Oramenta Newsome, LISC vice president who leads the LISC DC program office, was selected for a distinguished sabbatical program by the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation. It is a well-deserved opportunity for personal growth after Newsome’s 20 years of groundbreaking work for LISC in the nation’s capital, noted LISC Executive Vice President Denise Scott. The sabbatical program also provides professional development support to LISC DC staff.
LISC’s Newsome honored with sabbatical award
LISC Vice President Oramenta Newsome has been selected for the prestigious Julie L. Rogers Sabbatical Program of the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, which honors nonprofit leaders in Washington, D.C. with funding for a three-month sabbatical and support for staffing to ensure continued operations.
The program is designed to help experienced executives recharge their batteries so they can fuel ongoing innovation in their organizations. It will also provide the LISC DC staff with the opportunity for growth and professional development.
“This is a remarkable chance for me, as well as for our local LISC staff, to step beyond our day-to-day routines and look toward the future,” said Newsome, who has led the LISC DC program for 20 years. She expects to take her sabbatical in the summer of 2017, with LISC national staff on hand to help local staffers continue their work on pace.
Newsome was one of four honorees this year, including the executive directors of Calvary Women’s Services, Safe Shores, and the Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis. While on sabbatical, recipients are expected to completely step away from their organizations for several months.
“Oramenta has long been a driving force behind improving the quality of life for lower income households in the neighborhood of Washington, D.C.,” noted Denise Scott, LISC executive vice president, who oversees the organization’s 31 program offices across the country. “This isn’t just a richly deserved opportunity for her; it is an investment in innovation that will help the LISC DC program be a more effective catalyst for community development.”