Community Building Institute Team
As a veteran journalist and administrator in corporate, non-profit and academic arenas, Byron White has spent his career facilitating mutually beneficial engagement and understanding between institutions and communities. In addition to his role at the Institute, Byron is Director of the Community Building Collaborative@Xavier University, where he coordinates initiatives that foster civic collaboration throughout the region. Until June 2002, Byron was senior manager of community relations for the Chicago Tribune, where he oversaw community engagement strategies and diversity marketing efforts. His work earned him the Newspaper Association of America's prestigious "20 Under 40" leadership award. Byron had previously served as editor of the Tribune's Urban Affairs Team and as an editorial writer. He also was the editorial page editor of The Cincinnati Post. Between newspaper stints, he served as executive director of the Conference of Walnut Hills Churches, a coalition of 18 congregations in Cincinnati's Walnut Hills neighborhood that worked together on housing and education initiatives. He also was a consultant to community organizations on Chicago's West Side and in other cities, working in conjunction with the Asset-Based Community Development Institute at Northwestern University, on whose faculty he serves. Byron has a Master of Arts degree in Social Science from the University of Chicago, where he received a Trustees Fellowship, and a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University. He continues to publish articles and consult with community groups and media organizations on community-media relations, asset-based community development, diversity marketing and other issues.
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 Foundation 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 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 mentally disabled citizens to public housing tenants. Since joining the Institute in 1999, Trina has coordinated 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. Prior to joining the Institute, Trina was a Community Outreach Organizer for the Ohio State University Extension, working in urban and suburban communities. She previously was a Planner and Housing Specialist for Kriss Lowry & Associates, 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. Currently, she is a commissioner on the Colerain Township Zoning Commission in suburban Cincinnati.
Steve Driehaus' extensive experience in community organizing has extended from grassroots organizations to political campaigns to community development in the villages of West Africa. Steve served as executive director of the Institute until fall 2002, when he was elected to a second term as Representative of the 31st District of the Ohio House of Representatives. As a state legislator, Steve has championed policies that promote regional planning. Under Steve's leadership, the Institute assisted dozens of community-based organizations in Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and Southeastern Indiana in employing asset-based practices to achieve community objectives. He continues to facilitate citizen-led, community mobilizing processes. Before joining the Institute staff, Steve was a legislative aide to former Congressman Charles Luken and worked on the administrative staffs of other local politicians. A lifelong resident of Cincinnati’s West Side, he is a member of or has been affiliated with numerous civic enterprises throughout the Cincinnati region. Steve is a former U.S. Peace Corps volunteer, having served as a development coordinator in Senegal, West Africa. He has a Masters of Public Administration degree from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at the University of Indiana, where he received an Eli Lilly Fellowship, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Miami University (Ohio).
Pickett Slater Harrington has spent his career facilitating and supporting the development of healthy individuals and strong communities. His experience covers a wide range of areas including community organizing, youth leadership development, program management and research. Prior to joining the Community Building Institute, Pickett served as program manager and director of education and training for Public Allies Cincinnati, a leadership development program for young adults. A native of South Carolina, he has worked with several nationally recognized nonprofits including the Urban League, where he coordinated a multi-county summer youth employment program, and the Children's Defense Fund, where he managed a countywide youth summer enrichment program modeled after the Freedom Schools of the Civil Rights Movement. Pickett also has served with the South Carolina Commission for Minority Affairs and the University of South Carolina's Center for Child and Family Studies. In January of 2004, Pickett became a founding partner of Be VOCAL Consulting, a Cincinnati-based consulting firm that works with organizations and educational institutions in the areas of staff professional learning, program development, evaluation and coaching. Pickett has a Master of Social Work degree from the University of South Carolina with a concentration in communities and organizations, and a Bachelor of Science degree from Francis Marion University in South Carolina.
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Byron P. White
Elizabeth Blume
Trina L. Jackson
Steven L. Driehaus
Picket Slater Harrington
Teresa Stiens
