A letter from our leadership:
It’s difficult to put into words the impact Jacquie had on both of our lives, and on the organization we’ve both had the privilege to lead, but we’ll do our best to explain what truly could only be felt and experienced. In short, Neighborhood Leadership Institute specifically, and grassroots leadership overall in Greater Cleveland, would not be the same if it wasn’t for Jacquie. She loved people and because of this love, foresaw the value of building community voice and our neighborhood leadership training efforts. Jacquie became Neighborhood Leadership Cleveland’s (NLC) greatest evangelist spreading the “good news” of grassroots leadership development and recruiting all of our classes from Class 2 through Class 28. In fact, if you spoke the name of a graduate of NLC during her tenure, she could tell you the class they were a part of and share a personal connection to that leader. So, to say she just “recruited” these classes doesn’t do her work justice; she became family with every person in these classes, knowing individuals well enough to encourage and correct if need be.
She brought this same genuine spirit to everything she touched, which can be seen in her work with Black Environmental Leaders and the Western Reserve Land Conservancy. At NLI, she was an indispensable part of the transition between us as executive directors, serving first as a staff member then later as Board member, always providing knowledge of not only how, but why, we did our work.
While it saddens both of us that we won’t be able to pick up the phone and have a long talk, or enjoy a laugh together like we’ve grown accustomed to, it has been a privilege to watch someone pour out their life doing the work that they were truly put on this earth to do. These last few months, Jacquie got an opportunity to see the love she gave away to the community returned to her and we thank all of you for showing up for our sister. All in all, we feel blessed to be counted in the number of folks that she called friend.
Jacquie was one of a kind. She was the ideal representation of grassroots leadership and her impact on our city and our region will be felt for decades. We’re going to miss you, Jacquie.
