Exploring New Models for Affordable Housing
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
September 12, 2011
Heather Hood
Heather Hood manages the work of the two community foundation partners with the Great Communities Collaborative (GCC) — The San Francisco Foundation and Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Heather’s role in the Great Communities Collaborative, an initiative focusing on equitable smart growth in the Bay Area with 25 nonprofit and government partners, is to serve as a liaison between the two community foundations, nonprofit organizations, and the other partners involved in the co-development of the Bay Area Transit Oriented Fund for Affordable Housing. She also works closely with regional and select city agencies, elected officials, developers and other key stakeholders focused on the region’s growth challenges and opportunities. For a decade previous to working in philanthropy, she was a Lecturer at UC-Berkeley’s Department of City and Regional Planning, and the Co-founder and Director of its Center for Community Innovation. At the Center, she oversaw staff members and graduate students engaged in action research and co-authored reports about urban revitalization, housing and community development, including "The Future of Infill Housing in California: Opportunities, Potential, Feasibility and Demand." Before moving to California, she worked for construction and urban design firms, and worked with Habitat for Humanity in Philadelphia. She has served on the Boards of the American Institute of Architects, the Center for Urban Family Life, and the California Architecture Foundation and now currently serves on Greenbelt Alliance’s Policy Committee, advises the Metropolitan Transportation Commission on select studies, and serves on the Steering Committee for Smart Growth California. Heather holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Carnegie Mellon University, a Master of Architecture and a Master of City Planning from UC Berkeley.
