People

Janet Byrd is the new executive director of the Neighborhood Partnership Fund in Portland, Oregon. Byrd has strong connections to local and national housing policy. She has been a neighborhood housing organizer in Chicago and has spearheaded a number of collaborative efforts in Oregon, including a statewide effort to preserve HUD subsidized properties and the creation of the Community Alliance of Tenants.

Community Preservation and Development Corporation selected J. Michael Pitchford as its new chief executive officer and president. Pitchford recently served as community development equity executive for Bank of America, leading a team of real estate professionals who developed more than 23,000 units of affordable housing. Pitchford has served on the board of the National Housing Conference for the last 10 years, serving as president for three. He has been in leadership roles with the National Equity Fund, the Urban Land Institute, the Washington Area Housing Partnership and on the boards of both the Charlotte Mecklenburg Housing Partnership and the Northwest Corridor Community Development Corporation.

Tony Brancatelli and Emily Lipovan Holan are replacing two resigning Cleveland City Council members. Brancatelli, replacing Edward Rybka in Ward 12, currently heads Slavic Village Development Corp. Lipovan Holan, replacing Ward 15 representative Merle Gordon, heads Neighborhood Housing Services of Cleveland and once served as director of Tremont West Development Corp. Both intend to resign their positions.

The Chicago-based National Equity Fund, Inc. has added Ernie Etuk to its board of directors. Etuk is a 20-year veteran of the Houston Housing Authority, serving as executive director since 2000. Under his leadership, the housing authority has produced over 2,100 affordable housing units, aggressively pursuing public/private partnerships. The National Equity Fund, Inc. is a leading national syndicator of low-income housing tax credits.

Corine Knudsen is the new executive director of the Washington State Coalition for the Homeless. Since 1985, Knudsen had been working for the Washington Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development, during which time she also managed the Washington State Housing Trust Fund. Prior to that she was executive director of World for Women, a nonprofit organization providing emergency housing and services.

Laura J. Giacomini is the new development director of the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board. Giacomini has over 20 years experience in the nonprofit field. She has successfully led the fundraising efforts for such organizations as East Bay Habitat for Humanity, Ritter House, Shanti and the Legal Aid Society of Long Beach (CA). Giacomini has a master’s degree in nonprofit administration from the University of Judaism and is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Residents’ Journal Editor-in-Chief Mary C. Johns and Assistant Editor Beauty Turner received top honors from the Chicago Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists for their article, “Deadly Moves,” which investigated changes in the homicide rate in low-income neighborhoods as a result of Chicago’s Plan for Transformation. “Deadly Moves” was written in collaboration with the Chicago Reporter, an investigative magazine focused on race and poverty issues. Just days after the publication of “Deadly Moves,” Mayor Richard M. Daley and Chicago police officials announced changes to the department’s deployment and enforcement strategies in low-income neighborhoods. www.wethepeoplemedia.org

Brandeis University’s Asset Development Institute is now the Institute on Assets and Social Policy. The Institute’s new Web site can be found at www.assetinstitute.org. Also worth noting is the university’s Center on Hunger and Poverty site, www.centeronhunger.org.

The New York City-based Open Society Institute (OSI) awarded fellowships to 10 New York City community organizers, activists and leaders working to improve the quality of public life in low-income neighborhoods. Selected from the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan, this year’s OSI New York City Community Fellows are working on a range of innovative public interest projects, including the creation of a community-based legal center to aid South Asian immigrants, the establishment of a domestic violence center for refugee and immigrant African women and a program in Harlem to protect fixed-income seniors facing eviction. www.soros.org

The National Trust Main Street Center® graduated 21 revitalization professionals from its Professional Main Street Management Institute, which aims to elevate the problem-solving skill level of professionals working in the field of revitalization in historic and older commercial districts. Among the graduates are: Carol Gardner, Rochester Downtown Development Authority, Rochester, Michigan; Cynthia Janis, Kamm’s Corners Development Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio; Beppie LeGrand, Community Builders/SC Downtown, Columbia, South Carolina; and Walter Wright, Tremont West Development Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio. www.nationaltrust.org

The Cleveland Community Wealth Collaborative, with support from the Cleveland Foundation, is providing 10 months of training to nonprofit organizations to help them create and grow financially viable businesses. Among those selected to participate are Achievement Centers for Children, Center for Families and Children and Vocational Guidance Services. Community Wealth Ventures, a consulting firm that helps nonprofits operate successful business ventures, will provide customized business consulting and in-depth monthly seminars with peer nonprofit leaders and experts in the fields of social enterprise and business development. In addition, business executives from Cleveland-area corporations will serve as mentors. www.communitywealth.org/CWC_Cleveland.htm