The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has appointed seven local community leaders to its Gary Community Advisory Committee.

Gary’s appointed advisers are: Renae Brantley, regional director, Ancilla Systems; Alyce J. Butler, Barbara Cope, executive director, Gary Educational Development Foundation; Dorothy R. Leavell, publisher and editor, Gary New Crusader; Steve Simpson, medical director, The Methodist Hospitals; Jose Guadalupe Valtierra, chancellor of Ivy Tech State College; and Jeffrey Q. Williams, The Caring Corner.

“These advisors are community leaders that are committed and passionate about the city of Gary and its future,” said Brenda Prince, the foundation’s program director for Gary. “We are excited to work with them.”   

Gary is one of 26 U.S. cities and towns served by Knight Foundation, a $2.5 billion national foundation with local roots where the Knight brothers owned newspapers in their lifetimes.

Community Advisory Committee members are an integral part of Knight Foundation’s grant-making work.  Each committee is a small group of creative, connected and strategic advisers who work with Price and other program directors to discover opportunities that produce maximum impact and lasting change in the communities they serve.

Knight Foundation’s funding strategy is to invest in new technologies and develop a knowledge economy to overcome the decline of Gary’s steel industry.  By focusing on innovation and economic development, Knight Foundation hopes to bring Gary into the global economy and sustain its growth. 

About Knight Foundation

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes journalism excellence worldwide and invests in the vitality of Gary and 25 other communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. Knight Foundation supports ideas and projects that create transformational change. For more, visit www.knightfoundation.org.