A great journey is a result of great guidance. NorthStar is committed to expanding opportunities for boys to find and follow their own paths to success.
Mission
NorthStar’s mission is to change young men’s lives through programming that supports, challenges, inspires and instills a life rooted in education, self-discipline and service to the community.
Vision
NorthStar’s founding vision is to dramatically increase the proportion of male students in North Omaha who graduate high school on time, positioned to begin post-secondary education or immediately enter the workforce.
By employing a model of high-touch, multi-year extended learning, we focus on accelerating core academic and social-skill competencies of every young man we serve.
History
NorthStar’s overarching focus is on preparing North Omaha’s school-aged boys, traditionally beset by significant barriers to academic success, to complete ninth grade on level and graduate high school on time.
NorthStar fosters out-of-school time services for boys starting in elementary school and up through their senior year. By providing structures of support for young men before they experience disengagement from school, NorthStar guides young men throughout the critical transitions into middle school and high school.
Since programming began in 2014, NorthStar has developed a scalable after-school and summer program model centered on rigorous, student-centered academic and social-emotional development to transform the educational and life trajectories of the young men it serves.
- 2009: NorthStar establishes the Omaha Outward Bound School to deliver its unique curriculum of outdoor, experiential education to vulnerable and economically disadvantaged youth in North Omaha.
- 2010: The Hitchcock High Ropes Challenge Course opens at the NorthStar Campus.
- 2012: Construction begins on the 38,000-square-foot facility to house NorthStar’s future after-school and summer programming for North Omaha boys.
- 2014: The NorthStar facility is officially opened in May 2014. In its first year of after-school services, NorthStar enrolls 100 5th-8th boys from the surrounding North Omaha neighborhood.
- 2015: In Summer 2015, NorthStar delivers its first year of Camp NorthStar summer school – a program focusing on the prevention of summer learning loss.
- 2016: NorthStar’s inaugural Lacrosse Team is fielded, competing in the Omaha Lacrosse Club in Spring 2016.
- 2018: In the 2017-18 school year, NorthStar reaches and exceeds program and facility capacity: enrolling 600 boys in grades 3-12, with on-site daily attendance exceeding 180 students in after-school services, and 200 students in Camp NorthStar.
- 2019: NorthStar embarked upon a $22 million capital campaign to support the significant expansion of its facility and core program infrastructure. This expansion doubled NorthStar’s programmatic reach. NorthStar also welcomed the addition of the reading and tutoring program with the grand opening of the library.
- 2020: With the onset of COVID, NorthStar opened to boys for remote learning for the 2020-21 school year, This year also marked the formation of the Guild which opened Antonio’s Locker and began connecting volunteers to the needs of our boys.
- 2021: In November, a Fritz Field re-opening dedication took place. Musco Lighting, FieldTurf, bleachers and site work complete; NorthStar athletes had a first-class field to compete and give our students ‘home field’ advantage.
- 2022: After a twelve-year partnership with Outward Bound USA, the wholly owned subsidary of NorthStar known as the Omaha Outward Bound School officially became NorthStar Adventure. In conjunction, the Hitchcock Ropes Challenge Course originally constructed in 2010 was expanded and re-opened in June.
- 2023: The purchase of the property, previously home to the Lindenwood Apartments, was finalized. Thanks to generous donors, over $3 million was raised to acquire and demolish this distressed site, which had averaged more than one call to Omaha Police per day over the past five years. Additionally, in 2023, the 42 Club was established as a counterpart to the Guild, offering professional men from diverse backgrounds an opportunity to support NorthStar boys.
- 2024: Marked the 10th Anniversary of the opening of the campus and the start of after-school programming.
- 2025: Scott Hazelrigg announces his intention to leave NorthStar at the end of 2025. NorthStar Board of Directors hires Wayne Brown as the second president of the organization. Brown starts in December 2025.
Campus
NorthStar’s 70,000 square foot campus is located on 49th and Ames Avenues. The campus includes the multisport synthetic turf Fritz Field athletics complex, the Fred C. Buffett Fieldhouse, the Suzanne & Walter Scott Foundation Integrated Technology Room, the HDR Leaders & Achievers classroom, an art room, group classrooms, and more.
NorthStar also offers experiential learning opportunities through NorthStar Adventure programming with the Hitchcock Rock Wall, the Hitchcock High Ropes Challenge Course, and the Team Development Course.
In March 2019, NorthStar broke ground on a 3-phase facility expansion, funded by the vital support of donors through a three-year capital campaign
Phase 1 was focused on the south expansion, which includes the Mammel Foundation Leaders & Achievers High School Wing, offering career and college readiness programming for NorthStar high school students, and an Innovation Hub, providing dynamic learning spaces and dedicated resources for staging larger group activities, including STEM & robotics competitions, NorthStar Adventure programming and student dining.
Phase 2 focused on the north expansion, which includes the two-story Henry Davis Academic Wing, providing classroom space for expanded after-school and summer programming for elementary and middle school NorthStar students, and the Holland Commons, complete with lounge furniture for extra study space and the “Learning Stairs” structure, designed to serve as an amphitheater for assemblies.
Phase 3 included the installation of the all-purpose synthetic turf, bleachers, and stadium lighting to increase the longevity and usability of Fritz Field.
NorthStar Staff
Jennifer Peterson
Executive Assistant & Board of Director Liason
phone ext. 203
NorthStar Guild
The NorthStar Guild is intended to provide support to the NorthStar Foundation through promoting community and fundraising. The Guild is responsible for operating NorthStar’s onsite clothing center, Antonio’s Locker, and planning the annual Climb Higher Luncheon. For more information about the guild, please email guild@northstar360.org.
Board of Directors
Wayne Brown
President
President, Northstar Foundation
Anthony Anderson
Chairman
Owner, Anthony Anderson State Farm Insurance
Mark Brasee
Vice Chairman
Partner, Fraser Stryker PC LLO
Scott Semrad
Immediate Past Chairman
Partner, Urban Village Development
Lee Stuart
Treasurer
CEO, NBC Bancshares, LLC
Emily Mwaja
Secretary
Director of Capacity Building, The Sherwood Foundation
Deanne Fairfield
Realtor, NP Dodge Real Estate
Cecil Hicks
Director, Talent Development & Culture, Immanuel Communities
Alex Harrington
Founder & CEO, Toasted Brands
Charlie Olsen
Program Officer, Suzanne & Walter Scott Foundation
Ryan Downs
President, Unison
Roy Patterson
Managing Partner, Fitz Roy Capital, LLC
Kim Rowell
Vice President & Market Leader
Barney Marvin
SVP Digital Solutions, Claritas
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