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Gregory A.
Galluzzo
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Gregory A. Galluzzo has been a community organizer since 1971.
From 1971 to 1975 he was director of the Pilsen Neighbors Community
Council operating in the predominantly Mexican Community of Pilsen on
the near South side of Chicago. During his tenure, the Community Council
won a battle for the new Benito Juarez high school, created the 18th
Street Development Corporation, established the neighborhood festival
called Fiesta del Sol which has grown to attract over 1,000,000 visitors
annually.
From 1975 to 1979 he worked to establish six community organizations in
the State of Washington. Each of these organizations fought and won
issues around crime, housing, education, and better youth services.
These organizations combined into a coalition called the Light Brigade
to fight the utility companies that were attempting to pass the cost of
nuclear power plant overruns on to consumers. The Light Brigade saved
consumers billions of dollars by forcing investors rather than consumers
to foot the bill for this debacle.
From 1979 to 1986, he worked with Mary Gonzales to establish UNO of
Chicago. This organization forced the city to build a new health clinic
in Southeast Chicago. It organized thousands of people to push for the
creation of the West Side Technical Institute. This $60,000,000.00
community college provides training to thousands of young people so that
they can compete for higher paying technical jobs. UNO also played a
major role in pushing for school reform in the City of Chicago.
From 1986 to the present he has been director of the Gamaliel
Foundation. During this time the Gamaliel Foundation has grown into a
network of nearly 60 community organizations in fourteen states and in
the Natal and Western Cape Provinces of South Africa.
The Foundation has worked in Canada and Romania. It has been invited to
work in Honduras and Tanzania. It continues to expand in the United
States.
The Gamaliel Foundation works primarily with congregation centered
community organizations. These organizations have become powerful forces
for change in poor and working class communities. They also work with
religious leaders to strengthen congregations.
The foundation provides intensive staff and leadership development
programs. The organizations within the network frequently combine to
work on National Issues affecting housing, transportation and urban
sprawl.
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