Mike Kazmierski serves as the Executive Director of Strengthen our Community (SoC), a non-profit organization that is committed to developing cooperative, caring solutions to regional needs, with a focus on education and families.  SoC is different from other non-profits as there is no single mission or passion such as homelessness or climate change.  Their vision is to ‘strengthen our community’ in the long run so any community challenge not already adequately addressed, such as chronic absenteeism, universal Pre-K, or childcare availability can receive a commitment.  While working with other state-wide partners, solutions are identified, an action plan developed, and support is rallied to address the challenge.

Mike Kazmierski, a Wisconsin native, is a retired Army Colonel and earned an engineering degree from West Point, as well as Master degrees in business administration and military arts and science.  He was President and CEO of the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN), 2011-2023.  Under his leadership EDAWN was recognized as one of the top economic agencies in the country.  Over 250 companies were attracted to the area leading to significant job growth.

Strengthen our Community (SoC) is committed to developing cooperative, caring solutions to regional needs, with a focus on education and families.  However, SoC is different from other non-profits as we have no single mission or passion, like homelessness or climate change.  Our vision is to “strengthen our community” in the long run so that we can commit to any community challenge not already being adequately addressed, issues like chronic absenteeism, universal Pre-K, and childcare availability.   We then work with other partners state-wide to identify a solution, develop an action plan, and rally the support needed to address the challenge.

Current priorities include:

• Reducing chronic absenteeism in our schools by 50% in the next three years.
• Getting universal Pre-K for all 4-year-olds in Washoe County by 2028
• Getting basic health care and mental health support in every school by 2026.
• Increasing childcare spaces in the region by 35% by 2030.
• Develop a sustainable solution to funding support for Family Resource Centers by 2028.