IMPACT welcomes Kimberly Payne as new Board Chairperson

IMPACT has announced the appointment of Kimberly J. Payne as Chairperson of the Board of Directors. Kimberly, who joined IMPACT in 2019, is the founder and owner of Payne Consulting specializing in community engagement, communications and grant writing. She succeeds Randall C. Harlan of Panther Workforce Solutions.

“We are fortunate to benefit from Kimberly’s 30 years of leadership experience in non-profit, government, educational and corporate settings,” said John Hyatt, IMPACT President & CEO. “She is a collaborative leader who achieves success by amplifying diverse voices and activating community-informed projects. Our values are aligned toward IMPACT’s purpose: critical conditions, critical connections, critical change.”

This May, Kimberly will receive her Doctorate of Education in Leadership, Innovation and Continuous Improvement from Concordia University Wisconsin. She enjoys spending time with family, traveling and worshipping at Jesus Alive Ministries in Racine.

IMPACT 211 plays a critical role in the bitter cold

IMPACT 211 increased capacity several times during the weeklong arctic blast that swept through Southeast Wisconsin in mid-January. We called in additional staff and supervisors to meet the demand for information and assistance which was exacerbated by power outages throughout the region.

From Friday, January 12 through Thursday, January 18, IMPACT 211 responded to 3,491 calls from our nine-county region of which 2,994 originated from Milwaukee County.

• 761 callers seeking shelter resulting in 870 referrals to extreme weather shelters (some people received more than one referral)
• Over 225 calls from people who lost power
• 173 calls from homeowners whose furnace wasn't working
• 101 referrals made for disaster food stamps

We maintained constant communications with service providers and community partners to ensure that our 211 resource specialists and Coordinated Entry teams were providing people with the most current information.

The weather event spurred a massive behind-the-scenes coordinated and collaborative effort between all agencies and organizations to keep people safe.

211 Day

On 2/11 we celebrate National 211 Day in appreciation for our exceptional staff of community resource specialists, database curators, technology experts, data analysts and partner managers.

In 2023, IMPACT 211 managed nearly 260,000 contacts for an average of 21,553 clients served per month, including:

• 190,882 phone calls, text message, emails, food pantry auto-text relays, and online chat sessions
• 67,810 search sessions in the IMPACT 211 online database platform

These totals from 2023 are more than at the height of the pandemic confirming, once again, that IMPACT 211 is the trusted source of information and assistance in Southeast Wisconsin.

Professional Development

At IMPACT, we believe strongly in supporting our employees through professional development and continuing education. In 2023, 31 employees reported participation in 232 elective training opportunities with a combined total of 858 hours of learning! It is important to note that this does not include required trainings or certifications. This only includes “above and beyond” instruction!