Bring about social change with every book

Students in the Trinity Fellows program now have access to a new library on the third floor of Building 707. The Trinity Fellows Community Library for Nonprofit Leadership and Social Justice houses over 1,000 books in honor of the late Pat Wyzbinski, a prominent nonprofit leader in the Milwaukee community.

“The library will focus on books on nonprofit leadership and social justice, but there will also be books on local social justice issues and historical books specific to Milwaukee,” says Natalie Reinbold, director of Trinity Fellows. “As the library grows, we hope to offer more books on Milwaukee leaders, leaders of color and leaders in the LGBTQ community, as well as books on self-care.”

Trinity Fellows is a competitive graduate fellowship program dedicated to developing urban leaders committed to social and economic justice. Fellows participate in a 21-month study and work program while earning a master’s degree in one of 14 majors.

“We hope that giving students access to career-specific literature will promote their academic success and expose them to new topics in their field,” says Reinbold.

Many of the books in the library are from Wyzbinski’s large, personal collection. After her death in 2016, Wyzbinski’s close friends Frank Martinelli, Eloiza Altoro and Audrey Strnad, and Wyzbinski’s widower Scott Gelzer, rescued her books and worked together to find a new place in Milwaukee where they could be honored.

While the books found a new home with the Trinity Fellows, a doctoral student realized that the system needed fine-tuning.

“When I began my Career Diversity Fellowship assignment with Trinity Fellows, I was surprised by the impressive number of books in the library and offices. However, I noticed that there was no system in place to make these resources searchable,” says Samantha Scott, PhD candidate in Religious Studies. “I wanted to help make the library more accessible so that it could be more useful to Trinity Fellows and staff.”

Scott worked diligently to catalog and organize the books and made the library what it is today.

“This is a unique collection of books that could help Trinity Fellows in their research and service to Milwaukee,” says Scott.

Wyzbinski’s legacy of commitment to the common good through leadership and service lives on in this collection and hopefully in the people who use it.

“Pat would say it’s important to understand historical and contemporary theory and practice,” Gelzer says. “Use the library as a handy reference – if you get into a difficult situation, look to the literature for ideas and inspiration. She believed that management and leadership are partners in civic and nonprofit organizations advancing their quest to make our communities better places to live and work.”

Currently the library is only available to Trinity Fellows, but the aim is to expand access to the public in the future.