Smart Growth America cultivates vibrant, sustainable communities with diverse living and transportation options, enhancing quality of life for all.
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Smart growth is a holistic approach to community design that uses interdisciplinary land use and transportation strategies.
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Smart Growth America cultivates vibrant, sustainable communities with diverse living and transportation options, enhancing quality of life for all.
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Even the best-planned cities have a few hidden alleys.

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Calvin Gladney, LEED AP, is President and CEO of Smart Growth America and is a nationally recognized thought leader on the equitable and sustainable revitalization of communities. Prior to being named President and CEO of Smart Growth America in April of 2018, Mr. Gladney was Managing Partner of Mosaic Urban Partners, a real estate development and advisory services firm that advised non-profits, cities, and elected officials on how to sustainably and equitably regenerate their communities. In 2017, Mr. Gladney was also the Urban Land Institute’s Senior Visiting Fellow for Equity.
Over the past ten years, Mr. Gladney has worked on community revitalization projects in more than 25 cities and has served as a strategic advisor on projects with estimated development costs of over $1B and totaling more than 5M square feet of planned development. He has worked on community revitalization projects throughout the United States including projects in Baltimore, Baton Rouge, Birmingham, Boston, Denver, Detroit, the District of Columbia, Grand Rapids, Houston, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Louisville, Memphis, Oakland, Pittsburgh and Prince George’s County, MD. Mr. Gladney through Mosaic was also part of the team that developed a new 31-unit apartment building and a separate two-story restaurant in Washington, DC.
Prior to founding Mosaic, Mr. Gladney served as Vice President of the Anacostia Waterfront Corp. (AWC), a DC quasi-public real estate corporation where he assisted the CEO with the management of the Corporation and was the project manager for a master-planned, mixed-use redevelopment of 67 acres of city land. Mr. Gladney also previously served as the General Counsel and Transactions Manager at BRIDGE Housing Corporation, a private developer in San Francisco, CA. At BRIDGE Mr. Gladney was the lead businessperson in the investment of $60 million of CalPERS equity in multiple real estate development deals. He also provided strategic advice on the development and management of more than 2,700 apartments throughout California.
Mr. Gladney graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, received his BS from Cornell University and is a LEED Accredited Professional. He is a trustee of the Urban Land Institute and a board member of the Center for Community Progress. He is also a member of ULI’s national Public/Private Partnership Council (Blue Flight). Mr. Gladney also serves as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Masters in Real Estate Program where he teaches real estate entrepreneurship and a real estate market analysis class. In his spare time Mr. Gladney…Mr. Gladney doesn’t have any spare time. But he will make time for you. You can connect with him on Twitter and Instagram @SmartGrowthCEO.

Leadership

Calvin

Leadership, administration, and communications

Calvin Gladney

Abi Araya is the Communications Manager at Smart Growth America. In this role, she enjoys shedding light on the often invisible influence of the built environment and how it can be used to change people’s lives for the better.
Abi joined Smart Growth America as a member of the Transportation for America team in 2021. There, she co-organized TransportationCamp, edited and authored content for the T4America blog, and contributed to multiple reports, including serving as primary author for Divided by Design.
She came to SGA after two years working in New York’s publishing industry, where she promoted books on creative placemaking. Before that, she served as an AmeriCorps volunteer, coaching low-income students through the college admissions process in Omaha, NE. It was there, 50 minutes from her hometown, that she started to discuss the importance of safe, convenient, and affordable transportation in connecting people to jobs and opportunities.
Abi graduated from Drake University with a degree in English and Law, Politics &amp; Society.

Abigail Araya

Jamise Brown is the Grants &amp; Contracts Manager at Smart Growth America. In this role, she enjoys tackling complex Grants &amp; Contracts issues with grace and charm.
Jamise is a 34-year Contracts &amp; Grants Manager with extensive accounting experience. She started her career in accounting at 17 years of age working as a general accountant, 4 hours / 3 days a week, after school at the Department of Navy, for her last year of high school. From that point, she fell in love with Finance and has ventured, 15 years in the federal government, 4 years in Fortune 500 Companies, and the last 15 years in Non-Profits, in various finance positions. The non-profit industry is where she found her place.
SUMMIT (Slaying Unbelievable Monetary Mountains in Time) is her motto. She gives to her community by showing up at work with self-expectations of excellence. Knowing her work enhances the community and way of life.

Jamise Brown

Eric Cova is the Director of Communications at Smart Growth America. In this role, Eric leads external communications and messaging to uplift SGA’s thought leadership, advocacy, and technical assistance work to further our mission to create prosperous, resilient, and healthy communities.
Eric has spent his career supporting strong, mission-driven organizations to advance their work through strategic communications. As the Director of Marketing and Communications at Madison Square Park Conservancy in New York City, Eric developed his comms repertoire and deepened his awareness of the importance of public spaces to communities. Graduating with his Master of Public Administration in 2020 from NYU’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, Eric specialized in policy analysis, enabling him to communicate complicated ideas more effectively to all audiences. At Wagner, Eric also sought opportunities to grow his experience in climate, advocacy, and urbanism, which included a fellowship with World Resources Institute’s Cities4Forests team in Mexico City.
Prior to joining SGA, Eric served as the Interim Director of Communications and Policy at Educators for Excellence where he sought to achieve equity in public education.

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Eric Cova

Rachel Ellis is the Communications Associate for Smart Growth America. In this role, she uplifts SGA’s impact work through compelling storytelling, social media, and publication efforts.
Prior to Smart Growth America, Rachel served as a CivicSpark AmeriCorps fellow for a Colorado-based nonprofit, SWEEP, where she drove the uptake of electrification incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act and put a human face on decisions that millions of U.S. residents and businesses are making to help solve the climate crisis. She was also an advocate for The Colorado Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Coalition, where she devoted her spare time to advocate for environmental justice in communities impacted by the fossil fuel industry.
Rachel is an award-winning photojournalist, who worked at media outlets including The Denver Post, The St. Louis Post Dispatch, and MLive Media Group. She continues her journalistic pursuits through photography and videography. You can see her work in publications like Bloomberg and The Washington Post.
Rachel received a B.A. in photojournalism and a minor in French from Ball State University. She recently did a semester at The Danish School of Media and Journalism, where she refined her ability to research and craft independent multimedia stories on social and environmental issues.

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Rachel Ellis

Nobué King is the Senior Executive Assistant at Smart Growth America supporting CEO &amp; President, Calvin Gladney.
Prior to SGA, she spent 13 years working at the Department of State International Cooperative Administrative Support Services (ICASS) in Washington, D.C. as an Executive Assistant. This involved coordinating and collaborating with federal agencies, private organizations bureaus, and offices within the Department of State and Embassies worldwide. Boo is a powerful force in the workplace and uses her positive attitude and tireless energy to encourage others to work hard and succeed. She demonstrates this ability to successfully tackle any task and produce high-quality work, even under some of the most difficult restraints and pressures.
Nobué was born in Japan and resides in Northern Virginia. Boo is constantly inspired by her children and three grandchildren. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, shopping, living life to the fullest, and loves spending time with her family and friends.

Nobué King

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Isaac Mintz

Jeran Wiebke is the Office Manager at Smart Growth America. In this role, he plans and coordinates SGA’s daily administrative operations, maintains the organization’s IT systems, and administers employee benefits to maintain a positive and productive work environment.
Prior to joining SGA, Jeran spent six years working at the America Constitution Society in various administrative roles. In that time, he managed a team of three administrative assistants, updated the employee onboarding manual, maintained the organization’s financial data and general ledgers, and oversaw the organization’s office relocation.
Jeran received a B.A. in History from the University of Iowa.

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Jeran Wiebke

Heidi Simon joined Smart Growth America in February 2023 as the Director of Thriving Communities.
Prior to Smart Growth America, Heidi most recently served as a Senior Program Manager of Mobility Safety Strategy at the National Safety Council (NSC), where she managed the Road to Zero Coalition—composed of more than 1,500 stakeholders committed to reducing traffic fatalities to zero by 2050. She also developed new opportunities in communications, programming, and strategy for NSC’s Roadway Practice focused on emerging issues within the field.
Heidi brings over five years of experience working in advocacy, communications and programming related to mobility, with an emphasis in active transportation. She began this work with the pedestrian advocacy organization, America Walks, and has focused her career on addressing mobility independence through the creation of safe, active and accessible places to move and travel.
Originally from Milwaukee, WI, Heidi holds degrees from Loyola University-Chicago and George Washington University. She currently lives in Washington, DC with her husband, son, and dog.

Staff

Heidi

Transportation and thriving communities

Heidi Simon

John Robert Smith is chair of T4America and policy advisor for Smart Growth America. He served for 16 years as mayor of Meridian, MS, whose Union Station, his signature project, is recognized as one of the best multi-modal transportation centers in the country. Having served as a mayor of a city with a wealth of late 19th century buildings, he worked with developers to restore those buildings, and is a strong advocate for historic preservation, believing that each community must respect its past and play to its strengths in order to develop and maintain a strong community identity.
He helped define Meridian’s role as a cultural center with the restoration of the Grand Opera House of Mississippi, the creation of the Riley Education and Performing Arts Center, and the selection of Meridian as the site for the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience. Additionally, he secured $17 million in HUD HOPE VI funding to develop low- and middle-income housing.
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The Hon. John Robert Smith

Corrigan Salerno (he/him/his) is a Policy Associate at Transportation for America. He is originally from Southern California, but has been happy to call Washington, D.C. his home since graduating from the George Washington University with a Bachelor’s in Organizational Sciences.
Corrigan draws from his diverse experiences conducting policy research at Spiros Consulting, constituent advocacy at the Long Beach City Council (D2) and experimental research with Leidos. As a research assistant at Leidos supporting the FHWA’s Human Factors Laboratory, Corrigan worked on projects evaluating driver responses to automation, coordinated meetings between state DOT traffic control device research engineers, and helped conduct research informing revisions in the 11th Edition of the MUTCD.

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Corrigan Salerno

Dustin Robertson is a Thriving Communities Program Manager at Smart Growth America. He focuses on Complete Streets and the intersections of mobility, health, and equity. His work informs best practices and research, building capacity at state and local levels across the country.
Dustin brings both academic and professional experience to the role. He completed a PhD in Urban Studies from Tulane University where he investigated public participation in urban transportation based on research in Bogotá Colombia. He then began working in advocacy with Ride New Orleans where he led research and analysis in the fight for more equitable transportation.
Dustin grew up on a farm in rural Indiana but has since lived in a wide variety of places including Marseille, New Delhi, New Orleans, and now Washington, D.C. He also holds degrees from Franklin College and Aix-Marseille University.
Outside of work, you can find Dustin roaming around D.C. or trying to catch fish somewhere.

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Dustin Robertson

Elisa Ramirez is a Policy &amp; Outreach Associate at Transportation for America. As an associate, she works with policymakers and advocates to support equitable access to jobs and identifies potential partners for advocacy efforts.
She has an extensive political background from working for advocacy organizations, PACs, and has campaign experience. Prior to joining the team, Elisa worked as a finance assistant on a congressional campaign for Congressman Seth Magaziner and worked for the representative at the United States Capital after the 2022 election. She also conducted state campaign research at American Bridge for multiple Virginia, Montana, and Texas state races.
Elisa graduated from the University of Central Florida with a B.A. in Political Science and Masters in Public Administration and holds a certificate in Public Policy Analysis.

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Elisa Ramirez

Chris has been with Transportation for America since 2010, originally serving as Oregon Field Organizer. Incrementally expanding his role and responsibilities, he became Outreach Director in 2019. Chris runs T4America’s membership program, keeps partners and allies apprised of developments on transportation policy and opportunities for innovation, and guides T4America’s amplification of the local voices so critical to reforming the United States’ transportation system.
Before joining T4America, Chris co-founded Green Wheels, a local transportation advocacy organization in Humboldt County, CA, and served as Policy Director for the Healthy Humboldt Coalition. Originally from New Jersey, Chris graduated from the University of California at Berkley, and received his graduate degree from Humboldt State University. He enjoys running and skiing in the mountains near Portland where he lives with his wife, three children, and a pair of pet rats.

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Chris Rall

Benito O. Pérez, AICP CTP CPM CAPP (he/him) is the Policy Director of Transportation for America. He previously served in various roles at the District Department of Transportation from 2012-2021, which included Curbside Management &amp; Operations Planning Manager, Curbside Management Planner, and Transportation Policy Specialist. During his DDOT tenure, he worked on and managed a team involved with creating, accessing, analyzing, visualizing, disseminating, and working with stakeholders to leverage data for policy development, resource allocation, and operations management of the District’s curbside and its intersection with the greater transportation network.
Prior to DDOT, he was a Transportation Engineer with the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization, working on long range transportation planning and its intersection with active transportation and land use. Additionally, he previously worked with the Maryland State Highway Administration, working on equity and inclusion issues in transportation. Mr. Pérez earned his Master of Arts in Urban Planning and Master of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida in 2009.
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Benito Pérez

Mehr Mukhtar is a Policy Associate at Transportation for America. In this role, she contributes to policy and advocacy that enhances climate resilience in the transportation system, supports equitable and sustainable public transportation, and advances the national passenger rail network.
Mehr holds a Master’s in Climate &amp; Society from Columbia University, concentrating on climate-resilient urban infrastructure, climate science, and food systems. Mehr has her undergraduate degree in International Relations, with a focus on Environmental Studies and History, from the University of Toronto. It was in her hometown of Lahore, Pakistan, that she became interested in advocating for environmental justice and climate adaptation in the face of disproportionate climate change impacts.

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Mehr Mukhtar

Chris McCahill is the Deputy Director of the State Smart Transportation Initiative. He joined SSTI in 2013 to update its Innovative DOT handbook and has since led many of its technical assistance and research projects. He has written numerous peer-reviewed studies and book chapters and remains an active researcher in the transportation field.
Before joining SSTI, he led research and training programs for the Project for Transportation Reform at the Congress for the New Urbanism in Chicago. Chris earned his PhD in transportation engineering from the University of Connecticut, where he also worked as course instructor and researcher, focusing on urban transportation, land use and parking policy. He is now based at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

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Chris McCahill

Jaibin Mathew is a Policy Associate at Transportation for America. He focuses on Complete Streets through working with communities to improve road safety and advocating for better federal transportation policy.
As a Student Scholar for the Georgetown Global Cities Initiative, Jaibin explored transportation solutions to address health and equity disparities in South Dallas, specifically by tackling particulate matter pollution from personal vehicles. He also contributed to reports outlining global applications of placemaking and place management. As a citizen, he pushed for pedestrian-centered changes to street design guidelines in his hometown.
Jaibin grew up in Dallas, TX and graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in Science, Technology, &amp; International Affairs.

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Jaibin Mathew

Marian Liou is the Director of Arts and Culture at Smart Growth America.
She is a founder, community advocate, and attorney who specializes in supporting and affirming diverse communities through arts and culture and community engagement. Her cross-sector experience brings together community members and community-based organizations, artists, arts and culture organizations, advocacy groups, planners, local government, and other partners to nurture and sustain communities that are inclusive, just, and whole. As the founder and executive director of We Love BuHi, Marian established efforts to preserve and strengthen the multicultural Buford Highway community in metro Atlanta through storytelling, creative place-keeping, and design.
Prior to Smart Growth America, Marian led the arts and culture and creative placemaking program at the Atlanta Regional Commission, metro Atlanta’s regional planning agency and MPO. At ARC, she guided the transformation of the agency’s community engagement practices, and initiated an arts and culture-led, cross-sector approach to planning by centering artists and community-based arts and culture organizations as co-designers of social change.
Marian holds degrees from Stanford University and Columbia University School of Law.

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Marian Liou

Megan Link is a Senior Associate with State Smart Transportation Initiative.
Megan holds a bachelor’s degree in Geographic Science from James Madison University and a master’s degree in Environmental Conservation from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Prior to SSTI, she worked as an Assistant Ranger at the UW-Madison Arboretum and as a Geospatial Analyst for a government contractor where she conducted risk analyses of the impacts of natural disasters on infrastructure resiliency. She is passionate about sustainable land use, prioritizing people over cars, and working to make a positive impact on the environment. Megan also loves being able to bike to work!

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Megan Link

Raveena John is a Senior Program Associate on the Thriving Communities Team. She informs best practices and research, works to build local and state capacity, and captures the ongoing story of Complete Streets.
Prior to SGA, Raveena was a climate resilience fellow for the City of Boston, where she started the development of a city-wide green infrastructure plan. She previously worked as a civil engineer, supporting municipalities in the upper Midwest with stormwater quality management and flood mitigation. Raveena holds a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from Harvard University Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Arizona State University.

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Raveena John

Steve Davis is the Assistant VP of Transportation Strategy for Smart Growth America.
Steve has been with Smart Growth America since July 2006, joining as a communications fellow before moving to serve within the Transportation for America program from its inception until 2017 and then serving as SGA’s Director of Communications from 2017-2021.
Trained at the University of Georgia’s Grady School of Journalism &amp; Mass Communication, he was an award-winning photojournalist before following his passion for great places to Smart Growth America. He’s worn many hats over the years, writing speeches for <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/about-us/our-staff/gov-parris-glendening/">Gov. Parris Glendening</a>, spearheading the launch of SGA’s first blog in 2007, kickstarting the organization’s online advocacy efforts and social media presences, helping launch the Transportation for America campaign in 2008 (and then <a href="https://t4america.org/2021/03/22/they-said-no-new-money-for-transportation-was-a-bad-message-they-were-wrong/">reimagining it in 2019</a>,) producing videos, and running messaging and communications training workshops for advocates and practitioners.
Within SGA’s Transportation and Thriving Communities team, Steve focuses on strategic communications and long-term initiatives, including <a href="http://t4america.org/">T4America</a>, the <a href="http://completestreets.org/">National Complete Streets Coalition</a>, and SGA’s other transportation programs.
He loves the challenge of figuring out how to turn the complex policies and details of creating more smart, sustainable, and lovable places into messages that resonate with a wide range of people, so communities can change how they build and grow. Steve lives in the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, DC with his wife and three kids and loves soccer, rehabbing their old house, and biking all over the city.
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Steve

Steve Davis

Courtney Cole joined Smart Growth America as a Program Associate on our Thriving Communities team in November 2022.
Previously, Courtney worked at Disability Rights Washington, a Seattle-based non-profit that protects and advocates for the rights of the disability community. As a part of their media program, Rooted in Rights, Courtney participated in the production of videos and workshops that amplified the voices of individuals with disabilities and shed light on systemic injustices faced by the community. Courtney believes that everyone is the expert of their own experience and that by listening to a diverse range of perspectives, we can make lasting changes that have a positive impact.
Courtney graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Comparative History of Ideas.

Courtney

Courtney Cole

Beth is the Vice President of Transportation and Thriving Communities at SGA where she serves as the director of Transportation for America, Smart Growth America’s transportation arm. In this position, she leads transportation policy development and technical assistance with departments of transportation. She was previously at the U.S. Department of Transportation, where she served as the Acting Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy and the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy beginning in 2009.
At USDOT, Beth managed the TIGER Discretionary Grant program, the secretary’s livability initiative, the development of the Obama administration’s surface transportation authorization proposal, and the implementation of MAP-21. Before joining USDOT, Beth worked for Sen. Tom Carper (DE) as an advisor for transportation, trade, and labor policy, as the policy director for Smart Growth America and as legislative director for environmental policy at the Southern Governors’ Association. She began her career in Washington, DC in the House of Representatives working as a legislative assistant for Rep. Ron Klink (PA-04) and as legislative director for Rep. Brian Baird (WA-03).
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Beth

Beth Osborne

Jamie Zouras is a Senior Program Manager on the Land Use and Development team at Smart Growth America. Through technical assistance, thought leadership, and advocacy, she helps decision-makers across the U.S. rethink land use strategy to encourage mixed-use, walkable urban form, support communities that have been historically marginalized, and ensure policies take into account climate impacts. Jamie also manages day-to-day operations, education programs, and communications and outreach for the Form-Based Codes Institute, a program of SGA that advances zoning reform to achieve livable places, healthy people, and shared prosperity.
Jamie began her career serving as a CivicSpark AmeriCorps Fellow to address emerging climate and social equity resilience challenges in Northern California. She continued her environmental advocacy work at the Natural Resources Defense Council in Chicago where she worked as a Program Assistant, supporting the Climate &amp; Clean Energy and Nature teams. At NRDC, she co-spearheaded the office Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee and continues to be dedicated to initiatives that build capacity and trust in frontline communities. Jamie holds a B.S. in Natural Resources &amp; Environmental Sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a M.S. in Sustainable Urban Planning &amp; Design from the KTH Royal Institute of Technology School of Architecture and the Built Environment in Stockholm, Sweden.

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Land use and development

Jamie Zouras

Megan Wright is a senior associate on the Economic Development team at Smart Growth America. In this role, Megan contributes to data collection and analysis on economic metrics that support equitable, sustainable growth in communities across the country. Megan specializes in providing technical assistance to communities that are looking to grow their local economies, increase economic resiliency, and communicate economic development plans to local constituents.
Megan is finishing up her Masters in Urban and Regional Planning at Georgetown University, specializing in geospatial analysis and community development planning. Megan has her undergraduate degree in International Relations with a focus in Environmental Sustainability and Global Health from American University.

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Megan Wright

Justin “Franklin” Thornton is the Senior Associate for SGA’s Land Use and Development team. In this role, he is excited to uplift land use practices that produce equitable outcomes.
Franklin joined the Land Use and Development team after working on Capitol Hill on the House Committee on Financial Services where he served as the Committee Clerk and transitioned to become a policy staffer on the Housing and Insurance Subcommittee.
Franklin has always been interested in the impact that local government has on the built environment and the surrounding community. Working on several community park cleanups in college and other community projects, his interest in the built environment was fostered and realized. Franklin graduated from Oakwood University with a degree in Political Science and is currently finishing his master’s in Urban &amp; Regional Planning at Georgetown University.

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Justin Franklin Thornton

Toccarra Nicole Thomas, AICP, is the Director of Land Use and Development at Smart Growth America. Her role includes leading the Form Based Codes Institute (FBCI) as well as other projects and initiatives. In this role, Toccarra leads thought leadership, advocacy, and technical assistance work to further our mission to create prosperous, resilient, and healthy communities.
Toccarra believes that communities should be inclusive and welcoming to all and she is particularly passionate about housing for all. Toccarra graduated from the University of Florida with a Master of Arts in Urban and Regional Planning, where as a HUD Scholar she focused on the deployment and maintenance of affordable homeownership in Florida.
Prior to joining SGA, Toccarra worked on a variety of technical projects in North California, including certifying and adopting the 5th Cycle Housing Element for the County of Lake, writing 6th Cycle Housing Elements for Bay Area communities, implementing a pre-approved Accessory Dwelling Unit Permit process, and developing strategies to encourage workforce housing in a rural farming community.

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Toccarra Nicole Thomas

Michael Rodriguez, AICP, is Director of Research for Smart Growth America where he conducts and oversees quantitative and qualitative research through SGA’s many research initiatives. His expertise is in fiscal and economic impacts of transportation and infrastructure projects, especially with regard to smart growth and walkability.
Michael’s is co-author of “Foot Traffic Ahead 2023,” a statistical survey of walkable urbanism in the U.S.; econometric research on the economic and fiscal impacts of catalytic development in Downtown Detroit; and “WalkUP, Wake-Up: NY Metro,” a study of walkability in metropolitan New York and part of the Fourth Regional Plan.
At SGA, Michael has worked with dozens of communities assessing the fiscal impacts of development scenarios and statistical impacts of infrastructure and development alternatives. Further, he leads Benefit-Cost Analysis and technical assistance for communities seeking federal grants such as RAISE and CRISI. Michael brings over 14 years of professional urbanism experience to SGA from roles at top real estate, research, and transportation organizations.
As a resident of Tysons Corner, Virginia, Michael promotes smart growth in one of the fastest-growing regions in the country. He holds a dual MPA and an M.S. in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and is currently a PhD doctoral dissertator in Public Policy at George Washington University.

Michael

Michael Rodriguez

Joseph Mendonca is the Climate Program Associate on the Land Use and Development Team. In this role, he supports Smart Growth America’s research and technical assistance work in partnership with local community-based organizations from across the country. His main interests are affordable housing and climate justice, and the relationship between them.
Joseph was previously a research assistant at the Shimberg Center for Housing Studies and the Florida Center for Environmental Studies, where he engaged with housing professionals to identify and expand access to natural hazard risk information in low- and moderate-income communities. He joins Smart Growth America as a recent graduate from Florida Atlantic University with a Master’s Degree in Geosciences with a concentration in the Human Environment and Sustainable Science.

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Joseph Mendonca

Jeri Mintzer is the Assistant Vice President for Economic Development, supporting the LUD team’s operations, overseeing the economic development portfolio, and guiding its technical assistance work. Jeripreviously managed the Governors’ Institute on Community Design, working with over 20 state agencies and governors’ cabinets to deliver workshops on smart growth principles, transportation reform, economic development, and more. Since 2011, Jeri has worked across a variety of SGA’s programs and disciplines, including advocacy campaigns, public engagement, and transportation reform.

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Jeri Mintzer

Sam Gordon is a Program Manager on the Land Use and Development team at Smart Growth America. Originally a Graduate Student Intern for SGA, he is now responsible for managing research, technical assistance, and thought leadership programs with SGA’s partner communities and organizations.
Prior to SGA, Sam worked in city government for over five years in New Orleans, Louisiana. As a public servant for one of the country’s most beautiful and fascinating cities, he managed the design and installation of residential green infrastructure projects for income-qualified households in one of the city’s most low-lying flood-prone neighborhoods as part of the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority’s Community Adaptation Program. He also served as a Neighborhood Liaison for the City of New Orleans Mayor’s Office, building and strengthening partnerships with neighborhood associations across the city and facilitating public meetings to address community concerns.
Sam is completing his Master’s in Community Planning at the University of Maryland, where he served as the Graduate Student Planning Association President in 2023. He holds a B.A. in Architectural Studies from Hobart College.

Sam Gordon

Katharine Burgess is the Vice President of Land Use and Development at Smart Growth America, where she oversees SGA’s Land Use programs including LOCUS, the Form-Based Codes Institute, and the National Brownfields Coalition.
Prior to Smart Growth America, Katharine led the Urban Resilience Program at the Urban Land Institute. At ULI, she built up the organization’s program of work addressing how buildings, cities, and communities can be more prepared for the impacts of climate change, considering topics ranging from climate risk to built environment adaptation strategies addressing sea level rise, extreme heat, wildfires, and other climate hazards.
An urban planner, Katharine has fifteen years of experience practicing in the US, UK, and Germany. She began her career managing post-Katrina hurricane recovery charrettes commissioned by the States of Louisiana and Mississippi and the City of New Orleans and subsequently worked in masterplanning and land use consulting. Her research work has included landscape performance research for the Landscape Architecture Foundation, as well as international urban policy research for the Robert Bosch Foundation Fellowship program. She holds an MSc in Regional and Urban Planning from the London School of Economics and a BA from Williams College.

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Katharine Burgess

Samantha Carr works as an intern with SGA’s Land Use and Development team. In this role, she engages with policy research and technical assistance work, including supporting the Form-Based Codes Institute, which advances zoning reform through the use of form-based codes in order to create more livable, healthy, and economically vibrant communities.
A previous GIS Analyst and cartographer, Samantha began engaging with policy research during her time with the National League of Cities, where she supported their Housing &amp; Community development portfolio, notably the Eviction Prevention Learning Lab and associated technical assistance program. This role sparked her passion for public service and instilled a keen interest in exploring how housing policies can be utilized to create a more equitable, sustainable, and resilient future for our communities.
Prior to joining the Land Use and Development team, Samantha worked in the transportation space serving as a regional Transportation Planner with Metrolinx in Toronto, where she advanced service proposals to support the creation of a regional express bus network. She values leveraging a multi-disciplinary perspective when grappling with complex urban issues.
Samantha graduated from McGill University and holds a degree in Urban Systems.

Interns

Samantha

Samantha Carr

Sam Packman is an intern for the Transportation and Thriving Communities team for the summer 2024. In this role he is working on electric vehicle charging grids and ways to evaluate and improve the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program. He is excited for the opportunity to work on sustainable transportation infrastructure that will advance the transition to clean energy as well as benefit the communities where it is sited.
Sam is a rising junior at MIT majoring in math and physics. His previous work has included nuclear fusion research at the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center. This summer he is eager to continue working to advance clean energy goals at Smart Growth America and Transportation for America.

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Sam Packman

London Weier is a Transportation and Thriving Communities Intern with Transportation for America. In this role, she explores the intersection between environmental justice and community development through research and technical assistance work.
London previously worked as a Teaching Assistant for the Sustainable Development Goals Launch Program and as a Co-chair of Green Affairs at New College of Florida. In these roles, she collaborated with students and community members to craft solutions to challenges regarding transportation, food accessibility, and local development.
She is a recent graduate from New College of Florida, where she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies and International Area Studies. Currently, London is pursuing a Master of Arts in International Affairs and Natural Resources and Sustainable Development at American University.

Senior Associate

Justin Franklin Thornton

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