COMMUNITY PROGRESS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Senior Fellow
- City Planner
- Member of the College of Fellows
Alan Mallach is a senior fellow at Community Progress, America's nonprofit leader for turning "Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places."
Mallach is a city planner, advocate and writer, nationally known for his work on housing, economic development, and urban revitalization. He has worked with local governments and community organizations across the country to develop creative policies and strategies to revitalize cities and neighborhoods.
A former director of housing & economic development in Trenton, New Jersey, Mallach currently teaches in the graduate city planning program at Pratt Institute in New York City. He has worked at the Brookings Institution and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, and has spoken on housing and urban issues in the United States, Europe, Israel and Japan. He was a visiting scholar at the University of Nevada Las Vegas for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Mallach's most recent book is The Divided City: Poverty and Prosperity in Urban America, which charts the course of change in shrinking Rust Belt cities, and the uneven effects of urban revival on lower income residents and communities of color. Among his other books are A Decent Home: Planning, Building and Preserving Affordable Housing, and Bringing Buildings Back: From Vacant Properties to Community Assets, which has become a resource for thousands of planners, lawyers, public officials and community leaders dealing with problem property and revitalization issues.
Mallach is a member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Certified Planners and holds a BA from Yale University.
VanKuren has been with Community Progress since its inception in 2010. As Business Manager, she is responsible to for the day to day management of all accounts payable/receivable, human resources and internal policy control.
Early in her career, VanKuren discovered her passion while working as a secretary and bookkeeper at a local community development corporation. Later she joined LISC as an Assistant Program Officer for the Statewide Michigan Program and participated in a national-level approach to community development. VanKuren's 20+ year financial and administrative career has been spent serving others in the community development space both locally and nationally.
Job Titles:
- Director of Finance and Administration
- Member of the Community Progress Team
- Director of Finance and Administration at the Center
Brian Flood is the Director of Finance and Administration at the Center for Community Progress, America's nonprofit leader for turning "Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places."
Flood brings many years of experience in management roles overseeing finance, accounting and operations for both nonprofit and for-profit organizations, including acting as interim CFO for the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), where he led the finance and accounting functions. Prior to GMF, Flood was the CFO for the Technology Association of America, the leading policy advocate for the technology industry, and also headed up the nonprofit's affinity programs.
Flood's professional experience also includes starting and operating a logistics outsourcing business for retailers, with focus to increase urban employment while reducing carbon footprint, employing over 200 DC-area residents over 10 years. Flood also worked in various accounting and finance roles for two leading international logistics companies, and a consumer products company, after starting his career as an auditor for one of the Big 4 public accounting firms.
A CPA, Flood has an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the University of Chicago, and a BBA in Accounting from the University of Notre Dame.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Community Progress Team
- Director of the National Land Bank Network AtCommunity Progress
Brian Larkin is the Director of the National Land Bank Network atCommunity Progress, America's non-profit leader for turning "Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places."
A 20-year non-profit executive and local government leader, Larkin's passion for community development was ignited at age 21 when he was appointed to serve as a neighborhood planner and vacant land program manager for his home community of Flint, Michigan, through LISC and AmeriCorps.
Since then, he's served as a local government administrator and a program officer helping to build national community development strategies for improving resident quality of life. That work has included managing philanthropic efforts, programs, and partnerships for the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation (CS Mott), governors, local leaders, and midwestern land banks.
Larkin's belief that "the built environment has a unique ability to transform lives" has guided his career focus and work. His diverse local government experience includes serving as Chief of Staff, Director of Planning and Development, and Director for local chambers of commerce in Genesee County and the City of Flint, Michigan. His unique perspectives and achievements have earned him recognition as a trainer, instructor, and public speaker for the American Planning Association, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and numerous universities including the University of Michigan and Florida State University.
Larkin is an alumnus of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, and Florida State University where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and a Master of Science in Planning, respectively. Larkin is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity incorporated and has served his hometown as a member of the City of Flint Charter Review Commission (2015), the City of Flint Receivership Transition Advisory Board (2015), and currently as the Vice President of the Flint Public Library Board of Trustees.
Today, Larkin leverages his experience as a local land banking and municipal planning leader to help more than 200 land banks connect with the education, funding, and networking to positively impact one of America's fastest-growing community-development movements, the National Land Bank Network. The Network is a growing part of Community Progress' commitment to growing strong, equitable communities where vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties are transformed into assets for neighbors and neighborhoods.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- President and CEO of Smart Growth America
- President and CEO, Smart Growth America ( Washington, D.C. )
Calvin Gladney, LEED AP, is President and CEO of Smart Growth America (SGA), and has led community revitalization efforts in dozens of communities around the country as a private consultant, a real estate developer and as a government official. His work over the last 15 years has centered on the intersection of land use, transportation, and economic development - all of which will be important in addressing our climate crisis, and our longstanding racial equity issues. Prior to SGA, he was Managing Partner of Mosaic Urban, a real estate advisory services and development firm. In 2017, Mr. Gladney was the Urban Land Institute's Senior Visiting Fellow for Equity.
Before establishing Mosaic, he served as VP of the Anacostia Waterfront Corp. (AWC), a D.C. quasi-public agency focused on environmentally-friendly redevelopment. Mr. Gladney graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, received his B.S. from Cornell University, and is a LEED Accredited Professional. He is a Trustee of the Urban Land Institute and a Board member of the Center for Community Progress. He is also a member of ULI's national Responsible Property Investment Council (RPIC).
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Founder of the Neighborhood Homes Investment Coalition
- TREASURER / Founder, Neighborhood Homes Investment Coalition ( Washington, D.C. )
Carey Shea is the founder of the Neighborhood Homes Investment Coalition, a national policy effort to revitalize distressed single-family home neighborhoods. A former Director of several community development corporations, including Home by Hand and Project Home Again, Shea's experience includes galvanizing millions in investment for American communities and grassroots neighborhood development.
As a loaned executive to the City of New Orleans, she worked with the City's Director of Housing Policy and Community Development to design and implement a $52 million soft-second mortgage program that enabled more than 900 residents to become first-time homeowners. Her experience also includes launching and implementing a $25 million Community Revitalization Fund in post-Katrina New Orleans, and leading community revitalization programs at the Surdna and Rockefeller Foundations, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, and Habitat for Humanity. Shea is an alumna of Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts and has been cited in leading publications including the New York Times and Shelterforce.
Job Titles:
- Communications Associate
- Member of the Community Progress Team
Charles Linton is the Communications Associate at Community Progress, America's nonprofit leader for turning "Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places."
Linton assists with communications, media, editorial, and brand strategy across programs with a focus on email marketing, social media, and project management. He supports Community Progress' mission by creating informative and accessible content for the organization's diverse audiences. Linton is based in the Washington, DC office.
Prior to his time at Community Progress, Linton worked in communications and dramaturgical roles for nonprofit theatres including Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Studio Theatre, and the Actors Theatre of Louisville. He holds bachelor's degrees in English and sociology from Johns Hopkins University, where he completed research on independent bookstores and cyberpunk literature. Linton is originally from the San Gabriel Valley in California. In his spare time, he enjoys running, game design, and textile arts.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Community Progress Team
- Senior Program Officer
- Senior Program Officer for National Leadership and Education
Christina Carter-Grant serves as the Senior Program Officer of National Leadership and Education at Community Progress, America's nonprofit leader for turning "Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places."
Carter-Grant's background in community development and community engagement ties closely with her role in helping to implement and grow Community Progress' educational programs, which includes place-based trainings, webinars, peer-to-peer learning exchanges, and conferences.
Prior to joining Community Progress, Carter-Grant worked as an Analyst for Krambo Corporation where she assisted in mortgage securitization for Habitat for Humanity affiliates nationwide. She has also served as a Grants Management Intern with the Michigan Suburbs Alliance where she aided in the early stage development of a research tool that would identify and evaluate potential funding opportunities for Metro Detroit communities.
Carter-Grant received her MBA in Entrepreneurship from Babson College, and a Master of Urban Planning degree from the University of Michigan, focusing in Housing and Community Development. She also holds a BA in American Culture from the University of Michigan. She is a native of Detroit, Michigan, and currently resides in Miami, Florida.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President, Wells Fargo Housing Foundation, Atlanta, GA
Job Titles:
- Member of the Community Progress Team
- Vice President and Director of National Leadership
- Vice President and Director of National Leadership and Education
Courtney Knox is the Vice President and Director of National Leadership and Education (NLE) at the Center for Community Progress, responsible for the strategic direction, vision, growth, and performance of Community Progress' most visible, high-impact initiatives.
With nearly two decades of experience in equitable neighborhood revitalization, Knox brings to her role a strong background in understanding the root causes of vacancy and abandonment and equitable solutions to create safe, healthy, resilient, and inclusive neighborhoods. She is known for crafting dynamic, informative, and inclusive leadership and educational opportunities, such as the flagship Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference, Vacant Property Leadership Institute, and the Community Revitalization Fellowship.
Since assuming the role of VP and Director of NLE in 2016, Knox has created over ten new initiatives reaching tens of thousands of public sector, private sector, civic, and community leaders; created a financially sound program with a diverse number of funders; and built an internal structure to ensure successful delivery of programming.
Immediately prior to her current role, Knox served as the Associate Director of Michigan Initiatives at Community Progress where she helped communities across the state build systems and capacity to prevent and reuse vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated property. Working closely with communities in Michigan, she helped to create land bank authorities; facilitated the development and adoption of policies and procedures, programs for acquisition, disposition, and interim use; and developed educational programming for land bank staff and elected officials in Michigan.
Knox began her career as a staff accountant specializing in governmental accounting. This work led her to the Genesee County Land Bank Authority and Genesee Institute where she recognized the legacy of unjust laws, policies, and systems that cause some communities to bear an unfair share of vacancy and abandonment. This fostered her passion for creating equitable communities that provide opportunities for all. Through this work, she oversaw the day-to-day accounting operations and managed strategy development and financial management of the land bank's disposition programs.
Knox earned a MPA from the University of Michigan and a BA in Accounting from Michigan State University.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Program Associate for National Leadership and Education
Crystal Stevens is the Program Associate for Leadership & Education at Community Progress, America's nonprofit leader for turning "Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places."
Stevens works within the National Leadership and Education division to assist in implementing programs that foster strong, equitable communities where vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties are transformed into assets for the community. Prior to joining the organization, Stevens worked as a Site Coordinator for Healthy Housing Solutions, providing data analysis and grantee management for one of their numerous community programs.
Stevens has a background in the Housing and Urban Development sector, previously serving as a Resident Services Coordinator, facilitating resources to support local housing authority residents. She holds a bachelor's degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of South Carolina and enjoys spending her free time connecting with nature.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Community Progress Team
- Vice President of Technical Assistance
Danielle Lewinski is the Vice President of Technical Assistance at Community Progress and has been with the organization since 2013. As Vice President of Technical Assistance, she oversees an unparalleled team of national experts with decades of legal and strategic experience specific to vacant property challenges, delivering services through the National Technical Assistance, Michigan Initiatives, and Georgia Initiatives programs.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Professor of Professional Practice in Urban and Public Affairs, Columbia University
The Honorable Michael A. Nutter served as mayor of Philadelphia from 2008 to 2016. During his tenure, Philadelphia City government received more than 150 awards for innovative programs, good government practices, and excellence. He previously served Philadelphia's fourth district as a city councilmember for nearly fifteen years. Since leaving public service, Nutter has served on the Homeland Security Advisory Council, and is presently the inaugural David N. Dinkins Professor of Professional Practice in Urban and Public Policy at Columbia University/SIPA.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- SECRETARY / Regional Vice President, Southern Region, NeighborWorks America ( Atlanta, GA )
The rich career of Donald Phoenix includes experience in many sectors, including banking, public administration, nonprofit management and housing development. He served as vice president of Carver State Bank of Savannah (GA) and assistant vice president of Great Southern Federal Savings Bank in the same city, transitioned to housing director for the city of Savannah, became executive director for Neighborhood Housing Services of Savannah and then joined NeighborWorks in 1995, where he is based in Atlanta.
As vice president of NeighborWorks' Southern Region, Phoenix is responsible for overseeing financial and technical services for network organizations throughout 13 states (West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana) and the District of Columbia. He also led the organization's Gulf Coast rebuilding efforts in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita and continues to lead the Southern Region efforts to deliver needed resources to assist communities challenged by natural disaster.
Job Titles:
- President and Chief Executive Officer for the Center
- President for the Board of Directors of Grounded Solutions Network
Dr. Akilah Watkins is President and Chief Executive Officer for the Center for Community Progress, America's nonprofit leader for turning "Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places."
A 25-year national thought leader, conference speaker, and nonprofit executive, Dr. Watkins' work began at the age of 14 when she led efforts to convert a vacant lot and abandoned home into a community center in Roosevelt, New York.
Since then, she's served as an executive leader for nonprofits and community development initiatives which includes work with the Obama administration, NeighborWorks America, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the Center for the Study for Social Policy.
Her career's work has focused on helping people, communities, and local and federal government drive impactful reform for key issues including land banking, property vacancy, childhood obesity, community health, and economic development.
From California, to Long Island, and Puerto Rico, Dr. Watkins' thought leadership on diversity, inclusion, racial equity, and community development have been featured by America's leading authorities and helped hundreds of communities. Those presentations and features include recognition by CNN, the New York Times, and Essence for her contributions to the field of community development.
Dr. Watkins is an alumna of the University of Illinois at Chicago where she received her Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology and a Master of Arts in Sociology. She is also a graduate of Southern New Hampshire University where she received two Master of Science degrees in Education and Community Economic Development. Dr. Watkins received her Bachelor of Science in Community and Human Services from the State University of New York, Empire State College.
Today, Dr. Watkins' work as an equity advocate includes leading work in more than 300 communities in 48 states at Community Progress. Collaboratively, Community Progress works to grow strong, equitable communities where vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties are transformed into assets for neighbors and neighborhoods.
In addition to her work at Community Progress, Dr. Watkins serves as President for the Board of Directors of Grounded Solutions Network, Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of Up for Growth Action, an Executive Committee member of the National Housing Conference's Board of Governors, and a Board member for Common Future.
Dr. Akilah Watkins is President and Chief Executive Officer for the Center for Community Progress, America's nonprofit leader for turning "Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places."
A 25-year national thought leader, conference speaker, and nonprofit executive, Dr. Watkins' work began at the age of 14 when she led efforts to convert a vacant lot and abandoned home into a community center in Roosevelt, New York. Read More
Job Titles:
- Senior Fellow and Director of the Community Economic Development Hub at the Urban Institute
- Senior Fellow and Director of the Community Economic Development Hub, Urban Institute ( Washington, D.C. )
Dr. Brett Theodos is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Community Economic Development Hub at the Urban Institute. A long-time housing and policy researcher, throughout his career Dr. Theodos' work has focused on economic and community development, neighborhood change, affordable homeownership, and consumer finance.
His research has been leveraged by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Policy Development and Research, the District of Columbia's Fiscal Policy Institute, and localities nationwide to better understand and inform equitable community development. Dr. Theodos has been recognized for his evaluations of the Economic Development Administration, the New Markets Tax Credit program, Opportunity Zones, and the HUD's Community Development Block Grant and Section 108 programs. Dr. Theodos is an alumnus of Northwestern University, George Washington University, and Georgetown University.
Job Titles:
- Editor
- Co - Founder and Senior Legal and Policy Advisor
Frank S. Alexander is the Sam Nunn Professor of Law at Emory University School of Law Emeritus where he created and directed the Project on Affordable Housing and Community Development. Alexander was the co-founder Community Progress, America's nonprofit leader for turning "Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places," and continues to serve as a senior advisor.
Alexander is the author or editor of ten books and over sixty articles in real estate finance, law and theology, and community redevelopment, including Georgia Real Estate Finance and Foreclosure Law 2020-2021 (15 th ed.), The Georgia Land Bank Resource Manual (June 2013), and Land Banks and Land Banking (2nd Ed. 2015).
Alexander's work has focused on homelessness and affordable housing, serving as a Fellow of the Carter Center of Emory University (1993-96), and as a Commissioner of the State Housing Trust Fund for the Homeless (1994-1998). He served as Interim Dean of Emory University School of Law (2005-2006), as Visiting Fellow at the Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard University (Fall Semester, 2007), and testified before Congress concerning the mortgage foreclosure crisis (May, 2008, November, 2009).
Alexander received both a JD from Harvard Law School and a Master's in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School in 1978. He holds a BA from the University of North Carolina.
Job Titles:
- Senior Program Officer
- Senior Program Officer for Michigan Initiatives
Janell O'Keefe is the Senior Program Officer for Michigan Initiatives at Community Progress, America's nonprofit leader for turning "Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places."
O'Keefe supports the organization's technical assistance, leadership and education, research, and policy work throughout Michigan. Through this place-based program, she helps communities across the state better understand their vacancy challenges and develop new approaches to address and prevent vacant and deteriorated properties.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- President of the Hartford Foundation
- VICE CHAIR / President, Hartford Foundation ( Hartford, CT )
Since July 2017, Jay Williams has served as president of the Hartford Foundation. Since that time, he has been working to build stronger relationships between the Foundation and the local communities it serves. He is currently leading the Foundation's efforts to address disparities in our community based on race/ethnicity, place and income in order to make opportunities more available to everyone. In his role, Jay serves on the boards of the MetroHartford Alliance, the Connecticut Economic Resource Center/AdvanceCT, and the CHEFA Community Development Corporation. In addition, he is a member of the Governor's Workforce Council and the Community Foundation Opportunity Network Governing Council.
Prior to coming to the Foundation, Jay served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, where he led the federal economic development agenda as the head of the U.S. Economic Development Administration. He has also served as Deputy Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs at The White House, where he served as the principal liaison between the President of the United States and local elected officials. Prior to this role, he served as the Mayor of the City of Youngstown, Ohio and led a community development agency in Youngstown.
Job Titles:
- Events Coordinator
- Events Coordinator for National Leadership and Education
Julia Zimmerman is the Events Coordinator at Community Progress, "America's nonprofit leader for turning "Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places."
In this role, Zimmerman works with the National Leadership and Education team to support the planning and execution of the organization's virtual and in-person events.
Zimmerman comes to Community Progress from the New Bedford Art Museum/Artworks! (NBAM/AW) where, as a Curatorial Assistant, she managed the creative placemaking program "Creative Courts," co-curated equity-focused exhibitions like "Uncommon Threads: The Works of Ruth E. Carter," and managed public communications focused on equity and accessibility.
Zimmerman's experience also includes a deep background in creative placemaking and public art through Americorps VISTA service at NBAM/AW and the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, work with the Art Students League of New York's "Model to Monument" program, and an internship with the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts.
She holds a BA from Johns Hopkins University with a double major in the History of Art and Anthropology and a minor in Museums and Society.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Community Progress Team
- Associate Director of National Leadership and Education
Justin Godard is the Associate Director of National Leadership and Education for the National Leadership and Education division at the Community Progress, America's nonprofit leader for turning "Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places."
Godard works closely with the Director and Senior Program Officer in developing unique and effective approaches for fostering collaborative problem solving and learning opportunities for practitioners and communities.
Prior to joining the organization, Godard studied at Virginia Tech, where he earned both a bachelor's degree in Political Science and a master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning, with a focus on policies and frameworks surrounding community development, placemaking, and social equity. Now based in Washington, DC, Justin has spent time in New York, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and Virginia.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- President and CEO, Chicago Urban League ( Chicago, IL )
The Honorable Karen Freeman-Wilson is the president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League, an organization that works to achieve equity for Black families and communities through social and economic empowerment. Prior to this role, she served as the mayor of her hometown, Gary, Indiana, from 2012 to 2019. Freeman-Wilson was the first female mayor of Gary, and the first Black female mayor in the state of Indiana. Her previous roles also include serving as Indiana attorney general, director of the Indiana Civil Rights Commission, and presiding judge of the Gary City Court.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Professor and Director of the Land Use Sustainable Development Law Clinic, West Virginia College of Law, ( Morgantown, WV )
Katherine "Kat" Garvey began her career at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region VII in the National Agricultural Compliance Assistance Center and with the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics. Garvey is an ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems Certified Lead Auditor. She developed and audited environmental management systems for military and large agricultural operations.
Garvey transitioned from federal to local government in 2006, when she worked for the City of Lee's Summit, Missouri as the Environmental Coordinator. She helped the City comply with permitting requirements for their airport and landfill. In addition, she helped the City develop a solid waste management plan, stormwater plan, stream buffer ordinance, and a natural resource inventory map.
She continued her focus on local protection of natural resources as an Assistant Professor of Law and Staff Attorney at the Land Use Clinic at Vermont Law School. In Vermont, Garvey worked with local governments, land trusts and other non-profits to address legal questions related to land conservation in the Northeast.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Community Progress Team
- Director of National Partnerships
A 25+ year community development and philanthropic leader, Guillaume-Delemar's award-winning work has helped both local and national funders drive meaningful, equitable impact in communities nationwide.
Her experience as a strategic advisor includes shaping the major gifts pipeline at the Washington Post-acknowledged Miriam's Kitchen and growing the organizational impact of Jubilee Housing by more than 400 percent. Those efforts included leading a three-year $60 million capital campaign that helped revitalize affordable housing for more than 700 individuals, launching neighborhood youth services initiatives, and creating a Returning Citizens Transitional Housing program.
She also serves as Councilmember-At-Large for the City of Glenarden, Maryland; located in Prince George's County. Guillaume-Delemar made history when she became the first and only Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Latina, Haitian American to be elected in the City of Glenarden's history and has contributed to the equitable legislative measures aimed at serving her community.
A former commissioner on the Prince George's County Affordable Housing Authority, Guillaume-Delemar has contributed as a strategic advisor and subject matter expert for the Maryland General Assembly, the Office of the Governor of Maryland, and national community development partners.
Job Titles:
- Technical
- Technical Assistance Senior Advisor
Kim Graziani is the Technical Assistance Senior Advisor at the Center for Community Progress (Community Progress), America's nonprofit leader for turning "Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places."
Over the past ten years, Graziani helped build and lead Community Progress' National Technical Assistance Program, which has served over 300 communities in 35 states. She is considered one of the leading national experts in land banks - an equitable, effective, and efficient tool utilized by hundreds of communities across the country to acquire properties that are causing the most harm and transfer to responsible ownership according to local community goals.
Prior to her national work, Graziani served as the Director of Neighborhood Initiatives to the Mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and was instrumental in developing and implementing innovative policies and strategies for the equitable reuse of vacant and abandoned properties that prioritized resident engagement, neighborhood preservation, and community wealth-building. She created several policies and programs recognized by the National League of Cities and the United States Conference of Mayors focused on participatory budgeting and how to engage residents in the allocation of federal funds for local uses such as affordable housing, rental assistance, and the creative reuse of vacant land.
Graziani also has expertise in affordable housing and community organizing through her work with multiple community development corporations, private foundations, and social service agencies in Atlanta, New York City, and Pittsburgh. She is a certified Housing Development Finance Professional through the National Development Council and received her master's degrees in Public Administration and Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh where she also served as part-time faculty.
Graziani currently resides in Birmingham, Alabama and is the President and CEO of Indigo Collaborative LLC, a national consulting firm dedicated to building trust and sharing power between local government and residents to equitably revitalize communities.
Graziani's most recent publications have been focused on land banks and community land trusts and include a chapter in the research volume from the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Cleveland entitled Tackling Vacancy and Abandonment: Strategies and Impacts after the Great Recession as well as a Center for Community Progress publication entitled Land Banks and Community Land Trusts: Partnering to Provide Equitable Housing Opportunities Now and for Future Generations.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Community Progress Team
- Associate Counsel to National Initiatives
Prior to joining Community Progress, Benton worked for ten years as an advocate for low- and moderate-income tenants, homeowners, and consumers. During law school, she was a member of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, a student-run legal services organization. After graduating, she received a Skadden Foundation fellowship to work in partnership with tenant organizers to fight the displacement of tenants and former homeowners in Boston during the foreclosure crisis.
More recently, she was a principal investigator of a research project aimed at better understanding the prevalence, patterns, and causes of evictions in Michigan. As part of this research, which was conducted with faculty from the University of Michigan Taubman School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Benton co-authored the first comprehensive report on Michigan evictions, a journal article analyzing the characteristics of evictions in urban and rural places, and a report analyzing Michigan evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic and recommending reforms to reduce Michigan evictions going forward.
Benton received a BA from the University of Michigan and a JD from Harvard Law School. She is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Community Progress Team
- Associate Director of National Technical Assistance
Liz Kozub is the Associate Director of National Technical Assistance at Community Progress, America's nonprofit leader for turning "Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places."
In her role, Kozub works directly with local government decision makers, grassroots leaders and other community stakeholders across the country to deliver a range of technical assistance and capacity building services to urban, rural, and suburban communities.
Prior to joining Community Progress, Kozub served as the Assistant Director for the Turtle Creek Valley Council of Governments, a multi-municipal agency focused on intergovernmental cooperation and shared services in the Mon Valley of Allegheny County, PA. In this role, Kozub worked to establish a multi-municipal code enforcement program and oversaw the development of a data system aimed at increasing officer efficiency and effectiveness. Kozub was also a member of the leadership team to form the Tri-COG Land Bank, a multi-municipal, community driven Land Bank.
Kozub received a MPA from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International affairs, and BA in political science from Allegheny College. She is based in of Buffalo, New York.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Community Progress Team
- Development Associate and Special Assistant
- Development Associate and Special Assistant to the President / CEO
Madison Gharghoury is the Development Associate and Special Assistant to the President/CEO at Community Progress, America's nonprofit leader for turning "Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places."
Job Titles:
- Associate for the National Land Bank Network
- Program Associate for the National Land Bank Network
Mallory Rappaport is the Program Associate for the National Land Bank Network (NLBN) at Community Progress, America's nonprofit leader for turning "Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places."
Rappaport coordinates the research, data collection, and outreach efforts for the NLBN team, which provides support and resources to land banks across the country, addressing vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated property challenges. Prior to joining Community Progress, Rappaport worked as a housing data analyst for the Baltimore Regional Housing Partnership, where she managed internal data and created tools for primary program operations and special projects, including an emergency rental assistance program.
Her experience also includes a background in program management, research, communications, and direct practice at a variety of local and national nonprofits in Philadelphia and Washington, District of Columbia. She received a dual Master of Science in Social Policy and Master of Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She also received a bachelor's degree from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec.
Job Titles:
- Director of Communications
- Member of the Community Progress Team
Maria Elkin is the Director of Communications at Community Progress, America's nonprofit leader for turning "Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places."
Elkin directs the organization's communications, media, editorial, and brand strategy. She supports Community Progress' mission-fostering strong, equitable communities where vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties are transformed into assets for neighbors and neighborhoods-by helping its experts craft content that's accessible to diverse audiences across the country. This work follows her experience as the deputy director of content at New America, a DC-based think tank dedicated to solving public problems.
Elkin previously worked in the global health practice at GMMB, a strategic communications firm in Washington, DC. Her clients ranged from universities advocating lifesaving vaccines, to a coalition of US brands focused on creating safer workplaces. A native Russian-speaker, she has a background studying issues affecting former Soviet states, and has worked at the Eurasia Foundation and CRDF Global supporting programs that foster civil society and innovation in Russia and Eastern Europe. She holds bachelor's degrees in political science and communications from Michigan State University, and can knit a full sweater in two weeks.
Matt Kreis - Chief Legal Officer
Job Titles:
- General Counsel
- Member of the Community Progress Team
- in - House Counsel
Matt Kreis is the General Counsel at Community , America's nonprofit leader for turning "Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places."
In addition to acting as the organization's in-house counsel, Kreis provides legal and technical support to each of Community Progress' program areas, including National Technical Assistance, Michigan Initiatives, National Leadership and Education, and Policy and Research.
Prior to joining Community Progress, Kreis spent nearly a decade as an attorney at the City of Chicago's Department of Law. At the City, he focused on identifying, developing and implementing effective code enforcement tools to combat blight and problem properties. Kreis worked closely with multiple City departments to create a mobile, electronic code enforcement tool, which enabled inspectors to more quickly and efficiently identify blight and related health and safety violations. Kreis also worked with City and elected officials to craft and propose legislation designed to improve property conditions and efficiency throughout the City, trained code inspectors from the Department of Streets & Sanitation on the proper use of local law in enforcement efforts, and provided general advice and guidance to various Department Commissioners and their deputies on a range of related matters.
Understanding the critical role of code enforcement, Kreis was instrumental in the creation and supervision of an in-house group of attorneys and law clerks dedicated to the completion of tens of thousands of annual title reports used to support ownership and due process requirements for the majority of the City's enforcement of building and sanitation codes. Ultimately, however, it was Kreis' direct interactions with the neighbors and residents most impacted by vacant, abandoned, and dilapidated properties in Chicago that led him to Community Progress, and to focus his practice on helping communities impacted by decades of disinvestment develop more equitable, effective, and efficient systems, laws, and policies to revitalize neighborhoods.
Kreis earned his JD from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and his BA from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. He is based in Chicago.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Community Progress Team
- Program Officer for Policy and Research
- Program Officer With the Policy and Research Team
Michael Bochnovic is the Program Officer with the Policy and Research team at Community Progress, America's nonprofit leader for turning "Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places."
In this role, Bochnovic leads research and advocacy efforts around state and federal equitable revitalization strategies, working with partner coalitions on focused investments to improve distressed properties, support community health and wellbeing, and close racial wealth and homeownership gaps. Immediately prior to joining Community Progress, was the inaugural Executive Fellow with Urban Strategies, Inc., where he supported leadership development, coordinated advocacy initiatives, and led grant writing and fundraising campaigns for aligned human services programming in neighborhoods undergoing major revitalization efforts. This included collaborating with several dozen partner organizations to implement two $30M Choice Neighborhoods awards in Baltimore and Tulsa, respectively. Bochnovic's experience also includes a deep background in environmental education, spatial econometric research, and place-based technical assistance.
Bochnovic holds a Master's in Urban and Environmental Planning from Arizona State University, where his graduate thesis focused on the spatial mismatch hypothesis and equitable, sustainable land use. He also holds bachelor's degrees in political science and Urban Planning, respectively, from ASU. Bochnovic is a proud Chicago native and graduate of Whitney Young Magnet High School.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
The Honorable Michael A. Nutter served as mayor of Philadelphia from 2008 to 2016. During his tenure, Philadelphia City government received more than 150 awards for innovative programs, good government practices, and excellence. He previously served Philadelphia's fourth district as a city councilmember for nearly fifteen years. Since leaving public service, Nutter has served on the Homeland Security Advisory Council, and is presently the inaugural David N. Dinkins Professor of Professional Practice in Urban and Public Policy at Columbia University/SIPA.
Job Titles:
- Senior Program Officer, Climate Solutions, MacArthur Foundation
Job Titles:
- Director of Georgia Initiatives
Job Titles:
- Member of the Community Progress Team
- Director of Michigan Initiatives
- Lead Researcher
Payton A. Heins is the Director of Michigan Initiatives at Community Progress, America's nonprofit leader for turning "Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places."
Heins directs the organization's technical assistance, leadership and education, research, and policy work throughout Michigan. Through this place-based program, she helps communities across the state better understand their vacancy challenges and develop new approaches to address and prevent vacant and deteriorated properties, with a special focus on code compliance, land banks, and data and market analysis tools.
This work follows on her experience as a Program Officer of National Technical Assistance leading projects across the U.S. focused on code enforcement, neighborhood housing markets, and land banks and land banking.
Heins is lead researcher and co-author of Community Progress' national publications, Take it to the Bank: How Land Banks Are Strengthening America's Neighborhoods (2014) and Revitalization in Michigan: A Guide to Transforming Vacant, Abandoned, and Deteriorated Properties through Code Enforcement (2020).
Before joining Community Progress, Heins managed affordable housing and homelessness prevention programs for a Michigan-based nonprofit, also establishing the organization's first mortgage foreclosure prevention program. She has also worked with various Detroit-based organizations in the areas of housing and neighborhood development.
Heins earned a MUP from the University of Michigan, specializing in Housing, Community and Economic Development. She has a BA from James Madison College at Michigan State University, where she majored in Social Relations and Policy, and spent two years studying Political Science at Universitaet Freiburg in Baden Wuerttemberg, Germany.
Heins is a certified Housing Development Finance Professional through the National Development Council and a licensed residential Realtor in the state of Michigan.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Community Progress Team
- Director of Policy and Research
Robert E. Finn is the Director of Policy and Research at the Community Progress, America's nonprofit leader for turning "Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places."
Finn oversees the development and management of an active policy advocacy program focused on building new policy responses to vacancy and abandonment at the state and federal levels.
Prior to joining Community Progress, Finn was the Legislative Affairs Director for the District of Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. In that role, he led a team of attorneys in the development and implementation of legislation and regulations aimed to protect vulnerable tenants and consumers, improve the District's vacant building enforcement program and adopt updated construction codes.
Finn also served as Senior Policy Associate at the National Community Stabilization Trust, where he developed and advanced policies at the federal, state and local levels to benefit communities harmed by distressed properties and hypervacancy.
A native of Jersey City, New Jersey, Finn practiced law with a diverse litigation portfolio that included landlord-tenant, employment, civil rights and complex commercial litigation, as well as extensive appellate experience at the state and federal levels. He served for six years as the Tenant Advocate and Special Housing Prosecutor for the Township of North Bergen. Finn completed a fellowship in the Housing Law Unit of South Brooklyn Legal Services and is a certified mediator.
Finn received his JD from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University and his BA with Honors from Wesleyan University. He works out of the National Office in Washington, DC and lives with his husband in Prince George's County, Maryland.
Sara Toering is a senior fellow at the Center for Community Progress (Community Progress), America's nonprofit leader for turning "Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places."
Toering currently works with state and local governments and community leaders throughout the country on land banking, code enforcement, tax foreclosure reform and other issues related to neighborhood stabilization, affordable housing policy, and equitable development.
Beginning her career as a tenant organizer in Brooklyn, NY, Toering's vocation and expertise are focused on addressing inequities resulting from generations of federal, state and local policy that systematically denied wealth and opportunity to communities of color. Toering began her work with Community Progress after several years in practice at a large Atlanta law firm where she litigated a wide range of complex business matters, and also defended men detained in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and on Georgia's death row.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Community Progress Team
- Director of National Technical Assistance
Tarik Abdelazim is the Director of National Technical Assistance at Community Progress, America's nonprofit leader for turning "Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places."
Abdelazim joined Community Progress in July 2014 and currently oversees the National Technical Assistance team. In this role, Abdelazim leads the delivery of a range of technical assistance and capacity-building services to urban, rural, and suburban communities across the country. He has helped communities design and launch innovative programming that have become models in the national field of practice, and has co-authored seminal publications on the land banking movement nationally and within New York State. Abdelazim's work reflects a strong commitment to centering racial equity in the broader field of community development.
Prior to joining Community Progress, Abdelazim completed eight years of public service in Binghamton, New York under two different executive titles in City Hall. For four years, he served as Deputy Mayor, leading high-priority interdepartmental teams, driving innovative IT/IM reform, and directing award-winning blight prevention initiatives - which twice won first place distinction in Public Administration and Management from the New York Conference of Mayor's Local Government Achievement Awards. Abdelazim then served for nearly four years as Director of Planning, Housing and Community Development, and spearheaded a variety of cross-sector collaborations around a set of livability and sustainability goals, again winning national distinction for inclusive, bold community development programs.
Abdelazim received his Masters in Arts and Humanities from New York University, with an interdisciplinary focus on politics, ecology, and philosophy. He has a Bachelor of Arts from Hamilton College in biology. He works remotely from his hometown in upstate New York, and enjoys hiking, gardening, and advocating alongside others for racial and economic justice.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy at the Urban Institute
Tené Traylor is the incoming vice president of the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy at the Urban Institute. She was previously a fund advisor at the Kendeda Fund, where she oversaw the Atlanta portfolio with a focus on equitable access to high-quality K12 education and economic opportunity (emphasis on long-term affordability, community wealth building, and accessible quality transit) for historically marginalized populations and communities of color in metro Atlanta. She also managed a short-term national portfolio dedicated to restoring and reclaiming dignity to work for people living with a current or old criminal conviction.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Founder of UrbanAC, Llc
- Founder, UrbanAC, Llc. ( New York, NY )
Toni L. Griffin is the founder of urbanAC, llc. a New York-based planning and design practice that specializes in leading complex, trans-disciplinary planning and urban design projects for multi-sector clients in cities with long histories of spatial and social injustice. Griffin is also Professor in Practice of Urban Planning at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and leads The Just City Lab, a research platform for developing values-based planning methodologies and tools.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Chief Executive Officer of MBS Properties, Inc
As Chief Executive Officer of MBS Properties, Inc., Vincent Bennett is responsible for the overall performance of the McCormack Baron companies, including McCormack Baron Salazar (development division), McCormack Baron Management (property management division), McCormack Baron Asset Management and MBS Urban Initiatives, CDE. As President of McCormack Baron Salazar, he oversees all aspects of operations and manages a talented multi-disciplinary team of design, construction, legal, finance, and project management staff across the country. He has particular expertise in the development of public housing transformations (though Choice Neighborhoods, HOPE VI and other public housing funding) and large-scale neighborhood master redevelopment efforts.
Bennett's experience includes structuring and negotiating mixed-finance/mixed-income transactions that include Low- Income Housing Tax Credit equity, Community Development Block Grants, HOME, HOPE VI/Choice Neighborhoods, PHA Capital, foundation, corporate donations, grants, and conventional debt. He facilitates communication with local community organizations and elected officials, neighborhood residents, lenders, foundations, and state, local and federal agencies. Mr. Bennett has been a champion of the company's sustainability efforts and has overseen three LEED-ND certifications and eight Enterprise Green Communities certifications.