Sheldon Johnson
Partners Achieving Community Transformation
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SOLD OUT! ULI Columbus What Good is Growth If It’s Not for All?: Planning Columbus Today and Tomorrow
Pricing
| Pricing | Members | Non-Members |
|---|---|---|
| Private | $100.00 | $150.00 |
| Public/Academic/Nonprofit | $75.00 | $100.00 |
| Retired | $75.00 | N/A |
| Student | $50.00 | $70.00 |
| Under Age 35 | $75.00 | $100.00 |
In partnership with ULI Columbus, Columbus City Council, MORPC, and the third annual “Housing For All” Conference, please join us on September 12th at the Ohio Union for What Good Is Growth If Not For All? Planning Columbus Today and Tomorrow.
The City of Columbus is experiencing an exciting period of growth, presenting our region with a powerful opportunity to shape a future that promotes access, community, and belonging. As our city expands, we have the chance to ensure that this progress uplifts everyone, from new and existing residents to seniors seeking stability, first-time buyers looking for a foothold in the market, and renters striving for affordability. The question before us isn’t whether growth will come, but how we will guide it. Will we let it overwhelm our communities, or will we provide shared prosperity for all, strengthening neighborhoods and honoring the people who call them home?
We know the path forward: expanding our housing supply to welcome new neighbors in the coming decades; embracing sustainable and dense transit-oriented development; and committing to policies that protect residents from displacement, prioritize our most vulnerable, and ensure that growth enhances everyone’s quality of life. We recognize that this is a shared responsibility, not just for government or private developers alone, but for all of us, working together through zoning and permitting reform, creative financing, innovative building practices, and more.
This summit gathers community and business leaders, developers, designers, human services professionals, and advocates alike to explore big ideas to address these imperatives, with case studies from Columbus and peer cities across the U.S.
Participants will leave with an understanding of how to advance growth, practical strategies for increasing housing access, and tools to support collaborative, cross-sector solutions. Through interactive discussions and expert-led sessions, attendees will build the knowledge and networks needed to shape a Columbus that works for everyone.
AIA and AICP credits will be available.
9:00 – 9:30 AM | Registration and Breakfast
9:30 – 10:45 AM | Plenary Call to Action (Archie M. Griffin Ballroom)
This plenary session will explore how the public and private sectors can work together to balance the region’s most pressing imperatives of housing affordability and mobility, access to jobs, and economic development. This conversation will serve as a call to action: a challenge to align leadership, investment, and policy across sectors to ensure that growth enhances opportunity across the region and about how we plan, partner, and build for a future that works for all.
Speakers: Council President Shannon Hardin, Jason Hall, President and CEO of Columbus Partnership, State Senator Michele Reynolds
10:45 – 11:00 AM | Break
11:00 – 12:15 AM | Concurrent Sessions
Session 1.1 How Mobility and Infrastructure Catalyze Regional Growth (Great Hall Meeting Room 3)
Central Ohio is making big investments in mobility and infrastructure from the LinkUS corridor initiative and Bike Plus, to rail corridor planning and utilities upgrades. But how can these projects serve as more than just physical improvements? This session will provide a timely update on the region’s major infrastructure initiatives and explore how these investments can be powerful levers for catalytic growth. Kristopher Takács, global head of stations and transit-oriented development for Building + Places with AECOM, will offer insight into the opportunities these systems present to shape development patterns, connect communities, and improve quality of life while also examining the challenges of implementation, funding, and community alignment.
Speakers: Council Member Lourdes Barroso de Padilla, Kristopher Takács, Global Head of Stations and TOD AECOM, and Sandy Doyle-Ahern, President of EMH&T
Session 1.2 Programs and Policies to Encourage Housing Stability (Cartoon Room)
As the region experiences rapid growth, housing instability and displacement have become pressing challenges. This session will explore how targeted programs, forward-thinking policies, and cross-sector partnerships are being used to promote long-term housing stability. Learn how innovative strategies can help communities respond to change while ensuring all residents have the opportunity to thrive.
Moderator: Carlie Boos, Executive Director Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio
Speakers: Council Member Nick Bankston, Beth Silverman Executive Director Lotus Campaign, Curtiss Williams President and CEO at COCIC, Bob Bitzenhofer Vice President For Planning and Development CMHA
12:15 – 12:45 PM | Lunch Buffet (Archie M. Griffin Ballroom)
12:45 - 2:00 PM | Plenary Lunch Session: The Next Frontier: Evolving Public-Private Partnerships for Housing Development (Archie M. Griffin Ballroom)
Public-private partnerships are a powerful tool for unlocking new opportunities in housing and economic development. This session will explore how to leverage public assets, innovative financing strategies, and collaborative solutions to drive growth. Learn how communities are utilizing public land to catalyze development, advancing mixed-income housing through creative funding approaches, and expanding pathways to minority homeownership to build a more equitable future.
Moderator: Leah Evans, President and CEO at Homeport
Speakers: Ben McAdams CFO Common Ground Institute, Paul Williams Executive Director of the Center for Public Enterprise, Erin Prosser, Deputy Director of Housing Strategies for the City of Columbus, Sheldon Johnson Executive Director at PACT
2:00 – 2:15 PM | Break
2:15 – 3:30 PM | Concurrent Sessions
Session 2.1 Collaborative Solution to End Homelessness (Great Hall Meeting Room 3)
Homelessness is a solvable issue but only through coordinated and strategic action. This session will explore how public, private, and nonprofit partners can come together to address the root causes of homelessness and implement sustainable solutions. As the housing crisis continues to escalate, now is the time to align resources, policy, and community to drive systemic change.
Speakers: Liz Brown, President and CEO at YWCA, Shannon Isom, President and CEO at Community Shelter Board, Brad DeHays, Founder and President of Connect Realty, and Midori Higa, MPH Director of Homelessness for the City and County of Denver
Session 2.2 Building Better: Innovative Tools for Development (Cartoon Room)
As communities confront the challenges of housing affordability, a new wave of development tools and approaches are paving the way for smarter, more sustainable growth. This session will feature leaders behind these innovations, offering real-world insights on implementation, community engagement, and replicability.
Moderator: MJ Gravel Ohio Housing Innovation Partnership
Speakers: Columbus City Council President Pro Tem Rob Dorans, Tom Vetter Principal and Co-founder at RiverWest Partners, Jim Bowman Ohio Housing Innovation Partnership, and Brian Gaudio CEO and Co-founder at Module
3:30 - 4:30 pm | Closing Reception
Is your organization interested in sponsoring this event? Click here for more information or contact Ashley Solether, ULI Columbus Executive Director [email protected].
Summit Sponsor:
Contributing Sponsors:
Summit Supporter:
Ohio Union 1739 N High St Columbus, OH 43210-1307 UNITED STATES
Speakers
Carlie Boos
Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio
Carlie J. Boos, Esq. is the Executive Director of the Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio. In her role, she provides leadership and strategic direction to members, stakeholders, and the local community to expand affordable housing resources
Shannon Isom
The Community Shelter Board
Shannon TL Isom, named President and CEO of Community Shelter Board in 2023, has a twenty-year track record leading strategic teams and is deeply connected to continuums of care for communities of color, especially focused on social determinants, intersectionality, gender, and race. She has expertise in science, public health, non-profit management, medicine, and business. During her nine-year tenure as President and CEO of YWCA Dayton, Shannon increased the operational budget by 196%. She secured the first $1M biennial appropriation for the Ohio Council of YWCA.
Shannon holds a master's degree in health administration from Northeastern University and a bachelor’s degree in pre-medicine/biology from Spelman College. She was a MD candidate at Wright State University School of Medicine and also studied medicine at the Ohio State University.
Shannon serves as a board member for the Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio and YWCA USA. She is a member of the Economic Mobility Coalition; Equity Now Coalition, a collective action initiative focused on social justice in Central Ohio; Regional Housing Coalition, a group of municipalities, non-profits, and private sector partners working to address the key housing challenges facing our region; and the Workforce Advisory Committee. She served as an advisory member for First Financial Bank Advisory Board, and as a board member for Dayton Downtown Partnership, Co-Op Dayton, Community Appeals Board for the City of Dayton, and Miami Valley Regional Planning Committee. She served on the executive advisory committee for the Human Rights Center at the University of Dayton and as co-chair of the Racism is a Public Health Crisis task force. Shannon served as a TEDx coach for TEDx Dayton.
Shannon received a Humanitarian Award from the National Conference for Community and Justice of Greater Dayton in 2022. She received a National Philanthropy Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals in 2021.
With a budget of $55 million, Shannon facilitates and leads work with our community to make sure everyone in Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio has a place to call home. She brings together diverse organizations to work together as an efficient system, rather than as a fragmented set of resources
Jason Hall
Columbus Partnership
Jason Hall serves as the fourth President and CEO of the Columbus Partnership, a civic organization of Columbus’ top business leaders. Founded in 2002, the Partnership is dedicated to building an increasingly strong, resilient, and inclusive regional economy. Jason is leading efforts to foster growth and development, promote equity and inclusivity, and advance business and civic innovation—all with the ultimate goal of making the Columbus Region one of the most prosperous metropolitan areas in the United States.
Jason brings decades of experience in both public and private sectors, having successfully launched transformational initiatives in urban economic development, innovation, and public-private partnerships. Prior to joining the Columbus Partnership, he served as CEO of Greater St. Louis, Inc., where he united the region’s businesses and civic leaders under a bold vision for growth, collaboration, and revitalization. Jason also co-founded Arch to Park, leading the development of a $200 million patient capital real estate fund to catalyze the revitalization of St. Louis’ urban core.
The first in his family to earn a college degree and the first and only openly LGBT individual appointed to a cabinet-level position in Missouri, Jason served in the administration of Missouri Governor Jay Nixon. As Director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development and Executive Director of the Missouri Technology Corporation, Jason launched the state’s venture capital fund for early-stage companies and championed innovative strategies to support entrepreneurs and job creation.
Jason’s accomplishments have been widely recognized. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Bates College and earned his law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Vanderbilt Law Review. He began his legal career at Bryan Cave LLP (now BCLP), specializing in antitrust and competition law, and served as a law clerk to the Honorable Gerald Bard Tjoflat of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
A thought leader in economic development, Jason has received numerous accolades, including the World Trade Center St. Louis Global Ambassador Award and St. Louis Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” recognition. He was also named a “Business of Pride” honoree for his community leadership.
Jason and his partner, Justin Kern, a medical researcher, reside in New Albany.
Lourdes Barroso de Padilla
City of Columbus - City Council
In November of 2021, Lourdes Barroso de Padilla made history by becoming the first Latina to be elected as a member of the Columbus City Council. She is a bilingual, first-generation Cuban-American who was born and raised on the eastside of Columbus.
In her role on Council, Lourdes works to bring equity and pride to all residents. In 2022, Barroso de Padilla founded Columbus’ first ever Latino Heritage Month Parade and Festival. She also created the Latino Heritage Month committee that plans and holds events to celebrate Latino cultures. In 2023, she spear-headed legislation to level the playing field for pay equity and prevent employers from asking applicants about their salary history.
This year, Councilmember Barroso de Padilla will chair the Public Service & Transportation committee and will vice-chair the Economic Development & Small Business committee. Outside of her work at Council, Barroso de Padilla has an extensive background in youth development and leadership. Barroso de Padilla has spent three decades working to improve the lives of kids through education with her work at City Year.
Barroso de Padilla currently serves on the Board for Ella, formerly the Latina Mentoring Academy, a unique professional development and mentoring program for Latinas in Central Ohio that now has hundreds of graduates.
Currently in addition to Council, she serves as Vice Chair of MORPC’s Regional Policy Roundtable, is a member of the New Leader’s Council Advisory Board, and is a Greater Columbus Arts Council board member. She resides with her husband, Ernesto, and daughters, Eva and Valentina in Eastmoor.
Michele Reynolds
Ohio Senate
Senator Michele Reynolds was elected to the Ohio Senate in 2023 and currently serves in the Ohio General Assembly, representing the people of Franklin County in Ohio Senate District 3.
As a lifelong resident of Ohio, Senator Reynolds grew up inJefferson County. She is the daughter and wife of military veterans, a Pastor’s wife to Pastor Rick Reynolds and First Lady of Common Ground Destiny Center, the proud mother of James andNoah, and grandmother of Amani. Senator Reynolds has an extensive background in public service, including serving as the Director for Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, elected Madison Township Trustee, Deputy Clerk for the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners, and former staffer in the Akron Mayor’s Office of Economic Development. In addition to her public service, Senator Reynolds is a third-generation business owner and non-profit CEO. Senator Reynoldsis a subject matter expert in housing and has operated a successful non profit housing organization for justice involved individuals impacted by the Criminal Justice System since 2006. She is a licensed Real Estate Salesperson in the State of Ohio, and specializes in both Residential and Commercial Real Estate.
Liz Brown
YWCA
Elizabeth became president and CEO of YWCA Columbus in January 2023. Previously, she served on Columbus City Council for over seven years and has prior experience in economic development, nonprofit service, and state government.
Erin Prosser
Director of Community Development, City of Columbus - Development
Robert Bitzenhofer
Vice President of Planning & Development, Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority
Sandy Doyle-Ahern
President, EMH&T
Sandy is President of EMH&T, Ohio’s largest engineering consulting firm, a firm that consistently tops the Business First List of Engineering Firms. As President, Sandy guides the activities of nearly 350 professionals and technical personnel, including civil engineers, surveyors, construction managers, environmental scientists, and land planners. Sandy joined the firm in 1997, founding EMH&T’s Environmental Division, ensuring environmental compliance for land development and municipal projects in the fast growing market. Her leadership across the firm’s multiple disciplines eventually led her to assuming the helm in 2012. Today, Sandy is responsible for overall management and focuses on client relationships, business development, quality control and employee engagement. Sandy has steadfastly guided the firm through the economic climate of the past several years, ensuring a strong company foundation. Project Principal Sandy has been responsible for overseeing EMH&T’s role as lead consultant and subconsultant in some of the largest scale projects in Ohio, including major transportation, water, wastewater, and stormwater improvement projects in the region. She is an active project principal, maintaining client relationships and ensuring the progress of each project and the availability of highly skilled human resources as well as state-of-the-art technologies. She is frequently a key presenter in public involvement activities and public presentations. Project Management As a project manager, Sandy brings skills that have made her known in the industry for organization, efficiency, communication, and follow-through. Her approach to leading a team is built upon clear direction and task identification, responsibility assignment, and outcome expectation. Sandy is adept at facilitating the professional interaction of team players from multiple firms to elicit timely, accurate and coordinated results, which has translated into success on major projects in the r
Kristopher Takacs
Global Head of Stations and Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), AECOM
As AECOM’s Global Head of Stations and Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), Kristopher Takács, AIA, spearheads the development, implementation and delivery of transit facilities, mixed-use buildings, and places at the intersection of transportation infrastructure and sustainable city building. With 30 years of industry experience as an architect and urbanist, Kristopher leads collaboration between public and private partners committed to design excellence and transit-oriented urbanism that enhance the human experience and accelerate equitable community development.
Nick Bankston
Project Manager, Neighborhood Transformation Strategies, City of Columbus
Nick Bankston is a dedicated public servant and thoughtful leader on issues facing Columbus neighborhoods and economic growth. A proud graduate of East High School and The Ohio State University, Bankston is a lifelong Columbus resident who is determined to make an impact in his community.
As chair of the Small and Minority Business committee, Bankston has created an abundance of ways for business owners to not only network but take their business to the next level. In 2022, Councilmember Bankston spearheaded the Small Business Recovery Fund, resulting in $8,410,000 in grants awarded to 1,295 small businesses fighting to survive the pandemic. In 2023, in collaboration with the Department of Development, Bankston launched the Ground Floor Growth Initiative, aimed at assisting, and sustaining small, minority-owned businesses who are ready for brick-and-mortar. The initial group of businesses has successfully opened, helping to revitalize downtown, with ongoing efforts to partner with additional businesses in future phases. Also in 2023, Bankston worked with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the City Clerk’s Office to develop a new process to identify legislation containing city contracts with minority vendor participation. Additionally, in 2024, Bankston supported 39 small, minority-owned businesses by awarding over $131,825.00 in grants, helping them achieve their entrepreneurial goals.
Bankston also played a key role in establishing the collaboration between the Columbus Chamber of Commerce and the Columbus Urban League by issuing significant financial support of the Urban Business Connection Program, a program that provides Black businesses with free Columbus Chamber of Commerce. In addition, Bankston has also been able to champion a partnership with Experience Columbus, providing small business owners with free, year-long, support through many programs and apprenticeships.
Annually, he hosts blood drives with the American Red Cross and a City Hall Illumination Ceremony to bring awareness to Sickle Cell Disease. In 2024, Bankston surpassed the blood collection goal of 150 units, with each donation playing a vital role in supporting Sickle Cell patients in need.
Bankston chairs both the Finance and Economic Development & Small Business committees. Bankston and his wife, Habiba reside in the McCutcheon Crossing neighborhood in Northeast Columbus with their son, Xavier and are expecting another son this March.
Shannon Hardin
Council Member, City of Columbus - City Council
Born and raised on the south side of Columbus, Council President Shannon Hardin is committed to building an equitable future that works for every resident in our city. After being appointed to Council to fill a vacancy in 2014, he won election in 2015, and re-election in 2017, 2021 and 2023. As Council President, Hardin is focused on preparing the Columbus region for the growth of nearly one million new neighbors over the next 25 years with targeted strategies across housing, transit, workforce, safety, and other issues.
Over his time on Council, Hardin has championed many initiatives. He is helping lead the LinkUs plan to transform public transit in Columbus, which would build out 5 bus rapid-transit routes and invest in 500+ miles of greenways, sidewalks, and protected bike lanes. He also championed the Columbus Promise, which allows Columbus City Schools graduates to attend Columbus State Community College for free, in partnership with I Know I Can.
Hardin also helped craft the “Reimagine Safety” legislative package that established independent Inspector General-driven investigations into police uses of force, reformed other police practices, and made critical investments into the root causes of crime, like an expansion of funding for summer youth programming. He has also overseen investments in alternative safety response, which would provide clinical and non-uniformed responders to mental health, substance abuse, homelessness-related, and other crises that do not require or benefit from a police response; a doubling of funding to Columbus arts organizations; the decriminalization of marijuana; and various initiatives to support small and minority-owned businesses.
President Hardin chairs the Rules & Policy and Housing, Homelessness and Building Committees and vice-chair both the Zoning and Workforce, Education, & Labor Committees. In addition to Council, Hardin currently serves on the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission and the National League of Cities Board of Directors. He is also a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and attends the Mount Olivet Baptist Church. Council President Hardin lives on the Far East Side with his son, Noah.
Curtiss Williams
President/CEO, Central Ohio Community Improvement Corporation
Beth Silverman
Executive Director, The Lotus Campaign Inc.
Beth Silverman is a senior practitioner and thought leader at the intersections of social impact, urban planning, real estate development and public policy. Beth’s 15-year career includes leadership roles in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors focused on building livable, equitable and resilient communities. Since 2018, Beth has served as the founding Executive Director of the Lotus Campaign, an innovative nonprofit real estate development start-up that tackles homelessness by engaging in private sector partnerships and leveraging capital as a tool for good. Under Beth’s leadership, the Lotus Campaign developed 20 partnerships with nonprofits, landlords and funders to facilitate housing for over 355 individuals at an annual cost of less than $800 per person per year and received an honorable mention in Fast Company’s 2020 World Changing Ideas competition. Beth also participated in the 2020 class of SEED20 nonprofit entrepreneurs. Prior to leading the Lotus Campaign, Beth tackled complex land use and real estate development challenges in communities across the U.S. and internationally. From 2014 to 2018, Beth served as Vice President of Advisory Services at the Urban Land Institute, designing technical assistance programs that addressed a range of challenges from equitable urban redevelopment to planning for resilience. She co-created the Equitable Economic Development Fellowship program with the National League of Cities and Policy Link to help equity, transparency, sustainability and community engagement become driving forces in local economic development efforts and to strengthen public sector leadership. From 2005 to 2013, Beth oversaw and managed large-scale real estate, policy, and economic development initiatives throughout the New York City region. While at the NYC Economic Development Corporation, Beth managed a $110 million portfolio of 10 projects that created over 300 units of affordable housing, five new cultural assets, and 16,000 square feet of