JAF is an MBE certified, community-impact focused strategic partnership and engagement consulting firm that provides AEC industry professionals across the U.S. an efficient process of authentic engagement outcomes and tangible community impact returns. This impact extends beyond the design and development world through intentional grassroots communication strategies and active implementation. Our clients consist of architecture and design firms, real estate development companies, construction companies, and non-profit organizations looking to do work in underserved communities.Services Include: Strategic Partnerships, Engagement and Outreach, Community Design, and Construction Workforce Diversity DevelopmentContact us at: contact@jafcsolutions.com

Long Beach Farms is an urban farm based in Long Beach, CA committed to providing high-quality, sustainably grown produce. Long Beach Farms has adopted a decentralized approach to farming, with garden locations across town. As a sustainable enterprise, Long Beach Farms helps improve our local food economy, and raises the discourse on how we source food in our community.

Duties Include:- negotiating real estate transactions- professional service agreements- compiling documentation for legal actions pertaining to eminent domain, trespassing, encroachment and other related property matters- conducting market analyses and feasibility studies

Demitrius is a planning and community development professional with deep experience guiding planning, community development and entitlement projects for a diverse portfolio of private and public clients. As Project Manager, Demitrius has promoted policies supporting the development of affordable housing, and managed the entitlements process for multi-family, mixed-use and single-family housing. He has also used his knowledge of CEQA/NEPA, the Subdivision Map Act, CA General Plan, and local zoning and land use regulations to assist clients in making sound land use decisions. Client services include:COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT + ENGAGEMENTWork with design professionals, community leaders and stakeholders to help civic leaders make informed choices about the future policy, design, and “fabric” of their community. MANAGE PERMIT AND ENTITLEMENT PROCESS Guide projects through the permitting and entitlement processes, and help the client achieve its broader goals related to timing, financial implications, etc. Develop community-based strategies to shape local policy and the built environment.REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENTProvide clients with solutions to the unique set of opportunities and challenges presented by each development project. Site selection, due diligence, market research, entitlements, etc., from pre-development civil design to construction phases of a project. URBAN REDEVELOPMENTEngage the community and create better, more efficient, more sustainable approaches as many communities rethink the historic transportation links and retail-commercial aspects of their City in the effort to create “livable places” for their citizens. POLICY + REGULATORY PLANNINGAssist local governments in creating a vision about how their communities will grow. Reflect community priorities and values in shaping the future and engage the public in the visioning process. California Government Code and CEQA/NEPA serve as guidelines in the preparation of statutory documents.

Director of Planning and Senior Project Manager at HARDY Engineering, a boutique civil engineering and land planning firm with office in Santa Monica, Thousand Oaks, and Santa Barbara. HARDY provides field survey, environmental, structural and civil engineering, and strategic/technical land planning services to a range of public sector private clients,

Developed community outreach strategies, managed governmental and community relations, and tracked critical local and city-/statewide political issues for several large developer clientsCoordinated with, and sought consensus among various public, private and non-profit stakeholders pursuant to City of Los Angeles and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines

Procured entitlements for residential and mixed-use real estate projects throughout Southern California, including the design and provision of affordable housingManaged design and development process, including scopes of work and schedules of project architects, engineers, attorneys, etc.; help local cities adhere to project timelinesImplemented strategic outreach to local stakeholders, including local neighbors and elected officials Used planning expertise to prepare mixed-use Specific Plan, peer-review CEQA documents, etc.

Taught state-mandated curriculum. Promoted academic achievement as a vehicle for success Provided leadership and mentorship for minority students in a low-income, low-expectation setting

Provided local agencies, jurisdictions and developers with contract and on-demand planning, design and engineering services for a diverse portfolio of public and private development projectsUsed knowledge of CEQA, NEPA, California land use and redevelopment laws to author and coordinate the completion of state and federal environmental assessments (e.g., technical studies, IS/EA's, EIR's), local policy documents (e.g., Specific and General Plans), and other land use plans

Developed project schedules; interfaced with regional jurisdictions, agencies and clients; drafted public policy documents (i.e., Housing Elements, Consolidated Plans, etc.) and statistical and policy analysis Guided local jurisdictions in designing and implementing local affordable housing policies, including the development and certification of more than one-dozen State-mandated Housing Elements