Thomas Gilbertson Email & Phone Number

Meadville, Pa, Us

Meadville, Pa, Us

Meadville, Pa, Us

Strategic planning, commercial district enhancement, surveying, grant writing, and resource development strategies. Clients Included:- Downtown Metuchen Alliance: Analyzed nearly five-hundred survey responses and then drafted a consumer survey report on key findings. See the media attachment. www.downtownmetuchen.org - United Merchants of the South 9th Business Association: Established an organizational framework whereby an approach to securing grant funding for placemaking projects was developed. Secured grant funding from private foundations to support curb stand market enhancement projects. www.italianmarketphilly.org- South Broad Street Neighborhood Association: Developed and provided guidance for the implementation of a strategic fundraising plan for the purpose of exploring the feasibility of establishing a Business Improvement District. www.sbsna.org- Women-to-Women by Julia: Provided guidance and presentation document review for the delivery of special donor appeals to support program expansion. www.w2wbyj.com- Oregon Crusaders: Formed a plan to secure a permanent headquarters for their drum and bugle corp training programs while ultimately strengthening their community ties by laying the foundation for providing professional performance art opportunities to currently under-served populations. www.oregoncrusaders.org- Salem Weekly: Salem Weekly has been committed to Downtown Salem and we took this commitment to the next level by producing the community's premier downtown resource guide. www.willamettelive.com- Main Street Oregon City (MSOC): Facilitation of a four stakeholder group involvement process focused on ways to form collaborations with bankers, real-estate brokers, attorneys, and construction officials to develop business recruitment and retention strategies. Served on a review committee for the development of a National Endowment for the Arts grant proposal (successful $125,000 award) www.downtownoregoncity.org

Philadelphia, Pa, Us

PARC (Passyunk Avenue Revitalization Corporation) serves a dual mission of providing commercial corridor management services such as cleaning and public space maintenance while investing in mixed-use commercial properties to support the recruitment and retention of unique local businesses. I serve PARC's mission as a planner for strategic real-estate investment and economic development for East Passyunk Avenue and the surrounding neighborhoods of Passyunk Square and East Passyunk Crossing. With PARC, I've conducted research into new investment opportunities both on East Passyunk Avenue and within the surrounding neighborhoods. This research included using real-estate databases and analytical tools, City of Philadelphia resources, and on-the-ground work. The combination of my research with PARC has resulted in tenant recruitment information (business mixture analysis), community demographic change profiles, cartographic resources, and key findings to support development proposals and real-estate strategies. In addition to research, I've supported PARC through the drafting of funding proposals, real-estate development proformas, tax abatement applications, letters of inquiry, and building design graphics to convey redevelopment concepts.

Planning | Stakeholder Outreach | Proposal Development | Legal & Technical Review | Media Relations: Consulted for the South 9th Street Business Association during their effort to form a Business Improvement District (special assessment district for commercial area services) which included forming a diverse Steering Committee and providing guidance at nearly two dozen meetings to plan for proposed services, boundaries, assessment rates, and governance structures (18 month process). Facilitated an extensive stakeholder engagement process in five languages (English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Khmer [Cambodian]) which included a community needs assessment survey, presentations at a series of eight informational meetings, two large public meetings on the Proposed BID Plan, face-to-face outreach, neighborhood association updates, and media relations campaign. Developed professional meeting materials, technical reports, information databases covering over four-hundred properties, and service area maps. Additionally, I drafted technical documents including the Proposed BID Plan with bylaws and supporting exhibits.

With Diana T. Myers & Associates, I provided administrative assistance for a firm of special needs housing consultants focusing on seniors, people with disabilities, and homelessness. My largest annual task under this position was to enter and tabulate data to support the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's annual Point-in-Time count of homeless across more than fifty rural counties (balance of state). In addition to supporting Pennsylvania's annual Point-in-Time count of homelessness, I analyzed over five-hundred responses to a consumer housing options survey and compiled graphics to demonstrate key findings. Ultimately, I edited and finalized a report on the consumer housing options survey. Further activities undertaken with Diana T. Myers & Associates included conducting research into permanent supportive housing and transitional housing occupancy rates across Pennsylvania and providing assistance to support annual funding renewal proposals for special needs housing developments.

With the Salem Downtown Partnership (SDP), a combination Economic Improvement District (special assessment $200,000 per year) and Downtown Parking District (special assessment $100,000), I managed daily office operations, working committees for downtown enhancements, conducted constituent outreach, and served as the point of contact for issues related to the commercial district. Greeted walk-in and phone constituents regularly, answered questions, administered professional communications including weekly newsletters, stakeholder reports, press-releases, website updates, and email notifications to an audience of about 600 stakeholders (business/property owners) and 3,000 direct customers. This position included managing a series of commercial district services including the procurement and ongoing management of district-wide flower baskets, sidewalk pressure washing, and both marketing and promotional activities concerning our monthly First Wednesday events. My work with SDP consisted of providing support for three volunteer committees and the Board of Directors by managing daily office operations and information including invoices, volunteer and staff reports, quarterly reports, legal documentation, meeting minutes, and fiduciary documents.

After graduating from UO, I had an amazing opportunity to serve as an AmeriCorps participant in the unique Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) program for the City of The Dalles. With the City of The Dalles, I was assigned three major projects. The first project was to update the community's Vision Action Plan. In Oregon, all cities are required to develop Comprehensive Land Use Plans to ensure that their local Land Use Development Ordinances align with State planning goals. Oregon has nineteen planning goals covering environmental considerations, economic stability, transportation, urban development, and more. The Vision Action Plan satisfied the State's public involvement goal for the City of The Dalles Comprehensive Plan. See the full plan update in the posted media file below. Through my second project, I facilitated the development of The Dalles Main Street Program to support their downtown economic revitalization and placemaking enhancement efforts. A third project included outlining a public involvement process for the establishment of a Vertical Housing Development Zone in downtown The Dalles. About RARE: RARE is a service learning opportunity for individuals interested in community development that is sponsored through a partnership between the University of Oregon's Community Service Center, AmeriCorps, and a local community. Every year, RARE places 25 participants in rural communities throughout Oregon so they can apply their knowledge and skills to provide necessary services and support the long-term goals of each community.

Eugene, Or, Us

With Lane Council of Governments (LCOG), I worked as a geographic information systems (GIS) land use planning intern during my final year at the University of Oregon. This opportunity gave me the chance to gain some working experience using GIS to create new spatial datasets in several southern Willamette Valley counties. Several projects completed during my time with LCOG included the maintenance of a regional building footprint data layer, the development of new vegetation management layers for City of Eugene nature parks, and the creation of a wetland restoration data layer to support State of Oregon wetland mitigation procedures. My main project with LCOG was the creation of a large cross-reference table to compare multiple land use classification catalogs. This cross-reference table was analyzed through several unique processes with the ultimate goal of identifying areas within Lane County were new mixed use developments may require revisions to the Lane County's current classification system.

With the Association of Fundraising Professional University of Oregon Chapter, I participated in numerous resource development activities and workshops for several Eugene area nonprofits. Through this opportunity, I had the pleasure to work with Willamette Resources and Education Network (WREN) and Rural Development Initiatives (RDI). Initially I started out as a project volunteer and then took the position of Secretary. As Secretary, I scheduled meetings, assisted in hosting educational workshops, and helped coordinate special outreach activities and nonprofit collaborations. Following my term as Secretary, I was appointed to the position of Vice-President.

Master Of City Planning, Community & Economic Development

Bacholar Of Science In Planning, Public Policy And Management, Urban Planning, Economics, Community Development, Leadership & Management

High School Diploma, General Education