When Travis Landry introduces himself, he rarely mentions his title. He prefers something simpler.
“I just introduce myself as Travis Landry,” he said.
Landry is the regional vice president of WestCare Wisconsin, one of a larger network of nonprofits across the country that provides behavioral health, addiction treatment and community revitalization services. He says that the title is just words. He sees himself as a member of the community doing his part.
“I just so happen to have a title,” he said.
WestCare has three locations in the Harambee neighborhood and focuses on supporting vulnerable populations, including veterans, youths and individuals facing economic or substance-use challenges.
“I build people,” he said. “We strip people down and build them back up from the foundation.”
‘You couldn’t tell me nothing’
Landry, one of eight siblings, was born and raised in Milwaukee’s King Park neighborhood by his single father.
He attended Urban Day School, which closed in 2016. He describes a childhood where neighbors, teachers and relatives all shared responsibility for raising children. Respect, accountability and caring for one another were simply expected.
“That’s the foundation,” he said. “The community.”
After graduating from Bradley Tech High School, Landry got a job working at Domino’s and for a while thought that would be his career.
“I was like, I’m making $500 a week,” he said, “I got me a new car, and I’m delivering pizza. You couldn’t tell me nothing.”
He left Domino’s to work at Quad/Graphics, a print and marketing company, where he launched his career. After Quad/Graphics he obtained his general contractor license and worked on building and rehabbing homes, which he still does in addition to his role with WestCare Wisconsin.
His sister, Nicole Biddle, says she always knew Landry would do something in the community.
“It’s how we were raised,” she said. “If it wasn’t this role, he’d be doing something else to serve the community.”
Shooting transforms his life
In 2020, Landry was shot.
The experience transformed both his life and the way he approached his work.
“Regardless of what acronym you have before or after your name, you’re not too big for the community,” he said.
Recovering from the shooting forced him to confront trauma firsthand. As friends and acquaintances disappeared, Landry found support through a psychotherapist who helped him process the emotional aftermath.
Those conversations ultimately inspired Landry to help WestCare Wisconsin expand its clinical services.
“If I needed it, and I had all these fancy titles behind my name, what happens to the person that lives on 3rd and Center and has nothing?” Landry asked.
At WestCare Wisconsin, Landry oversees efforts to address what he calls the root causes of poverty, including food insecurity, mental health challenges, substance abuse and community violence.
“If you do more prevention, you won’t get intervention,” Landry said.
WestCare staffer Felicia Williams said Landry’s experiences are a testament to both the leader and man he is.
“Even though it was a young person that did that to him, he still shows up for those same young people every day,” she said. “He fights for them daily.”
Building people like homes
Before leading a nonprofit, Landry admits he was part of the problems he now works to solve. He said he spent his younger years contributing to the challenges facing Milwaukee neighborhoods.
“You got to give back if you were a part of the problem,” he said. “That was just my turn.”
His transition came after years working as a general contractor, building homes across the country. A mentor in the field challenged him to think differently.
Landry said a mentor told him building houses and people is similar.
“It’s the same concept. You put the foundation in the person, and then you start building from that.”
Now rather than focusing on résumés or credentials, Landry looks for character.
“I look at the foundation,” he said. “Do they care about people? Do they care about the community? Would they do it if they didn’t get paid for it?”
Skills can be taught, he said. Compassion cannot.
He also believes people should never be defined by past mistakes.
“If you want to be part of the intervention, I’ll make you a credible messenger,” Landry said. “A lot of people say, ‘I got a felony, I can’t.’ It ain’t no such thing as ‘I can’t.’”
Leading by example
Biddle said whether you see it or not, everything her brother does is well thought out.
“He always has a goal in mind,” she said.
At the beginning of every day Landry measures his own readiness to serve using what he calls a personal survival scale built around family, health, finances, career, friendships and spirituality.
“If I can’t be at six when I come into the community, I’m going to stay home,” he said. “There’s no reason for me to project energy that’s not good to people who need help.”
His philosophy, which is the foundation of his leadership, is less about directing programs and more about showing up consistently for people.
To him, leadership means preparing others to lead, not holding onto power.
“If you want my job and I train you to do my job, that means it’s something better for me out there,” he said.
Williams and Tennisha Choice, another staffer, said he is not a leader that leads with authority, but one who leads from within.
“He is a leader when he has to be, if that makes sense,” Choice said. “Otherwise, he lets our work speak for itself.”
Landry said he is aiming to be positive and approachable to everyone he comes across every day.
“I can’t wear a shirt and tie in the community because I don’t ever want someone to think I’m better than them,” he said.
Even when people ask what he does for a living, he avoids nonprofit terminology altogether.
“I help people,” he said. “I uplift the human spirit.”
Landry said his greatest accomplishment is creating opportunities for people who often struggle to find someone willing to believe in them.
“I don’t care who you are,” Landry said. “If you need some help, I’m helping you.”
He said that commitment reflects a leadership philosophy built not from titles or recognition but from lived experience, humility and an unwavering belief that stronger communities begin by investing in people.
“If you know how to build a house, you know how to build people,” he said.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
