Cindy Thomas Email & Phone Number

Ferndale, Michigan, United States

Editor, columnist, reporter, and writer for local monthly community magazine from inception to folding in November 2022

Berkley, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan

Economic Development and Community Programming, including Placemaking, Façade Improvements, Public Art Initiatives, Park and Community Garden Improvements, and Small Business Assistance. Communications, Media, and Public Relations including print and radio; Crain's Detroit Business, “Eight Mile: Pathway to Prosperity”. Market the organization’s Brand to funders, sponsors, business, and community membership. Operations including Fund Development, Strategic Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Staffing. Government Relations on a Regional level with the municipalities and counties that border 8 Mile. Grant writing, and Manage Grant Portfolios.

Principal of CTC, specializing in professional project planning and management, economic development advising, and writing. Serve to bridge public-private partnerships; and to negotiate the various levels of the public approval process. Assist private and non-profit developers and organizations to structure financial deals and leverage public funds such as LIHTC, HOME, Hope VI, TIF, and CDBG funds. Wrote and reviewed reports, proposals, applications, grants, and public documents and exhibits.

Chicago, Il

A. Uniquely experienced from the multiple vantage points of development: 1. Private sector as a developer, borrower, lender, and grantor;2. Public sector as the planning and economic development project manager, and3. Nonprofit sector, managing programs and grants, underwriting, and training.B. Large-scale, high-visibility projects in the central business district including hotels, a theatre, residential conversion, and historic preservation and adaptive reuse of landmark buildings;C. A single retail project that sparked the growth of an entire commercial corridor; D. Smaller commercial and mixed-use housing in suburban and rural communities;E. Tailored and underwrote loan and grant products for borrowers unable to tap traditional loan funds due to lack of capacity and/or experience. F. Collaboration with diverse community partners at the neighborhood level to shape redevelopment strategies and implementation plans for their blighted communities;G. Supervised nine of the city’s over 100 RPA designations, yielding to-date (Jan. 2015):1. Nearly $1.5 billion in new investment, infrastructure and public improvements;2. 6:1 Leverage of private-public funds. 3. $500k Work Force Development investment;4. Transformative streetscapes, infrastructure improvements, open spaces, and public facilities; 5. Thousands of units of market-rate, affordable, and supportive housing.

A. Leadership skills that are crucial to the planning, financing, and shepherding a cohesive plan or project through completion and beyond; such as: 1. Ability to assemble the right mix of team members to move projects and initiatives forward by appealing to each member’s specific goal. 2. Stream-lined processes to increase transparency and reduce costs.3. Building organizational capacity through training, coaching, developing the board and strengthening financial statements, example: Co-founder of VOICES For the Formerly Incarcerated.B. Deal negotiation to maximize leverage, secure public benefits, and minimize risk.C. Led the state of Illinois’ training and promotion efforts to redevelop foreclosed properties using the state’s $55M award of Neighborhood Stabilization Program-1 (NSP1) funds.D. Led the team to create the first public accounting of the city of Chicago’s use of the TIF statute for designations and expenditures of TIF funds. The report became an annual requirement and covered over 100 TIF districts.E. Policy advocate at local, state, and federal level for housing development funding.

 Using a renewable state grant, designed curricula and interactive training materials for intensive development trainings, (from five-day seminars to six-month institutes) to build capacity of first-time and experienced developers and borrowers. CDFI loan officer: underwrote predevelopment and bridge loans using revolving federal grant pool and soft start-up loans using state and MacArthur Foundation grant funds. Chaired the committee that succeeded in obtaining a $50M federal grant. Managed Open Societies Institute challenge grant, resulting in 294 units of new housing using foreclosed products NSP funds, exceeding the national goal of 75. Designed innovative programs by leveraging special funding sources such as the “Street-to-Home Initiative” that received national recognition as part of the national “Innovators Circle”. Wrote RFPs and RFQs seeking grantees, borrowers, and developers on behalf of the city of Chicago, the state of Illinois, nonprofit, and philanthropic organizations. Evaluated grant proposals, tested feasibility assumptions, and recommended awards. Established metrics to measure grantee performance and deliverables. Monitored grants and contracts for compliance and addressed performance issues  Reported on results and impacts of investment to funders and other stakeholders. Wrote, edited, and published the biannual “State of the Plan”, a public reporting of the funding of the City of Chicago’s Plan to End Homelessness.

My approach to economic development is steeped in the value of relationships. After concept and feasibility, the first step of any project must be to cultivate the relationships needed to build strong partnerships and create a common vision. One of the keys to my success in this area is recognizing that while we must share a common vision, each stakeholder comes to the table with their own interest. My job is to appeal to those interests by finding a way to make them a part of the solution without compromising the overall goal. Here’s how: Cultivated relationships with key political, community, and other stakeholders to effectively move redevelopment projects forward, secure land write-downs and tax incentives, and create fertile environments for future projects. Conducted large neighborhood meetings and facilitated community forums to gather input, provide information, and build consensus. Conducted trainings on site selection, building community support, and handling NIMBY issues. Marketed an inactive loan program to revive their presence as a national CDFI lender, resulting in a new loan pipeline of nearly $2M in 2012 (from $0). Managed and mentored staff project teams across the public- and private-sectors to deliver quality outcomes with maximum social impact and cultural competency. A genuine, relatable communication style that elicits trust, bridges stakeholder interests, and engages new partners.

Chicago, Il

Co-founded a 501c3 organization with a small group of formerly incarcerated individuals to intercept parolees as they exit prison with a national housing & program model proven to reduce recidivism, increase public safety, and reduce social costs.

Chicago & Central Region

Chicago

Master’S Degree, Urban Planning & Policy

Recipient of the Patricia Roberts-Harris for Women in Public Affairs

Bachelor Of Science - Bs