Meet the Team
Danell Cross (she/her)
Executive Director
Patrice Gransberry (she/her)
Resident Fellow
Patrice Gransberry has a drawing quality that brings people to her quickly. She is a very open conversationalist. She loves to help people when they need to be enabled. Patrice creates a safe space for people to communicate their needs and establish that they are met. She loves her family with every being in her body. Patrice loves animals like birds, fish, dogs, and turtles- because she enjoys caring for them. She is a nurturer of people and animals. The first impression stands out to Patrice; if it's a bad first impression, she will keep her distance. Her mother is her heart; she will do anything for her, "I love her to death." Patrice wanted to be a part of the Metcalfe Park Community Bridges society; she just wanted to care for others, and that's why she works at Metcalfe. She is proud that her leadership is how people recognize her from Metcalfe Park Community Bridges and all the hard work that goes into being a leader of the organization. Patrice learned from her past jobs (30+ years) that she is fulfilled by those around her that enjoy her spirit. Her motivation in life relies on helping others in this job at Metcalfe Park Community Bridges. Patrice loves swimming, fishing, knitting, biking, walking, and puzzles in her free time. Her joy comes from spending time with her daughters and grandkids. Her extended family consists of 12 people, the Metcalfe Park Community Bridges staff, filling in the missing puzzle piece in her heart.
Daquon Gray (He/him)
Green Team Fellow
Daquon Gray is a quiet yet thoughtful individual. He is dedicated to working for the betterment of the Metcalfe Park Community, specifically the youth. As a Green Team Fellow, he began at Metcalfe by seeing an opportunity and snatching it before it passed him by. Quan is committed to serving this community with the assets he brings to the table. Quan enjoys this work because it allows him to connect. The biggest lesson Quan has learned at Metcalfe Park is to listen, observe, and learn. Outside work, he enjoys listening to music and watching television; his favorite artist is Juice World. While seeming quiet, his occasional jokes bring a whole room together in giggles. He serves as a big brother in his community, and people look up to him for leadership. He advises himself and others to “Get up and Keep going.”
Melody McCurtis (she/her)
Deputy Director
Melody McCurtis is the Deputy Director & lead Organizer of Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, a resident-led organization committed to creating a thriving, liberated, and robust Metcalfe Park community. Melody Mccurtis grew up in Metcalfe Park, a hyper-majority Black community on Milwaukee’s Northside. She has always been committed to working with her neighbors of Metcalfe Park to create the community they deserve by dismantling, imagining, creating, and building simultaneously. By all means of organizing, we are grounded in community-led power and creation, understanding that we/us are the experts of what we experience, the dreamers of our desires, and the genius of our liberated future. She prioritizes and is directed by her Neighbor's Community-led Reinvestment Plan. She is a Queer, single mother & Co-parent of 3 beautiful children. Melody is a warrior in her own right leading from a place of life lessons and experience. She is passionate about worker and housing Cooperatives, mutual aid, civic engagement & advocacy, and all things Justice, for all Black lives.
Brittney Taylor (she/her)
Health and Safety Organizor
Brittney Taylor is a force that doesn't want to be reckoned with. She decided to work at Metcalfe because it is an organization that is close to home and her heart. Brittney is proud that she completed the Non-profit Business Management certification, which gives her a better understanding of non-profit work. Previously working in home health care, she gained patience and compassion for the community's elders. Working with children in child care influenced her passion for working with the youth of the Metcalfe community. Her motivation to go to work relies on the fact that she's got kids to feed. She is an avid reader and enjoys researching different religions. She is the person that calls the city when the street lights go out, when they aren't picking up our trash, or when there are too many potholes to count. Sleep excites her most, knowing it's an intentional time to rest and heal. She is a person that strongly believes in community first by the Community for the Community.
James Taylor-Cain (He/Him)
Green Team Fellow
People in his circle can describe James Taylor-Cain as someone who fills a room with laughter. He began at Metcalfe as a part of the Green Team fellow, excited and motivated by current staff to learn more about housing and applicable skills for the future. One of the biggest successes at Metcalfe Park for James is practicing and learning how to communicate best to get the job done. James likes this job because, simply put, "it's better than any other job, and I am always learning something." In his spare time, he enjoys reading and writing and music that takes us to a different place. Don't forget his love for his dogs (Remedy, King, Crook, and Dior); James is incredibly proud of their growth and hopes to continue to enter and compete in shows. James' motivation in life relies partly on his daughter, who is an anchor, but the primary motivation centers on himself. He believes that the passion within him for his future is what keeps him going, especially the love he has for his dogs. James is a critical thinker, which allows him to dream of a realistic but beautiful future. James is a quiet person, a comfortable person, a loving person, but most of all, a real person.