Today, we're proud to announce that Nathan Norris, the former CEO of the Lafayette Downtown Development Authority, will join CNU in January as Director of Education and Training Programs. Norris, a longtime CNU member, cofounder of the New Urban Guild, and founder of the City Building Exchange, brings decades of experience, a passion for New Urbanism, and strong expertise in working with local government leaders.

“Cities and towns are becoming urban mechanics, creating and embracing new strategies faster than any other level of government,” said Lynn Richards, President and CEO of CNU. “Nathan’s deep knowledge of New Urbanist practices, local government, and place-based economic development will help us accelerate and disseminate local innovations to other government leaders. Nathan will help us meet the growing demand for municipal education programs—and train the next generation of great urbanist leaders. We are thrilled to have him join our team.”

As Director of Education and Training Programs, Norris will lead the organization’s outreach to cities and expand its municipality-focused training and education. In addition to managing CNU’s intensive Core Curriculum workshops, Norris will oversee new technical offerings on a range of New Urbanist topics like coding, development, street design and more. Available to state and local governments of all sizes, CNU’s educational programs offer a crash-course for municipal leaders and staff on New Urbanist principles and strategies. 

During Norris’s tenure as CEO of the Downtown Development Authority, Downtown Lafayette made major strides in walkable development and won national awards for its coding accomplishments and its Creativity Everywhere initiative. Previously, Nathan was the co-founder and Director of Implementation Advisory for the international urban design firm PlaceMakers, LLC.  At PlaceMakers, Nathan worked with developers and municipalities to plan, entitle, develop and market neighborhoods, towns and cities.

“Joining CNU to lead its education and training programs is a dream job for me,” said Norris.  “This opportunity perfectly combines my commitment to the principles of the Charter with my passion for education.  I’m looking forward to sharing with others the experience I have gained working with local government, developers and non-profits as they have sought to build places people love.”