Akilah Watkins's guest appearances

Akilah Watkins

Infill: A YIMBY Podcast

Power Station

Elephant Stories

David Johns

David Garcia

Jeff Bezos

Richard Rothstein

Nathaniel Smith

Jamelle Bouie

Elizabeth Lindsey

Celinda Lake

George Jones

Scott Wiener

David Williams

Robert Friedman

Desmond Meade

John Park

Patrick Gaspard

OwlTail

You’re in for a treat! This is the first episode in our special Housing Changemaker Series in partnership with Up For Growth. Up For Growth is an incredible national pro-housing organization and they’re hosting a conference featuring amazing pro-housing voices from all over the country. We had the great opportunity to sit down with several of the speakers and give you a preview of what will be discussed in more detail during the conference. The conference starts on September 21 and is all online. Tickets are free, grab yours here! https://go.upforgrowth.org/UFG2021YIMBY This episode, Laura Foote sits down with Dr. Akilah Watkins who is President and CEO for the Center for Community Progress, America’s nonprofit leader for turning “Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places.” They are a resource for urban, suburban, and rural communities seeking to address the full cycle of property revitalization. Her career’s work has focused on helping people, communities, and local and federal government drive impactful reform for key issues including land banking, property vacancy, childhood obesity, community health, and economic development. Follow Dr. Akilah Watkins on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrAkilahWB Learn more about the Center for Community Progress: https://communityprogress.org/ Learn more about Up For Growth: https://www.upforgrowth.org/ Learn more about YIMBY Action (become a member in September and get a free Legalize Housing shirt!): https://yimbyaction.org/join

You’re in for a treat! This is the first episode in our special Housing Changemaker Series in partnership with Up For Growth. Up For Growth is an incredible national pro-housing organization and they’re hosting a conference featuring amazing pro-housing voices from all over the country. We had the great opportunity to sit down with several of the speakers and give you a preview of what will be discussed in more detail during the conference. The conference starts on September 21 and is all online. Tickets are free, grab yours here! <a href="https://go.upforgrowth.org/UFG2021YIMBY" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://go.upforgrowth.org/UFG2021YIMBY</a> This episode, Laura Foote sits down with Dr. Akilah Watkins who is President and CEO for the Center for Community Progress, America’s nonprofit leader for turning “Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places.” They are a resource for urban, suburban, and rural communities seeking to address the full cycle of property revitalization. Her career’s work has focused on helping people, communities, and local and federal government drive impactful reform for key issues including land banking, property vacancy, childhood obesity, community health, and economic development. Follow Dr. Akilah Watkins on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/DrAkilahWB" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/DrAkilahWB</a> Learn more about the Center for Community Progress: <a href="https://communityprogress.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://communityprogress.org/</a> Learn more about Up For Growth: <a href="https://www.upforgrowth.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.upforgrowth.org/</a> Learn more about YIMBY Action (become a member in September and get a free Legalize Housing shirt!): <a href="https://yimbyaction.org/join" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://yimbyaction.org/join</a>

Housing Changemaker Series with Dr. Akilah Watkins

What do you think about when you see abandoned buildings and overgrown plots of vacant land? More importantly, how do you feel if they are fixtures in your own community? Dr. Akilah Watkins, CEO of the Center for Community Progress, sees the physical manifestation of housing segregation, disinvestment and other federal policies that have generated a devastating wealth gap in Black and Brown communities. And she has felt the despair those conditions evoke in people who experience them every day. Akilah envisions a better future for communities when deteriorated spaces are transformed into vital community assets. Her team is highly skilled in community organizing, real estate financing, land banking and bill drafting, all requirements in bringing the vision to life. The Center invites residents to reimagine deteriorated spaces as affordable housing, parks, businesses and land banks. And it partners with municipalities to identify the resources, changes in zoning ordinances and state enabling legislation needed to make these material changes achievable. The Center for Community Progress brings a perfect fusion of vision and technical know-how to the future of community development. More power to them.

What do you think about when you see abandoned buildings and overgrown plots of vacant land? More importantly, how do you feel if they are fixtures in your own community? Dr. Akilah Watkins, CEO of the Center for Community Progress, sees the physical manifestation of housing segregation, disinvestment and other federal policies that have generated a devastating wealth gap in Black and Brown communities. And she has felt the despair those conditions evoke in people who experience them every day. Akilah envisions a better future for communities when deteriorated spaces are transformed into vital community assets. Her team is highly skilled in community organizing, real estate financing, land banking and bill drafting, all requirements in bringing the vision to life. The Center invites residents to reimagine deteriorated spaces as affordable housing, parks, businesses and land banks. And it partners with municipalities to identify the resources, changes in zoning ordinances and state enabling legislation needed to make these material changes achievable. The Center for Community Progress brings a perfect fusion of vision and technical know-how to the future of community development. More power to them.

#177 Dr. Akilah Watkins, Center for Community Progress

Color

Akilah Watkins, PhD is the President and CEO of the Center for Community Progress,  the leading national, nonprofit resource for urban, suburban, and rural communities seeking to address the full cycle of property revitalization. In this conversation we discuss what's ahead for community development and affordable housing, the value of diverse perspectives (racial diversity but also professional diversity, experiential diversity, etc.), and what it is like being a women in a leader position and, specifically, a woman of color.Explore topics in this episode:Center for Community ProgressPeople in Place: The Case for Bridging Place-Based and People-Based Interventions to Disrupt Intergenerational PovertyProfessor Patricia Hill CollinsWebinar: Bold Leadership for Racial Justice: A National CEO of Color ForumFind us at:Web: Elephant StoriesTwitter: @StoriesElephantEmail: twestbrook@elephant-stories.com

Akilah Watkins, PhD is the President and CEO of the Center for Community Progress,  the leading national, nonprofit resource for urban, suburban, and rural communities seeking to address the full cycle of property revitalization. In this conversation we discuss what's ahead for community development and affordable housing, the value of diverse perspectives (racial diversity but also professional diversity, experiential diversity, etc.), and what it is like being a women in a leader position and, specifically, a woman of color. Explore topics in this episode: <a href="https://www.communityprogress.net/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Center for Community Progress</a> <a href="https://www.communityprogress.net/download-people-in-place--the-case-for-interventions-to-disrupt-intergenerational-poverty--2019--pages-571.php" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">People in Place: The Case for Bridging Place-Based and People-Based Interventions to Disrupt Intergenerational Poverty</a> <a href="https://socy.umd.edu/facultyprofile/collins/patricia-hill" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Professor Patricia Hill Collins</a> <a href="https://groundedsolutions.org/events/free-webinar-bold-leadership-racial-justice-national-ceo-color-forum" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Webinar: Bold Leadership for Racial Justice: A National CEO of Color Forum</a> Find us at: Web: <a href="https://elephant-stories.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Elephant Stories</a> Twitter: @StoriesElephant Email: twestbrook@elephant<a href="http://-stories.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-stories.com</a>

Dr. Akilah Watkins: Where Are We Losing Our Leaders of Color