Community Progress Webinars
Register for our free lunch-and-learn webinar series and stay up to date on the latest trends in community development. Webinars typically take place from 12:00–1:00 PM ET on the fourth Thursday of each month and offer a range of topics, from land banks and land banking to vacant land stewardship, strategic code enforcement, delinquent property tax enforcement, and more.
Thanks to generous support from Bank of America and General Motors Corporate Giving, webinars are offered free of charge. If you have any questions or topic suggestions for webinars, we want to hear them! Please contact Julia Zimmerman, Program Officer for National Leadership and Education, at [email protected] with any questions.
Upcoming Webinars
Vacant Land Collaborations and Data
Lessons from CLEVELOT
Thursday, May 23, 2024 | 12:00 PM ET | Online
Throughout the country, communities are grappling with large inventories of publicly owned vacant and underutilized lots. These lots can significantly drain public resources and create safety and health concerns for neighbors. Leaders in Cleveland are implementing strategies to transfer these vacant lots to new, responsible owners with Cleveland Vacant Land Opportunity Tool (CLEVLOT).
CLEVLOT is a joint effort led by Western Reserve Land Conservancy in partnership with various organizations across Cleveland. Through community-informed engagement, CLEVLOT designed tools to increase data transparency, streamline reuse processes, and improve access to Cleveland’s large inventory of publicly owned vacant lots. The two-year planning and implementation initiative, which concluded this February, worked to unify vacant land reuse strategies around the community’s environmental justice and economic development goals.
Join this webinar to:
- Hear how the City of Cleveland intends to use data and information to improve access to publicly owned vacant lots.
- Learn how CLEVLOT partners and city leaders are working to improve and streamline the purchase and reuse of vacant lots
- Explore the initiative’s robust community engagement process grounded in prototyping ideas and user-testing processes
Speakers:
- Tim Dehm – Planning and Design Specialist, Western Reserve Land Conservancy
- Alyssa Hernandez – Director of Community Development, City of Cleveland
Past Webinar Recordings
Available on YouTube.
April 2024: Partnering with Public Schools: Metro Atlanta Land Bank’s Creative Neighborhood Beautification Pilot Program
Presenters: Terica Black Bashir — Program Director, Metro Atlanta Land Bank; Christopher Norman — Executive Director, Metro Atlanta Land Bank; Sarah Erickson — Director of Fine and Performing Arts, Atlanta Public Schools
February 2024: Reevaluating Code Enforcement: A New Approach to Addressing Problem Properties »
Presenters: Erica Faaborg – Deputy City Solicitor, City of Cincinnati; Libby Benton – Senior Counsel, Center for Community Progress; Tarik Abdelazim – Vice President, Technical Assistance, Center for Community Progress
December 2023: Policy Reform Post-Tyler v. Hennepin County: Preserving Homeownership, Preventing Vacancy, and Reducing Legal Risk »
Presenters: Libby Benton, Senior Counsel – Center for Community Progress, Andrea Bopp Stark, Senior Attorney – National Consumer Law Center, Matt Kreis, General Counsel – Center for Community Progress, John Rao, Senior Attorney – National Consumer Law Center, Nketiah (“Ink”) Berko – Equal Justice Works Fellow
November 2023: Dealing with Vacant Buildings and Lots as a Resident »
Presenters: Christina Carter-Grant, Associate Director – National Land Bank Network; Joe Dulin, Director of Community Development – City of Peoria
October 2023: Contracts and Codes: What Land Banks Should Know About Community Gardens »
Presenters: LaTosha Okoiron, General Counsel and Compliance Manager – Houston Land Bank; Brian Larkin, Director, National Land Bank Network
July 2023: Resident-First Revitalization in a Rapidly Gentrifying Atlanta Neighborhood: Lessons in Creating Economic Groundcover at 918 Dill Ave »
Presenters: Odetta MacLeish-White, Director, Georgia Initiatives – Center for Community Progress; Zach Murray, Organizing and Movement Building Director – The Guild
May 2023: Utilizing Partnerships and Collaboration in Vacant Land Stewardship »
Presenters: Liz Kozub, Associate Director, National Technical Assistance – Center for Community Progress; Laura Ginn, Vacancy Strategist – City of St. Louis; Torrey Park, Director, St. Louis Vacancy Collaborative
February 2023: Reimagine Delinquent Property Tax Enforcement »
Presenters: Kim Graziani, Technical Assistance Senior Advisor – Center for Community Progress; Nneka N'namdi, Founder and Chief Operation Office – Flight Blight Bmore
November 2022: Leaders of Color in Land Banking »
Presenters: Terica Black Bashir – Program Director, Metro Atlanta Land Bank; Christa D. Stoneham – Chief Executive Officer/President, Houston Land Bank; Stephanie Quick – Chief Operating Officer, Intend Indiana
October 2022: Land Banking 101 en Español »
Presenters: Luis Gallardo – Executive Director, Center for Habitat Reconstruction, Inc.; Ricardo León – Chief Operating Officer, Cuyahoga Land Bank
August 2022: Incorporating Green Building Into Your Equitable Community Development Plan »
Presenters: Odetta MacLeish-White – Director of Georgia Initiatives, Center for Community Progress; Cheneé Joseph – President and CEO, Historic District Development Corporation
July 2022: How to Use Property Condition Data for Vacant Land Stewardship »
Presenters: Janell O’Keefe - Senior Program Officer for Michigan Initiatives, Center for Community Progress; Melissa Hertlein - Genesee County Land Bank; Austin Harrison - Rhodes College
May 2022: State Policy and Equitable Revitalization: A Conversation with Alan Mallach »
Presenters: Alan Mallach - Senior Fellow, Center for Community Progress; Alison Goebel - Executive Director, Greater Ohio Policy Center
April 2022: Strengthening Community Relationships to Achieve Equitable Code Enforcement »
Presenters: Liz Kozub - Associate Director of National Technical Assistance, Center for Community Progress; Joe Dulin - Community Development Director; Community Development Department; City of Peoria
March 2022: Understanding The Final Rule: Leveraging ARPA To Address Vacancy and Strengthen Communities »
Presenters: Rob Finn - Director of Policy and Research, Center for Community Progress; Cordaryl Patrick - Director of Economic and Community Development, City of Decatur, Illinois; and Katelyn Wright - Executive Director, Greater Syracuse Land Bank
February 2022: Land Banks and Community Land Trusts: Partnering to Provide Equitable Housing Opportunities for Generations to Come »
Presenters: Kim Graziani - Senior Technical Assistance Advisor, Center for Community Progress; Christopher Norman - Executive Director, Metro Atlanta Land Bank; and Amanda Rhein - Executive Director, Atlanta Land Trust
November 2021: Creative Placemaking: New Tools for Empowering Community-Led Revitalization »
Presenters: Liz Kozub - Associate Director of National Leadership and Education, Center for Community Progress; Daniel Egusquiza - Executive Director, Barrio Alegria
October 2021: Vacant Land Stewardship – New Online Resource Center from Community Progress »
Presenters: Janell O'Keefe – Senior Program Officer for Michigan Initiatives, Center for Community Progress; Evaine Sing, RLA, LEED AP - Community and Organizational Consultant, EKS Solutions, LLC.
August 2021: The Cost of a 2×4 is What?! Overview of Lumber Costs and the Opportunity for Deconstruction »
Speakers: Dr. George H. Berghorn - Assistant Professor of Construction Management and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Forestry, Michigan State University; Mae Bowley, Executive Director, Re:Purpose Savannah; Danielle Lewinski - Vice President of Technical Assistance, Center for Community Progress for Community Progress
June 2021: Land Banks in America: Today’s Movement and What We’ve Learned »
Speaker: Brian Larkin – Director of the National Land Bank Network, Center for Community Progress
April 2021: Prioritizing Repair Support for Financially Struggling Property Owners »
Presenter: Payton Heins – Director of Michigan Initiatives, Center for Community Progress
March 2021: Land Banks 101: The Fundamentals of Land Banking and Equitable Development »
Presenter: Tarik Abdelazim – Director of National Technical Assistance, Center for Community Progress
“Most informative webinar I have experienced in some time. Great content, great presentation. Thank you”
Anonymous Survey Respondent, 2020