Community Progress Welcomes 2024 Community Revitalization Fellows from Louisiana, Tennessee, and New York

The Center for Community Progress announces the selected fellowship cohorts for the 2024 Community Revitalization Fellowship. 

WASHINGTON, DC – The Center for Community Progress (Community Progress) is honored to share the participants for the 2024-25 Community Revitalization Fellowship (CRF). Grassroots community leaders from Lafayette, Louisiana; Memphis, Tennessee; and Rochester, New York will collectively learn how to help their neighborhoods tackle vacancy, abandonment, and disinvestment.

The Community Revitalization Fellowship equips fellows to better advocate for and lead change that improves vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated (VAD) properties through creative placemaking. The fellowship will also build the capacity of a key institutional partner in each community to provide ongoing local support to the fellows and their neighborhoods.

“I am proud that Community Progress can offer support to so many incredible resident leaders,” said Kathleen J. Guillaume-Delemar, President and CEO of Community Progress. “Their outstanding commitment to addressing vacancy and disinvestment has already brought enormous positive change for their neighbors and homes. We are excited to help these community champions take their work further and create space for them to connect with each other.”

About the Community Revitalization Fellowship

Community Progress’ Community Revitalization Fellowship is a learning opportunity for participating fellows to become better equipped to advocate for and lead change that improves problem properties in their  communities.

Each cycle, six resident leaders from three communities (18 people in total) are selected as fellows. Throughout the fellowship, resident leaders gain knowledge about neighborhood revitalization strategies, tools, and systems; strengthen relationships in their community; and increase the effectiveness of resident-led revitalization efforts in their neighborhood. The fellows participate in learning exchanges in each other’s communities, receiving technical and leadership training and going on local neighborhood tours. Each cohort also develops strategies or projects to improve VAD properties in their neighborhoods.

Lafayette, Louisiana

In Lafayette, Louisiana; the fellows’ work focuses on addressing the more than 1,200 problem properties and creating economic and community development opportunities in North Lafayette. Their existing initiatives include the McComb-Veazey Neighborhood & Cultural District, which revitalized vacant lots to give McComb-Veazey residents a community gathering space and pocket park providing access to greenspace without having to cross a major thoroughfare, as well as the Veazey Mentoring Center and Oasis Rail to Trails Project.

The institutional partner for the Lafayette CRF Fellows is Lafayette Habitat for Humanity (LHFH), a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating affordable homeownership opportunities. LHFH has been in long-term partnership with the City of Lafayette to develop affordable housing in North Lafayette, including building 28 houses in McComb-Veazey in the last six years.

“Training local residents in revitalization and placemaking is crucial,” said Tina Bingham, Community Development Director at LHFH. “It ensures that the changes we make are sustainable and truly reflective of the community’s needs and desires. By equipping residents with the necessary skills, we are not just building homes, but fostering community pride and resilience.”

The Lafayette fellows are:  

• Erica Fox
• Keler Mitchell
• Gabe Giffin
• James Proctor
• Justin Arceneaux
• Jessica Brown-Mason

Memphis, Tennessee

In Memphis, Tennessee; fellows will continue their efforts in Klondike and Smokey City, two predominately Black and low-income North Memphis neighborhoods. Previously,  resident leaders have worked to turn overgrown vacant lots into a landscaped tree garden with seating and signage, beautify vacant properties by painting board-ups, and organized beautification and other community events.

For their CRF project, the cohort plans to conduct a survey of residents who convene on the 900 block of Olympic Street—where a vacant lot has served as a longtime community gathering place—to learn about their vision for the street. The cohort will create a design based on the findings of the survey and input from community meetings, and use the funding for seating, art installation, landscaping, lighting, and other park infrastructure.

The institutional partner for the Memphis CRF fellows is the Klondike-Smokey City CDC (KSCCDC), a grassroots community development organization established in 1996. KSCCDC works to improve the economic health of historic North Memphis communities through community, workforce, and family development. KSCCDC’s vision is for Klondike and Smokey City to be communities where residents, businesses, and visitors thrive economically and experience a vibrant quality of life.

“Today marks not just our acceptance into the Community Revitalization Fellowship, but a
testament to the power of community, collaboration, and dedication,” said Taurean Haynes, Community Engagement Specialist with KSCCDC. “As we embark on this journey, let us remember that true revitalization springs from the hearts and minds of those committed to uplifting one another. Together, we shall cultivate a landscape where every voice is heard, every dream is nurtured, and every corner is infused with the vibrant spirit of renewal.”

The Memphis fellows are: 

• Phyliss Duckett
• Chris Campbell
• Corey Davis
• Charnell Johnson
• Vivian Bolden
• Beverly White

Rochester, New York

In Rochester, New York; fellows have been working to break the cycle of poverty through antiracist community revitalization and equitable resource coordination. Their initiatives focus on the East
Main and Mustard Streets and Atlantic Avenue (EMMA) and Beechwood neighborhoods. The cohort members partnered to transform an intersection in the neighborhood at Parcels Avenue and Greeley Street, helped revitalize Adventure Playground at Grand Avenue Park, and transformed a vacant storefront into New City Café, a local roastery and community gathering space.

The institutional partner for the Rochester CRF fellows is Connected Communities. A nonprofit public/private collaboration of neighborhood, business, government, and non-profit leaders; Connected Communities partners with residents to address the various needs of the EMMA and Beechwood communities. Connected Communities utilizes the Purpose-Built Communities framework to address the need for mixed-income housing, cradle-to-career education, community wellness, and long-term economic empowerment.

“This fellowship represents an incredible opportunity for us to further our mission—breaking the cycle of poverty through antiracist community revitalization and equitable resource coordination,” said Neighborhood Hub Director Atashia Walker. “Our Resident Ambassadors and Block Ambassadors are thrilled to bring their insights and energy to this national platform. It’s a testament to the dedication and hard work of everyone involved. Together, we’re not just dreaming of a better future for our neighborhoods; we’re actively shaping it.”

The Rochester fellows are:

• Tammy Westbrook
• Sheila Carpenter
• Solomon Davis
• Andre Cotton
• John Cotton
• Rebecca Fuss

The Community Revitalization Fellowship is made possible through the generous support of The Kresge Foundation. For more information on the program, fellows, or neighborhood revitalization, contact [email protected].

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About the Center for Community Progress

The Center for Community Progress helps people to transform vacant spaces into vibrant places. Since 2010, their team of experts has provided urban, suburban, and rural communities battling systemic vacancy with the policies, tools, and resources needed to address the full cycle of property revitalization. As the only national nonprofit dedicated to tackling vacant properties, Community Progress drives change by uncovering and disrupting the unjust, racist systems that perpetuate entrenched vacancy and property deterioration. Community Progress has delivered customized, expert guidance to leaders in over 300 communities and provided hundreds of hours of free educational resources as well as leadership programming to help policymakers, practitioners, and community members across the country return properties to productive use. To learn more and get help for your community, visit communityprogress.org.