Lynnea Katz-Petted, CEO of Revitalize Milwaukee

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Lynnea Katze-Petted - Block Build MKE

Lynnea Katze-Petted (center) with Block Build MKE

Many elderly low-income Milwaukee homeowners are unable to afford needed repairs. Enter the nonprofit Revitalize Milwaukee, whose mission is to preserve neighborhoods by providing free home repairs to low-income homeowners including veterans, seniors and the disabled. Since 2005, Revitalize Milwaukee has completed critical home repairs on about 4,000 homes with the help of 12,000 volunteers. It has invested over $24 million into Milwaukee-area housing.

This amazing organization was begun and vitalized by one woman, 52-year-old Lynnea Katz-Petted, and it took her 18 years. What’s even more remarkable is her annual blitz-repair program called Block Build MKE. On Saturday, Aug.19, 18 homes in the working-class Muskego Way neighborhood were remodeled for free, courtesy of Revitalize Milwaukee and their corporate sponsors. On that one day, 650 volunteers worked on 18 homes, rebuilding porches, doing bathroom conversions, updating kitchens and more. August 19 marked the 19th annual Block Build event made possible by sponsorships from 45 different companies.

On that sunny Saturday, I ventured into the busy Muskego Way community and tracked down CEO Lynnea Katz-Petted. She was frequently on her walkie-talkie but took some time to chat with me. Behind her, people prepared box lunches for the army of workers.

She told me she was born in Calgary, Canada, and raised in Vancouver in a two-parent family. When she was nine years old, she had her first of three heart surgeries. When she was 16, her parents moved into public housing and then divorced. It wasn’t long before she moved out and rented her own place. To support herself at 16, Lynnea worked nights full-time at a drug store and attended high school in the mornings. It proved a difficult transition, but she persevered. 

As a young adult, you held various jobs. Tell me about those experiences and how they helped develop your career path and how you ended up in Milwaukee.  

In Vancouver, I eventually started working at consumer banks and later in the financial consulting business. I even got my license to sell stocks and made a living as a stockbroker. I did that job for eight years inside and outside the bank. I learned how to write RFPs, requests for proposals, in other words, grants. I started working for the Public Administration Service who moved me to Washington D.C. I stayed with that company for three years. Then, I met my husband. He was from Milwaukee, and we moved here in 1999.

As I understand, you started out in Milwaukee with a job at U.S. Bank. A few years later, you went to work for the 501(c)3 nonprofit Revitalize Milwaukee. Why did you leave the private sector? 

At U.S. Bank, I headed up their Performance, Improvement, and Training division for nine states. The day the 9/11 tragedy happened, I was in Lexington, Kentucky leading a conference. All the state governors were staying in our hotel. It was crazy because I felt like we might be the next ones killed because all the governors were confined to one place. The Secret Service had sharpshooters on the roof. That experience was a revelation. I decided to move on and do something more meaningful. 

Is that when you went to work for Revitalize Milwaukee?

No, not yet. I took a couple years off and finished my degree at Alverno College. My husband and I built a nice house in Franklin on two acres, and we had a comfortable lifestyle. A friend told me about a small nonprofit called Rebuilding Together, which was to eventually become Revitalize Milwaukee. In 2005 I started out part-time, running the organization. I was the only employee, the executive director, and we had a $40,000 budget all funded by the Potawatomi Foundation. Working 40-plus hours a week, it seemed like my work was never done, and I also realized I didn’t know how to work part-time. I began expanding the organization.

You had spent your career in the private sector. Did you like working in the nonprofit sector?

The first few years were challenging. For instance, I had a hard time with Milwaukee’s racism problem because I came from a place that was not racist. Also, the area nonprofits are kind of incestuous. Lots of competition between organizations. Very political. In the first three years, I thought about quitting a dozen times. I think we remodeled about seven homes the first year, and we did that project in one day. My goal was to double that amount of remodeled homes. When I compared my beautiful home with those old rundown homes, I burst into tears, thinking “Why me and why them?” But I found the homeowners to be pretty resilient. Through the years, I was writing grants, and raising money to expand the amount of homes we remodeled. 

Revitalize Milwaukee’s stated mission, and I am reading from your website, is “to reduce social, economic, and environmental disparities by providing free home repairs throughout Milwaukee and Waukesha counties. We are the largest provider of home repairs to eligible homeowners in Southeast Wisconsin and the only one that provides them for free.” I’m thinking, “how can you afford this free service?” How is Revitalize Milwaukee funded? Who are the main contributors?

Up until 2022, we were mostly privately funded by local foundations, corporations and individual gifts. The Zilber Foundation was a large contributor. We also received $40,000 from the city. Eventually, HUD, the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development also funded us. Currently, our sponsors also include Bader Philanthropies, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, the Bradley Foundation and many more.

I believe that you employ roughly 18 City of Milwaukee licensed and insured minority contractors on a yearly basis, and that you pay sustainable wages. Are these people outside contractors or your full-time employees?

I have 15 paid staff employees and managers who do office and programming work. They are not in the trades and doing the hands-on work. The workers who do the actual repairs are paid outside contractors who are licensed by the city. We also train young people interested in pursuing a future in the trades. We also have a lot of volunteers. So far this year, we’ve completed 250 houses. Our goal is 600 houses all over the county, and I think we will get there. We currently operate on an annual budget of over $12 million dollars. 

Let’s say I own a small home and can barely make my monthly mortgage payments. I’m in need of a lot of repairs. How do I go about qualifying to get help from Revitalize Milwaukee?

Most of the applicants call us, but we do have the application form on our website. Many are living in situations not fit for humans, but they own their homes and are not leaving. The guidelines are that you must be 60 or older, or disabled at any age, or a veteran or in a family who has a veteran. Our average homeowner makes $14,000 annually. We evaluate each person on an individual basis. 

What is Block Build and how does Block Build work to help residents in need of home repairs?

Block Build MKE is our signature program. Since our inception, we’ve been doing the work on homes on one block all in one day. In 2016 we changed to the Block Build model. The day before, Prep Day, we have all the building materials delivered including pods, dumpsters and porta-potties—thousands of dollars-worth of materials. The pods are placed in front of each house for the workers to easily access. On this one day, we fix porches, bathrooms, ramps, windows, electrical, plumbing, subfloors, landscaping and garbage cleanup. 

I found this recent quote from you, “One of the things I say a lot in the office is: ‘We always have to do the human thing. Our whole goal is to help people stay in their homes and make sure they can have a good quality of life.’” Can you expand on your philosophy?

The homeowners we help have lived in Milwaukee a long time. I feel there is a lack of dignity given to elders in our community, and it bothers me. No one wants to be poor or have cancer or live in a home in need of repair. But so many of our clients are resilient. I am helping them not out of pity but out of love. They need to know they are not alone.