LEATRICE HOLLIS

Peoples community development initiatives have allowed our organization to develop and implement more than $16 million in federal grants. Through effective communication, We have successfully developed partnerships with local government agencies including Employment & Training (WIA), Community Development, Family Services, Jefferson District Attorney’s Office, Private Corporations and AFL-CIO to provide employment opportunities for unskilled TANF recipients, non-custodial parents and youth. Our programs have gained the respect of the media, which has generated positive media cover for our programs.

ROAD HOME – Housing Center Manager – Jefferson and Terrebonne Parish
This position provided an opportunity to participate in history in the making. The Road Home, is a housing recovery program for Louisiana residents displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. As the Housing Center Manager, Hollis was responsible for overseeing operations of an entire Homeowner Assistance Center, ensuring that the center was operational, fully staffed and providing all services required to the families being assisted through the LRA Homeowner Program.

During her tenure, the Jefferson center was the only center to receive “Best Practice” acknowledgement in the legislative audit, which publicly criticized the program as a whole.

PEOPLES COMMUNITY SUBSIDIARY, INC. - Founder/Executive Director
Leatrice Hollis serves in the capacity of Executive Director, of this faith-based, not-for-profit entity. Her accomplishments include securing certification as a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO). As a CHDO, She has secured over Eight Million dollars ($8,000,000.00), in HOME funding and over 6 million dollars ($6,000,000.00), in private loans. “In three years we have implemented and completed five development projects that produced 75 single family homes for first time buyers” says Hollis.

Currently, Peoples Community is in the final stage of a Four Million ($4,000,000.00), HOME funded development. This development will produce 24 single-family homes for low-income families.

Lastly, Hollis has secured One Hundred and Fifty Two Thousand dollars ($152,000.00) in work force development funding to provide work maturity and occupational training for “out of school” youth and teen parents.

WELFARE TO WORK PARTNERSHIP - Director
This Washington D.C. based not-for-profit organization hired Leatice Hollis to implement a program in one of five cities, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Miami, and New Orleans, in which a federal grant had been secured to support the Welfare Reform Act. BizLink was the brainchild of Mr. Eli Segal, the founder of AmeriCorp. Hollis’" role was to identify a location and “set up shop”, recruit members to serve on a board of corporate executives and hire a staff for the New Orleans location. Within three months, the organization was fully operational, with an executive board of directors, which included Mr. David Wallace of IBM, Floyd James of Xerox, Charles Alexander of McDonalds Corporation, Albert Garibaldi of Entergy, Pat Johnson of Metro Vision and Vincent Blood of UPS. Though, the longevity of this job was based upon the life of the grant, it provided Hollis with an opportunity to lobby congress and influence WIA regulations. It also exposed her to the legislative process on a national level.

JEFFERSON HOUSING FOUNDATION, INC. - Social Service Director
Leatrice Hollis’ chief responsibility was to create a social service department and integrate it into the housing activity of the organization. She developed a mechanism to raise funding, organized and staffed a social service department and program. She also created and implemented the Welfare to Work program that received a Two Hundred and Seventeen Thousand Dollar ($217,000.00) grant. The program was ultimately adopted by Jefferson Parish and received Two Million and Seven Hundred Thousand Dollars ($2,700,000.00) in completive federal funds. The success of this program was due to a partnership fostered with the AFL/CIO to assist in training and place participants within various trade unions and apprentice programs.