I have been working with non-profits on everything from strategic planning to programming. This has included conducting qualitative research to dive into the culture of the non-profits themselves as well as the needs of the communities they serve.

Currently, I teach in the college in prison program. In the past, I worked in the Master of Public Administration Program in the School of Professional Advancement (SOPA). Developed the curriculum for and am teaching the core class on Public Sector Leadership, Community Engagement, and Strategic Partnerships. My Core Teaching Areas include social equity and economic development, public sector leadership, and urban transformation

Completed a Doctoral Degree in Urban Studies through the City, Culture, and Community Program.Course Work Including:Research DesignQuantitative and Qualitative Data AnalysisProgram Design, Implementation, and EvaluationUrban Disaster RecoveryMarket ResearchOrganizational LeadershipImpact EvaluationUrban Change & DevelopmentSocial MovementsUrban EquityRight to the City

Providing urban planning and strategic consulting services to public, private, and philanthropic sector partners to ensure civic engagement that informs decisions and investments that shape equitable neighborhoods for current and future residents.

I worked on CDBG-DR Policies and Programs in Response to Hurricanes Irma and MarÍa. Specifically, program design, implementation, and evaluation including Program Guidelines and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) across four program areas which include Economic Development, Infrastructure, Planning, and Housing.

• Facilitate strategic partnerships among network member organizations and partner organizations, as well as with evaluation and research entities that may be useful movement building partners.• Coordinate communication among network members and partner organizations in the region and beyond, including keeping all network stakeholders up to date about meetings and advocacy activities. • Map out current work of member organizations, and facilitate a plan to increase collective cross-issue work, address gaps and work more effectively.• Support engagement of low-income families in the network, and contribute to the development of the family-led Equal Voice membership organization.• Serve as liaison between the network and Marguerite Casey Foundation.

Provided consulting services in support of the Kellogg Fellows Program in New Orleans.

Provided consulting services with respect to programming and grant making for a portfolio of investments.

The work I do currently revolves around three major areas of focus; access to affordable housing, innovation in metropolitan land-use and access to economic opportunity. I also work on issues concerning the environment and urban education. I work as a funder to manage a portfolio of grant funds from the Ford Foundation that have totaled more than $5 million over the past three years. Beyond the grantmaking I provide technical assistance to grantees around program design and evaluation to build capacity and sustainability of non-profits throughout the Greater New Orleans Region. I have grantees working on issues of regional equity specifically focused on the intersections of affordable housing, transportation and land-use. Furthermore, I work with grantees to address issues around policy chance, data and community organizing.

My duties included review of subdivision plats, multifamily plats, replats, and street dedications, over 500 plats. I was responsible for the administration of the Hotel & Motel Ordinance which included everything from applications to presentations to the Planning Commission for variances and public hearings. I have written speeches and organized presentations for national conferences for the Director. Furthermore, I performed policy analysis and research for projects ranging from development ordinance amendments to market studies for neighborhood grocery stores. I was the Deputy Incident Commander for the Hurricane Refuge of Last Resort addressing health and safety. I also work on variances for both subdivision plats and Hotel & Motel Applications.

During the fellowship I performed research on land use, zoning, and property rights. I worked on a Comprehensive Plan Update for the Town of Islesboro addressing growth management and zoning issues. The work included grant writing, ordinance drafting, survey development and meeting facilitation.

I performed research on the status of non-profits in the State of Michigan. The research examined how non-profits, ranging from hospitals to community development corporations, have changed and grown over the past 100 years in the State of Michigan and in what sectors and counties it grew the most. The project generated data specific profiles for all 83 counties in the state.

I worked with Dr. Richard Hula researching and analyzing the uses of Brownfield sites around the State of Michigan. Furthermore, by collecting data in the form of pictures, GPS coordinates, and survey data the project hopes to create a report on how well Brownfield development has worked in the state as a redevelopment method.

I performed legal and other research involving the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, Legislation, Business Taxes, Downtown Development Authorities, and additional general economic development research.

I coordinated the logistics and planning process of the Summer Institute, which is a forum on community and economic development sponsored by the Economic Development Administration. Furthermore, I also organized the quarterly meetings of the Statewide Advisory Committee. I aided in research on issues of ranging from the knowledge economy to sustainable development.

I organized the launch of a community driven strategic corridor design process for; Through the Small Town Design Initiative at MSU a total of 5 charettes were conducted in order to create a vision for the future through the eyes and words of the citizens. While at the initiative I performed research into various state, federal, and local economic development options for our service area. I have also worked on developing business surveys in order to produce a directory for the area residents. My focus was to create programs that would decrease in blight and increase in quality of life in the Northwest Lansing area.

I worked on the Individual Development Account (IDA) program teaching people about the benefits of IDA's and how they build capacity in people. I worked on economic literacy programs especially educating people about the Earned income Tax Credit in the City of Columbus.

I worked in the loan department writing reviews of applications, going on site visits, and attending conferences. I attended a workshop focused on projects with Low-Income housing Tax Credits (LIHTC). Furthermore, I attended the 2002 Affordable Housing Conference at which I attended sessions that addressed the core issues affecting Community & Economic Development

I have reformatted documents and surveys in order to prepare them for Internet publishing. I have worked on mailings and performed basic office functions.

I performed congressional research on the issue of prescription drugs for a textbook on Healthcare Policy. The research focused on how prescription drugs were addressed in numerous pieces of legislation and how federal policy approached the issue.

While at Borg Warner I managed a production line with seven staff and produced transmissions for Ford Motor Company. I was responsible for production, team building, reports to management on productivity and innovation, maintenance of machines, and hiring. During my time as team leader the team met and exceeded production goals at times by more than 300%.