Chief Engagement Officer

Hope Chicago

Michele L. Howard is a data informed and visionary leader born and raised on the south side of Chicago, IL. She currently serves as Chief Engagement Officer at Hope Chicago (HC) where she supports the expansion of equitable access to postsecondary pathways. HC is a pioneering economic mobility initiative launched in 2021, offering a debt-free solution for two generations of South and West Side Chicago families. Howard developed the program model as the inaugural Chief Program Officer that advanced the organization’s approach and partnerships that now support thousands of Hope Scholars. In the summer of 2025, over 200 students/parents earned the status of Hope Alumni by completing programs across the state of Illinois. With a background in driving systematic change to better serve the 380,000 children of Chicago Public Schools, ensuring access to opportunities and developing resources had been her focus for almost a decade with the district.

Partner

The Bridgespan Group

Lauren Hult is a partner in The Bridgespan Group's New York office. Since joining the firm in 2009, Lauren has advised clients across multiple sectors, including pathways to careers, youth development, education, and early childhood. Her casework has included advising clients on growth strategy, performance management, organizational design, and foundation strategy.
Lauren co-leads Bridgespan's area of expertise focused on place-based community change and is deeply committed to community-driven, collaborative models for economic and social mobility. Her expertise includes supporting both nonprofits focused on place-based work as well as philanthropic funders focused on place-based strategy.
Prior to joining Bridgespan, Lauren was a manager at Mercer Oliver Wyman. She specialized in retail and business banking and advised clients on strategic and operational issues.
Lauren received an MBA at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, with a certificate in Public Management. Lauren earned her undergraduate degree in Physics from Harvard University.

Executive Director

Pittsburgh Chamber of Connection

Haley Ingersoll is the Founder of the Pittsburgh Chamber of Connection, working to make social connection a recognized and prioritized part of civic life. With a background in social work and experience spanning human services, academia, government, startups, and hospitality, she brings a cross-sector perspective to community-building, advocacy, and social well-being. Haley is passionate about creating innovative partnerships and building healthier, more equitable, and connected communities.

Senior Director, Strategy & Data, Public Impact Initiatives,

Johns Hopkins University

Seema Desai Iyer, PhD, is Senior Director of Strategy and Data for Public Impact Initiatives at Johns Hopkins, where she works at the intersection of data, strategy, and place to strengthen Baltimore and its neighborhoods. She brings more than two decades of experience in urban planning, neighborhood change, and data-driven decision-making.

Iyer previously led the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance and served as Chief of Research for the Baltimore City Planning Department. She later led the Hive at USA for UNHCR, a data science and technology initiative focused on refugees and humanitarian response.

Her research and publications address neighborhood change, urban governance and migration. She co-edited “Promoting the Sustainable Development Goals in North American Cities.” Iyer holds a PhD in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Michigan. Her honors include the University System of Maryland Regents Award for Excellence in Public Service and recognition as a Baltimore Magazine GameChanger.

Professor

Yale University Divinity School

Dr. Willie James Jennings is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Theology and Africana Studies at Yale University Divinity School. Dr. Jennings is the author of several award-winning books, including The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race published by Yale University Press, and a Commentary on the Book of Acts published by WJK Press, as well as the book, After Whiteness: An Education in Belonging. Dr. Jennings is completing the first volume of a 2-volume work on the doctrine of creation. In addition to being a frequent lecturer at colleges, universities, and seminaries, Dr. Jennings is also a regular workshop leader at conferences. He is also a consultant for the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion, and for the Association of Theological Schools.

Managing Director of MINTs

Trust Neighborhoods

Ryan Johnson has 20 years of experience across real estate, community development, and entrepreneurship. He is MD of MINTs at Trust Neighborhoods, where he leads the design, launch, and growth of the Mixed-Income Neighborhood Trust (MINT), a community-governed real estate model.

Previously, Ryan led CAPC, the real estate subsidiary of New Jersey Community Capital, where he acquired 830 units, developed or rehabbed 930 units totaling $124 million, and sold 630 units for $150 million. He also managed a $1 billion retail portfolio at Madison International Realty and held roles at Brixmor, MetLife, CIT, and Brick City Development Corporation.

A Counselor of Real Estate (CRE) and graduate of UVA’s McIntire School of Commerce, Ryan serves on the ULI Redevelopment & Reuse Product Council and the PNC Community Development New Jersey Advisory Council. He is also a board director of HANDS, Inc. and a founding board member of Solace Rose Innovation Academy.

Founder

Renew Birmingham

Gerrel Jones
Founder & Executive Director | Renew Birmingham

Gerrel Jones is an author, community leader, and founder of Renew Birmingham, a nonprofit organization dedicated to community revitalization, violence reduction, and collective empowerment.

Jones studied psychology and African American studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Drawing from his personal experiences, he has dedicated his life to strengthening underserved communities through violence prevention, housing, education, workforce development, and civic engagement.

His innovative approach emphasizes community cohesion, resident participation, and collective efficacy as essential tools for creating safer, healthier, and more prosperous neighborhoods.

His guiding philosophy is simple: “We can win together. We can only lose apart.”

Professor

Flourishing Neighborhoods

Seth D. Kaplan is the founder of Flourishing Neighborhoods, a national platform dedicated to strengthening neighborhoods, expanding opportunity, and rebuilding social connection and trust. He is a Professorial Lecturer at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University and the author of Fragile Neighborhoods: Repairing American Society, One Zip Code at a Time. Drawing on decades of work on fragile states and social cohesion, Kaplan focuses on how strengthening place-based communities can reduce inequality, rebuild social fabric, and improve how cities and towns work.

Vice President Community Health

Nationwide Childrens Hospital

Dr. Kelleher is VP of Community Health and has been an active leader of Healthy Neighborhood/Healthy Families collaborative that includes Church4AllPeople, United Way, Columbus City, and Nationwide Children's Hospital among others.

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 and 65 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 learning, leadership and impact globally. 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, digital space, tourism and innovation.

Ethan has keynoted well over 100 of the top urbanism conferences and has 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 is the Director of Strategic Partnerships and Community Impact Investing. He leads Making Missing Markets at the New York Fed, an initiative that seeks to create markets of well-being by fostering place-based, cross-sector, upstream investments that produce opportunity-rich neighborhoods and communities. Before joining the New York Fed, Otho served as Chief Investment Officer at Acumen. Prior to that, he was a founding partner and Chief Operating Officer at Encourage Capital.
Otho has more than 30 years of experience in investment banking and asset management, beginning at Goldman Sachs & Co. He started his professional career as an attorney at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Otho earned his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and his J.D. from Harvard Law School. He was the first member of his class to receive the Dartmouth Alumni Award. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the NAACP Foundation.

Executive Director

Stoop Stories, Inc.

Marj Kleinman (she/her) is a visual storyteller and the founder of Stoop Stories, a community collective that connects New Yorkers through documentary storytelling and programs that build social connection, preserve neighborhood stories, and revitalize communities through stoop culture and intergenerational connection. A native Brooklynite still living in her childhood brownstone, she carries forward her parents’ legacy of 1970s Brooklyn stoop life.

Marj is a 2026 Brooklyn Changemaker and a 2025 Eisner Prize Fellow, developing an intergenerational street games program. Her “Stoop Chat” docuseries has screened at 28 film festivals and won 14 awards, including two Anthem Awards for community engagement.

Marj brings 20+ years as a children’s media producer and writer for PBS KIDS, Sesame Workshop, Scholastic, and Noggin. Her work has appeared in The New York Times and PBS Parents. She holds an M.A. in Educational Psychology from NYU and lives with a very feisty black cat named Blackberry.

Chief Impact Officer

Koreatown Youth & Community Center - LA

As Chief Impact Officer, Chris works to ensure KYCC's programs and partnerships achieve long-lasting neighborhood transformation as it serves 15,000+ residents/year.

Chris has lead different approaches to social change over 20 years, starting in West Philly schools, a Liberian Refugee Camp and LA's Mayor's Office. He went on to lead United Way LA'ss impact work, developing a focus on building neighborhood economies after crafting campaigns and coalitions to pass four historic ballot measures. These measures reinvested $5B+ and his work in leading CA’s largest community-based effort to end homelessness engaged 200,000 Angelenos, housed 50,000+ persons, and reduced veteran homelessness by 57%.

He was subsequently named a Stanton Fellow to explore shared economic transformation around the world. He later oversaw the Annenberg Foundation’s community grantmaking and charitable lending. He currently serves on the boards of Brilliant Corners, Social Justice Partners, and as Executive-in-Residence at the R&S Kayne Foundation.

Principal

Threshold Development Group

Tyler is devoted to inviting regenerative communities of connection and care in the built environment. He is the founder of Threshold Development, Builds, Sacred and Equity.

Prior to 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 a MS Degree in Real Estate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A student of law and philosophy, he also has undergraduate and graduate degrees from Yale University, the University of California-Berkeley and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 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.

Commissioner

Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods

Matt Leach is Chief Executive of the Built Environment Trust. From 2018 to 2025, he led major place-based funder Local Trust, where he pioneered work on civic infrastructure, social capital and long‑term neighbourhood investment, helping spark renewed interest in areas of policy that had been largely overlooked for nearly two decades. He was a founding member of the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods (ICON), recognised for influencing and informing the development of the government’s £5.8bn Pride in Place programme. He is a senior advisor to public service consultancy PPL Ltd on their new Whole of Society Resilience programme.