She represented Salt Lake City's culturally diverse west side on Capitol Hill then in City Hall before tackling programming at a nontraditional high school.

Now, new Mayor Ralph Becker has tapped Milner to strengthen the city's public schools as a first-of-its-kind Education Partnership Coordinator - a new position designed to rally resources for schools with the guidance of local government.

The idea - Becker frequently touted the job during his campaign - is to forge partnerships with the school district. Milner also will help the city partner with business, the state and higher education to address school needs.

"There's no question Joanne has those skills," Becker said Wednesday. "It also helps that she had experience with the ethnic and minority communities. She can understand and relate to the achievement gap."

Milner, who notes 55 percent of the district's students are ethnic minorities, says she is thrilled and humbled by the opportunity.

"It is the passion of my life," Milner said about education. "There's too much territorial turf. We all serve the same constituency. We need to have more collaboration. We are all enhanced and edified by having educational opportunities for our youth."

Milner served on the City Council from 1996 to 2000. Before that, she was a three-term Democratic member of the Utah House. For the past 13 years, she served as the community-relations program manager at the Horizonte Instruction and Training Center.

"She is an outstanding individual whose background, experience and training uniquely qualify her to assist us as we move forward in addressing the critical issues facing the district," said McKell Withers, superintendent of the Salt Lake City School District.

In an interview, Milner railed against a legislative proposal to repeal resident tuition for undocumented immigrants. A priority, she said, will be to work with Utah colleges and universities to give the capital's minority students an opportunity.

Milner stopped short of calling for a reintroduction of DARE - former Mayor Rocky Anderson replaced that anti-drug program in capital schools - but said the city should discuss whether the move makes sense.

Most of all, Becker's new schools czar pledged to bring more coordination to education, which she calls the "equalizer in life."

"We have many underserved populations in Salt Lake City that have so much potential," Milner added. "If we can marry all our interests . . . it is a pathway so we are enhanced."

Becker said he is pleased Milner accepted the post, noting her unique background "fits the bill" to help move young people out of the cycle of poverty and crime.

Milner will begin her new job Feb. 10.

djensen@sltrib.com

* Education: Bachelor's in communications/public relations, University of Utah; master's in public administration, U. of U.

* Professional: Community-relations program manager at Horizonte Instruction and Training Center, a nontraditional high school serving thousands of students.

* Political: Served three terms as a Democrat in the Utah House from 1987-1992; served one term on the City Council representing the west side from 1996 to 2000.

* Community: Serves on numerous boards and committees, including the Utah Advisory Committee for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Inclusion Center for Community and Justice, Utah Humanities Council, Alliance House for the mentally ill, Multi-Ethnic Housing Development, Centro de la Familia, Indian Walk-In Center, Salt Lake Rape Recovery Center and Governor's Commission for Women and Families.

* Personal: Executive producer of documentary to air on KUED: "Our Story: Italian-Americans in Utah"; co-author of the Utah State Fare Cookbook, which promotes the state's cultural diversity through traditional family recipes.