Board

Partners board member and Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker was recognized by First Lady Michelle Obama at an event at the White House on Wednesday for his efforts to end chronic homelessness among veterans in Salt Lake City. Mayor Becker was present with the First Lady as she announced a new initiative, the Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness, with 77 mayors, four governors, and four county officials on board as of the annoucement.

The U.S. Senate voted Wednesday to confirm Partners trustee and former Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, putting him in charge of the Economic Development Administration (EDA).

The mission of the EDA is "to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting innovation and competitiveness, preparing American regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy." The EDA has a number of tools that it brings to bear in carry out its mission, including "technical assistance, post-disaster recovery assistance, trade adjustment support, strategic planning and research and evaluation capacity".

Williams has served as a member of the Partners for Livable Communities board of trustees for five years, since 2009. Williams rose as to political prominence in 2005 with his election as the first African-American mayor of Youngstown, Ohio.

Entrepreneurial American Leadership Award 

Richard C.D. Fleming is honored for his commitment to building livable and sustainable cities as a civic entrepreneur for more than 30 years while engaged in private sector and civic initiatives to revitalize cities and metropolitan communities in Atlanta, Denver, and, for the past 17 years, St. Louis.

Tuesday August 9^th will be a big day of change for former Mayor of Youngstown, Ohio and Partners Trustee Jay Williams. Williams will be taking up his new appointment by President Obama as the Director of the Office of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers which assists areas of the country negatively affected by the retrenchment of the auto industry to identify federal resources that may be used as part of their recovery efforts. By virtue of his being mayor of the largest community in the Mahoning Valley, Williams has had a front-row seat to the reorganization of the auto industry. 

Jay Williams was instrumental in helping Partners develop its Institutions as Fulcrums of Change program strategy; which focused on how we can use libraries, museums, performing arts centers, boys and girls clubs, and chambers of commerce to reposition communities that have suffered devastation in the downturn and in the new economic order, and how can they use their creativity and neutrality to be centers of excellence, i.e. fulcrums of change. With the focus on utilizing anchor institutions as centers of redevelopment in Youngstown, Williams worked with Partners to spear the Ten Living Cities Network, a consortium working for identity preservation and economic resurgence in the Ten U.S. Cities most affected by the post-industrial age.

Prior to his appointment to the Office of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers, Jay Williams was the City of Youngstown’s first African-American mayor, and being first elected at 33 years old, was also it’s youngest. Under the leadership of Mayor Williams, the Youngstown 2010 Vision/Planning “right-sizing” initiative has been recognized and rewarded by a number of notable organizations including, The Wall Street Journal, U.S. News and World Report, the American Planning Association, and Governing Magazine. In August 2009, Entrepreneur Magazine listed the city of Youngstown among the ten best cities in the United States to start a business. Mayor Williams was also recognized in 2009 as one of Governing Magazine’s public officials of the year. He was also the recipient of the 2007 John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award.

You can read more about Jay Williams appointment from the U.S. Department of Labor

Partners’Board member Geoff Anderson, President of  Smart Growth America, was recently named one of the “most influential leaders” in sustainable community planning and development, by  Partnership for Sustainable Communities. Alongside Partners’ recent Bridge Builders Award recipient Christopher Leinberger, Geoff Anderson was acknowledged for his dedication and achievements instrumental in growing the Smart Growth field.
With a 13 year tenure at the EPA,  Anderson was central to creation of the agency’s Smart Growth program, and cofounded  the Smart Growth network, the New Partners for Smart Growth Conference, and popular website smartgrowth.org.

Smart Growth America continues to function as one of the nation’s premiere clearing houses reporting on and devising the latest methods for smart growth development. SGA is, “ the only national organization dedicated to researching, advocating for and leading coalitions to bring smart growth practices to more communities nationwide.” Through coalition building, policy development, and research, SGA explores cross-sector efforts dedicated, in the simplest form, to enhance livability for all.