Claire Nelson is co-founder of Urban Consulate, a network for urban exchange. Since 2016, the Consulate has hosted hundreds of conversations in Detroit, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Austin, Cincinnati & Chicagoland to bring people together and share ideas for more just & equitable communities.

Jess Zimbabwe is the Principal of Plot Strategies. She served until recently for ten years as the founding Director of the Daniel Rose Center for Public Leadership—a partnership the National League of Cities (NLC) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). The Center’s flagship program was the Daniel Rose Fellowship, which brought the mayors and senior leadership teams of 4 cities together for a year-long program of learning from land use experts, technical assistance, study tours, leadership development, and peer-to-peer exchange. The Rose Center also convened thought leaders, conducted research, and delivered educational programs on topics of public/private interest in real estate development, design, planning, economic development, and land use strategy. Jess was also a member of the senior management teams at both ULI and NLC. Previously, Jess was the Director of the Mayors’ Institute on City Design. In that capacity she worked with over 125 American mayors and cities to help local leaders better understand issues of urban design so that they could advocate for better built environments in their own communities. During her time at the Mayors’ Institute, she also served as Vice President for Programs at the American Architectural Foundation, overseeing that organization’s Great Schools by Design program and developing the Sustainable Cities Design Academy. Prior to that, Jess served as the Community Design Director at Urban Ecology, providing pro bono community planning and design assistance to low-income neighborhoods in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her primary project was the design and development of a community cultural center in the San Antonio district of East Oakland. Jess is a member of the urban planning faculties at Georgetown University and the University of Washington. She earned a Master of Architecture and Master of City Planning from UC Berkeley and a B.A. in Architecture from Columbia University. Jess was an Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellow, an Urban and Regional Policy Fellow at the German Marshall Fund, and a Fellow of the Women’s Policy Institute of the Women’s Foundation of California. She served from 2012 to 2017 Main Street America. She held a mayoral appointment to the Washington, DC Green Building Advisory Council for seven years. She is a licensed architect and a LEED-Accredited professional.

Orlando P. Bailey is Director of Engagement for BridgeDetroit, co-host of the podcast Authentically Detroit, and host of Urban Consulate in Detroit. Previously, he served as Chief Development Officer for the Eastside Community Network. A lifelong Detroiter, he learned how to practice community development in the neighborhood where he was born. Rooted in his faith and radical love for his community, Bailey is a passionate advocate for city residents as experts in their lived experience.

Melinda Clemons has spent the majority of her career focused on utilizing strategic initiatives to help rebuild underserved communities. She recently joined Enterprise Community Partners as the Senior Director of the Detroit market. She is responsible for the implementation of the strategic framework including advancing programmatic work, deploying capital and promoting policy impact. Prior to joining Enterprise, Melinda held the role of Detroit Market Lead for Capital Impact Partners. She helped launch and manage several $30MM loan funds as well as create a loan fund to support developers of color. Melinda spent a portion of her career at Urban Partnership Bank and JPMorgan Chase, responsible for lending activities at both organizations. Melinda received her MBA and BA from the University of Michigan and has been awarded “A Woman of Excellence” (Michigan Chronicle”) and “50 Names to Know in Real Estate” (Crain’s Detroit Business). She was a 2017 OFN Opportunities Fellows Program, thought leaders facilitating greater equity and inclusion nationwide. She serves on several boards and committees including Commercial Real Estate Women, Senior Housing Preservation Coalition - D, Detroit CDFI Coalition, and Motor City Match. She also actively volunteers at various organizations including Forgotten Harvest, Meals on Wheels and Cass Social Services. When not working, she enjoys spending time with her family and travelling.

Tiffany Durr serves as the Senior Director of Fund Investments at Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), where she leads pipeline development, deal origination strategy, and capital deployment across LISC’s managed private real estate funds. This also includes fund design, product development, and oversight of the underwriting, approval, and closing processes. Highlighted funds include the Black Economic Development Fund, Detroit Housing for the Future Fund, Charlotte Housing Opportunity Investment Fund, and the Bay’s Future Fund. Prior to joining LISC, Tiffany served as Vice President and Senior Relationship Manager at KeyBank Real Estate Capital, one of the largest capital providers of affordable housing nationwide. As a commercial real estate lender, she originated over $200 million in debt capital solutions including construction debt, acquisition, bridge-to-resyndication, lines of credit, and on-balance sheet permanent loans to owner operators and developers. Prior to KeyBank, Tiffany served as an Associate at MicroVest Capital Management, an impact investment firm that provides private debt capital to international microfinance institutions and small and medium enterprises. During her tenure, Tiffany was the primary manager of a $160 million international microfinance investment portfolio through five private equity funds and advisory contracts. Tiffany holds a MA from George Washington University (GWU) and a BA from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).

Kimberly Driggins is the Executive Director of the Washington Housing Conservancy (WHC). Launched in 2018, WHC preserves affordable and workforce housing, prevents displacement, and promotes economic mobility, especially for low- and moderate-income African Americans and other people of color. WHC is committed to creating thriving, inclusive, mixed-income communities throughout the D.C. region. Ms. Driggins has an extensive background in urban planning and real estate development and prior to her appointment at WHC, she served as Director of Strategic Planning/Arts and Culture for the City of Detroit’s Planning and Development Department. Ms. Driggins also served as Associate Director of Citywide Planning for the District of Columbia’s Office of Planning from 2008-2015. Ms. Driggins is a nationally recognized expert in urban placemaking and has creative placemaking projects in both Detroit and Washington, DC. She currently serves on the boards of Project for Public Spaces, PennPraxis, and was Board Chairperson for Gehl Institute 2017-2019. She has a BA degree from Hampton University, an MPP from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. Ms. Driggins was awarded the prestigious Loeb Fellowship from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design in 2015.