During a surprise appreciation luncheon on Wednesday, March 4, 2020, Don Utech, president of Ezekiel Community Development Corporation (CDC), received a proclamation from Mayor Tom Barrett, citing the day as Don Utech Day in the city of Milwaukee. Family, friends, community partners, and Ezekiel Board of Directors and staff gathered at St. Francis of Assisi Parish’s dining room to laud Don’s efforts on behalf of Ezekiel. Since 2012, Don has served as president of the organization which evolved out of a program run by Milwaukee Inner City Congregations Allied for Hope (MICAH). He has been the driving force behind Ezekiel’s success, lending his time, talent, vision and business acumen to lead the organization.
Ezekiel Community Development Corporation is a 501(c)(3) organization that was founded with a three-prong approach to address unemployment and bolster homeownership and neighborhood stabilization by: 1) training unemployed or underemployed workers in the trades so they can earn family-sustaining wages, while simultaneously training and honing minority contractors’ skills so they can more successfully compete for contracts by enhancing their on-the-job skills; 2) eliminating neighborhood blight by renovating boarded-up housing and putting them back on the market; and 3) selling the homes to first-time homeowners at an affordable price, thus stabilizing the neighborhood. This approach has proven to be a win-win for minority contractors, unemployed Black males, neighborhoods, and first-time homebuyers.
