Outstanding Community Leader Award

       Lisa Nigro

As a police officer in the 1980s, Lisa Nigro was discouraged from engaging the people she met on her beat. Stymied by her inability to respond personally to people in need, in 1989, with the support of her husband Perry, Lisa quit her job,. She borrowed her nephew’s red wagon and filled it with coffee and sandwiches, which she handed out to people on the streets in Uptown. She chose Uptown, one of the most diverse urban communities in the United States, because 10% of Chicago’s homeless population lived there.

With her on that first day was her friend Lisa Madigan. They were able to speak with people and learn about their issues. Finally satisfied with the richness of her relationships with Chicago’s homeless, Lisa wanted to do more for them; she fitted her car with a mobile kitchen and set up outdoor cafes, serving hot, nutritious meals. Eventually, Inspiration Cafe moved to a bus and then to a storefront.

To realize her vision of making Inspiration Cafe a respectful community serving the poor, Lisa used her charisma and vision, mobilizing masses of volunteers. Early supporters included philanthropists Richard Driehaus, who called Lisa after hearing her interviewed, and Jim Mabie. Kraft funded the mobile kitchen, and real estate developer Peter Holsten offered the Cafe its first home.

Today, Inspiration Corporation is a $3.8 million agency that works with Chicagoans affected by homelessness and poverty, helping them gain housing, employment or income and independence. The organization still serves people in Uptown, and since 1995 has served people at The Living Room Cafe in Woodlawn. In 2011, the organization will open a site in East Garfield Park.

The values Lisa envisioned in 1989 still guide the organization: treat each person with dignity and respect; create choices for all people regardless of ability to pay; and find common places and values among uncommon groups, individuals, and corporations.
While she has never been a paid employee of Inspiration Corporation, Lisa continues as the public face and the guiding spirit of the organization, stopping in frequently to help cook breakfast or to visit participants and staff.

Lisa is Director of Community Outreach and Director of Massage Therapy at the Evanston Athletic Club, and is founder and owner of Fire Heart Joy, Inc., which offers massage therapy, spiritual direction, personal training and group fitness.

With Rotary International, Lisa has participated in projects such as rebuilding homes and helping students raise money for polio research. She teaches fitness classes to Girl Scouts and low-income youth at the Evanston Athletic Club. She coordinated a running team for a literacy charity and has been actively involved in a toy drive for a daycare center. Lisa is a frequent speaker on topics related to volunteerism, nonprofit management and personal growth.

Lisa and Perry live in Rogers Park with their children Emily and Nick.