Investing in Middle Neighborhoods: Building Social/Racial Equity through Housing

Strong, stable middle neighborhoods offer a high quality of life, affordable housing and access to opportunity for households of color. The National Community Stabilization Trust and NeighborWorks America will address strategies for improving middle neighborhoods and introduce the Middle Neighborhoods Community of Practice (CoP) - an informal, facilitated network of practitioners, researchers, and policymakers working to strengthen these communities.

Racquel Reddie currently serves as Managing Director of Community Development for the National Community Stabilization Trust. Her role includes working with the Community Development team across NCST’s footprint to provide neighborhood stabilization strategies which include the transfer of foreclosed and abandoned properties from government sponsored enterprises, financial institutions and mortgage servicers nationwide to localities to help support larger redevelopment opportunities for state and local governments, nonprofit affordable housing developers and mission focused for-profit developers. Reddie has been involved with Community Development initiatives and programs throughout her twenty plus year career in financial services and affordable housing. Reddie currently serves on the Board of Community Housing Partners and has also served on many other civic and affordable housing boards. She has an MBA from the University of South Florida, a BS from FSU and is a USFIG CRED graduate and Alumni. [email protected]

Marcia Nedland is a consultant focusing on market rebuilding strategies and evaluation for neighborhoods and small cities. Through Fall Creek Consultants LLC, Nedland works with neighborhood associations, nonprofits, foundations, financial institutions and local governments throughout the U.S. on neighbors’ goals for equitable and market-sensitive revitalization. She also teaches, writes and speaks on these topics. Nedland is known for market analysis, planning models and strategies related specifically to attracting homebuyers to, and cultivating the image of transitional neighborhoods. Nedland is a member of the national Middle Neighborhoods Steering Committee, coordinates the Community of Practice and contributed a chapter on place branding to the book On the Edge: America’s Middle Neighborhoods. [email protected]

David Sanchez is the Director of Research and Policy at NCST which is responsible for initiatives that support neighborhood stabilization and the rehabilitation of distressed properties. He coordinates the Middle Neighborhoods initiative, which marshals support and attention to reverse the decline of middle- and working-class neighborhoods across the country. He also leads NCST’s research projects, which utilize NCST’s proprietary database on distressed property renovations and sales. Previously, David was a senior policy analyst at the Federal Housing Finance Agency in the Division of Housing Mission of Goals where he focused on affordable housing, mortgage servicing, and issues related to borrowers with limited English proficiency. David began his career in housing and consumer finance policy at the Center for American Progress. He holds a master’s degree in Sociology from Cambridge University and a bachelor’s degree from Haverford College. [email protected]

Ernest Coney Jr. serves as the Chief Executive Officer of CDC of Tampa. He brought over 15 years of executive management-level experience in providing health, social and economic programs to benefit low to moderate income persons and the elderly. With an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and a master’s degree from the University of South Florida, he developed strong business acumen in the areas of management, finance, and performance improvement. Within the first few years of his tenure as CEO, Mr. Coney leveraged over $50 million dollars in joint venture projects. Most recently, under his leadership the CDC has created Tampa Vocational Institute (TVI), to address the disproportionate rates of unemployment and underemployment in urban neighborhoods. TVI has increased CDC’s ability to address the growing “skills gap” and corporate training needs for local area businesses and individuals. [email protected]

Session Sponsored by NeighborWorks America

NeighborWorks America creates opportunities for people to live in affordable homes, improve their lives and strengthen their communities.