Phoenix Community Alliance Strengthens Board of Directors
At the start of the year, Phoenix Community Alliance membership added nine new directors to its Board of Directors, further strengthening connections to the organization’s focus to activate, advocate, and build.
The new PCA 2024 Board of Directors includes a blend of legacy and emerging partners who are helping fuel Greater Downtown Phoenix’s revitalization, from the Arizona Diamondbacks, Phoenix Bioscience Core, USI Insurance Services, Fair Trade Café, and Imagine General Contracting & Development, and more.
“We’re thrilled PCA continues to reflect the evolving stakeholders of Downtown as it grows,” said PCA Board Chair Diane Haller. “Our robust membership has propelled leadership and our values through decades of development, and we expect the years ahead to be stronger.”
The Board’s different community backgrounds bolster the knowledge base that powers PCA and its advocacy Committees. These Member organizations target gaps in services, from keeping vulnerable populations united with their pets (Arizona Pet Project), cultivating the next generation of fashion designers (The Garment League), elevating teachers through direct support (Million Dollar Teacher), or serving as a community hub for the arts (Phoenix Center for the Arts).
Directors are the most visible representatives promoting organizational values to the public and bringing fresh diverse perspectives. Although PCA’s Executive Committee sets the direction of the organization’s advocacy, the Board of Directors guides its focus on big-picture ideas of new challenges facing Downtown.
The Board’s guidance also sparks current and future initiatives. In 2019, the Board advised adding a Social & Housing Advancement (SHA) Committee as a way to broaden an area of focus. Since its creation, the SHA Committee regularly convenes stakeholders, including the City of Phoenix’s Office of Homeless Solutions, to spread success stories, interconnectivity, strategies, and initiatives.
PCA’s eight advocacy Committees include Arts, Culture & Public Life (ACPL), Central City Planning & Development (CCPD), Education, Hance Park Fundraising, Membership Engagement, Multi-Modal Connectivity, and Public Affairs.
The public policy goals of the Committees for 2024 include advocating for arts and culture funding to encourage economic development, supporting mechanisms to address critical teacher shortages and pay, and ensuring $143M in non-site-specific City of Phoenix General Obligation (GO) Bond funding is aligned with PCA goals to further enhance Downtown.
“As a premier business leadership organization, we’ve run toward innovative thinking for difficult problems, and our membership has kept those solutions evergreen through four decades of impact,” said Haller.
New 2024 PCA Board of Directors:
- Amilyn Pierce, Vice President Government Affairs, Arizona Diamondbacks
- Stephanie Vasquez, Founder/Owner, Fair Trade Café
- Heather Lennon, CEO, Imagine General Contracting & Development
- Lloyd Hopkins, Executive Director/Founder, Million Dollar Teacher Project
- Joe Martin, Communications Director, Phoenix Bioscience Core
- Sandra Bassett, Chief Executive Officer, Phoenix Center for the Arts
- Leanna Taylor, Chief Executive Officer, The Arizona Pet Project
- Tricee Thomas, Founder, The Garment League
- Michael Schmidt, Vice President & Certified Risk Manager, USI Insurance Services
For more information about Phoenix Community Alliance and its list of Executive Committee Members, Board of Directors, Director Level Members, and Members at Large, please visit phoenixcommunityalliance.com
About Phoenix Community Alliance
Formed in August 1983, Phoenix Community Alliance (PCA) is the membership affiliate of Downtown Phoenix Inc. (DPI) and the preeminent business leadership and advocacy organization serving Greater Downtown. Working with a diverse, influential, and growing membership, PCA fulfills its mission to activate, advocate, and build the Phoenix we all want. Visit phoenixcommunityalliance.com
