City Sessions: The University as Community

Hear about collaborations and lessons learned from groundbreaking projects and partnerships that will inspire the possibilities between Philadelphia universities and communities. Share your vision for stronger town-gown relationships.

Pre-reception is from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Program starts at 6:00 p.m. and ends at 7:30 p.m.

Moderator:

Omar Blaik, Founder and Co-CEO of U3 Advisors

Omar Blaik is Co-CEO of U3 Advisors. Omar founded U3 Ventures LLC, a predecessor of today’s firm, in 2006 with the belief that anchor institutions hold the key to sustainable community and economic development in many cities across the country. Omar leads the advisory and development efforts of U3 Advisors, working with university leaders, city and state governments, non-profit foundations, and real estate developers to provide expertise on institutional anchor strategy, campus edge planning, local economic development, and place-based real estate strategy.

Panel: 

Andrew Frishkoff, Executive Director of Philadelphia LISC

Andrew Frishkoff became Executive Director of Philadelphia LISC in February of 2011. Philadelphia LISC is a local program of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, a national non-profit development organization dedicated to transforming distressed neighborhoods into healthy, sustainable communities of choice and opportunity. Prior to joining LISC, Andrew served for seven years as the Director of Neighborhood Economic Development for the City of Philadelphia’s Commerce Department, Neighborhood Transformation Initiative and Empowerment Zone.

Lee Huang, MGA, Senior Vice President and Principal of Econsult Solutions, Inc.

With an undergraduate degree from the Wharton School and a master’s degree from the Fels School of Government of the University of Pennsylvania, Lee provides an excellent perspective for public, private, and non-profit clients. Lee has led projects examining commercial corridors, affordable housing, neighborhood change, transportation financing, MWBE procurement, real estate development, economic development, tax policy, economic and fiscal impact, transit-oriented development, financial modeling, tax increment financing, waterfront development, discrimination in lending practices, higher education, workforce development, technology, historic preservation, and recreational amenities. In his recent work, he led an analysis of the relationship between Philadelphia and its higher educational institutions regarding their economic impact and whether a PILOTs (payment in lieu of taxes) system would be appropriate for the City, examined the significant positives impacts that historic preservation efforts have in Pennsylvania, and studied what City government can do to create and retain private sector jobs for City residents in Philadelphia’s Jobs Commission Report.

Myla Skinner, Director of Strategy, University of Chicago, Office of Civic Engagement

Myla is responsible for oversight of the civic engagement strategic framework. In this role, she also serves as an internal adviser to other members of the Office of Civic Engagement team in refining and implementing key initiatives, and ensuring that processes are in place to measure the impact of civic engagement efforts through both quantitative and qualitative metrics. Myla has also developed wealth-building and economic development initiatives that seek improve the quality of life for individuals in and around the University’s campus.

Susan T. Mosey, Executive Director of Midtown Detroit, Inc.

Susan T. Mosey has been the Executive Director of Midtown Detroit, Inc. (MDI) in Detroit, Michigan for twenty seven years. This non-profit organization is responsible for community development, marketing, real estate, small business development and arts programming within Detroit’s University Cultural Center and New Center districts – an area now known as Midtown. MDI also manages public space maintenance and security initiatives for the district. Projects that have been undertaken by the organization under her direction include public improvements such as new streetscapes and park development, greenway planning and construction, and residential and commercial real estate development and management. MDI’s newest initiative is the Live Midtown Residential Incentive Program that encourages employees of the anchors to move to Midtown. The organization also produces a number of signature arts events, including Art X Detroit, DLECTRICITY and Noel Night.

Brought to you by Next City, in partnership with 900AM-WURD and AL DÍA News with the support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.