Photo by Paul Hanon
Oby Nwabuzor
A crucial point of sustainable urban development is recognizing the interconnectedness of the built environment, which is something that community leader Oby Nwabuzor understands very well. Through her critical examination of the relationships between public health, real estate and social equity in Milwaukee, Nwabuzor has helped push communities toward viable solutions in addressing racial, economic and environmental disparities.
“How do you make sure that people in the community have what they need to be healthier?” Nwabuzor asks. This critical question forms the basis of her every venture.
She is the founder of Envision Growth, a real estate firm that champions community-oriented development and investment in order to build a healthier, more equitable Milwaukee. Her consulting firm, Envision Self, connects personal brands with their communities in order to improve business outcomes.
“The Milwaukee that I knew growing up started to not look like the Milwaukee that I was growing with,” Nwabuzor recalls. “It didn’t look the same, and I didn't quite understand why.”
Community Spirit
A first-generation Nigerian American, Oby Nwabuzor developed her community-oriented spirit from a young age. She was heavily involved in Amnesty International’s student group at Rufus King High School, and she canvassed for elections extensively during undergrad at UW-Milwaukee, getting folks registered and out to vote.
In college, Nwabuzor began by studying kinesiology but found she did not connect with the clinical aspect of health so much. She decided to pivot by looking at health from a different lens through the social drivers of health.
This led her into roles at various nonprofits, including United Way and American Heart Association (AHA), while she earned her Master of Business Administration degree from Cardinal Stritch University.
Solving Questions
“I wanted to be in a role that could have more of an external impact,” Nwabuzor explains. “I just want to keep being a vessel.”
At AHA, Nwabuzor worked to solve questions of life expectancy gaps, accessibility, sustainability and built environments in Milwaukee. She helped enact policy changes like $1.1 million in expanded SNAP access across the county, $600,000 in healthy retail funding to address food deserts and food swamps, and investments into more bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.
Her next logical step was to get involved with real estate. Upon receiving a continuing education grant from TEMPO Milwaukee and a certificate from Cornell University, Nwabuzor launched Envision Growth in 2019, applying her knowledge of advocacy, business, policy efforts, and both clinical and non-clinical aspects of health into her practice. “When we start talking about where people live, work and play, real estate is so pivotal in that,” she points out. “If we’re seeing development, why aren’t we seeing life expectancy improving?”
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Affordable Homes
Envision Growth has been selected by Milwaukee’s Community Development Alliance and LISC Milwaukee to be one of three developers for the Early Childhood Educator Homes project, which will construct affordable homes for Black and Brown families near partnered organizations, such as in the Amani and Harambee neighborhoods.
“It’s a full circle moment,” Nwabuzor mentions. “I remember playing ball on 24th and Burleigh at the PAL center (now COA Youth & Family Centers).”
Currently pursuing her Doctor of Public Health degree at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Nwabuzor is involved with Haywood Group’s Sears Market project, which will repurpose a long-vacant building at the intersection of Fondy Farmers Market and North Avenue into a mixed-use development featuring residential units, office space and hospitality. “I’m happy to be a part of that and align it with my educational pursuits, and also to learn from a seasoned developer like Kalan Haywood,” she states. “The project will highlight the impact of social connectedness.”
Nwabuzor’s expertise has been brought to the state level with her appointment to Wisconsin’s Public Health Council in 2022, and she is currently going into her third term there. She is also the director of social drivers of health strategy for advocate health and a board member of both Malaika Early Learning Center and Milwaukee’s Neighborhood Improvement Development Corporation.
Growing Business
In 2024, Nwabuzor embarked on a Black-owned business foodie tour of Milwaukee, sharing some of her favorite places to eat in Milwaukee Magazine. “These are businesses that are growing and always looking to try and do better,” she affirms. “That’s what drew me to doing it. I could’ve kept adding and making the list longer!”
Nwabuzor’s vision for Milwaukee in years to come emphasizes more equity in development that not only prioritizes investments in historically-underserved districts, but also ensures that the people living and working in those districts are not displaced. This entails more walkable neighborhoods, affordable housing, greenspace, recreational facilities and safe streets.
“We’re seeing a lot of development happening, and I’m hoping that the zoning with the Growing MKE initiative moves Milwaukee in a positive direction sooner than later,” she contends. “We need to make sure the community is heard, but also that community members know to show up and be at the table when there’s opportunities to share their voices.”
