Professor

Johns Hopkins University

Seth D. Kaplan is a leading expert on fragile states, societies, and communities. He is a Professorial Lecturer in the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University, Senior Adviser for the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT), and consultant to organizations such as the World Bank, U.S. State Department, and U.S. Agency for International Development. His latest book, FRAGILE NEIGHBORHOODS: Repairing American Society, One Zip Code at a Time (Little, Brown Spark), is an urgent exploration of why American society is in trouble—and how to fix it. Blending the stories of five organizations working successfully to repair America’s social fabric with the latest research and his keen observations, Kaplan persuasively argues for a sideways approach to change — not a top down or bottom-up perspective. He reveals the innovative ideas and initiatives that leading-edge social repairers are developing to revitalize relationships and social habitats across neighborhoods located everywhere — from rural Kentucky to inner-city Detroit.

Executive Director

PlacemakingX

Ethan Kent works to support public space organizations, projects, and leadership around the world to build a global placemaking movement. Ethan has traveled to more than 1000 cities, in 60 countries, to advance the cause of leading urban development with inclusive public spaces and placemaking. In 2019 he co-founded PlacemakingX to network, amplify and accelerate placemaking leadership and impact globally.

Ethan has helped initiate and grow 30+ regional placemaking networks covering much of the globe, while also supporting the PlacemakingUS network, and the Social Life Project.

He builds on more than 20 years of working on placemaking projects and campaigns with Project for Public Spaces. Ethan has been integral to the development of placemaking as a transformative approach to economic development, environmentalism, transportation planning, governance, resilience, social equity, design, placekeeping, digital space, inclusion, tourism and innovation. Ethan has keynoted well over 100 top urbanism conferences and helped organize dozens of the placemaking conferences that have most shaped the movement.

Director of Community Impact Investing

Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Otho E. Kerr III is the Director of Strategic Partnerships and Community Impact Investing at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Otho works to connect capital with innovative ideas in the areas of climate-related risks to low- and moderate-income populations, the economic drivers of health, and household financial well-being. Prior to joining the New York Fed, Otho was the Chief Investment Officer for Acumen, an international impact investment firm that invests in early-stage companies whose products and services enable the poor to transform their lives. Otho received an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and a J.D. from The Harvard Law School and was the first member of his class to receive the Dartmouth Alumni Award.

Senior Director, Programs & Impact

Annenberg Foundation

As part of the Annenberg Foundation’s Senior Leadership team, Chris oversees its community grantmaking, investments & program portfolio.

Chris has seen different approaches to social change over 20 years, working to expand community schools in West Philadelphia, managing IT at a self-help Liberian Refugee Camp in Ghana and serving as an economic development policy aide for Mayor Villaraigosa. He was subsequently named a Coro Fellow working on special projects for SEIU, NPR, and later a Stanton Fellow studying vehicles for economic organizing. Most recently, he lead United Way of Greater LA’s impact work, creating a new focus on building neighborhood economic power after crafting coalitions to create and pass historic ballot measures around housing, homelessness, and racial justice.

Having grown up in the middle of class and racial divides, his time at Penn helped him make sense of the transformative change possible when we work together and is in the middle of a quest to visit LA’s 88 cities.

Director of Research & Practice

The Foundation for Social Connection

Frances Kraft currently serves as the Director of Research and Practice at the Foundation for Social Connection in Washington, D.C., where she works closely with their Scientific Leadership Council and manages efforts to drive adoption of innovative evidence-based models across local, state, and national settings. Prior to this position, she led engagement for Weave: The Social Fabric Project, an initiative founded by New York Times columnist and author David Brooks. At Weave, she successfully developed and led a portfolio of engagement activities, tools, and resources to support the growth of trust and social connection for in-person and online communities.

Before joining Weave, Frances taught fifth grade outside Chicago in an effort to examine inequities in the U.S. education system from the inside. She quickly realized that strong relationships between teachers, students, families, and the community were critical to providing connection and changing systems. After six years teaching and launching innovative after-school and summer programs to support students and their families, she left the classroom to earn a master’s in Education Policy and Management from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. She returned home to form a non-profit coalition of families, students, and teachers prioritizing relationship-based programs and advocacy to achieve equitable access, experiences, and outcomes for all children.

In addition to her HGSE degree, Frances earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and communication from the University of Florida and a master’s in teaching from Chicago's Dominican University. She is currently completing work on an EdD in Educational and Organizational Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. Her research explores the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of people from different identities, backgrounds, and experiences as they move through the public narrative model together using Circle process. She is particularly interested in learning how individuals navigate tension and joy across the sessions and whether connection, empathy, and solidarity grow. In what may serve as a transformative space, Frances raises the potential of our society to build pockets of commitment that can connect and move us toward a sense of collective responsibility and a willingness to actively work for an inclusive democracy.

President

Trinity Christian College

Aaron Kuecker serves as President at Trinity Christian College, a small liberal arts college on the southwest side of Chicago. Trinity has undertaken a series of unique, institution-wide initiatives that are engaging its greater Chicago ecosystem in ways that are uncovering how neighborhood collaboration can solve systemic problems on a local level. Specifically, Trinity is developing upstream solutions to the problems of student loan debt and student well-being that are catalyzing student learning while simultaneously providing mutual benefit to both entrepreneurs from underinvested neighborhoods and larger, more established companies. Kuecker has served in a variety of teaching and leadership roles in higher education and as a parish pastor. His writing has focused on the ways that radical generosity and enemy love can create conditions in which neighborhoods can thrive across lines of significant difference.

Vice President of Learning and Innovation

Purpose Built Communities

Ben Lewis is the Vice President of Innovation and Learning at Purpose Built Communities. Within this role, he leads the Purpose Built Communities Solutions Lab, coordinates organizational learning, and drives field building efforts.

Prior to joining Purpose Built, Ben studied leadership and comprehensive community development at Harvard University. Before that, he led a high school at Strive Preparatory Schools in Denver, CO, elevating the school by two tiers on the Colorado state assessment. He also served as an assistant principal at KIPP and Northeast High School in Philadelphia, where he launched a writing program, coordinated testing, and led a school culture plan that increased on-time student attendance by 60%. Ben began his career as a high school humanities teacher at Freire Charter School, where he achieved a 92% yearly college acceptance rate as the senior team lead, authored a social sciences curriculum, and coached the varsity track and field team.

Ben’s accolades include the Penn Club of Philadelphia Social Impact Award, Philadelphia regional representative for the Sue Lehmann Award for Teaching Excellence, Harvard Graduate School of Education Entrepreneurship Award, and The Harvard Krinsky Entrepreneurship and Innovation Award. He also actively participates in advisory boards like Partners in Democracy and is an Aspen Pahara Fellow.

Ben earned his doctorate in educational leadership from Harvard University. He also holds a Master of Science in Education and a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies and Africana Studies, both degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.

Fellow

Brookings Metro, Center for Transformative Placemaking

Tracy Hadden Loh is a Fellow with the Center for Transformative Placemaking at Brookings Metro, where she integrates her interests in commercial real estate, infrastructure, racial justice, and governance. She serves on the boards of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Greater Greater Washington, and District Bridges. Her most recent writing includes two co-authored chapters in Hyperlocal: Place Governance in a Fragmented World and a series on the future of downtowns, including what to do about public safety and adaptive reuse. She also previously served two years on the city council of Mount Rainier, a small town in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

Senior Advisor | Vice President

LISC

Mona serves as a Senior Advisor for local and national programs at LISC. In this role she leads strategic internal initiatives and manages external projects of significance across programs. In addition she oversees the Community Research + Impact division and leads LISC’s national Safety and Justice proram. Her experience includes providing training and technical assistance to community-based partners in topics such as problem-solving for crime and violence reduction and building high impact community-law enforcement alliances. Mona holds a double bachelor’s degree in Policy Studies and Anthropology from Syracuse University and a Master of Governmental Administration from the University of Pennsylvania.

Founder and Coordinator

Community Renewal International

G. S. “Mack” McCarter is the Founder and Coordinator of Community Renewal International. A native of Shreveport, Louisiana, Mack holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Religion from Texas Christian University, and a Master of Divinity Degree from Brite Divinity School. He is an Ordained Minister in the Disciples of Christ (Christian Church) denomination.

Before returning to Shreveport to begin implementing his vision for community renewal, Mack pastored Christian churches in Texas for 18 years. In 1991, Mack moved with his family back to his hometown to establish and to launch his vision of a method for renewing lives and whole cities through restoring the relational foundation upon which all communities rest. With the unmatchable support of Judy, whom he met at TCU and married in 1967, as well as many friends and supporters, Community Renewal International was begun in 1994.

The mission of Community Renewal International is to care together to make our world a caring family where every single human being is safe, loved and joyfully fulfilled. Over the span of 30 years of work, there are now more than 54,000 “We Care” team members in all 50 states and 41 nations. 15 cities in the United States are reproducing the model of connecting caring people, changing lives, and transforming communities. The development of a second replication city is underway in our nation’s capital and a full model is dynamically established in Cameroon, Africa where the International House of Friendships has become a center of public life and service with plans for replication throughout Cameroon and Africa currently in development.

CRI has been recognized both nationally and internationally as a model for reconstructing both the foundation as well as the actual infrastructure of society through developing a system of loving relationships. As the representative of the CRI team, Mack has been honored on their behalf as Social Entrepreneur of the Year from The Manhattan Institute, Louisiana Public Citizen of the Year from the National Association of Social Workers, Distinguished Alumnus of the Year from Texas Christian University, Distinguished Minister of the Year from Brite Divinity School, National Citizen of the Year from the National Conference on Citizenship, and Doctor of Letters Degree (Honorary) conferred by Nyack College/Alliance Theological Seminary. Mack has also received the 2019-2020 Lumen Christi Award from the Catholic Extension. Mack and Community Renewal International were awarded the $1,000,000 global Opus Prize in 2022. Recently Mack was awarded the The 2024 Civic Renewal Award from the Center for Christianity and Public Life.

Depth Psychologist

The Whole Psychiatry & Brain Recovery Center

Katherine G. Morris, M.A., Ph.D.
Depth Psychologist | Psychotherapist | Feng Shui Practitioner

Professional Profile
As a depth psychologist and psychotherapist, I bring a unique perspective to the intersection of human psychology and environmental design. My work integrates the ancient wisdom of Feng Shui with modern psychotherapeutic approaches, offering a comprehensive lens through which to analyze both natural and built environments.

Expertise
• Depth Psychology: Seeking to uncover and understand hidden meanings and motivations in the human psyche on the individual and collective, conscious and unconscious levels
• Feng Shui: Utilizing this branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine to assess spatial dynamics
• Psychotherapy: Practicing analytic, Internal Family Systems, and Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy modalities to advance the wellbeing of clients
• Psychology of Space: Explicating the profound effects of built environments on human psychology with a view toward conscious creation of salubrious settings

Distinctive Approach
My methodology bridges the gap between individual psyche and collective spaces, offering nuanced insights into how our surroundings shape our inner worlds. This dual focus allows for a holistic understanding of human-environment interactions, from intimate therapy settings to large-scale architectural projects.

Selected Presentations
1. FIATECH Conference: "Psychological Considerations and Consequences in Building Design"
• Explored unintended psychological impacts of architectural choices
• Discussed the influence of building materials on occupant well-being
• Introduced innovative evaluation tools for capital projects
• Strategies for enhancing collaborative design processes

2. International Human Science Research Association: "Through the Lens of Feng Shui: A Phenomenological Study of Psychiatrists' Offices"
• Presented a depth psychological analysis of therapeutic spaces

3. Professional Training (CEUs for Mental Health Professionals):
• "Case Seminar: Analyzing Patient Homes and Practitioner Offices"
• "Decoding Your Office: Understanding Its Psychological Impact"

4. Jung Society of Washington, DC: "Our Built Environment from a Depth-Psychological Perspective"
• Explored Jungian concepts in relation to architectural spaces

5. Voice of America Internet Radio Show: "If These Walls Could Talk"
• Hosted 24 weekly shows exploring the psychological influence of built environments on human behavior, cognition, and attitude with featured expert guests, such as architectural historian Professor Vincent Scully.

Through these engagements, I continue to explore and share insights on the profound interplay between our inner landscapes and the spaces we inhabit, contributing to a more psychologically informed approach to environmental design and mental health practices.

Partner

Common Good Labs

Rhett Morris is a nonresident fellow at Brookings Metro. Morris is an expert at helping communities use data science to develop new strategies to overcome complex problems. His research focuses on reducing poverty without displacement, enhancing public safety and health outcomes, improving education, and supporting small businesses.

Morris is also a founding partner at Common Good Labs, a research organization that designs actionable solutions to improve communities. Common Good Labs uses data science tools — including geospatial modeling, machine learning algorithms, and network analyses — to empower leaders at foundations, non-profit organizations, and government.

He has experience leading data science research projects for large organizations, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Bank, and he is a senior fellow at the Center for American Entrepreneurship. Morris previously worked as a consultant at Bain & Company and as the confidential assistant to the mayor of Baton Rouge.

He graduated with a B.A. in history from Louisiana State University and an M.B.A. from Vanderbilt University.

Practitioner Member

Waterloo Institute for Complexity and Innovation

Kirsten S. Moy is a practitioner member of the Waterloo Institute for Complexity and Innovation and a Senior Fellow with the Aspen Institute. Her most recent research initiatives have focused on the application of complexity science to community development and other social sectors. Until June 30, 2014, she was the Director of Scale Initiatives for the Economic Opportunities Program at Aspen. In this capacity, she was the project manager for the development of two national platforms that focused on achieving scale in the nonprofit asset-building industry: the Asset Platform and the Earned Income Tax Credit Platform, both of which provided educational and operational support to nonprofit financial education and counseling organizations across the country. Ms. Moy also served as the first director of the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, a program created in the U.S. Department of the Treasury under the Clinton Administration to provide capital to community-based financial institutions providing financial services to communities underserved by traditional financial institutions. Prior to joining Treasury, she designed products for pension funds and other institutional investors to invest in affordable housing and other community development initiatives. Ms. Moy also served as an Independent Trustee of Domini Impact Investments, an SEC registered investment advisory firm specializing in socially and environmentally responsible investments, and is currently a board member of Island Press, a nonprofit publisher specializing in books and articles focusing on nature, ecology and ecosystems, climate and the built environment.

Among other publications, she is the author or co-author of the following:
Unintended Consequences: Why good intentions go bad, and how to make positive change in an unpredictable world (interview) and (supplementary bibliography)

Introduction to Complexity for Community Development Practitioners (slide deck)

New Pathways to Scale for Community Development Finance

Changing Capital Markets and their Implications for Community Development Finance

From Distrust to Inclusion: Insights into the Financial Lives of Very Low Income Consumers

President and CEO

Purpose Built Communities Foundation

Carol Redmond Naughton is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Purpose Built Communities, the national leader in holistic neighborhood revitalization. Purpose Built Communities forms long-term partnerships with local organizations fully invested in the hard work of transformation in their neighborhoods. Through expert pro-bono services and support, Purpose Built helps these local organizations center the voices of residents and advance their strategy through its proven model.
Carol is responsible for setting the strategic vision of the organization, with a focus on expanding the impact and reach of Purpose Built, its Network, and the communities it serves. Carol has been with the organization since its inception in 2009 and became President and CEO in 2020. Under her leadership, Purpose Built has grown into a transformative force that drives change and creates opportunities in communities nationwide.

Prior to joining Purpose Built, Carol served as the executive director of the East Lake Foundation, where she played a critical role in shepherding the comprehensive revitalization of the East Lake neighborhood. Her prior experience includes serving as general counsel and deputy executive director of The Housing Authority of the City of Atlanta, where she was instrumental in developing the legal and financial model for mixed-income housing. Carol began her career as a commercial real estate lawyer in private practice in Atlanta.

Beyond her work with Purpose Built, she’s volunteered her time for a number of local and national organizations, including the Low Income Investment Fund, the Charles Drew Charter School Board of Directors, the Fifth Third Bank National Community Advisory Forum, Build Healthy Places Network National Advisory Council, and others. As a member of several Boards and Advisory Councils, Carol advocates for advancing racial equity and developing healthy communities across the country.

Nationally recognized as a leader in place-based partnerships and community development, Carol’s published works have been featured in the Huffington Post, TEDx Atlanta, and the Federal Reserve of San Francisco and Nonprofit Finance Fund’s book Investing in Results, among others.

Carol graduated from Colgate University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and from Emory University School of Law with a J.D.

Executive Director

Better Block Foundation

Krista Nightengale began her career in journalism when she stumbled into the fascinating world of urban design. She discovered the Better Block Foundation, an international, urban design nonprofit that educates, equips, and empowers communities and their leaders to reshape and reactivate built environments to promote the growth of healthy and vibrant neighborhoods. In her nearly nine years at the Better Block, Krista has worked with neighbors in more than 90 cities to rethink streets, turn parking lots to plazas, and identify the barriers keeping communities from enjoying their public spaces. The work has resulted in economic development, calmed streets, and has lowered crime rates. But most importantly, it brings neighbors together. Krista has built hundreds of digitally fabricated benches, kiosks, and survey stands. She uses social media to educate around placemaking and transportation, and she’s a pretty adequate drone operator (as long as there’s no wind).

Krista is on the Dallas Comprehensive Land Use Committee, past-president of the Dallas Architecture and Design Exchange board, former AIA Dallas Board Member, City Lab High School Foundation Advisory Council, Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy cohort for Communities Foundation of Texas, former executive board of the New Leaders Council, former member of the Dallas Commission on Homelessness, former TEDxSMU steering committee, and a graduate of Leadership Texas.