CEO/President

Christian Community Development Association

Lorenzo A. Watson is the CEO/President of the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) in Chicago, IL. With a career spanning community development, education, and Biblical justice, Lorenzo brings extensive experience in organizational leadership and strategic planning. He spent nearly two decades at North Carolina State University (NCSU), leading the Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering IT department while mentoring student leaders. At CCDA, Lorenzo has held key roles in communications, education, and event planning. He holds a BS in Computer Engineering from NCSU, an MDiv from Shaw University Divinity School, and a PhD in Educational Research and Policy Analysis. Lorenzo and his wife, Natarsha P. Sanders, serve as community pastors in Kerrville, Texas, fostering inclusion and belonging in every space they engage.

Executive Director

Harvard EdRedesign Lab

Rob Watson is the Executive Director of the Harvard EdRedesign Lab, Lecturer on Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education and Faculty Affiliate of the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard. At EdRedesign, he leads an interdisciplinary team supporting 70+ neighborhoods and communities across the U.S. to develop cradle-to-career systems of opportunity. Prior to joining EdRedesign, Rob served as a consultant to organizations that include the World Bank, FUSE Corps, The Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School, The Obama Foundation, and Harlem Children’s Zone. A former Peace Corps volunteer, Rob has co-founded five civil society organizations in Paraguay, including, Teach for Paraguay, member of the global Teach For All Network and the Paraguayan Government's first national youth service program. Additionally, he co-founded and chairs the Poughkeepsie Children’s Cabinet, a collective impact organization in his hometown of Poughkeepsie, NY. Rob sits on the boards of StriveTogether and the Children's Funding Project. He holds degrees from Harvard College, Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Harvard Kennedy School.

CEO

Cerca Solutions

Kirk Wester-Rivera is Founder and CEO of Cerca Solutions, a consultancy helping organizations become powerful forces for transformation in historically disinvested communities. Drawing on nearly three decades of lived experience, Kirk provides strategic guidance to community development organizations, philanthropies, and government entities seeking holistic, systems-based approaches to neighborhood revitalization.

Before founding Cerca Solutions in 2024, Kirk established Growing Together in Tulsa, OK, where he and his neighbors created the city's only inclusively grown neighborhood in a decade. This work secured over $200 million in capital investments and resulted in the country's second single-family mixed-income neighborhood trust, a Federally-Qualified Health Center, and a Community Development Financial Institution.

Kirk specializes in developing community quarterback organizations and comprehensive strategies that address interconnected challenges while honoring resident leadership. He holds a Master's in Psychology from Northeastern State University and is a graduate of Harvard Kennedy School's Executive Leadership Program.

Co-Founder & CEO

Front Porch Forum

Michael and his wife Valerie launched Front Porch Forum 20 years ago, and he has led its development since then. FPF is a public benefit corporation that helps neighbors connect and build community, primarily by hosting a statewide network of local online Forums that cover every town and neighborhood in Vermont. FPF has 240,000 active members in a state with only 270,000 households. Its staff of 30 moderates every post before publication, sells privacy-respecting advertising to local businesses, and develops its custom-built mobile and web applications. Amazingly, 89% of members are moved to take action locally multiple times per year, and 85% frequently turn to FPF for local news (vs. 37% for Facebook). Previously, Michael led a New England trade association of utilities, worked with dozens of U.S. cities on environmental technologies, conducted research for a DC-based localization think tank, and invented a sorting machine for recyclables

Program Director, Mission Real Estate Development

Trinity Church NYC

May Yu is the Program Director of the Mission Real Estate Development initiative at Trinity Church NYC Philanthropies, where she manages Trinity’s grantmaking, real estate advisory, and impact investing to empower mission partners in NYC and around the world to leverage their real estate assets for social impact. May has led public-private real estate and economic development initiatives at the NYC Economic Development Corporation, NYC Department of Small Business Services, and the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Chicago and a Master of Urban Planning from Columbia University. May is a proud immigrant and former Angeleno, who now calls Brooklyn, NY her home.

Interim SVP, Community Impact and Resident Services

Enterprise Community Partners

Laura Green Zeilinger is Interim Senior Vice President for Community Impact and Resident Services at Enterprise Community Partners and a Strategic Advisor to Change and Innovation Agency, a VIMO Company. She previously served as Director of the District of Columbia Department of Human Services (2015–2025), leading 1,500 staff and a $933 million budget to support over 275,000 residents. Under her leadership, family homelessness dropped 78% and chronic family homelessness was effectively ended in 2022. She pioneered initiatives like the “Career MAP” pilot with the Federal Reserve and led the citywide implementation of Housing First.

Earlier, Laura was Executive Director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, implementing the federal “Opening Doors” plan, and began her career in international development in Central Asia. She holds degrees from Sarah Lawrence College and the Washington College of Law at American University.

President & Founder

Healthcare Anchor Network

David Zuckerman is President of the Healthcare Anchor Network, which he has led since its launch in 2017. He is a national thought leader on the role of health systems as anchor institutions in building community wealth and advancing inclusive economic development. David has authored and co-authored numerous influential reports, including Hospitals Aligned for Healthy Communities toolkit series, Hospitals Building Healthier Communities: Embracing the Anchor Mission, and a National Academy of Medicine discussion paper, Building a Culture of Health at the Federal Level. He contributed to the 2020 Surgeon General’s Report on Community Health and Economic Prosperity and has spoken at major sector events including the WHO, American Hospital Association, and Modern Healthcare Leadership Summit. Previously, he served on the Board of Trustees for the Consumer Health Foundation (2016–2021), including as Treasurer, leading the expansion of its place-based impact investing strategy.