Leading on Opportunity director to leave post, will continue economic stability work
The executive director of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg economic mobility initiative Leading on Opportunity will leave the post to join another area effort to boost families’ financial security.
Stephanie Cooper-Lewter will become director of Financial Security CLT, a coalition of nonprofits focused on economic stability in Mecklenburg County.
“By concentrating on helping families achieve financial stability and build assets – and, in particular, addressing wealth inequality and the racial wealth gap – we can create significant generational impact,” Cooper-Lewter said in a statement about her new position.
Leading on Opportunity began in 2017, following a Harvard-UC Berkeley study that ranked Charlotte last in economic mobility out of the 50 largest metro areas in the United States, meaning children born in poverty here have a more challenging time advancing than their peers across the country.
The group is tasked with enacting recommendations from the Opportunity Task Force Report, including measures around education, affordable housing and workforce development.
Brian Collier, executive vice president at Foundation For The Carolinas, will temporarily take over the role for Leading on Opportunity, according to the announcement. Collier was a co-author of the Leading on Opportunity report.
Financial Security CLT is made up of a dozen nonprofits, including Crisis Assistance Ministry, Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont, Leading on Opportunity, Urban League of the Central Carolinas and YMCA of Greater Charlotte.
This work was made possible in part by grant funding from Report for America/GroundTruth Project and the Foundation For The Carolinas.
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