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UNO and Community Building Partners

The Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center (CEC) building partner organizations have the opportunity to work within the center where they benefit from unique access to UNO faculty, staff, and student resources, other UNO and community building partners, and the amenities within our state-of-the-art facility.

Civic Nebraska 

Civic Nebraska works to create a more modern and robust democracy for all Nebraskans. We achieve this through youth civic leadership programs in K-12 schools, civic health initiatives in communities across the state, and ensuring our elections are modern and accessible to all Nebraskans. A modern and robust democracy does not build itself. It takes hard work and dedicated community leaders. It starts on our streets, in our schools, and neighborhoods, and that is where you will find Civic Nebraska.

Coalition Rx 

Coalition Rx aims to reduce the misuse of prescription and non-prescription medicines by partnering with communities to raise awareness, provide community and professional education, prevention and treatment resources and public policy advocacy. 

Education Rights Counsel 

Through advocacy, representation and community collaboration, Education Rights Counsel (ERC) closes the access-to-justice gap and decreases the school-to-prison pipeline for Nebraska’s under-resourced PK-12 public school children and families.

Inclusive Communities 

A human relations organization confronting prejudice, bigotry, and discrimination through education programs which raise awareness, foster leadership and encourage advocacy for a just and inclusive society.

Interdisciplinary Behavioral Consultation (IBC) Scholars Program  

Interdisciplinary Behavioral Consultation (IBC) Scholars Program funds graduate students in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). The primary aims of the IBC Scholars Program are to establish an interdisciplinary training program focused on systemic behavioral intervention in school settings for children and adolescents with behavioral issues, recruit and retain high-quality graduate students in ABA, Psychology, and Special Education.  

Juvenile Justice Institute 

The Juvenile Justice Institute (JJI) provides essential technical assistance and completes policy and program evaluations for state and local agencies, as well as private organizations. JJI is increasingly providing more assistance to Omaha area agencies and having CEC space will increase its ability to collaborate more effectively in the community and across campus. This revenue-generating institute supports faculty and student engaged scholarship as well as supports service learning.

Metro Area Continuum of Care for the Homeless 

Metro Area Continuum of Care for the Homeless (MACCH) is the backbone organization of a Collective Impact effort to prevent and end homelessness within the tri-county region of Douglas, Sarpy, and Pottawattamie Counties. Composed of nearly 20 member agencies and multiple individual members, MACCH leads our community in the implementation of its “10 Year Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness.”

Metro Omaha Educational Consortium 

The Metropolitan Omaha Educational Consortium (MOEC) is a collaborative organization dedicated to public education and bringing metropolitan area educators together.

Mode Shift Omaha 

Mode Shift Omaha advocates for transportation options that enhance the quality of life and opportunities for everyone to live, work, and play.

NAMI Nebraska 

NAMI Nebraska is a statewide nonprofit organization that provides high-quality education and support services to those whose lives are impacted by mental illness. We collaborate with other organizations, governmental bodies, and advocates to improve services and quality of life for people with mental illnesses and their families.

Nebraska Education Policy Lab 

The Nebraska Education Policy Lab is a collaborative of university researchers, government employees, and policymakers, applying data insights to improve K-12 education in the State of Nebraska. This program will leverage advanced research methods and large data sets to investigate complex educational questions at the request of education practitioners and engage faculty, doctoral and graduate students in funded policy and program research.

Nebraska Shakespeare 

A nonprofit organization utilizing Shakespeare’s life-affirming works to broaden the cultural and educational environments of the community.

Nebraska Writers Collective 

Promotes creative writing and performance poetry throughout the Midwest through a variety of literary outreach programs, but primarily through hands-on, interactive workshops focused on the creation and performance of original writing. 

Prairie STEM 

Prairie STEM’s model combines the rigor and innovation of instructional leadership programs with authentic community partnerships and family engagement to transform regional economies through the talent development of all urban and rural students. This effort will cause for old paradigms to die. Transformational system-wide reforms will be needed which are driven by the needs of the future economy.

Office of Sustainability 

The UNO Office of Sustainability addresses seven goals outlined in UNO’s Sustainability Master Plan (SMP), all of which require collaboration and community engagement. In particular, the Office of Sustainability will strengthen its existing relationship with the Service Learning Academy, the Office of Civic and Social Responsibility, the Maverick Food Pantry, and a number of CEC partners (e.g., the Wellbeing Partners, ModeShift, etc.) as well as developing new collaborations with other CEC building partners and across campus. It provides service learning and internship opportunities to UNO students.

Omaha Girls Rock 

Through the powerful tool of musical experience and collaboration, Omaha Girls Rock cultivates strong values in female-identifying youth, developing confidence, self-reliance, and original thinking. By encouraging our female-identifying mentees to apply these principles in all aspects of their lives, we hope to help them grow into stronger and more valuable members of their community.

ONE Omaha 

ONE Omaha, founded in 2015, is a public-private initiative dedicated to actively facilitating the development of neighborhoods in the City of Omaha through communication, education, and advocacy.

Partnership 4 Kids 

Provides students the continual support needed to achieve success from kindergarten to careers. Using a foundation in goal-setting proficiency, strengths-based leadership curriculum, and the consistent support of adult role models, Partnership 4 Kids (P4K) focuses on four core areas to prepare students for academic success and the 21st-century workforce.

Service Learning Academy 

The UNO Service Learning Academy (SLA) creates university-community partnerships by integrating academic scholarship and civic engagement. These partnerships enhance student learning, advance community development, and foster engaged citizenship.

Spirituality, Public Health, Religious Studies 

Spirituality, Public Health, Religious Studies (SPHRS) is a project of Religious Studies that supports, or helps to coordinate, a variety of partnerships, initiatives and activities related to the areas of Spirituality, Public Health and Religious Studies at UNO, UNMC, and in local and global communities.  

Student Leadership and Innovation Collaborative 

Formerly known as the UNO Office of Civic and Social Responsibility, the Student Leadership and Innovation Collaborative (The Collaborative) fosters a lifelong commitment to active community engagement by providing a framework to empower members of the University of Nebraska at Omaha Community to identify and address the most pressing challenges and needs both locally and globally.

Support and Training for the Evaluation of Programs 

Support and Training for the Evaluation of Programs (STEPs) is a UNO organization who promotes evidence-informed decision making through research and evaluation. We use a collaborative, utilization-focused approach to support social service programs and policies that transform and improve lives.

The Wellbeing Partners 

Relying on expertise in worksite wellness and community health, The Wellbeing Partners bridge the good work between worksite wellness initiatives and community health collaboration for the greatest impact in our community. Based on public health and workplace wellness evidence, applied community practice, and partner and resident feedback, The Wellbeing Partners combines the eight dimensions of wellness with the social determinants of health to shape our work.

In January of 2020, WELLCOM and Live Well Omaha merged to become The Wellbeing Partners with a goal to build wellbeing into the way communities grow and do business.

Tribal Management and Emergency Services  

A collaborative and innovative organization consisting of UNO’s Emergency Management Services (EMS) and Native American Studies (NAS) programs, Nebraska Tribal Community Colleges (Little Priest Community College and Nebraska Indian Community College); Nebraska Tribal Governments and the Tribal Emergency Management Association (iTEMA). The Tribal Management and Emergency Services Partnership is currently engaged in a bold initiative to collaborate with its partners to construct a standardized but scalable emergency management educational research and outreach program.  This collaborative and transdisciplinary partnership will work to increase the capacity of Tribal governments to plan for, respond to, and recover from man-made and natural disaster emergency situations. 

University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) Munroe-Meyer Institute (MMI) 

The UNMC Munroe-Meyer Institute’s (MMI) mission is to lead the world in transforming the lives of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their families and communities through outreach, engagement, premier educational programs, innovative research and extraordinary patient care. 

Urban League of Nebraska  

The Urban League of Nebraska has been serving the Omaha community since 1927 and is one of 15 out of 98 affiliates to receive a perfect assessment score.  A signature program of the National Urban League, Project Ready is a set of evidence-based standards plus practical tools specifically designed for and unique to the Urban League movement, for the purpose of getting African American and other urban youth ready for college, work, and life. 

Urban Bird and Nature Alliance 

The Urban Bird and Nature Alliance is established to appreciate, respect and value, protect, educate and support the preservation and conservation of nature in urban environments pertaining to urban forestry, sustainable landscapes, birdlife, wildlife, and natural resources. We work to preserve and restore nature for the public gain in Omaha and throughout the state of Nebraska.

WhyArts? Inc. 

A community organization that partners with professional artists and area organizations serving at-risk youth, people with physical, mental or developmental disabilities and seniors to create interactive arts experiences.

William Brennan Institute for Labor Studies 

A UNO institute dedicated to fostering creative and critical thinking among labor leaders, potential leaders, and interested members by providing relevant information and training in the skills needed in today’s changing economy and workplace.