Wilmington Renaissance Corp merges with Leaders Alliance

The Wilmington Renaissance Corporation (WRC), the downtown revitalization organization that has been spearheading development projects since 1993, and the Wilmington Leaders Alliance (WLA), which has focused on workforce and leadership development since 2017, have consolidated into a single org called Wilmington Alliance, the Delaware Business Times reports.

WRC’s executive director of eight months, Renata Kowalczyk, will lead the new organization, and Longwood Foundation President Thère du Pont will serve as chairman through the end of 2019, after which Dr. Edmondo Robinson, chief transformation officer for Christiana Care Health System, will become chairman.

The goal? Cutting the city’s 5.5% unemployment rate (compared to the state’s record-low rate, 3.2%) by connecting residents with jobs.

“There is an opportunity for Wilmington Alliance to be the partner at the table and define what is needed in various neighborhoods to really lift up their capacity and get to those 1,600 jobs,” Kowalczyk told the Times.

The Wilmington Leaders Alliance and the Wilmington Renaissance Corporation have launched a new alliance! Introducing… The Wilmington Alliance. #WLAGrowth #BigIdeasWilm pic.twitter.com/oJY426z45L

— WLA (@WLAgrowth) August 6, 2019