“Helping people, restoring communities, and connecting positive strengths.”
Mr. Ishma Valenti is a servant leader who partners with non-profit organizations and community activists to coordinate outreach, fundraising and policy change. Ishma has dedicated over 19 years of his life to working for the betterment of the community in Lincoln, Nebraska and its surrounding areas. Ishma truly cares for his community as a native Nebraskan who works, lives, and enjoys his family life (wife, 3 children) in the Lincoln area. Ishma has helped to co-found, rebrand, fundraise, create policy and bring positive media exposure to various successful non-profit organizations and community entities including; Nebraska Children & Families Foundation (coordinator of youth initiative 2003-2005), Guidance to Success Youth Club (co-founder/Director 2006-2013), Child Guidance Center (Coordinator: Extended Day Treatment Program/Development Communications 2009-2018), United Way of Lincoln (presentation and fundraising speaker 2017-present), Clyde Malone Community Center (Director: Community Engagement/ Teen Programing 2018-present). Ishma made national acclaim by drafting the Hold Cops Accountable Agreement (HCA Agreement) which made national news in successful efforts to bring the Lincoln, NE community and police together for understanding and transparency.
Ishma is also an award winning film director, producer & writer, who focuses on films that have a social conscious and stories that inspire change in communities.
Ishma has been an impactful community advocate, successfully drafting and
supporting state legislation (Nebraska Foster Care Bill Of Rights 2005, Wrap Around Process - Family Centered Practice 2006). Ishma has worked while coordinating, redesigning, and facilitating multiple community-based youth programs and he has been a strong voice and advocate for access to mental health services and nutritional education for the underserved in his community.
Ishma has shown a strong commitment to making and strengthening relationships between the community and police as he co-directs the Take Pause program with Matthew Cries For Ribs. Take Pause works to bring police officers and teens together to enjoy positive experiences with each other to create more trust and familiarity.
Ishma has been working to make change in his community for over 19 years, when he first became a member of the Governor’s Youth Advisory Council. Ishma has shown a strong interest in and has a mission to help marginalized communities and groups of people. As a very young adult he helped to coordinate and facilitate the 4 Nations youth conference for the 4 recognized Native American tribes of Nebraska in 2005 serving over 200 Native American youth in the state of Nebraska. In 2006 he co-founded the non-profit Guidance to Success Youth Club (GTS) that served over 200 youth members per year (on average over 80% of the youth members served were at-risk African American youth and families) prov
