Working in Neighborhoods, Inc.

S. Barbara Busch, SC, co-founded Working In Neighborhoods (WIN) in 1978 and continues as its Executive Director today. WIN provides financial education and homeownership opportunities to low and moderate income residents throughout greater Cincinnati. Originally started with a $14,000 budget, the organization now has an annual budget of $1.4 million and employs 21 staff members. A Cincinnati native, S. Barbara has worked for over 40 years to help low and moderate income residents shape their communities.

She is a member of the Sisters of Charity. S. Barbara has a Master of Social Work from University of Michigan and is a Licensed Independent Social Work Supervisor.

Under her direction, WIN has built or rehabilitated and sold 167 homes to first-time homeowners. WIN has developed relationships with local and national lenders, which has resulted in over 7,000 low-income families owning their homes. WIN developed the WIN Economic Learning Campus in the heart of S. Cumminsville. The Campus offers financial training and counseling for homebuyers, leadership training, enrichment programs for youth, and 18 apartments for senior citizens. In 2014 WIN began its effort to move 40% of S. Cumminsville out of Poverty in a generation through six targeted efforts and includes 50 near net zero energy homes.

Inspect homes that have been recently weatherized, perform energy audits, and educate families on the ways to conserve energy and how to save money. I also do all of the billing for the energy department and coordinate its activities. Work with various organizations to find help for low income families. Working to bring current homeowner’s in South Cumminsville in line with the Net Zero Urban Village initiative.
 

Alison Auciello is a community organizer. With 14 years’ experience working on environmental hazards, Alison works with individuals to build teams, analyze power and get action on their issues. Alison has experience on industrial pollution campaigns, educating government regulators on enforcement and stopping water privatization. She works on the project to make Hamilton County sewers affordable and sustainable.
 

Cozette Evans, Administration Assistant &Youth Coordinator, has been employed By Working In Neighborhoods for 19 yrs. Myself and my siblings have been volunteering at Working In Neighborhoods for over 30 years. I have been working with the youth program for over 20 years. Before joining the WIN Staff, I bought my first home from Working In Neighborhoods. I am a resident of the South Cumminsville Community for 23 years. I have three adult children and four grandchildren

Hope Wilson is the Director of Operations/Housing Program Manager for Working In Neighborhoods (WIN). Prior to her current role she worked as the Community & Housing Development Manager and was involved in the development process for 45 single family homeownership units and 18 senior rental units. Hope was involved in the acquisition, rehab, new construction, and sale of WIN’s homes that are sold to low-moderate income first time homebuyer’s. In addition she has been a Housing Counselor & Homebuyer Educator helping families attain and maintain homeownership in the Greater Cincinnati region. Hope joined WIN in 2000 as a Community Organizer focused on housing & lending issues. Hope has a Masters in Urban and Regional Studies from Minnesota State University, Mankato and a Bachelor’s in Political Science from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.
 

Before joining WIN’s staff, Rigel worked as a self-employed artist for 19 years. Rigel earned a BA in Political Science from Northern Kentucky University and a Masters of Community Planning from the University of Cincinnati. In 2011, Rigel joined WIN’s staff to manage data collection and analysis of Hamilton County foreclosure trends, and produced WIN’s foreclosure reports for several years. She has also provided outreach and technical support for resident-led community building and neighborhood revitalization. In addition to working with the community directly, her work also includes grant writing, action planning, mapping, developing and maintaining relationships with partner organizations and universities.
 

I began working at WIN in 1992 a few years after graduating from Mount St. Joseph with a BA in Accounting. I have watched WIN grow and change in many ways during my time here. But the foundation of WIN’s mission and work has always remained focused on our neighbors. I also have grown with WIN, from a staff accountant to a senior staff member, Accounting Director and part of the management team. In my early days I was focused on maintaining WIN’s financial records and learning about WIN. Now I am involved in some manner in almost everything WIN does. One of my main focuses these days is on grants, from budgets to reporting and compliance.