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Rick ColeExecutive DirectorRick Cole was selected by CNU’s Board of Directors to be CNU’s fifth executive director since the organization’s founding three decades ago. He brings unique experience as an elected local official, city manager and urban policy expert to his role leading the staff of CNU. “This is a critical juncture, not just for CNU, but for cities and towns across America,” Cole told attendees at CNU’s 29th annual Congress. “We’re in the midst of an overdue reckoning with institutional racism in American life. We face the existential threat of global climate change. We’re confronted by growing inequality as our cities and towns are marked by both unparalleled prosperity and unrelenting poverty. And we’re still emerging from the convulsions of a worldwide pandemic. This is a time of new danger for the people who’ve sustained our cities. This is also a time of new opportunity for those who believe in the promise of urban life. This is a time for new urbanism! CNU needs to be back at the center of the national conversation!” “The Charter for the new urbanism has been an inspiration and a guide for me in striving to foster communities that work for everyone, Cole has said. As Mayor of Pasadena, California, Cole was among the first elected officials in the nation to embrace New Urbanism, leading an effort to rewrite the city’s General Plan to embrace timeless ways of building and target new, human-scale development around the coming of light rail transit. Later, as City Manager of Azusa, he spearheaded the first citywide form-based code in California, a new urbanist tool for producing high quality design. Cole also championed civic engagement, affordable housing, complete streets, green building, and community wellbeing as the City Manager of Ventura and then Santa Monica. During his service as Deputy Mayor for Budget and Innovation for the City of Los Angeles, where he oversaw a $5 billion budget, he secured a $3.2 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies to set up an “I-Team” to seek ways to maximize community reinvestment to benefit existing residents. In addition to his leadership role at CNU, Cole teaches Urban Policy at Occidental College. He has been an active leader in the International City Managers Association and the City Managers Department of the League of California Cities. Cole has been recognized as one of “America's Public Officials of the Year” by Governing Magazine and one of the "Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers" by Government Technology Magazine and won awards for municipal management excellence from the American Society of Public Administrators and the Municipal Management Association of Southern California. Cole served on the 2006 CNU Charter Awards jury and was twice honored by CNU for his public service leadership, including the highest honor from CNU’s California Chapter, the Paul Crawford Memorial Award an “outstanding member who has made considerable contributions to the advancement of the principles of the New Urbanism.” Cole is a graduate of Occidental College and earned a Master’s Degree in Journalism from Columbia University. He has taught at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena City College and is a Senior Fellow at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs. Email: rcole@cnu.org Phone: 805-901-4284 |
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Margaret GattisDeputy DirectorMargaret Gattis is the Deputy Director at the Congress for the New Urbanism where she supports the Executive Director in achieving the goals of our strategic plan, provides strategic direction for the organization’s programmatic work, and develops evolving systems of operation that ensure all CNU staff are able to build places people love. Additionally, Margaret is responsible for designing and executing the annual Congress, in collaboration with CNU staff and board. Bringing a passion for cities, architecture, and people-centered design to CNU, Margaret spent over a decade advocating for the reuse of older and historic buildings at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, leading on-the-ground technical assistance projects across the country and contributing to groundbreaking research about the environmental, economic, and social value that older, smaller buildings contribute to cities for the Trust’s Preservation Green Lab. Margaret holds a BS in political science from Clemson University’s College of Behavioral, Social, and Health Sciences and a Masters in Community Planning from the University of Maryland’s School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation. When she’s not keeping CNU’s trains on time, Margaret can be found traipsing with her kids through the woods and rivers of the mid-Atlantic region or drinking local beer on a front porch (or stoop!). Email: mgattis@cnu.org |
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Robert SteutevilleSenior Communications AdvisorRobert Steuteville is founder and executive director of Better Cities & Towns, a 501c3 nonprofit that seeks to educate and raise awareness for more sustainable and livable communities. Steuteville has been writing, editing, and publishing in the field of New Urbanism since 1996, when he founded New Urban News, a trade publication that covered the trend until 2012, when the name was changed to Better Cities & Towns. He authored or co-authored four editions of New Urbanism: Best Practices Guide, which is used for CNU accreditation. He published the Smart Code Version 9 and Manual. He is leading a team that is writing a form-based code, using the Smart Code as a basis, for the city and town of Ithaca, New York. Steuteville is a signer of the Charter of the New Urbanism, which was unveiled in Charleston, South Carolina, when New Urban News was launched. He participated in the Mississippi Renewal Forum, when new urbanists made plans for 11 communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina. He lives in Ithaca, New York, with his family. Email: rsteuteville@cnu.org |
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Scott ShieldsDirector of Membership & OutreachScott Shields is the Director of Membership and Outreach for the Congress for the New Urbanism, where his work focuses on supporting and growing both the membership of the organization as well as the broader new urbanist movement. From building and maintaining CNU’s digital platforms to coordinating the work of its local Chapters and affiliates, he brings almost two decades of experience in organizing and activism. Prior to joining the CNU staff, Scott’s career centered around non-profit organizations, local government, elected officials, and the labor movement. A long time new urbanist himself, he grew up in the New York metropolitan area, experiencing both the benefits of vibrant, walkable urban spaces, and the negative impacts of suburban sprawl. He lives in New Jersey with his partner, two children, and an ever-expanding menagerie of pets, constantly on the lookout for new hiking trails and music venues. Email: sshields@cnu.org |
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Lauren MayerCommunications ManagerLauren Mayer is the Communications Manager at the Congress for the New Urbanism where she contributes to the strategic direction of CNU’s communications and outreach, executes general communications, and supports programmatic work. Prior to joining CNU, Lauren was an ORISE fellow with U.S. EPA doing communications work in the Office of Water. Lauren holds a BA in environmental studies and media & cultural studies from Macalester College. Lauren enjoys walking and biking around DC with friends, skiing, and camping. Email: lmayer@cnu.org |