Deputy Director

Connecting Science + Community, Harvard University

Douglas Jutte, MD, MPH is Deputy Director of Connecting Science + Community (CSC), a Harvard-based initiative working to expand the early childhood ecosystem to embrace neighborhoods as a key component for greater positive impact on child development, and serves as a Board member for Purpose Built Communities, the Center for Health Care Strategies, and the Rippel Foundation. Dr. Jutte founded the Build Healthy Places Network, served for a decade on the Board of Mercy Housing, the nation's largest nonprofit affordable housing developer, and was a Senior Scientific Editor for the US Surgeon General's 2021 report on Community Health & Economic Opportunity. Previously, he worked as a neonatal hospitalist and faculty member of the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. Dr. Jutte received his BA from Cornell University, MD from Harvard Medical School, MPH from UC Berkeley, and trained in pediatrics at Stanford University.

Professor

Johns Hopkins University

Seth D. Kaplan is a leading expert on fragile states, societies, and communities. He is a Professorial Lecturer at the Johns Hopkins SAIS, a Senior Adviser for the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT), and a consultant to organizations including the World Bank, the U.S. State Department, and USAID. 

Kaplan’s latest book, Fragile Neighborhoods: Repairing American Society, One Zip Code at a Time, offers an urgent examination of why American society is struggling—and how to rebuild it. Drawing on the stories of five organizations effectively strengthening America’s social fabric, along with research and on-the-ground insights, he argues for a “sideways” approach to change rather than the traditional top-down or bottom-up methods. He highlights innovative efforts to restore relationships and social environments in communities ranging from rural Kentucky to inner-city Detroit.

Executive Director

PlacemakingX

Ethan Kent supports public space organizations, projects, and leadership worldwide to build a global placemaking movement. He has visited over 1,000 cities in 60 countries to advance inclusive urban development and public space initiatives. In 2019, he co-founded PlacemakingX to connect, amplify, and accelerate placemaking leadership and impact globally.

Ethan has helped launch and grow 30+ regional placemaking networks, supported the PlacemakingUS network, and contributed to the Social Life Project. With more than 20 years of experience at Project for Public Spaces, he has advanced placemaking as a transformative approach to economic development, environmentalism, transportation planning, governance, resilience, social equity, design, placekeeping, digital space, inclusion, tourism, and innovation.

He has keynoted over 100 leading urbanism conferences and organized dozens of major placemaking events that have shaped the movement, establishing him as a global leader in the field.

Director of Community Impact Investment

Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Otho E. Kerr III is the Director of Community Impact Investing at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York where he works to connect capital with innovative ideas in under-resourced communities. Otho was the Chief Investment Officer for Acumen, and prior to that he was a founding partner and Chief Operating Officer with Encourage Capital. Otho has worked in investment banking and asset management for over thirty years, starting at Goldman Sachs.. He began his professional career as an attorney with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. 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. He is on the Board of Trustees of the NAACP Foundation, the Board of Directors of the Hetrick-Martin Institute, the nation’s largest LGBTQ youth services organization, and the Board of Directors of the HATCH.

Founder / Executive Producer

Stoop Stories

Marj Kleinman (she/her) is a visual storyteller and founder of Stoop Stories, a community collective connecting New Yorkers through documentary storytelling and programs preserving neighborhood stories, foster intergenerational connections, and revitalize communities. A native Brooklynite, she continues her parents’ legacy of 1970s Brooklyn stoop life.

Marj received the Eisner Prize Fellowship for developing an intergenerational street games program in 2024/25, and her “Stoop Chat” doc film series has won 10 awards, including Best Documentary at The NYC Mental Health and Wellness Festival and two Anthem Awards for community engagement.

With 20+ years as a children’s content producer and writer, she has created award-winning media for PBS KIDS, Sesame Workshop, Scholastic, and Noggin. Her photography and writing have appeared in The New York Times, Time Out New York, PBS Parents, and Scary Mommy. She holds an M.A. in Educational Psychology from NYU and a B.S. in Theater Management from Emerson College.

Co-Founder / Principal

Threshold Sacred Development

Tyler is dedicated to fostering regenerative communities of connection and care within the built environment. He is the visionary and development lead behind Threshold companies and is closely involved in Threshold's financial and business operations, collaborating with investors, counsel, government officials, architects, and neighborhood associations. Before joining Threshold, he founded and managed a San Francisco-based interfaith wellness community with two locations and a retreat center in Mendocino County.

Tyler has an MS Degree in Real Estate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A student of law and philosophy, he has graduate degrees from Yale University, the University of California-Berkeley. He has taught philosophy and social theory at UC-Berkeley and Yale, and undertook a year-long documentary film project on meaning & nihilism featured in the New York Times. He is currently an adjunct faculty at the UW-Madison Grainger Business School, where he teaches courses in real estate, sustainability, and development.

CEO

Hope Chicago

Aaron Kuecker serves as CEO of Hope Chicago. Hope Chicago is a multi-generational engine for economic opportunity that uses debt-free higher education and post-secondary pathways to create opportunity for students and parents in Chicago to pursue their full potential, while also driving long-term value for our partners, city, and state. Hope works with five neighborhood high schools to send every graduate and one of their parents or guardians to college or credential programs at no cost, seeking to help Chicago become a beacon for debt-free, employment-linked, talent-retaining, local economy-boosting, family- and household-focused higher education.

Vice President of Learning and Innovation

Purpose Built Communities

Ben Lewis is the Vice President of Learning and Innovation at Purpose Built Communities, where he leads the Solutions Lab, guides organizational learning, and supports field-building efforts. 

Before joining Purpose Built, Ben studied leadership and comprehensive community development at Harvard University. Previously, he served as a school leader at Strive Prep in Denver, improving the school’s state rating, and as an assistant principal at KIPP and Northeast High School in Philadelphia, where he launched academic programs and improved attendance. He began his career as a humanities teacher at Freire Charter School, achieving a 92% college acceptance rate and authoring a social sciences curriculum. 

Ben has received multiple honors, including awards from the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard, and is an Aspen Pahara Fellow who serves on several advisory boards. He holds a doctorate from Harvard and two degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.

Executive Director

Shareable

Ben Lewis is the Vice President of Learning and Innovation at Purpose Built Communities, where he leads the Solutions Lab, guides organizational learning, and supports field-building efforts. 

Before joining Purpose Built, Ben studied leadership and comprehensive community development at Harvard University. Previously, he served as a school leader at Strive Prep in Denver, improving the school’s state rating, and as an assistant principal at KIPP and Northeast High School in Philadelphia, where he launched academic programs and improved attendance. He began his career as a humanities teacher at Freire Charter School, achieving a 92% college acceptance rate and authoring a social sciences curriculum. 

Ben has received multiple honors, including awards from the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard, and is an Aspen Pahara Fellow who serves on several advisory boards. He holds a doctorate from Harvard and two degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.

Senior Advisor and Vice President

LISC

Mona Mangat is Senior Advisor to the Executive Vice President of Programs and Vice President of Safety & Justice at LISC, providing both enterprise-wide leadership and specialized expertise. As Senior Advisor, she drives key organizational initiatives and strategic projects that advance LISC’s programmatic goals. As Vice President, she leads national efforts that empower locally led coalitions to reduce crime and build safer, healthier communities. Under her leadership, the division delivers technical assistance, training, and funding for evidence-informed solutions across community organizations, researchers, and all levels of government and philanthropy. Mangat cultivates partnerships with corporate, foundation, and government sectors to sustain and expand safety and justice programming. She oversees a high-performing team aligned with LISC’s mission and strategic vision. Mangat holds a double major in Policy Studies and Cultural 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 (CRI). A native of Shreveport, Louisiana, he holds a BA in Religion from Texas Christian University and a Master of Divinity from Brite Divinity School and is an ordained minister in the Disciples of Christ.

After 18 years pastoring in Texas, Mack returned to Shreveport in 1991 to launch his vision of renewing lives and communities through restoring relational foundations. With support from his wife Judy and others, CRI began in 1994. Over 30 years, CRI has grown to 54,000 “We Care” team members across all 50 states and 41 nations, with 15 U.S. cities and a full model in Cameroon reproducing its approach.

Mack has received numerous honors, including Social Entrepreneur of the Year, Distinguished Alumnus and Minister awards, the Opus Prize, and the 2024 Civic Renewal Award, for his transformative work connecting caring people and transforming communities globally.

Managing Director, Places

Blue Meridian Partners

Othello provides strategic and executional leadership on critical business priorities and drives innovation to expand Blue Meridian’s impact. He explores philanthropic investment opportunities, leads due diligence on potential investees, and manages relationships with current investees, focusing on Place Matters.

Previously, as President and CEO of Seventy Five North Revitalization Corp. in Omaha, Nebraska, Othello oversaw a $90 million community redevelopment initiative and managed daily operations. He also served as Executive Director of the Omaha Workforce Collaborative at the Omaha Chamber of Commerce, improving workforce delivery systems for low-income, low-skilled workers and building strategic partnerships with foundations, community organizations, and social service agencies.

Othello owns The Meadows Group, a neighborhood redevelopment consulting firm, and serves on several Omaha-area boards. He earned a BA in Psychology from East Carolina University and a JD from North Carolina Central University School of Law.

CEO

National Coalition for Community Capital

Chris Miller is CEO, chair, and founding board member of the National Coalition for Community Capital (NC3), a nonprofit focused on empowering citizens and strengthening local economies through community investment, particularly for underserved populations. With nearly 20 years in community, economic, and entrepreneurial development in Michigan, he has served as a city official, economic developer, board leader, and Innovation Fellow at Michigan State University, securing millions in grants and private investments while championing investment crowdfunding initiatives.

Chris leads NC3’s Community Capital Accelerator and its Diversified Community Investment Fund, piloting projects in Detroit, Cincinnati, Rhode Island, and beyond. He has presented NC3’s work to national health and economic design teams, influencing models to improve community wealth and health outcomes. Chris also supports PlaneWave Instruments as Special Projects Consultant and, with his wife Joyce, renovated a historic building in Adrian, Michigan, launching The Buzz Café via a successful community investment campaign.

Children, Youth and Families Division Manager

City of Orlando - Children, Youth and Families Division

Abraham “Abe” Morris is a public policy and human services leader with over a decade of experience strengthening systems for youth and families. As the Children, Youth & Families Division Manager for the City of Orlando, he oversees citywide social service programs and policy initiatives. In previous leadership roles, he gained extensive experience building coalitions and managing both statewide and citywide programs. Whether advancing trauma-informed care, redesigning youth employment, or advocating for housing stability, Abe remains committed to one mission: ensuring every child and family has the support they need to thrive.

CEO

Purpose Built Communities Foundation

Carol Redmond Naughton is the Chief Executive Officer of Purpose Built Communities®, the national leader in holistic neighborhood transformation that advances economic mobility and improves health outcomes. Since joining the organization at its founding in 2009 and becoming CEO in 2020, she has led its expansion, strengthening partnerships with local organizations committed to long-term, resident-centered revitalization. 

Previously, Carol served as executive director of the East Lake Foundation, helping guide the comprehensive renewal of the East Lake neighborhood. She also held key roles at the Atlanta Housing Authority, where she helped develop the legal and financial model for mixed-income housing, and began her career as a commercial real estate lawyer. 

Carol has served on numerous national and local boards and advisory councils and is recognized as a leading voice on community development, economic mobility, health, education, and housing. She holds a B.A. from Colgate University and a J.D. from Emory University.