CNU welcomes new Board leadership and members

At their Winter Board Meeting in San Francisco the first week of February, the CNU Board made significant changes. New leadership for the organization (the Executive Committee) was chosen and two new Board positions were added. After two years of exemplary service, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk has stepped down as Chair of the Board of Directors. During her tenure, Lizz was instrumental in shaping the Board into a working group and the organization into a functioning entity. She emphasized broadening out-reach efforts to introduce more people to the New Urbanism and encouraging members to participate in projects on behalf of CNU. While Lizz will continue to be an active member of the Board, her leadership will be missed. Robert Davis will take over as Chair of the Board of Directors for a two year term. Robert is the developer of Seaside and a partner in Arcadia, a new development firm investing in new urbanist and environmentally appropriate communities. In addition, Stefanos Polyzoides will move from Treasurer to Vice Chair and Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist is welcomed to the Executive Committee as the new Treasurer. New Board members Two new positions have been added to CNU’s Board of Directors, and a third position is under consideration. Expanding the Board is part of a larger effort to diversify CNU’s leadership and strengthen connections to allied groups, such as inner-city advocates, environmental organizations, and the development community. One seat has been filled by Jacquelyne D. Grimshaw, who works with the Center for Neighborhood Technology in Chicago where she is responsible for transportation and air quality programs. In this position, she directs the Center’s research efforts, computer modeling, and community economic development activities. She has extensive experience developing public policy consensus in support of less-polluting transportation options, as well as initiating programs that assist the revitalization of inner-city neighborhoods. Of particular interest is her leadership in creating demonstration projects at four El stops on the newly renovated Lake Street line, organizing a citizen-based transportation and air quality alternative for the Chicago region, and launching the Location Efficient Mortgage program. Jackie has also served as the Deputy Director for Economic Development for the City of Chicago, where she used the Community Reinvestment Act as a tool to facilitate lending to small, minority, and disadvantaged businesses. She also worked for the Chicago Mayor’s Office for Intergovernmental Affairs, where she was responsible for the city’s local, state, and federal legislative agenda. According to Jackie, the New Urbanism is crucial to changing the current trend of ever-expanding sprawl, which is siphoning life out of cities and causing congestion in the suburbs. “New roads will not solve congestion,” she explains. “What you need is better land use planning, infill development and access to transit. The New Urbanism provides municipalities with a vision of what they can become.” Jackie holds a B.S. in biology from Marquette University and attended the Public Policy Institute at Governors State University. She is a member of the President’s Council for Sustainable Development, the Surface Transportation Policy Project’s Advisory Board, the Smart Growth Network, and the Renew America Board, among many other affiliations. The other new director is Jean Driscoll, an independent consultant specializing in real estate finance and business strategy. Over the last several years, she has worked extensively with financial institutions, including Wells Fargo Bank and the Bank of America, to develop new products and marketing strategies for real estate lending and retail banking. More recently, her work has focused on land conservation through real estate transactions and targeted investments of major charitable foundations. Prior to consulting, Jean financed low income housing as a loan officer at First Nationwide Bank and helped to create and served as Assistant Director of the Low Income Housing Fund. Earlier, she carried out real estate transactions aimed at preserv- ing urban open space with the Trust for Public Land. She worked with neighborhood groups in San Francisco and Denver to form nonprofit corporations that today operate community gardens throughout their respective cities. Jean has a B.A. in economics from the University of Massachusetts, and a M.B.A. from Columbia University. Rounding out the Board of Directors are Jonathan Barnett, Catherine Brown, Peter Calthorpe, Chester E. “Rick” Chellman, Judith Corbett, Andres Duany, Harvey Gantt, Elizabeth Moule, Henry R. Richmond and Daniel Solomon.