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Urban Community Advisers Program

ULI established the Urban Community Advisers Program in 1994 (formerly the Inner-City Advisers) to draw on the expertise of executives of independent, nonprofit, community-based organizations to share information and knowledge on urban development matters.  Advisers contribute their knowledge; expand their capacity for partnerships; gain insights into the private, for-profit real estate development community; receive additional recognition for their organizations; and obtain objective information documenting today’s best practices in land use and real estate development.

There are two categories of Urban Community Advisers: local and national.  Local Urban Community Advisers receive a complimentary membership and serve on the District Council’s executive committee. ULI selects local advisers with one year of service to also serve at the national level.  National advisers receive a complimentary ULI full membership, complimentary meeting registrations for ULI Fall Meetings and Spring Council Forums, and reimbursement for eligible travel and hotel expenses associated with ULI Fall and Spring Meetings. Advisers also play a key role in the ULI/Charles H. Shaw Forum on Urban Community Issues, and are reimbursed for eligible travel expenses to attend this event.

The Urban Community Advisers Program Guidelines offers information on the program for existing Urban Community Advisers and district councils and nonprofit community-based executives with an interest in joining the program. Please contact Heidi Sweetnam at hsweetnam@uli.org for more information. 

The Bank of America Foundation is the lead sponsor of the
ULI Urban Community Advisers Program.

Urban Community Advisers Program Guidelines (pdf)

Current Local Urban Community Advisers

Current National Urban Community Advisers

Profiles of Current Urban Community Advisers

How the Urban Community Advisers Program Serves ULI

How Urban Community Advisers Contribute to ULI

• ULI Councils
• ULI District Councils

Past Urban Community Advisers 

Current Local Urban Community Advisers

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Current National Urban Community Advisers

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How the Urban Community Adviser Program Serves ULI

The Urban Community Advisers Program supports ULI’s goal to seek and maintain diversity among our expert membership of leading land use professionals. As ULI full members, Urban Community Advisers join the ULI council of their choice and attend the Fall Meetings and Spring Council Forums. Advisers actively participate in ULI research and education programs, including sessions at Spring and Fall meetings, policy forums and Advisory Services Panels. Advisers play an important role in the ULI/Charles H. Shaw Forum on Urban Community Issues where they serve as forum chairs, participants, and/or a resource for topics and program development.

The Urban Community Advisers Program also brings diversity to ULI membership at the local level. Advisers typically serve as members of their local District Council executive committee and participate in District Council programs. ULI staff works with District Councils to recruit diverse candidates to fill Urban Community Adviser slots and District Councils submit nominations for Urban Community Adviser candidates. One of the goals of the Urban Community Advisers Program is to sustain Advisers’ long-term, active involvement with ULI by encouraging District Council to sponsor Advisers at the end of their term as a ULI-sponsored member (renewed annually up to six years).

How Urban Community Advisers Contribute to ULI

As full members of ULI, Urban Community Advisers contribute to the organization in many ways. Urban Community Advisers are active members of ULI Councils and share their expertise with ULI’s national research efforts, and present and participate in education and outreach programs.

ULI Councils

Council participation is a key benefit available only to ULI Full Members. ULI's 42 domestic Councils meet twice yearly, in conjunction with the Spring Council Forum and Fall Meeting. Through their ULI Council, members can:

• Participate in an intimate forum for information exchange on the state-of-the-art in the development field.
• Address development problems and opportunities.
• Provide an appropriate focus on the major social and economic goals and issues of the day.
• Influence community attitudes and lifestyles regarding development.
• Apply research to innovative applications in land use planning.
• Seek meaningful ways for all Councils to interact with each other.
• Strengthen the ULI’s overall impact.

ULI District Councils

At the local level, Past Urban Community Advisers are active with their ULI District Council, implementing outreach strategies and influencing land use issues in the communities where they work and live.

Research, Education, and Community Outreach Programs

Advisers contribute in a variety of ways to ULI’s national research, education, and community outreach programs. Advisers frequently are presenters at sessions at the Spring and Fall meetings, participants in ULI land use policy forums, and experts on ULI Advisory Services Panels. Advisers play a particularly important role in the ULI/Charles H. Shaw Forum on Urban Community Issues where they serve as chairs, participants, and/or a resource for topics and program development.

Below are some of the ways Advisers have served ULI and its councils, committees, and programs.

ULI national leadership 

• ULI Trustees: Michael Banner, Mossik Hacobian, Paul Roldan
• Affordable Housing Council: Helen Brown, Vice-Chair At-Large
• Inner City Council: Chuck Gatson, Vice-Chair

District Council leadership 

• Boston District Council Executive Committee: Mossik Hacobian
• Kansas City District Council Executive Committee: Chuck Gatson
• Los Angeles District Council Executive Committee: Michael Banner
• Orange County District Council Executive Committee: Helen Brown
• Urban Marketplace, Los Angeles District Council: Michael Banner, chair
• Philadelphia District Council Executive Committee: Rose Gray

Speaker/Panelist

• Southwest Regional Meeting, “Forging Alternative Futures: A Regional Perspective on Growth and Real Estate”: Michael Banner
• Spring Council Forum, Kansas City, “A "Citiposium" on America's Future Urban Landscape”: Michael Banner
• ULI/Charles H. Shaw Forum on Urban Community Issues, Chicago: Paul Roldan, Young T. Hughley
• Utah ULI District Council, “The Changing Role of Cities in Smart Growth”: Joanne Milner

ULI Committee service 

• Membership Committee: Mossik Hacobian, Michael Banner
• Leadership Committee: Kenneth Bacchus, Rose Gray

Policy forums and workshops

• ULI/Charles H. Shaw Forum on Urban Community Issues, Chicago: Michael Banner, Ken Bacchus, Mossik Hacobian, Joanne Milner, Rose Gray, Young Hughley, Paul Roldan
• Los Angeles Workforce Housing Forum: Michael Banner
• ULI/Joseph C. Canizaro Mayors Forum, Rochester, NY: Michael Banner
• Affordable/Moderate Income Infill Housing Workshops: Ken Bacchus, Ralph Porter, Helen Brown, Mossik Hacobian, Ralph Porter
• Residential Housing Summit, Washington, DC: Helen Brown

Advisory Services panels

• Over-the Rhine—Cincinnati, Ohio: Ralph Porter
• Illinois Institute of Technology—Chicago, IL: Chuck Gatson
• Powerhouse Arts District –Jersey City, New Jersey Michael Banner
• Inner-City Neighborhood Development—West Palm Beach, Florida: Michael Banner
• Model City––Miami, Florida: Ken Bacchus, Helen Brown

Past Urban Community Advisers

Mr. Kenneth T. Bacchus
Chief Operating Officer
Housing and Economic Development
Financial Corporation (HEDFC)
Kansas City, Missouri
(Served 2001-2005)

Mr. Michael Banner (Community Builders Profile)
President and CEO
Los Angeles LDC, Inc.
Los Angeles, California
(Served 1999-2006)

Dr. Timothy Beatley
Teresa Heinz Professor of Sustainable Communities
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA
(Served 1994-1995)

Ms. Helen Brown
Director
Civic Center Barrio Housing Corporation
Santa Ana, California
(Served 2000-2006)

Mr. Paul D. Charles
Executive Director
Neighborhood Recovery Community Development Corporation
Houston, Texas

Ms. Eva Clarke
President
Faith Partnership Inc.
Dorchester, Massachusetts
(Served 2001-2003)

Dr. Denise G. Fairchild
Neighborhood Strategies Group
Los Angeles, California
(Served 1994-2000)

Ms. Evelyn Friedman
Executive Director
Nuestra Comunidad Development Corporation
Roxbury, Massachusetts
(Served 2004-2007)

Ms. Pat Garrett
President
Charlotte Mecklenburg Housing Partnership
Charlotte, North Carolina
(Served 2001-2007)

Mr. R. Charles Gatson
Senior Development Specialist
Community Builders of Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
(Served 1994-2000)

Ms. W. Retta Gilliam
President and CEO
East of the River CDC
Washington, DC
(Served 2004-2005)

Mr. Mossik Hacobian
Executive Director
Urban Edge Housing Corporation
Roxbury, Massachusetts
(Served 1995-2001)

Mr. Knox LaSister III
Chief Executive Officer
Smart, Inc.
New Orleans, Louisiana
(Served 1995-1998)

Ms. Joanne Milner
Program and Facilities Manager
Horizonte Instruction & Training Center
Salt Lake City, Utah
(Served 2001-2007)

Mr. James Oxendine
Deputy Director of CEI
The King Center
Atlanta, GA
(Served 1995-1996)

Mr. Ralph Porter
President
Mix-Bronx Desperadoes
Community Housing Corporation
Bronx, New York
(Served 1994-2000)

Ms. Mtamanika Youngblood
Executive Director
Historic District Development Corp.
Atlanta, Georgia
(Served 1998-2002)

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