On September 4, 2012, The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), in cooperation with Cleveland State University (CSU) and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) launched the Strong Cities, Strong Communities Fellowship Program. The GMF project team was selected by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) through a competitive process. The fellowship program, supported by a gift from the Rockefeller Foundation, is one component of the Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC2) Initiative, a federal interagency pilot initiative that aims to strengthen neighborhoods, cities, and regions by enhancing the capacity of local governments to develop and execute economic visions and strategies.

Watch HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan explain the SC2 Fellowship

The fellowship program places highly-skilled, mid-career professionals who are committed to public service in seven selected pilot cities for two-year terms. Throughout the fellowship period, fellows will work on specific projects and receive additional training and other support from GMF, CSU, and VT. Specifically, fellows will participate in the nationally renowned public management training academy provided by CSU’s Levin College of Urban Affairs. Fellows also will receive ongoing mentoring and support from experienced practitioners and scholars within the Levin College of Urban Affairs and Virginia Tech’s Metropolitan Institute. Finally, fellows will have access to the German Marshall Fund’s international practitioner networks and exchange activities, including the Transatlantic Cities Network and the Cities in Transition project.

Fellows are now in place in each of the seven pilot cities: Chester, PA; Detroit, MI; Fresno, CA; Memphis, TN; New Orleans, LA; Cleveland, OH and Youngstown, OH. Bios for the inaugural class of fellows are as follows: 

SC2 Fellows Roster

Chester, Pennsylvania

Ricardo Soto-Lopez

Mr. Ricardo Soto-Lopez has been in the urban planning and community development profession for over twenty five years and has garnered extensive experience working with a diverse range of organizations in the public, private and philanthropic sectors in New York, New Jersey, California, Florida and Puerto Rico.  Ricardo holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from the State University of New York in Urban and Regional Studies and a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning from the City University of New York. He has been affiliated with the American Planning Association, the US EPA National Environmental Justice Advisory Council, and the Central Florida Regional Leadership Academy.

Arto Woodley, Jr.

Arto has lead Frontline Outreach urban ministry since 1998. Frontline Outreach has served urban youth and their families by preparing tomorrow’s leaders with a vision for success and service since 1967. Frontline is the 839th Point of Light, a recipient of Disney Hand Helping Kids to Shine Award in 2004 and was designated a Neighborhood Builder by Bank of America and a Point of Light in Florida in 2005. Involved in a variety of civic and community activities, Arto is an Emeritus member of the African American Community Fund in the Dayton Foundation, an ordained Minister, a Council Member of Florida Council for Social Status of African Men and Boys, a founding member of Governor’s Faith Based Advisory Committee, a member of the Early Learning Coalition in Orange County, and part of Lifeworks Leadership and Leadership Orlando. He is a past member of the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce Board of Governors and the Bowling Green State University Alumni Board and an alumnus of the DeVos Urban Leadership Initiative. Arto earned his degrees from Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

Cleveland, Ohio

Christopher Alvarado

Christopher Alvarado graduated with a Master of Urban Planning, Design, and Development from Cleveland State University in 1999 and Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame in 1994. Christopher has a broad range of expertise in community, regional, and sustainability planning.  In his past capacity as an Associate Senior Planner with the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission, he focused primarily on methodologies for sustainability, determining the economic, environmental, and social impacts of development, and coordinating environmental planning with economic development. His projects mainly fell under the aegis of the Cuyahoga Valley Initiative, an historic effort to transform a Valley whose image reflects its industrial past by building a long term future based on ecological restoration, innovative businesses, and community renewal. Christopher presently serves as Board President of Bike Cleveland and Board Secretary for EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute. He is also a member of the Bicycle Advocacy Council at the Northeast Ohio Area-wide Coordinating Agency and the past Board President of Tremont West Development Corporation.

Timothy F. Kobie

Timothy became interested in neighborhood development during his two AmeriCorps service terms while attending Case Western Reserve University. After graduating from CWRU, he attended Cleveland State University where he received a Masters in Urban Planning, Design and Development and a PhD in Urban Studies and Public Affairs with a focus in Housing and Neighborhood Development. Timothy has worked as a retail development and Geographic Information Systems consultant. He has also conducted planning and development research for the Catholic Cemeteries Association in Cleveland, Ohio.  Additionally, Timothy has served as an expert witness in a mortgage fraud case and testified before the Housing and Urban Revitalization Committee of the Ohio House of Representatives for hearings on foreclosure reform. In November of 2010, Timothy joined Social Compact and worked on grocery gap analyses, census challenges and business scans.  Prior to joining Social Compact, Timothy conducted research on mortgage lending patterns, neighborhood diversity, and the role of space in neighborhoods.

Genna Petrolla

Genna Petrolla is a marketing/community development professional who lives on the west side of Cleveland. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Human Ecology with a specialty in Consumer Affairs from The Ohio State University in 2004, Genna went on to complete a year of graduate coursework in Urban Studies at Cleveland State University's Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs. While at Cleveland State, Genna attended Washington Seminar in Washington DC and also participated in the 26th class of Neighborhood Leadership Cleveland. She began her career in Cleveland as the Marketing Director of locally owned Progressive Urban Real Estate (PURE), where she grew to love the culture and history of each of Cleveland's distinct neighborhoods. Following her work at PURE, Genna helped launch Greater Circle Living, an employer-assisted housing program that encouraged employees of institutions such as the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, The Cleveland Museum of Art and Case Western Reserve University to live closer to work in the neighborhoods surrounding University Circle. In addition, Genna serves on the board of LiveCleveland, a non-profit that promotes the livability of Cleveland neighborhoods.

Detroit, Michigan

Christopher Dorle

Christopher Dorle has spent the past five years working in international development.  He joined the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as a Presidential Management Fellow in 2007, starting on the Afghanistan Desk.  In 2009, he volunteered to serve overseas with the USAID Mission in Kabul, where he worked closely with the Government of Afghanistan, NATO, and the U.S. Embassy to plan and implement programs to stabilize and deliver services to critical areas of the country.  Upon returning to Washington, Christopher joined the USAID Front Office as a Special Assistant, covering a wide range of development issues across the Middle East and Europe.  Most recently, he returned his focus to Afghanistan, managing a new USAID-funded program focused on stabilization and community development in Eastern Afghanistan.  Christopher has also worked with the Department of State and the William Davidson Institute. He began his career in the private sector working with The Arbor Strategy Group (now GfK Strategic Innovation), a strategy consulting firm located in Ann Arbor, MI.  He holds a Master of Public Policy (‘07) from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan as well as a BA in Philosophy (’00) from the University of Michigan. 

Dekonti Mends-Cole

Dekonti Mends-Cole’s past experience includes working on local economic development projects for the United Nations in the Middle East and Africa. She has led studies in the UK advising on community development, integration, developer contributions, and suburban redevelopment.  While a Senior Consultant at London based consultancy, Renaisi, she managed commissions on behalf of several of the East London Olympic boroughs, including maintaining and improving local services in the face of public spending cuts, the transfer of ownership and management of public buildings to community groups, and improvements to strategic procurement. Her urban development career began in the US assisting affordable housing developers in New York City and working as a researcher for New York University Law School’s Center for Community Problem Solving, mapping the legal resources available to low-income communities. She received her Master’s in Social Policy from the London School of Economics, in Affordable Housing and Urban Regeneration where she was awarded the Richard Titmuss Examination Prize. Dekonti holds a Juris Doctor, from Georgetown University Law Center and is a member of the Florida Bar. She received her Bachelor’s degree in International Studies and Economics, magna cum laude, from the University of Miami.

Betsy Palazzola

Elizabeth (Betsy) Palazzola holds a Master of Public Policy and a Graduate Certificate in Science, Technology, and Public Policy from the University of Michigan, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. She also earned her Bachelor of Science in Program in the Environment as a Residential College student at the University of Michigan. She has worked on various political and environmental campaigns, both as a volunteer and as a Field Organizer for the Michigan League of Conservation Voters. Betsy spent three years at the Wayne State University’s Center for Urban Studies, furthering community work in lead poisoning prevention and green and healthy homes. She was awarded the David Bohnett Foundation Public Service Fellowship in 2010 and completed an internship in the Detroit Mayor's Office focused on municipal recycling, housing, and sustainability issues. She begins the next phase of her career as a Strong Cities, Strong Communities Fellow in Detroit. Betsy has lived in Detroit since 2007.

Erika Sellke

Erika Sellke received her Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign, and her Master of Urban Planning Degree from New York University.  Originally from Chicago, Erika has spent the past eight years with the New York City Department of City Planning.  Most recently she has served as the Senior Project Manager/Senior Planner for the neighborhoods of Chelsea and Clinton in Manhattan, providing extensive technical and design review for over 60 developments in Manhattan that require City Planning Commission actions, as well as developing schedules, project organization and strategy from the start.  The project Erika most enjoyed working on is the High Line Park, a railroad structure that was once seen as derelict and was slated for demolition, which is now a world-renowned, innovative elevated park that winds through the Meatpacking District and the West Chelsea neighborhoods in Manhattan.  As the DCP representative on the interagency High Line Development Team, Erika was actively involved in all aspects of the design and construction of the park, in shaping policies for the park's operation, in coordinating city agency cooperation and in engaging the surrounding community and adjacent developers in the park's development.

Fresno, California

Cole Judge

Cole E. Judge holds a Master in Urban and Regional Planning with a focus on Land Use and Transportation from the University of New Orleans. Her goal is to create vibrant, healthy, sustainable cities with built environments that encourage active transportation, a sense of place and engaged community. For the past two years, Cole has worked as the Downtown Research Coordinator for the Downtown Denver Partnership, performing place-based, economic, urban planning research within the Downtown Environment Department. Some of her projects included producing the annual “State of Downtown Denver” report, working with companies on recruiting the future workforce and managing the bicycle and pedestrian count program. Prior to that, she spent four years in New Orleans, working on urban planning issues with the Rebuilding Information Station (providing resources to those rebuilding their homes), the Lower 9th Ward’s Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development (working with the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association to help residents rebuild in a sustainable way), the University of New Orleans Transportation Institute (measuring active transportation in the City) and volunteering with Historic Green New Orleans (bringing together historic preservationists, architects and builders to preserve Lower 9th homes).

Gretchen Moore

Gretchen Moore, Cleveland, Ohio, graduated from Saint Mary's College with a degree in Mass Communications and a concentration in Public Relations. She manages the annual Harvest for Hunger Campaign for the Cleveland Foodbank. This 21-county food and fund drive is one of the largest in the nation raising $3.6 million and 400,000 pounds of food this spring. The campaign brings together four food banks, six supermarket chains, 900 businesses and 50 schools to host food and fund drive activities throughout the region in support of the campaign. Prior to working at the Foodbank, Gretchen was the Commercial Program Director at Westown Community Development Corporation. In this capacity she supported neighborhood revitalization efforts and historic preservation in the community. She also created sustaining neighborhood events including Sunday concerts in the park, the Westown Winter Frolic and the Taste the World in our Neighborhood diversity celebration. Gretchen also worked as a Legislative Aide in the Ohio Senate and the Ohio House of Representatives. 

Memphis, Tennessee

Bernice Butler

Bernice Butler is a native of Warrenton, GA and attended Georgia State University as Presidential Scholar. In 2006, she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BA in Psychology and minor in Political Science and went on to pursue a Master of Public Administration from the University of Georgia specializing in Local Government Management. After graduating from the UGA in 2008 she accepted a position in Washington DC as a Capital City Fellow. During this program, she completed four departmental rotations with the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, Department of Housing and Community Development, Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and the Office of the State Superintendent of Education. In 2010, Bernice accepted a position as an Administrative Budget Analyst of the City of Saginaw, Michigan where she manages the city’s Performance Management program and CitiStat initiative and provides oversight of all budget functions for four departments (Fiscal Services, Technical Services, Public Services, and Economic Development). In addition to her work accomplishments, Bernice serves on the Board of Directors for the Saginaw County Unity Way, Saginaw County Girls on the Run, and Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce Young Professional Network.

Surayyah Hassan

Surayyah graduated from Wellesley College with a BA in Psychology in 2006. While at Wellesley, she participated in the US Department of Energy’s Student Diversity Partnership Program and served in the Office of Information Management. She recently completed National Urban Fellows (NUF), a rigorous 14-month, full-time graduate program. As a fellow, Surayyah served at the New York City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs under the Commissioner and earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the City University of New York’s Bernard M. Baruch College, School of Public Affairs in July 2012. Prior to NUF, Surayyah served as Program Manager at CFY, a national non-profit organization that helps economically disadvantaged children perform better in school by improving their home learning environments. In addition to her work at CFY, Surayyah combines her passion for social justice with her love for international travel. In 2008, she was selected to be a Global Village Team Leader with Habitat for Humanity International. Surayyah has led teams to Thailand, Mozambique, China, and Cambodia.  

New Orleans, Louisiana 

Maxwell Ciardullo

Maxwell recently finished a Master’s in Regional Planning at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and wrote his thesis on community land trusts, an innovative, community-based affordable housing model.  During his time in Western Massachusetts he combined his public health background and planning skills to assist the regional planning agency with an environmental justice review, his local city planning office with pedestrian and cycling improvements, and a needle exchange program with assessing its participants’ healthcare access.  Prior to attending graduate school, he worked for six years in Washington D.C.-and N.Y.-based non-profits, advocating for just and data-driven HIV-prevention policy and providing direct services to people engaged in the sex trade, homeless and marginally-housed LGBTQ youth, and drug users.

Annette Hollowell

As a Staff Attorney with the Mississippi Center for Justice (MCJ), Annette assisted other MCJ lawyers and community partners in conducting outreach to assess the current priority legal needs for housing preservation, the enforcement of federal Fair Housing policy, and other community and economic development issues. She helped conduct and supervise community legal clinics, pairing individuals with pro bono lawyers and law students to provide legal assistance. Annette is an executive board member of the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation at the University of Mississippi, and also served as their Project Coordinator for four years. Additionally, she served as the board attorney throughout the incorporation of John T. Scott Middle School in New Orleans. While in law school, Annette served as a member of the National Advisory Board of the Student Hurricane Network, helping place law student volunteers with legal aid organizations in communities impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In the entrepreneurial realm she is a manager and legal advisor to Foxfire Ranch LLC, a small family owned recreational farm that provides an interracial and inter-generational space for families to celebrate the rich heritage of the North Mississippi Hill Country Blues tradition.  Annette attended Xavier University of New Orleans before completing a BA in Political Science and a JD from the University of Mississippi and is a member of the Mississippi Bar Association.

Jennifer Terry

Jennifer Terry decided to become a Transportation Planner after witnessing the effects of inadequate transportation access for marginalized people and experiencing the ramifications of limited transportation options personally while she was a college student. With a Bachelor’s degree in Architectural History from the University of Virginia and a Master’s degree in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Texas - Austin, Jennifer has a wide range of professional experience in fields as varied as financial services, higher education administration, professional services marketing, and land use and transportation planning. Her planning experience encompasses both the public and private sectors. She has worked on a wide variety of traffic, transit, pedestrian, and planning analyses for new development, re-development, and transportation infrastructure projects. While living and working in New York City, Jennifer volunteered with the Transportation Subcommittee for the American Planning Association’s New York Metro chapter and with multiple committees for the Women's Transportation Seminar - Greater New York Chapter where she also co-chaired two committees.

Youngstown, Ohio

Kathleen Fox

Since 1993 Kathleen Fox has served as the Executive Director of the Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission, which oversees state capital improvement funds for community cultural facility projects including non-profit theaters, museums, historical sites and publicly owned professional sports venues. Prior to her work with the Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission, Kathy was the founding executive director of the Capitol Square Foundation, a non-profit organization established to assist with the restoration of Ohio’s state capital building and grounds. In this role, she oversaw a multi-million dollar capital campaign, directed a statewide public awareness campaign and created educational programs. Kathy is a registered Landscape Architect, past national Vice President of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), and past Chair of the ASLA Council of Fellows. She is also a past chair of the Ohio Arts Council’s Design Arts Panel and Art in Public Places Panel, the Ohio Historic Sites Preservation Advisory Board, and the past president of the Columbus Metropolitan Club. Kathy serves on the boards of Campus Partners for Community Urban Redevelopment, The Ohio State University College of Engineering External Advisory Board, and the Jefferson Center for Learning and the Arts.