LIZ BLUME, AICP
Executive Director

Liz Blume has built her career blending community organizing principles with neighborhood planning processes. She has more than 15 years of experience leading comprehensive, municipal planning processes that focus on building healthy neighborhoods through citizen participation. Until December 2002, Liz was Director of the Department of Planning for the City of Cincinnati, where she served for three years. Prior to that, Liz was Director of the Department of Planning & Community Development for the City of Dayton, Ohio.

At the Community Building Institute, Liz's work has included coordinating work with KnowledgeWorks, Greater Cincinnati Foundationn and others on the engagement for Community Learning Centers, a major initiative with Cincinnati Public Schools. She has led an important regional research project that establishes a new framework for the conversation around regionalism in the Cincinnati area. She has been deeply involved with the place matters project; a major effort, with a funding collaborative, to implement a comprehensive community investment strategy in three Cincinnati neighborhoods. Liz is committed to making sure the work of the Institute is relevant and connected to people who live in the communities she is working in.

In Cincinnati, Liz led a department of 25 professionals and oversaw a budget of $2 million. Her department was engaged in a wide range of planning issues, including land use, transportation, downtown, education, housing and economic development. It gained a reputation for being committed to neighborhood and community planning efforts. One of her key accomplishments was the development of a comprehensive plan for Over-the-Rhine, a neighborhood that borders the city's downtown. The inclusive planning process has been praised for building consensus among competing community stakeholders.

Liz is a former consultant with Woolpert Consultants in Dayton. She has a Master of Community Planning from the School of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning at the University of Cincinnati and a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Urban Planning from the College of Architecture and Planning at Ball State University. She is a frequent guest lecturer on topics related to planning and politics, smart growth, professional practice and urban design, and has written numerous articles on those topics. Liz lives in Cincinnati's Clifton neighborhood with her two children.

TRINA L. JACKSON
Program Director

Trina Jackson has spent her career leading processes that drive citizen empowerment and civic participation, particularly by those most marginalized by society. She has led projects in homeownership and residential planning with residents from rural Northern Kentucky to inner-city Cincinnati - involving everyone from developmentally disabled citizens to public housing tenants.

Since joining the Institute in 1999, Trina has coordinated numerous trainings and forums and maintained a strong network of community-based organizations across Cincinnati's Tri-State region, all fostering citizen-led, asset-based development practices. As a senior member of the CBI team, Trina oversees all financial operations, managing the organizational budget, as well as short and long-term projects budgets.

Prior to joining the Institute, Trina administered the Strengthening Ohio's Leadership Grant as a Community Outreach Organizer for the Ohio State University Extension. As a Planner and Housing Specialist for Kriss Lowry & Associates, Trina worked in urban and suburban communities managing federally funded housing and community development projects in Northern Kentucky. Trina also was a homeownership coordinator for Living Arrangements for the Developmentally Disabled (LADD) in Cincinnati, where she helped mentally disabled citizens transition into homeownership.

Trina has a Master of Community Planning from the School of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning at the University of Cincinnati and a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from UC. She is a Certified Project Manager and holds a black-belt in the Six Sigma Process. She served as a commissioner on the Colerain Township Zoning Commission in suburban Cincinnati for five years, and is currently a member of the Land Use Advisory Board.

PICKET SLATER HARRINGTON
Community Building Associate

Pickett Slater Harrington has spent his career igniting social innovation in the areas of education, housing, health and the environment. As a senior consultant with the Community Building Institute, Pickett helps organizations and communities create and implement strength based approaches to community building and neighborhood revitalization. His efforts seek to develop mutually beneficial relationships and partnership between communities and institutions.

Pickett has served with several national not-for-profit organizations including the Children’s Defense Fund, the Urban League and Public Allies. He currently serves on the board of several not-for profit organizations including the Home Ownership Center of Greater Cincinnati, King Studios and the City of Cincinnati Human Services Advisory Board.

Pickett is the principal and founder of Joltage, a creative consultancy that helps business, not-for-profits and the public sector create innovative solutions to pressing social challenges. He was nominated for the Cincinnati Business Courier’s Forty under 40 and received the Oscar J. Armstrong III Service Award from Bridges for a Just Community.

Pickett holds a Masters Degree in Social Work with a specialization in organizations and communities from the University of South Carolina and a Business Masters Certificate from Xavier University. He lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with his wife Khalilah and daughter Addison.

CHRIS SCHADLER
Community Building Associate

Chris Schadler has spent the last 8 years as a community building consultant with the Community Building Institute (CBI). His professional experience covers a wide range of areas including neighborhood planning, planning design, community organizing, asset-mapping, geographic information systems, and program management for neighborhood’s in Greater Cincinnati and beyond.

At CBI, his work has included project facilitation and technical support on numerous neighborhood plans; program management of King Studios whose goal is to erect a memorial for King Records in Evanston; the Strive initiative aimed at educational reform; and the place matters project, a intense effort to implement a comprehensive community investment strategy in three Cincinnati neighborhoods.

Formerly, Chris was a consultant with the Short Vine Development Company and served as a volunteer consultant for the Cincinnati neighborhood of Northside as they developed their land use plan between 2003-2006. Chris has lived in Northside since 2000 and is the co-founder and promoter of the Northside Rock ‘N Roll Carnival.

Chris has a Master of Community Planning from the School of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning at the University of Cincinnati and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Northern Kentucky University. He is also the co-owner of the Over The Rhine music venue MOTR and served as the general manager at the Historic Southgate House between 1995-2008. Chris still spends some of his time as a musician and an independent music promoter for venues such as Midpoint Music Festival, Fountain Square and various venues throughout the City.

Valerie Daley
Community Building Associate

Valerie has worked throughout Ohio to improve neighborhoods and communities by blending professional planning skills and intensive community engagement. She has more than seven years of professional planning experience in non-profit, public, and private planning agencies in the Cincinnati and Cleveland regions. Valerie worked most recently as a City Planner with the City of Cincinnati Department of City Planning and Buildings before joining CBI. Valerie has a Master of Regional Planning from the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning at Cornell University and a Bachelor of Science in Urban and Regional Studies from the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning at Cornell University.  The following accomplishments demonstrate Valerie’s professional knowledge and experience:

Plan Development and Community Engagement:

• Developed long range comprehensive, strategic, industrial area, and mobility plans for neighborhoods, cities, and villages to improve neighborhoods and communities by blending professional planning skills and community engagement.
  
  
• Completed federally required Consolidated Plans to guide public investment toimprove the lives of low- and moderate-income families.
  
  
• Coordinate and support the place matters initiative with lead organizations and community partners by providing technical assistance, mediating and resolving conflicts, reporting progress to place matters constituents, and developing and maintain the collaborative relationships to ensure successful outcomes

• Completed zoning resolution and ordinance updates, including zoning text and map amendments.
  
  
• Reviewed site plans, variance requests, and design review board applications for planning commissions, zoning appeals boards, and design review boards.
  
  
• Performed duties of municipal practicing planner and zoning inspector, including working with the public to interpret and implement zoning codes