This webinar will highlight how libraries and museums are making a significant contribution to community fabric. They are taking on a greater role in the community, and becoming gathering places that help people find a job, seek assistance with mental health issues, and even learn to read. Attendees will gain an understanding of the historical and evolving future importance of these institutions for our communities, as places to learn and engage.
Agenda
10:00 am Introduction
10:15 am Panel Discussion
11:00 am Q &A
This webinar has been approved for 1.25 AICP CM credits.
Panelists:
Emily Dowdall, Reinvestment Fund
Ms. Dowdall is Policy Director for Reinvestment Fund’s Policy Solutions group. She helps civic leaders and government officials use data to make programming and investment decisions that support vibrant and equitable communities. Recent projects include the development of neighborhood investment strategies for Pittsburgh and Indianapolis, and housing market studies in New Orleans and Richmond, VA. She is currently overseeing a multiyear analysis of evictions in Philadelphia with a goal of improving outcomes for individuals and their neighborhoods. In 2016-17, she co-led a collaborative research effort with the Institute of Museum and Library Services, resulting in the publication of “Strengthening Networks, Sparking Change: Museums and Libraries as Community Catalysts.” Prior to Reinvestment Fund, she held the position of Officer at the Pew Charitable Trusts, where she led research efforts on critical issues facing Philadelphia and other cities, producing major reports on topics including the role of public libraries in large cities. She has a Master of City Planning degree from the University of Pennsylvania, with a focus on community and economic development, and a B.A. in Urban Studies from New York University.
Joyce S. Lee, FAIA, WELL AP, LEED Fellow, IndigoJLD
Ms. Lee is president of IndigoJLD providing green health consulting, design and planning services on leading edge projects. She is currently on adjunct faculty at the University of Pennsylvania and has published widely. Joyce served under Mayors Giuliani and Bloomberg. She was the Chief Architect at the New York City OMB overseeing the survey of major city-owned buildings, such as libraries and museums, with the goals of enhancing long-term planning and identifying green design and development opportunities. When her family moved to the midwest before Philadelphia, one of her programs enjoyed the support of two Great Lakes governors in Michigan and Illinois. Joyce sits on the Advisory Council at the Harvard School of Public Health Center for Health and the Global Environment, and is a board director at the French American Chamber of Commerce Philadelphia. Most recently, she was invited to chair the Museum Benchmarking and Carbon Committee of the American Alliance of Museum, a national accreditation body.
Pamela Bridgeforth, Director of Programs, Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations
Ms. Bridgeforth brings more than twenty years of leadership experience in non-profit cultural arts management, with particular emphasis on strategic planning, fundraising, collaboration building and community outreach. In her role as Director of Programs, she oversees PACDC’s Member Services programs, including managing the Philadelphia Community Development Leadership Institute. Prior to joining PACDC in 2007, she worked at the Walt Whitman Arts Center, serving as Executive Director for nearly ten years. She currently serves as Board President for the Camden Repertory Theatre and is a member of the Philadelphia LISC Program Committee.
Karen Cilurso, AICP/PP, Manager, Office of Community & Economic Development, DVRPC
Ms. Cilurso has been a practicing planner since 1999. In her current role as the Manager of the Office of Community and Economic Development at the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC), Ms. Cilurso is responsible for ensuring DVRPC’s economic goals of investing in people, creating attractive places, and supporting businesses. Continued coordination across states lines, city and county boundaries, employment sectors, and public and private sectors is essential to maintain a regional perspective and shared vision, goals and objectives. Under her management, the Office of Community and Economic Development strives to open economic opportunities to everyone, compete globally, and sustain a high quality of life supported by specific strategies and initiatives to sustain and grow jobs throughout the region, at the regional and local level. Ms. Cilurso also has extensive procurement experience through her time as a project implementation coordinator and in her new role with grant recipients. Prior to her career at DVRPC, Ms. Cilurso worked for Remington and Vernick Engineers as a municipal planner and assisted on site plan review, writing redevelopment plans and master plans, as well as performing the role of zoning and planning board planner. Ms. Cilurso holds a Bachelor of Art in Sociology from Kutztown University and a Masters of City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a certified planner by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and a professional planner (PP) in New Jersey.