Message from the President and CEO
I believe we will look back on 2006 as the year FCE came of age as a change agent. All the hard, painstaking work of the first 10 years—building relationships and trust in South Dallas; creating a firm factual base for action through research; engaging with leaders in business, government, foundations, and other institutions; just sticking around until people finally realized we weren’t going to take "no" for an answer—enabled us to move to a new level.
In 2006, Dallas Achieves evolved from a daring pilot program on 26 South and West Dallas campuses to a full-fledged campaign to transform the Dallas Independent School District into the nation’s top urban district. In 2006, Frazier Revitalization Inc., created by FCE as a separate 501(c)(3) to realize the resident-led vision for the Frazier neighborhood, dove headfirst into assembling land and other nitty-gritty predevelopment tasks. In 2006, the J. McDonald Williams Institute, in its first full year of operation, rolled out the Wholeness Index, a unique tool for healing disparity that has caught the attention of policy makers and community builders coast-to-coast.
All these efforts took place in the context of FCE moving to assure its own sustainability. For a full decade, this remarkable organization has owed its vision and very existence to our founder, Don Williams. We can never be too grateful for his passion and commitment, but we also cannot continue to rely solely—or even primarily—on him to keep the work going. In addition to overseeing and supporting the vital initiatives described here, my job as President and CEO is also to see that Dallas takes ownership of this extraordinary gift.
Although I had worked out of FCE’s office for a year as manager of the Dallas Achieves pilot program, I must admit that I lacked a full appreciation for the breadth and impact of FCE’s work when Don asked me to take this job last fall. I am humbled to be part of the potentially city-changing work we have before us. Yes, 2006 was a pivotal year, but it was just a prelude to 2007 and the transformation of South Dallas that lies ahead.
Sincerely,
Marcia Page
President and CEO