Jimmy Lee Miller
Jimmy Miller is President and CEO of Censere Consulting. Reared by a single mother, Jimmy grew up extremely poor in a small town in Alabama. His extended family, including his grandmother, seven aunts, five uncles, and a host of town elders, made sure he pursued his education. Although his mom and many in his family could not read or write, they impressed upon him the value of hard work and knowledge for success in life.
Jimmy excelled in school and was admitted to Berea College, a small liberal arts school in Kentucky that charges no tuition and requires each student to work. In this environment, he was supported by faculty, administration, and employees, enabling him to obtain a bachelor’s degree. Jimmy became the first in his family to finish college. At Berea, he began to develop his analytical skills and develop a passion for research and philosophy. He believes that by working collectively: we can achieve something great and implement the policies necessary to enhance the quality of life for every member of society.
He was one of six undergraduates, nationally, to be selected as an American Political Science Association Fellow. He took his fellowship to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he majored in Political Science with a minor in Urban Planning. At Madison, Miller was able to study under many of the leading public policy analysts and urban planners. He received a Master of Political Science with a concentration in Public Policy.
His love of strategic and urban planning was inspired by intense discussions about the causes and cures of urban American’s most severe problems. These discussions centered around Edward Banfield’s seminal work on urban America, The Unheavenly City Revisited. The book explores racial injustice and animosity, poverty, crime, joblessness, and ignorance. Banfield posits that government policies cannot solve our city’s most severe problems. Whether one agrees or disagrees with his theories about the root causes of these problems, the book forces you to grapple long and hard about analyzing these problems and how we develop long-term sustainable solutions to them.
After leaving the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he was accepted as one of 20 graduate students nationwide to become a New York City Urban Fellows. The year was 1976. It was in October 1975 that New York City teetered on the edge of bankruptcy. Working in this environment was Jimmy’s baptism by fire. During these most difficult times, Jimmy began to mesh his philosophical and strategic, and urban planning skills with his capabilities to create programs and policies that transform organizations and lives.
Over the past four decades, Jimmy has been a leader in creating and implementing programs that have helped transform thousands of lives. He has leveraged financing for more than 6,500 housing units at the cost of more than $1.0 billion, designed and implemented the New York State Housing Trust Fund Program, successfully restructured several large, complex organizations, and transformed more than a half-dozen communities.
Jimmy has been recognized and honored numerous times for his innovativeness and contributions to enhancing our citizenry’s lives. He received the New York City Public/Private Partnership Award for creating and implementing the New York City Housing Authority Single-Family Homeownership Program. The City of New Haven named a street – Miller’s Mew – in his honor for planning and implementing the West Rock Transformation Plan. The City of New Haven also named a career development school – J Miller-Pearson Career Development School – for his work in creating a highly successful apprenticeship training program.
At Censere Consulting, Jimmy brings this vast experience, passion for work, and commitment to excellence. Clients and partners include T.A.G. Associates, the Virgin Islands Housing Authority, The Glendower Group, Inc., the Housing Authority of the City of New Haven, the Housing Authority of the City of Hoboken, and the District of Columbia Housing Authority.