The Destination Midtown board of directors has announced the appointment of Jamie Grayson as the group’s executive director. She will assume her new responsibilities effective July 23.
As executive director, Grayson will work with the 15-member board to oversee implementation of the Destination Midtown master plan, which was first unveiled in 2004.
She also will advocate for and coordinate development and redevelopment efforts in the Destination Midtown area, which is bordered by Cuming Street on the north, Center Street on the south, 24th Street on the east and Saddle Creek Road on the west.
“We are excited to have Jamie join the Destination Midtown team,” said Jim Champion, chairman of the Destination Midtown board and president of the Midtown Business Association, a partner in the Destination Midtown project. “She has a proven track record of working effectively within the Destination Midtown neighborhood and will be an invaluable asset as we continue our efforts to revitalize and re-energize the Midtown area.”
As an intern with Destination Midtown in the fall of 2006, Grayson developed a community development planning process for the Park East neighborhood
association.
Grayson’s office will be at the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce. The chamber provides financial, staff and community development resources, in addition to the financial support provided by the board member companies and community donors.
“The continued implementation of the Destination Midtown plan is a community development priority for the chamber and the city. With the extensive business and neighborhood investment we are seeing within midtown, we look forward to the leadership Jamie will provide as we work together to create a vibrant urban experience for all who live, work, shop and play in midtown,” said David Brown,
president and CEO of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce.
“I am delighted to be a part of this dynamic public-private collaboration. I’m committed to build on the momentum driving the revitalization taking place throughout the midtown business and residential community,” Grayson said. “This is a great time to be engaged in this effort and I look forward to returning to work with the Destination Midtown partners.”
Grayson will graduate with an M.S. degree in Urban Studies with a concentration in Community and Economic Development from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in August.
In addition to her internship with Destination Midtown, she previously worked with the Fair Housing Center of Nebraska where she completed a statewide code enforcement and occupancy standard reference manual.
She currently is interning with the Department of Housing and Urban Development through the City of Omaha Planning Department, Code Enforcement Division and is a recipient of the Community Development Comprehensive Scholarship and Work Study Program.
Grayson has broad experience in managing community-based programs. She has served as program coordinator for the Nebraska AIDS Project, as well as a program director for MICAH House Emergency Family Shelter and a Heartland Family Service youth care specialist both in Council Bluffs.
She also has been a community development worker with the Peace Corps in Jordan.