewed on the Wick Neighbors, Inc. Web site — www.wickneighbors.org.