Kathleen J. Guillaume-Delemar

Kathleen Jeanette Guillaume-Delemar is the President and CEO of the Center for Community Progress. Commanding over two decades of distinguished leadership in community development and philanthropy, she brings to the organization visionary leadership that drives transformative, equitable change to end and prevent property vacancy and revitalize communities across the nation.

With a deep personal connection to the harm vacant properties cause a community, Guillaume-Delemar has focused her career on addressing injustice, working on issues including community revitalization, affordable housing, and combatting homelessness. At Community Progress, she motivates policymakers, funders, and partners to take innovative, human-centered approaches to tackling property vacancy. This includes Community Progress’ work to bring practitioners together through the National Land Bank Network, to create pipelines for more developers of color, and to help cities and states pass equitable policies to address decades of disinvestment disproportionately harming Black and Brown communities. She is proud to use her platform to elevate diversity and equity in community development.

Prior to Community Progress, Guillaume-Delemar made an impact at renowned nonprofit institutions like Miriam’s Kitchen and Jubilee Housing. A committed public servant of Prince George’s County, Maryland, Guillaume-Delemar has been a leader on the Glenarden Housing Authority, a commissioner on the Prince George’s County Affordable Housing Commission, and later made history when she became the first and only Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Latina, Haitian American to be elected to the City Council of Glenarden, Maryland. As Councilmember-At-Large for the City of Glenarden, Guillaume-Delemar fights for equitable legislative measures that serve her community, including reforms aimed at addressing equitable land use, marginalized communities, and advancing strategic code enforcement practices. She has made indelible contributions as an advisor and subject matter expert for the Maryland General Assembly, the Office of the Governor of Maryland, and national community development partners.

Guillaume-Delemar is a sought-after mentor and authentic communicator with a commitment to social and racial justice that extends beyond her professional endeavors. She lends her expertise to various boards, advocating for marginalized communities and championing wealth equity and cultural preservation, with a special emphasis on Haitians and Haitian Americans. She has been recognized in Fanm Potomitan magazine for her leadership as a Haitian American woman in community development and received the Excellence Award from the National Haitian American Elected Officials Network in 2024.

She is a proud graduate of Howard University and resides in Glenarden, Maryland, though will always consider herself a New Yorker at heart.