About us

MISSION: 

West Humboldt Park Development Council’s Mission is to work collaboratively to develop, implement and sustain processes that improve the quality of life for people, families and businesses in the West Humboldt Park community.

VISION:

To promote and improve the quality of life for the people and businesses in our community, WHPDC will take a leadership role to: 

• Promote safety and advocate for residents , families, and neighborhood support programs
• Advocate for community growth and sustainability
• Encourage business attraction, development, retention and growth

BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

• James Simmons, WHPDC Board President, Proprietor, Protron Construction
• Doris Brown, WHPDC Board Treasurer, Special Projects Manager, Chicago Commons
• Katherine Anderson, Board Member, Proprietor, K.G. Realty
• Franklin Williams, Board Member, Proprietor, Head-Lines Barber Shop
• Betty Haynes, Board Member, Community Resident
• Zeola Horton, Board Member, Community Resident
• Barbara Scott, Board Member, Community Resident
• Dan Valliere, Board Member, Executive Director, Chicago Commons

STAFF

Mr. Jackson has worked with faith based institutions assisting them in neighborhood analysis, organizational/ board development and affordable housing development activities.Mr. Jackson is a dedicated community development professional with a passion for serving the needs of low and moderate income communities. He has over twenty five years experience in community development with expertise in affordable housing development, organizational development, strategic and business planning. To date, Mr. Jackson has financed and developed affordable housing projects to include single/multi-family units for income eligible residents. He has experience in financing development projects utilizing public sources and private sources. In addition, he has utilized creative financing tools to achieve development goals inclusive of land trust models. Mr. Jackson has experience in traditional building practices as well as working knowledge of green building practices as established/ developed by the US Green Building Council with respect for LEED practices and certification. He has served as project manager on development projects ranging in size from single family affordable housing to mixed use projects inclusive of commercial/retail opportunities. He has served on a variety of community boards ranging from Junior Achievement to the Food Pantry.

Mr. Jackson is also a licensed Real Estate Appraiser having appraised single and multi-family housing as well as commercial real estate.

Mr. Jackson has numerous certificates in Real Estate Development and Finance, Organizational Capacity Building, Commercial Development, Construction Methodology, Project Management and Appraisal Holds an Executive Master’s in Business Administration with a concentration in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from Henry W. Block School of Public Administration and Business at the University of Missouri – Kansas City.

Tom Otto joined WHPDC in 2009 as Economic Development Planner.  Tom lived in Madison, Wisconsin until 2007 where he gained substantial experience in affordable housing and community development.  He has spent over 7 years working for a neighborhood non-profit developing and managing business incubation facilities and services as well as providing affordable housing services.
 

Lily Sierra is the office manager and has been with the Development Council since 2001.  She also lived in West Humboldt Park for over five years.  She’s excited about the positive changes she is seeing in the neighborhood including the new Kelly Hall YMCA, the planned new West Humboldt Park Library, and the Chicago Avenue repaving and streetscape scheduled for 2010-11.

Isaiah Ross was welcomed as Community Development Planner at WHPDC in May 2012. A native of the Englewood Community, he has an outstanding passion for serving the needs of low-income, underserved, marginalized communities. He has witnessed the disparities within lower-income communities, which motivates him to incorporate his skills and service to such areas. His enduring passion to help others has inspired him to serve as not only a planner but also a role model in the community development field both in the United States and abroad. He looks forward to working more with West Humboldt Park Community members, stakeholders and Community Based Organizations.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Partnered with Matanky Realty to redevelop the Chicago-Kedzie Plaza into a vibrant shopping center with 22 stores providing over 70 jobs for neighborhood residents.
• Participant in Humboldt Park Quality-of-Life planning process which culminated in the Humboldt Park: Staking Our Claim Quality-of-Life Plan 2008.  The Plan outlines a vision and lists of strategies and projects that various community stakeholders will undertake to more Humboldt Park forward.  
• Created the First Community Land Trust of Chicago which builds affordable housing for first-time homebuyers at or below 60% of area median income.
• Organized TIF advisory panel and annual TIF Town Hall community meetings.
• Collaborated with LISC to execute MetroEdge retail audit which reported excellent opportunities for new retail investment
• Organized West Humboldt Park Business Association, which, in partnership with Chicago Community Ventures, provides technical assistance and mentoring to neighborhood businesses.
• Partnered with Chicago Commons to create BEEP.  BEEP provides job referral & placement services, job readiness workshops, training and scholarship opportunities, re-entry services for offenders, and entrepreneurial workshops.Organized and assembled over 3 dozen neighborhood block clubs
• Delegate agency for the City of Chicago providing promotion of, information on, and access to City services and programs.

STRATEGIC PARTNERS

Alderman Walter Burnett, Jr. - www.aldermanburnett.com
Alderman Walter Burnett, Jr is committed to providing quality public service to the residents and and business owners of the 27th Ward.

Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation - www.bickerdike.org
Bickerdike is a community development corporation working to enrich and protect the communities of West Town, Humboldt Park, Logan Square and Hermosa through affordable housing development and preservation, economic empowerment, and leadership development and organizing. They are also the lead agency of the Humboldt Park New Communities Program, which fosters collaborations throughout Greater Humboldt Park and provides a platform for nonprofit agencies and grassroots groups to form community-development and social-service
coalitions.

Ceasefire – www.ceasefirechicago.org
Ceasefire works with community-based organizations and focuses on street-level outreach, conflict mediation, and the changing of community norms to reduce violence, particularly shootings.

Chicago Commons - www.chicagocommons.org
Chicago Commons works with communities to create programs that develop self-sufficiency and enhance quality of life, strengthening individuals at key stages of their lives, from
early childhood through older adulthood. We operate in neighborhoods where children and families are most at risk for poverty, violence and educational disadvantage.

First Community Land Trust (FCLTC) – www.whpdevelopmentcouncil.net/Land-Trust.html
The FCLTC utilizes the land trust model to provide new affordable single-family homes to first time homebuyers that are permanently affordable.  Subsidies for qualified buyers make these homes very affordable.

Graffiti Zone - www.graffitizone.org
Graffiti Zone (GZ) is a non-profit community arts studio located in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood.  Its purpose is to create an environment in which kids can connect with themselves and their community through art making and arts promotion.  Art is used as a tool to develop business skills, leadership skills, increase self-esteem, strengthen community involvement and encourage advanced education.

Kelly Hall YMCA – www.metrochicagoy.org/locations/KellyHallYMCA.php
The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago is celebrating the newly rebuilt Kelly Hall located at Chicago and Hamlin.  Opened in January 2009, this safe haven provides key services to the
severely under-served community of West Humboldt Park.

Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) - www.lisc-chicago.org
LISC/Chicago organizes capital and other resources to support initiatives that stimulate the comprehensive development of healthy, stable neighborhoods and foster their connection to the socioeconomic mainstream. A primary initiative of LISC is the New Communities Program, a 10-year effort to rejuvenate 16 challenged communities.  For more information on this program see www.newcommunities.org/communities/humboldt.

Mandel Legal Aid Clinic - www.law.uchicago.edu/clinics/mandel
The mission of the Clinic is to teach students effective advocacy skills, professional ethics, and the effect of legal institutions on the poor; to examine and apply legal theory while serving as advocates for people typically denied access to justice; and to reform legal education and the legal system to be more responsive to the interests of the poor.

Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) - www.nhschicago.org
A nonprofit organization established in 1975, NHS is committed to offering Chicago residents affordable resources so they can buy, maintain, and sustain their homes.

Prim Lawrence Group
A consulting firm with over 23 years of experience in community development, Prim Lawrence is committed to the economic empowerment of economically disadvantaged people and
building the capacity of organizations to respond to the needs of their consituency through comprehensive economic development strategies.

Spanish Coalition For Housing - www.sc4housing.org
The mission of Spanish Coalition for Housing is to provide comprehensive counseling, education and housing resources for families to develop competence and responsibility meeting their financial and housing needs.


SUPPORTERS

Advocate Bethany Hospital - www.advocatehealth.com
The philanthropic arm of Advocate Health Care, Advocate Charitable Foundation,focuses on attracting national, regional and local support for patient care, education, research and community-based health services across Advocate's more than 200 sites of care.

Alliance of Local Service Organizations (ALSO) - www.also-chicago.org
ALSO works both locally and nationally to end violence. By expanding its reach, ALSO informs its national work from a local perspective and brings knowledge and best practices from around the country to our neighborhoods in Chicago.

Bank of America - www.bankofamerica.com
A long time supporter of WHPDC’ s and FCLTC’s economic development and affordable housing programs.

Chicago Community Trust - www.cct.org
As nonprofit organizations, local governments and businesses strive to tackle issues of concern, the Trust provides civic leadership bringing all stakeholders to the common table. Working together, the Trust, its donors and its community partners leverage collective knowledge, creativity and resources for a greater impact than any of us can make alone.

Childrens Memorial Hospital - www.childrensmemorial.org
We are the region's top provider of pediatric specialty care, dedicated to the health and well-being of all children and inspired by the courage of children and families.

City of Chicago - Department of Community Development - www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dcd.html
The Department of Community Development promotes and preserves a vibrant economy by encouraging job creation, business development and affordable housing to create and sustain
strong, healthy neighborhoods. It is responsible for most of the city's business assistance programs, including Tax Increment Financing (TIF), as well as its housing and workforce development initiatives.
 
Field Foundation - www.fieldfoundation.org
The Field Foundation seeks to provide support for community, civic, and cultural organizations in the Chicago area, enabling both new and established programs to test innovations, to expand proven strengths or to address specific, time-limited operational needs.

Investing In Communities - http://iiconline.org/
IIC will enable brokered real estate transactions to generate resources for nonprofits anywhere, by enhancing the business prospects of Real Estate Members who, as a condition of Membership, pledge at least 10% of IIC-related commissions to the IIC nonprofit Partner(s) their client selects.

Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) - www.lisc-chicago.org
LISC/Chicago organizes capital and other resources to support initiatives that stimulate the comprehensive development of healthy, stable neighborhoods and foster their connection to the socioeconomic mainstream. A primary initiative of LISC is the New Communities Program, a 10-year effort to rejuvenate 16 challenged communities.  For more information on this program see www.newcommunities.org/commSunities/humboldt.

Polk Bros Foundation - www.polkbrosfdn.org
The Polk Bros. Foundation seeks to improve the quality of life for the people of Chicago. We partner with local nonprofit organizations that work to reduce the impact of poverty and provide area residents with better access to quality education, preventive health care and basic human services.

Sinai Urban Health Institue - www.suhichicago.org
A major component of the Institute’s work involves examining the impact of social issues, such as poverty, on health. SUHI is a diverse group of epidemiologists, research assistants, and health educators involved in social epidemiology, program evaluation, teaching and consulting. Founded in 2000 as part of the Sinai Health System, SUHI’s mission is grounded in the belief that in order to serve our neighbors well, we need to understand not just the “patients” who enter our doors but the entire community as well.

UIC - Voorhees Center - www.uic.edu/cuppa/voorheesctr
The Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood and Community Improvement (VC) is a unit of the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Since its founding in 1978, the Center has been guided by the mission to improve the quality of life for all residents of the City of Chicago and the metropolitan area through research and technical assistance to organizations and local government agencies in their efforts to revitalize the many and varied neighborhoods and communities.