Presenter Biographies

Archie L. Amos Jr. is Vice President for Women and Minority Business Enterprises and Small Business Development for the Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corporation (BERC). The BERC is responsible for the City of Buffalo's business development and financing functions and takes the lead in major job-creating, real estate development projects. Prior to joining the BERC, Mr. Amos was the Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs for Penn. Advertising Inc. From 1986-1993, he was a Common Council Representative for the City of Buffalo. Mr. Amos holds a BA in Urban Planning and an MA in Policy Studies and Administration from the University at Buffalo.

P. Jefferson Armistead is Senior Vice President of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), where his main responsibility currently is the expansion of LISC's activities in community economic development and social community development. Mr. Armistead has been with LISC for eleven years. He had major responsibilities for the development of The Retail Initiative, Inc. (TRI), a LISC subsidiary which invests in inner city retail centers, anchored by supermarkets; and for the development of LISC's Neighborhood Main Street Initiative. He currently serves on TRI's Board of Directors. From 1998 to 1999 he was interim President of TRI. Mr. Armistead played a major role in restructuring the National Equity Fund (NEF) in 2000. He oversees LISC's Community Investment Collaborative for Kids (CICK), which is working to increase the availability of quality child care facilities in lower-income neighborhoods; the Community Security Initiative, which builds police-community partnerships for safe neighborhoods; and the Youth Recreation Program, which is working to develop youth recreation fields and facilities in communities served by CDCs. He served as a Director and as President of the Local Initiatives Managed Assets Corporation (LIMAC) in 1994 and 1995. Joining LISC in 1989 as Vice President, Mr. Armistead supervised nine of LISC's program areas. Prior to joining LISC, Mr. Armistead served as Assistant Commissioner for Financial Services of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, where he supervised multifamily and small building rehabilitation loan programs. Before serving with New York City government he was Executive Director of the Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City, Inc., a partnership of neighborhood residents, business and government working towards neighborhood revitalization. Mr. Armistead holds a BA from Stanford University and received a Master of City and Regional Planning from Rutgers University. He taught for several years at St. Peter's College, where he was Director of the Public Policy Program.

Robert D. Bannister joined Fannie Mae in August 1998 as Director of the Western & Central New York Partnership Office (W&CNY PO). As Director, Mr. Bannister works to expand homeownership and revitalize neighborhoods in communities throughout a 23-county region in upstate New York. In October 1998, the W&CNY PO announced a $2 billion, five-year housing investment plan -a commitment that was fulfilled in just twenty months. For over two decades he was an advocate for homeownership and affordable housing in the Nation's Capitol. Prior to joining Fannie Mae, he was the president of Bannister & Company, Inc. a firm he established in 1996 that develops legislative and political strategies for clients that included some of the largest companies and associations in the country. Mr. Bannister served seventeen years as Senior Vice President of Governmental Affairs for the National Association of Home Builders, where he managed one of the most effective governmental relations operations in Washington. He was Secretary of BUILD PAC, one of the nation's top association political action committees. During the 103rd Congress, he was chosen by Senator Lott to serve on the "Senate Steering Committee" to provide advice and counsel to the Senate leadership. In the 104th Congress he was appointed to serve on a select advisory committee to the leadership of the House of Representatives. During his tenure in Washington, Mr. Bannister served as Deputy Director of Governmental Affairs at the National Association of Realtors, Special Assistant to the Administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency and Chairman of the Small Business Legislative Council. He originally moved to Washington to serve as National Elected Representative to the National Youth Advisory Board. Mr. Bannister received an MS from the State University of New York at Brockport and a BS degree from Cornell University.

Honorable Irene J. Elia is the mayor of Niagara Falls, New York. Prior to becoming an elected official, Mayor Elia was the executive director of the Health Association of Niagara County, Inc., a multifaceted community-based organization. She has extensive experience in a wide range of community issues, including health care, housing, and youth and senior services. Mayor Elia received a BS from Niagara University, an MS in Education from Canisius College, an MS in Hospital and Healthcare Administration from St. Louis University, and a Ph.D. in Administration from the University at Buffalo.

Angelo M. Fatta holds a BS from Canisius College and a Ph.D. in Coordination Chemistry from Wayne State University. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Penn State University. Dr. Fatta was founder (1973) and CEO of ACTS Testing Labs, Inc. a global Consumer Products testing and inspection company headquartered in Buffalo, with operations in Hong Kong, Singapore, France and other locations. In 1998 the company was sold to Bureau Veritas a Paris based quality services organization. Currently, Dr. Fatta is a consultant to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus initiative. He is also Entrepreneur in Residence at the Canisius College Center for Entrepreneurship. Dr. Fatta is a Trustee of Canisius College, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Cradle Beach Camp and a Director of the Western and Central New York American Automobile Association. He is a past Vice President of the Board of Trustees of Shea's Performing Arts Center and the Ronald McDonald House. Dr. Fatta is Vice President of the Fatta Foundation, a charitable foundation supporting the welfare and development of children in Western New York.

Shelly Herman is Senior Managing Director at Shorebank, a billion-dollar bank that invests globally to provide economic opportunity. She has 15 years of experience in under-served markets, from financing new businesses to identifying market opportunities and currently runs Shorebank's national consulting business focused on deploying community investment capital. Ms. Herman is also launching a market intelligence business within Shorebank to help companies make decisions about locating, marketing and operating in urban neighborhoods.

Claire E. Kaplan is Vice President, City Advisory Practice at the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC). Claire joined ICIC in July 1998 and was instrumental in the development of the City Advisory Practice (CAP). Through CAP, ICIC advises cities on inner-city business development and works with a broad constituency of leaders to develop tailored strategies for business growth. Most recently, Claire has been the project manager for the Connecticut Inner City Business Strategy Initiative, a CAP project that has mobilized over 250 private- and public-sector leaders in the revitalization of inner cities in Bridgeport, Hartford, New Britain, New Haven and Waterbury. Claire has served as an advisor to the state of Connecticut and to each of the five cities, providing guidance on methods to assess their inner city business base and on the development of action-oriented strategies for sustainable job and business growth. Before working at ICIC, Claire worked for the Chicago Park District where she managed the revitalization of the South Shore Cultural Center, one of the Park District's largest facilities, offering theater performances, art exhibits, arts classes, after-school programs and day camps. Claire also served as Transition Manager for a major reorganization of the park system. Claire received a Masters in Public Policy and Urban Planning from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government where she was a Kennedy Fellow for two years. She received a BA cum laude from Princeton University.

Bruce J. Katz is currently a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and founding Director of its Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy. Mr. Katz brings to Brookings ten years of policymaking experience, intimate knowledge of the federal legislative and budget process, and a strong understanding of the issues facing urban and metropolitan America. Prior to his appointment at Brookings, Mr. Katz was Chief of Staff to Henry G. Cisneros, former Secretary of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. From 1993-1996, Mr. Katz served as the Secretary's principal advisor on policy, budget, and program priorities and the Department's chief liaison with the White House, Office of Management and Budget, and other federal agencies. Prior to his appointment at HUD, Mr. Katz was staff director of the Senate Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Affairs, chaired by Senator Alan Cranston of California. Bruce Katz is a 1981 Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Brown University. At Brown, he was a recipient of the Harvey A. Baker Fellowship and attended the London School of Economics from 1979-1980. Mr. Katz graduated from Yale Law School in 1985 where he served as Commentaries Editor for the Yale Law and Policy Review in 1983. He received his juris doctorate in 1985 and was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1986. Mr. Katz has written op-eds and articles for a wide range of major national and regional newspapers and is a frequent commentator on urban and metropolitan issues. He is the editor of the recent Brookings book, Reflections on Regionalism, and has also contributed to the quarterly Brookings Review, Community Works: The Revival of Civil Society in America, edited by E.J. Dionne Jr. and the 1999 volume of Setting National Priorities, edited by Robert Reischauer and Henry Aaron.

Margaret L. Murphy has extensive experience as a practitioner in economic, community and housing development in both urban and rural settings. Between 1982 and 1991 she served as the founding director of MidTown Corridor (now Midtown Cleveland). Examining the experience of Midtown through the late '90's, she authored "The Private Sector's Role in Building Inner City Competitiveness" published by the Brookings Institution in 1998. In that report she describes how the private sector, in partnership with government, can stimulate the private market in inner-city commercial and industrial areas; and provides public policy suggestions to better support central city competitiveness. Ms. Murphy has served as a consultant in Maine, Cleveland and New Haven. She has also developed research projects and programs in cooperation with foundations, local universities, planning organizations and community groups to address a range of urban issues, including youth crime prevention, homelessness, "smart growth", brownfields, and measuring outcomes of community and housing development initiatives. She has also served as the Special Assistant to the Commissioner of the New York State Housing and Community Renewal Agency, and as a Development Manager for Forest City Dillon, Inc., where she developed elderly and family housing in western Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio. She received her MA from Case Western Reserve University.

Henry L. Taylor, Jr. is an Associate Professor with the University at Buffalo Department of Planning and Director of the Center for Urban Studies. Professor Taylor teaches courses at both the graduate and undergraduate levels in areas such as urban management; neighborhood planning & regional development; American urban history and African-American history. Recently, he designed and developed a course on everyday life and culture in Havana, Cuba. Professor Taylor is also the coordinator of the Urban Management Planning Emphasis of the Masters in Urban Planning program. His most recent book is Historical Roots of the Urban Crisis (2000), co-edited with Walter Hill. He is currently working on a manuscript entitled Menace to the City: Black Suburbanization and the City Planning Movement in Cincinnati, 1850-1950. Professor Taylor is actively involved in a variety of community service activities, including the local United Way and several community-based organizations. He holds a Ph.D. and MA in Urban History from the University at Buffalo and an MA in Audiology from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.