ST. PETERSBURG (Jan. 29, 2024) – Nikki Gaskin-Capehart, the newly appointed President and CEO of the Pinellas County Urban League (St. Petersburg, FL), has embarked on a comprehensive strategic planning initiative aimed at shaping the organization’s direction through 2030.
Taking over from the late Rev. Watson Haynes, a prominent civil rights leader who led the Urban League for a decade, Gaskin-Capehart sees her role as a privilege to carry forward and elevate the work started by her predecessor.
“I really do look at it as a privilege to take what he started to the next level,” she said.
The strategic plan focuses on four key priorities: education and community leadership, job training, placement, and entrepreneurship, housing and community development, and health and quality of life.
Gaskin-Capehart emphasizes the importance of community surveys and input in refining existing programs and creating new ones. Affordable housing, equity, and alignment with the national Urban League’s goals of defending democracy, demanding diversity, and defeating poverty are central aspects of the strategic plan. With a background in financial services and experience working for members of Congress, Gaskin-Capehart’s leadership extends to her earlier role as a city employee involved in the initial planning for the redevelopment of Tropicana Field under St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman.
Affordable housing and equity are key considerations in the Tropicana Field redevelopment, with plans for a new baseball park for the Tampa Bay Rays and a massive transformation of the surrounding area, formerly the predominantly black Gas Plant neighborhood. Gaskin-Capehart advocates for equity in both construction and planning processes, with a specific focus on helping former Gas Plant residents in returning to the neighborhood as homeowners.
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