Darlene Russell

Darlene is a community engagement strategist for the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and ThriveOn Collaboration, with a deep commitment to her native city. Growing up in the Harambee neighborhood, she learned the importance of community, art, and culture, as well as the value of people and place. Her passion for identifying needs and creating viable solutions has led to extensive experience in community engagement, nonprofit administration, program development and management. Darlene is a dedicated service-oriented leader who partners with organizations and community leaders to improve the quality of life for children and their families. She prioritizes resident voice and aligns community priorities when making investments and seeking collaborations. As a critical leader in the Foundation’s community engagement work, Darlene’s leadership has been instrumental in the Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative and the Foundation’s effort to deepen community engagement in priority neighborhoods, including the three neighborhoods surrounding the ThriveOn King development.

Darlene is a certified Zentangle teacher and teaches the Zentangle method. In her free time enjoys biking riding, creating coloring books, journals and planners and spending time with her family and walks with her fur buddies Ringo and Kofi.