NEH Application Cover SheetHumanities Access Grants

PROJECT DIRECTORGretchen MillikenDirector of Advanced Planning444 S 5th St, Suite 600Louisville, KY 40202-2343USA

E-mail: gretchen.milliken@louisvilleky.govPhone: 502-574-1358Fax:

Field of expertise: Architecture

INSTITUTIONLouisville/Jefferson County Metro GovernmentLouisville, KY 40202-2814

APPLICATION INFORMATIONTitle: Cultural Pass

Grant period: From 2014-06-04 to 2021-09-30Project field(s): History, General; Arts, General; Literature, General

Description of project: The Cultural Pass program provides free access for children to artand cultural attractions throughout Louisville. The punch-card pass admits one child/student (ages 0 through college) to30 attractions as diverse as the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft (KMAC) to the Kentucky Derby Museum to YewDell Gardens. If the child is under 16, one parent or guardian also is admitted for free.

BUDGET

Outright RequestMatching RequestTotal NEH

100,000.000.00100,000.00

Cost SharingTotal Budget

100,000.00200,000.00

GRANT ADMINISTRATORJeff O'Brien444 S 5th Street, Suite 600Louisville, KY 40202-2343USA

E-mail: jeff.obrien@louisvilleky.govPhone: 502-574-1354Fax:

(ZH-252975)

CULTURAL PASS 2016 Narrative Metro Louisville

Humanities Activity / Program: The Cultural Pass program provides free access for children to art and cultural attractions throughout Louisville. The punch-card pass admits one child/student (ages 0 through college) to 30 attractions as diverse as the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft (KMAC) to the Kentucky Derby Museum to Yew Dell Gardens. If the child is under 16, one parent or guardian also is admitted for free. Genesis/ History: The “Cultural Pass Challenge” is one of Metro Louisville’s initiatives created to address the experiential gap that often correlates with low income and communities of color. It encourages learning during out-of-school time by demonstrating the critical role Louisville’s art and cultural attractions play in providing engaging and educational activities during the summer months. The program supports Metro Louisville’s Strategic Plan and initiatives; i.e., to transform Louisville into a city of life-long learners and supports the Cradle to Career initiative, a major community effort that provides a comprehensive approach to eliminate barriers that interfere with lifelong learning and success. The Cultural Pass evolved from an idea presented by the Creativity Focus Team during Phase II of Vision Louisville as a way to address the importance of arts education in Louisville. The pass was one of the 80,000+ ideas that citizens submitted as part of the Vision Louisville initiative, in which residents envisioned how the city should look, feel and flow over the next 25 years. The program is overseen by The Office of Advanced Planning which designs and implements long-range planning solutions to create a vibrant sense of place where people want to live, work and innovate. The Cultural Pass was launched in 2014 with minimal funding. Twenty-two organizations participated and a record 50,000 passes were issued. The 2015 Cultural Pass Challenge built on the success of the previous year. During the summer of 2015, nine organizations were added and another 51,000 passes were issued. A diverse array of organizations are represented such as The Carnegie Center for Art and History, Little Loomhouse, American Printing House for the Blind, and Locust Grove. See page 4 of Supplementary file attachment for a complete list of the 2015 participating organizations. 2016 Goals: The intention is to expand “Cultural Pass” opportunities throughout the year. Gaps for the program include marketing of participating venue, visits from out of school time providers, data collection, transportation and follow up with Cultural Pass users beyond the summer program:

Encourage and support additional programming at all of the participating art and cultural institutions to enhance the experience of the children. Therefore, enhancing humanities activities and educational aspects of the Cultural Pass may have even greater impacts on improving Louisville’s lifelong learning, particularly for those in the community most in need.

Expand the 2016 program to encourage group visits led by teachers/directors/other qualified persons. The current program is geared towards individual visits to the participating institutions (1 child accompanied by an adult). However, our post analysis showed that many children who were issued passes were not able to take advantage of this opportunity because they are enrolled in child development and community centers.

Institute a better data collection system which will help us to better understand our clients who register for a Cultural Pass and ultimately enrich their experiences. Continue to tie into the Library summer reading program. We will also be able to share this data between LFPL, Participating organizations, Jefferson County Public Schools, and Louisville Metro.

Reduce transportation barriers for children and their families by growing our partnership with the Transit Authority of River City (TARC) which provides public transportation in the Greater Louisville area.

Program’s significant humanities content and intellectual value: Our participating cultural institutions offer many opportunities for the children to explore and interpret cultural and humanistic ways in which people through the ages have responded to the world around them. Below are some examples of humanities activities that are offered:

The Carnegie Center for Art and History is a local history museum & modern art gallery which offers visitors the opportunity to enjoy art works in a variety of media and to learn more about the process of creative expression through a range of exhibitions and programs for all ages. The award-winning exhibit Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage: Men and Women of the Underground Railroad is a multimedia experience of discovery that invites visitors to explore the people and places of antebellum New Albany and Louisville, Kentucky and explores the actual lives of two groups of people living in this borderland between the North and the South. Another exhibit Remembered: the Life of Lucy Higgs Nichols details this remarkable woman's escape from slavery in 1862, and her service as a nurse with the 23rd Indiana Regiment during the Civil War, to her life in freedom in New Albany, Indiana.

Little Loomhouse features landmark cabins and educates students of all ages about the history of weaving and textile arts through diverse programs, residencies and community partnerships. History is brought to life through programming. For example, one exhibit tells how Eleanor Roosevelt commissioned Lou Tate to weave linens for the White House while her husband was in office.

American Printing House for the Blind – dedicated to preserving and presenting the fascinating educational history of blind people and the historic contributions of the American Printing House for the Blind for the benefit of the visually impaired, educators of the visually impaired, and the broader community. Many workshops are available with each workshop exploring a specific topic relating to the education of the blind. A new exhibit for 2016 is “Sustainable Braille.” This exhibit explores the history of computerized braille, notetakers like the Braille ‘n Speak, and the rise of the refreshable braille display, as well changes in industrial production that reduce the amount of paper we consume each year.

Historic Locust Grove is a 55-acre 18th-century farm site and National Historic Landmark. The site is operated as a historic interpretive site with the mission to preserve and interpret the circa 1792 house, outbuildings, and grounds as examples of early nineteenth-century frontier America, and to share the stores of the many people who contributed to the history of the site, including the experiences of George Rogers Clark and the enslaved workers at Locust Grove. Through the use of historic reproductions, docents provide hand-on activities for visitors to learn how children played, what they learned, and what kinds of work they did around a farm like Locust Grove such as cooking, spinning, and woodworking. Visitors learn about the institution of slavery and how the people of early Kentucky struggled with the morality and daily realities of life under a slave system. Programming includes the re-creation of a slave dwelling of the period in the first decades of the 19th century where docents lead discussions and ask visitors to interpret the living and working space of an enslaved family.

Connection to Needs/ Capacities of youth, communities of color, and economically disadvantaged populations in Metro Louisville: According to the Equity Scorecard published by Jefferson Community Public Schools in Metro Louisville, school poverty levels range from a low of 15% to a high of 97%, with African American students more likely to be enrolled in extreme poverty schools. In our extreme poverty schools, 28% of students are proficient in reading versus 66% in low poverty schools. There is a 74% gap between the lowest and highest reading proficiency school in Jefferson County. Across the district, only two in ten African American students on free and reduced-price meals are proficient in reading. For more than 60,000 of these students who come from low-income backgrounds, additional supports and programs are critical to their success. Research indicates that at-risk students exposed to arts have better academic performances than comparable

students1 . Further, research also indicates that educational visits to art and cultural venues have more impact than simply granting access2. This research supports granting access, but also emphasizes the importance of offering guidance to parents and children on how to use these cultural resources. The Cultural Pass provides cultural and arts learning opportunities throughout the year that will enhance social and emotional development of the whole child. Over 102,000 children have received Cultural Passes over the two years of the program.

Nearly 40,000 passes went to children in Jefferson County's high poverty ZIP Codes.

Over 14,000 of these passes went to children living in the nine neighborhoods that make up West Louisville. The top three ZIP codes were: 40211, 40216 and 40218. These ZIP Codes have poverty rates above the average for Jefferson County (16.6%) according to the 2010 Census.

The majority of these children (and even parents) had never had the opportunity to visit the participating institutions. The Zoo had a first time visitor rate of 67%. Other locations, such as the Carnegie Center for Art and History, experienced a much higher first-time visitor rate of 87%.

Efforts by Mayor’s Office to reach and serve these groups: Numerous strategies have been undertaken by the Fischer Administration to invest in and improve our community. However, we begin with education – our top priority for the entire city and for West Louisville (predominately low and middle-income neighborhoods with large minority populations) – because we firmly believe it is the key to success for all residents. The Administration collaborates closely with large segments of the community through programs like Kindergarten Countdown, Our America’s Promise GradNation Collaborative, partnership with Ready by 21, Every1Reads, and Success by 6. The Cradle to Career initiative was launched in 2014 and is a major community effort that provides a comprehensive approach to eliminate barriers that interfere with lifelong learning and success. Cradle to Career operates through four major pillars which are the major touch points in lifelong learning: Early Care & Education/Kindergarten Readiness, K-12 Success, High School to Postsecondary Transition & Completion, and 21st Century Workforce & Talent. Each pillar has action networks to develop and implement strategies to increase student achievement and lifelong learning opportunities, including community level goals for 2020. A tenant of each of the “pillars” is curriculum and experiences that provide real world relevance. The Cultural Pass is a major part of this effort. See page 10 of Supplementary file attachment for more comprehensive information about the Cradle to Career initiative. Other ongoing efforts to reach our youth in Metro Louisville:

Kindergarten Countdown: 1,070 children and 1,624 adults participated in events

2,750 t-shirts & books distributed by LFPL

Metro Parks Healthy Summer Camps: 9 sites – 436 participants;

Converted Baxter, Parkhill and Portland camp sites to open programming and extended hours to reach more and older youth.

Jefferson Memorial Forest/Metro Parks – Louisville is Engaging Children Outdoors (ECHO) Initiative: 343 students

Received 2-yr, $42,295 grant from U.S. Forest Service, $25,000 grant from National Park Service cost share grant (leveraging $35,000 Metro budget enhancement for summer programming)

$7,500 donation from Toyota Motor Manufacturing of KY to support Louisville ECHO

LFPL Summer Reading – preventing summer learning loss: 44,142 children (birth-5th grade) participated; 25,309 (57.3%) completed (read at least 10 books); 15,434 participants (6th -12th grade); 3,210 (20.8%) completed (read at least 6 books and completed 2 activities)

1 National Endowment for the Arts, “Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth”

2 Green, Kisdia, and Bowen, “The Educational Value of Field Trips”

KentuckianaWorks SummerWorks: 2,181 teens participated; 680 low-income youth were prepared for work through work-readiness training, placed in jobs and coached through 7 weeks

Louisville Metro Community Action Partnership Summer Meals: 31 sites offered summer meals – 11,272 snacks, 9,469 breakfasts, and 24,304 lunches

Five Community Centers have wifi and three community centers have new computer labs, all of which are designated as official JCPS designated “Learning Places” that provide afterschool access to Study Island and Success Maker

In partnership with Dare to Care, Metro Parks served 13,000 hot dinners to young people 18 and under at eight community centers during the summer

Distributed more than 1,000 TARC passes to provide free rides for youth to get to and from local youth programs and cultural attractions.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and Administration: The total consolidated population of Louisville, Kentucky, as of the 2014 census estimate was 760,026. Metro Louisville is governed by a Metro Council of 26 members and a “Metro Mayor.” Mayor Greg Fischer is now in his second term as Louisville’s 50th Mayor and his administration is focused on three top goals: creating good-paying jobs, making Louisville an even more compassionate city, and improving education at all levels. Advancing education initiatives include Cradle to Career, signing a commitment to improve student performance with JCPS and achieving a record level of citizens earning college degrees; and commitment to the Louisville Public Art Master Plan. Future/Sustainability: It is the intent of the Mayor’s office and its partners to continue the Cultural Pass program in the future to address the education and experiential gaps that exist in the community. In an effort to create a sustainable tool, the Cultural Pass team will continue our partnerships with the existing cultural institutions, Louisville Free Public Library and Jefferson County Public Schools. We are also intent on expanding our participating institution group. In addition, we are exploring a partnership with Fund for the Arts to transition the program by 2020 from Louisville Metro Government to this community non-profit organization. Fundraising Strategy:

Encourage current donors to increase their gift and encourage a 5-year commitment pledge

Develop a major-donor prospect list: o Personal solicitations/calls from Mayor and Mayor’s Office o Targeted letter that is personalized and signed by Mayor with follow-up calls

Continue to meet and present grant applications to local/national philanthropic foundations

Dedicate space in Mayor’s weekly newsletter to spread awareness to community and corporate donors

The Cultural Pass team will collaborate with JCPS and other schools to provide data and information about

learning opportunities through the art and cultural organizations. At the conclusion of the program the

Cultural Pass team will work with JCPS to analyze 2015 and 2016 data to begin tracking the impacts on

students’ academic performance (dependent on JCPS’s participation) and increasing attendance at Louisville’s

art and cultural institutions.

Louisville/Jefferson

County Metro

Government

OMB No 3136-0134

Expires 6/30/2018

Gretchen Milliken

5/1/2016 - 9/30/2021

2015

I. Program Budget History (2015)

$40,000

$100,000

$8,000

Total budget:

II. Fundraising Details

Total to be raised (1:1 ratio)

III. Investment

IV. Proposed Endowment (figures automatically total)

Endowment invested (NEH funds + matching funds)

Anticipated rate of return on investment (%)

Total annual expendable income

2018-2019 2019-2020 2020-2021

V. Projected Uses of Annual Income (figures are per

year)

Data Collection $20,000 $20,000 $20,000

Pass Printing $15,000 $15,000 $15,000

Transportation $115,000 $115,000 $115,000

Staff $50,000 $50,000 $50,000

Total direct costs: $200,000 $200,000 $200,000

Total indirect costs: $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

$200,000 $200,000 $200,000

VI. Project Funding

$100,000

b. Matching$100,000

$100,000

$200,000

$66,667

Total annual expenses:

Admission and maintenance for institutions

60,000 passes

TARC/Charter Cultural Pass Bus/Summer Youth Pass

Private Donations

$200,000

0%

$148,000

$100,000

Total in Matching Gifts($50,000 or $100,000)

Louisville Metro Government works in conjunction with local art and cultural institutions and organizations to

provide free access to art and cultural venues for all Louisville youth eligible for a Louisville Free Public Library (LFPL)

library card from June-August. The funds for the previous Cultural Passes have been held by Louisville Metro

Government and the Community Foundation of Louisville. Future funds will be held and managed by Louisville

Metro Government. Investment will be used to help facilitate Out of School Time providers to take more at-risk and

opportunity youth to art and cultural institutions.

.

In Louisville, we have a number of large and small foundations that support arts, culture and humanities. We have

received prior support from three of these foundations and are in ongoing discussion with them and several other

foundations who have expressed interest in the program. In addition, we have requested support from several

Louisville-based companies through their community relations offices. In additionn, all of the participating cultural

institutions will continue to absorb partial costs for programming and staff.

Computational Details/Notes

Louisville Metro Government General Fund

Gheens Foundation Grant

Applicant Institution:

Project Director:

Grant Period:

PROJECT TOTAL:

Federal Matching Funds:

TOTAL REQUESTED FROM NEH:

Third-Party Contributions:

Computational Details/Notes

Software program purchase, install & training

Library, Parks, Metro staff administration

a. Requested from NEH (including

indirect costs)

By Certification Deadline 2017 ($25,000 or $50,000)

TOTAL MATCHING:

By Certification Deadline 2018($25,000 or $50,000)

$50,000

Describe your investment strategy for the term

endowment (name and location of entity that will

manage endowment, relationship between applicant

and entity holding/managing endowment, etc.).

$50,000

Projected sources of matching gifts and anticipated

totals from each source

OFFICE OF THE MAYOR LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY

GREG FISCHER

MAYOR May 2, 2016

Katja Zelljadt

Director, Office of Challenge Grants

National Endowment for the Humanities

400 7th

Street SW

Washington, DC 20506

RE: Cultural Pass – National Endowment for the Humanities Challenge Grant

Dear Director Zelljadt:

Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government is pleased to submit this application for a

National Endowment for the Humanities Challenge Grant. Louisville is committed to life-long

learning and bridging the experience gap in our community. The Cultural Pass is a key program

that encourages our children to take part in productive, learning programs during the summertime.

The pass was an idea that came from our Vision Louisville initiative, which received more than

80,000 ideas from the public. For the past two summers, my team has worked diligently with our

art and cultural organizations, many of which are rooted in the humanities, to offer free access to

provide meaningful learning opportunities for our youth and address summer learning loss.

In partnership with the Louisville Free Public Library and Metro Parks, we distributed over

102,000 Cultural Passes in two years. Many of these passes are going to the children and families

that need them the most. In fact, nearly 40,000 of these passes are going to children and families

that live in Louisville’s neighborhoods with high levels of poverty. However, we also know that we

have lower rates of usage by these families.

The Cultural Pass is a component of my Cradle to Career initiative. Reducing our

experience gap by providing access to our museums and historic sites inspires more children to

learn and be engaged in their community. This Challenge Grant would go a long way to helping

Louisville reduce barriers and provide more interaction with our cultural organizations rooted in the

humanities.

I encourage the National Endowment for the Humanities’ full support of the application for this

Challenge Grant. Its implementation will not only complement recent public and private

investments in the Cultural Pass, but also will improve critical access to our city’s wonderful

cultural organizations.

Sincerely,

Greg Fischer

Mayor

CULTURAL PASSNATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITES CHALLENGE GRANT

VISION

A cultural pass for children of all ages that supports and encourages life-long learning by providing free access to Louisville’s art and cultural institutions.

The cultural pass grants one-time free access for all children in Jeff erson County. One parent/guardian accompanying children under 16 are also admitted free. Passes distributed at Louisville Free Public Library (LFPL) locations, Metro Parks Community Centers, and through the Offi ce of Youth Development.

HOW IT WORKS

PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS

The Cultural Pass has four principle benefi ts for participating organizations

1. Increased Attendance - many attending via the Cultural Pass would not otherwise visit the institution/attraction.

2. Education - venues also have an opportunity to showcase their educational programs and create an educational experience for the visitors.

3. Exposure - organizations received expanded media coverage through the announcement of the pass and the press conferences to discuss progress.

4. Collaboration - another program for organizations to work together to create a popular and successful program. The collaboration can provide a model for cultural programs on a moving foward basis.

Taken as a group, these benefi ts can help organizations pursue funding opportunities as the program can demonstrate their commitment to education and reaching under-served populations. The list of participating organizations from 2015 is below:

Actor’s Theatre of LouisvilleAmerican Printing House for the Blind MuseumArts and Cultural Attractions CouncilArts Council of Southern Indiana Pat Harrision Arts Center GalleryAsia Institute - Crane HouseBernheim Arboretum and Research ForestCarnegie Center for Art and HistoryFrazier History MuseumGheens Science Hall & Rauch PlanetariumHistoric Locust GroveKentucky Center for the Performing ArtsKentucking Derby MuseumKentucky Museum of Art and Craft

Kentucky Science CenterKentucky Shakespeare Fesitival Little LoomhouseLocal Speed - Speed Art MuseumLouisville Ballet SchoolLouisville Free Public LibraryLouisville Metro ParksLouisville Youth ChoirLouisville ZooPortland MusuemRiverside, The Farnsley-Moreman LandingSpeed Art Museum - Local SpeedStage One Family TheatreWalden Theatre/Blue Apple PlayersYew Dell Botanical Gardens21c Museum

Cultural Pass Program:

BASICS: The Cultural Pass allows for one-time free access for one child and one accompanying adult to each of the participating institutions.

PASS DELIVERY: Passes are delivered to all children with (or eligible for) a Louisville Free Public Library Card. This method will improve front-end data collection and provide for a real-time data sharing between Louisville Metro Government and the participating organizations.

Metro Parks Community Centers and Offi ce of Youth Development also participates in pass distribution to targeted youths in out of school time programs. Data is reported to the Cultural Pass project manager.

TIMING: The Cultural Pass takes place during the summer months (June-August) when school is not in session.

DATA COLLECTION: Participating venues track users. Additional tracking software was purchased by the Louisville Free Public Library to track Cultural Pass and Summer Reading participants.• The Cultural Pass gathers name, address, age, school, and location of pass pick-up at

registration.• Number of visits and locations visited are gathered on the back-end.• Venues track ZIP Codes, fi rst-time visits and repeat Cultural Pass users of visitors.• Pass users are asked about their visit to the venue.• The Cultural Pass team will collaborate with JCPS to analyze data to begin tracking the

impacts on students’ academic performance (dependent on JCPS’s participation) and increasing attendance at Louisville’s art and cultural institutions. Analysis will determine the ROI for continuing the Cultural Pass on a permanent basis.

“I didn’t know museums were for people like me” That is what one west Louisville resident told the staff at the American Printing House for the Blind in 2014. The Cultural Pass provides EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES. Louisville’s cultural organizations designate times and/or activities where the Cultural Pass users can access enhanced learning opportunities.

The Cultural Pass team will collaborate with JCPS and other schools to provide data and information about learning opportunities through the art and cultural organizations. At the conclusion of the program, Cultural Pass data will be shared with JCPS and other schools to link to students’ performance.

CULTURAL PASS CHALLENGE: To encourage youths and families to experience a wide range of cultural organizations, completers of the Cultural Pass and Learning Pass (eight cultural pass visits) receive prizes.

Cultural Pass Data:More than 30 organizations partnered with Louisville Metro Government in 2014 and 2015 to create a program that provided free access for Jeff erson County youth to many of the area’s most popular art and cultural attractions. The “Cultural Pass Challenge” was created as a proof of concept to encourage learning during out-of-school time and demonstrate the critical role Louisville’s art and cultural attractions play in providing engaging and educational activities during the summer months.

The Cultural Pass evolved from an idea presented by the Creativity Focus Team during Phase II of Vision Louisville. The program’s goals support the Mayor’s Strategic Plan in transforming Louisville into a city of life-long learners.

The Cultural Pass Challenge had tremendous success with the issuance of over 102,000 passes in the fi rst 2 years. The need and desire for the program were demonstrated by the overwhelming response in Louisville’s traditionally low- and middle-income neighborhoods. Top 10 ZIP Codes for distribution for 2014 and 2015 are:

1. 40211 (Chickasaw and Parkland) 5,280 passes2. 40216 (Shively) 5,274 passes3. 40218 (West Buechel and Appliance Park) 4,025 passes4. 40214 (Iroquois and Beechmont) 3,960 passes5. 40299 (Jeff ersontown) 3,774 passes6. 40219 (Newburg and Okolona) 3,592 passes7. 40291 (Fern Creek) 3,480 passes8. 40203 (Central Louisville including Russell and Old Louisville) 3,405 passes9. 40272 (Valley Station) 3,361 passes10. 40212 (Portland and Shawnee 3,227 passes

CULTURAL PASS - A TOOL FOR LIFE-LONG LEARNINGThe program is successful in getting children into well-known attractions such as the Kentucky Science Center and the Louisville Zoo as well as lesser-known attractions such as the American Printing House for the Blind Museum, Carnegie Center for Art and History, Locust Grove, Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft and Riverside. Most venues experienced an increase in visitors – many of whom were making their fi rst trip. Even well-known organizations such as the Zoo and Science Center had fi rst time visitor rates near 50%. Other locations, such as the Little Loomhouse (96% in 2015) and Riverside (95% in 2014), experienced a much higher fi rst-time visitor rate.

The program also had an impact on the Library’s summer programming. In 2014, there was a 16% increase in Summer Reading completers and a jump in children’s circulation occurred. In 2015, the number of Summer Reading completers jumped to an all time high of more than 30,500. These increases are being attributed to the Cultural Pass as the Library was the primary point of distribution.

These are the short-term benefi ts from the Cultural Pass. However, exposure to art and cultural institutions can have long-term benefi ts on lifelong learning, particularly for those in the community in most need. Research indicates that at-risk students exposed to arts have better academic performances than comparable students1. Further, research also indicates that educational visits to art and cultural venues have more impacts than simply granting access . This research supports granting access2, but also emphasizes the importance of off ering guidance to parents and children on how to use these cultural resources. Therefore, expanding educational aspects may have even larger impacts on improving Louisville’s lifelong learning.

1 National Endowment for the Arts, “Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth”2 Green, Kisdia, and Bowen, “The Educational Value of Field Trips”

Gretchen Peterson Milliken is an architect and city planner, currently the Director of Advanced Planning

for Louisville Forward, a division of Louisville Metro Government. A transplant from Stockholm, Sweden

where Urban Planning is synonymous with smart growth and sustainability, Gretchen brings a holistic

approach to urban planning and design with a focus on people and the environment. Receiving her

Masters of Architecture from The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm (KTH) Gretchen spent the

following two decades working across a broad range of architectural projects including mixed use,

workplace design, residential, adaptive reuse and urban planning and design. She has lead or

collaborated on numerous projects which have received honor awards along with national recognition.

In addition to her architectural work, she was an associate professor at the Royal Institute of Technology

in Stockholm.

Since joining Louisville Metro, Gretchen has played a key role in a number of city-wide initiatives

including Vision Louisville, a 25 year visionary plan inspiring innovative and transformative ideas for

Louisville’s future built environment and MOVE Louisville, a long-range strategic multi-modal

transportation plan focusing on creating greater mobility choices for people to connect with where they

live, work, create and innovate. A number of transformative projects have ensued from these initiatives

which Gretchen has been intimately involved in, namely a free Cultural Pass for Louisville youth, an

innovative Food Port in one of the city’s more underserved neighborhoods, a federal TIGER grant for a

15-mile Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line and re-imagining some of the city’s more challenging corridors. In

addition to these projects, Gretchen co-chairs the city’s Choice Neighborhood Initiative in the Russell

neighborhood together with the Metro Housing Authority.

Gretchen also played an integral role in starting up a local district chapter of the Urban Land Institute,

ULI Kentucky and now serves as chair of the chapter. She is also a member of both the American and

Swedish Institute of Architects.