Mayor Greenberg Announces The State of the City is Strong, Reveals Two New Offices Within Metro Government

For the first time ever, Louisville will have an Office of Philanthropy and an Office of Immigrant Affairs

Before a group of hundreds of leaders, members of the business and nonprofit community, and Metro Government employees, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg gave his first State of The City Address Thursday at the Americana World Community Center in the Beechmont neighborhood in South Louisville.

The event, which was hosted by Americana and the Downtown Rotary Club, featured the Mayor’s speech with highlights from his first thirty days in office, plus some major initiatives being rolled out in the coming months including the new Community Care Campus that will open for people experiencing homelessness in Louisville.

Continuing to build an administration focused on moving Louisville in a new direction, the Mayor announced the city’s first ever Office of Philanthropy and Office of Immigrant Affairs. The Office of Philanthropy will be led by Mariana Barzun, who most recently served as Vice-President for University Advancement at the University of Louisville. The Office of Immigrant Affairs will be led by Amos Izerimana, who formerly led the Metro Office for Globalization.

Mayor Greenberg also announced Joi McAtee will serve as Executive Director of the Office of Equity and Sumedha Rao will serve as Executive Director of the Office of Sustainability. Both positions will be elevated to the Mayor’s Office.

“Mariana, Joi, Amos, and Sumedha are among the amazing group of people who’ve brought their skills and passion for our city to work for Metro Government,” said the Mayor. “Having been in office for just over a month, I can already tell you it’s incredibly stimulating, challenging, and important work. There’s a sense of purpose and satisfaction when you go to work every day. And if that sounds good to you, we’d love to have you join our team too.”

Also Thursday, the Mayor reaffirmed his commitment to stopping gun violence in Louisville, through a comprehensive approach of supporting LMPD and investing in the root causes of crime like poverty and education gaps.

“To make our city safer we have to continue implementing reforms and make LMPD the best police department in America,” Mayor Greenberg added. “But we won’t just police our way to safety. We will invest in programs that will help people who might be on the path to tragedy find reasons to change direction.”

Finally, the Mayor shared an update on the newly announced Community Care Campus for people experiencing homelessness, which will open on East Breckenridge Street in the Smoketown neighborhood later this year. The facility will provide medical respite care to those leaving hospitalization with no housing option and also provide nutritional services, on-site laundry, along with wraparound services like medical treatment, mental healthcare, and employment assistance to people experiencing homelessness or who are in imminent danger of becoming homeless.

Mayor Greenberg closed his State of the City Address with a commitment to visit communities in every part of Louisville over the coming months. “The truth is I’m excited about where we are and what’s ahead. I’m excited to continue working with people from all over Louisville,” he added. “My team and I will be travelling throughout the city to better understand and meet the needs of our neighbors in the east, west, and south. We’ll be inside the Watterson and outside the Watterson. We want to hear from everyone.”