In Pursuit of Place Agenda

Dr. Ashley Allen-Brown

Dr. Ashley Allen-Brown brings nearly 30 years of experience in individual, community, and business development, working alongside grassroots and people-centered initiatives that strengthen place, belonging, and local capacity. She is a Regional Economic Development Specialist and Assistant Extension Professor with University of Missouri Extension, serving seven counties in Missouri’s West Central Region. Her work supports youth, women, and veterans through workforce development, entrepreneurship, and civic engagement.

An adult learning strategist and applied scholar, Dr. Allen-Brown helps communities translate shared identity, data, and vision into coordinated place-based action. She holds a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction and a Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership. Her current work integrates entrepreneurial identity, braided funding, and hands-on tools to advance community-driven placemaking.

Melissa Bond

Melissa Bond is the Extension Director for Community, Arts, & Economic Development for Blueprint Kentucky at University of Kentucky. Blueprint Kentucky provides arts and design engagement, education, leadership training, and economic development support to Kentucky communities. It also houses the Community Arts Extension Program, with 15 field staff focused on community development through the arts. Melissa was the project director for the Rural America Placemaking Toolkit and the Placemaking in Small & Rural Communities Conference, a partnership with USDA Rural Development to provide access to placemaking resources, programs, and information for rural communities. Her research centers on applied arts and design as methods of creative community engagement, with an emphasis on rural placemaking and arts evaluation. Melissa is the co-author of Spark! Extension Creative Placemaking Toolkit.

Will Cronin

A Community Development Educator working with MSU Extension, Will has extensive experience in asset-based community economic development, placemaking, tourism, planning and zoning, nonprofits, local government, facilitation, community outreach, and organizational development and strategic planning. He has strong skills in technology and remote learning, as well as experience in marketing and branding for community organizations. Will holds a Master of Public Administration from Grand Valley State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History from Albion College. He lives in Houghton, Michigan with his family.

Jesse Czech

Jesse Czech is a community builder and placemaker based in Madison, Wisconsin, focused on strengthening neighborhoods as the foundation for connection, belonging, and long-term civic vitality. As President of the Westmorland Neighborhood Association, he has led a transformation from a traditional volunteer group into a high-impact community engine, driving large-scale events, raising significant capital for public space improvements and building one of the most engaged neighborhood networks in the city.

Elizabeth Druback Celaya

Elizabeth Druback Celaya currently serves as Director, Community Initiatives for NeighborWorks America, a national intermediary working to create opportunities for people to live in affordable homes, improve their lives and strengthen their communities.

Within NeighborWorks America, the Community Initiatives Department supports efforts to build vibrant local communities that provide equitable opportunities for people to thrive, with a focus on advancing comprehensive, place-based, and resident-led strategies. Elizabeth joined the NeighborWorks America team in 2022 after twenty years with Hudson River Housing, Inc., a nonprofit housing and community development organization based in Poughkeepsie, NY.

Elizabeth is a graduate of Vassar College and holds a master’s degree in Nonprofit Management from The New School.

Charlinda Evans

Charlinda Evans is an educator and community leader with 32 years of service in Jennings County, Indiana. She began as a high school social studies teacher at Jennings County High School, served five years as District Technology Coordinator, returned as department chair, and now teaches media while overseeing the middle school library. A Hines Medalist, she holds a bachelor’s degree in social studies education from Indiana State University and a master’s in Instructional Systems Technology from Indiana University Bloomington.

Charlinda co-founded Perceptions Yoga, Mindfulness & Art in historic Vernon, Indiana, blending yoga and art through a trauma‑informed approach that fosters belonging and resilience. She has served as president of the Jennings County Women’s Giving Circle, held leadership roles with Friends of Historic Vernon, and is a long‑standing leader in Delta Theta Tau. A lifelong learner, she is pursuing Yoga Therapist certification, integrating wellness, history, and storytelling to help people connect deeply with place.

Julie Filapek

Julie Filapek (M.A., Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning) has a 25+ year history of asset-based community development work in urban neighborhoods and small rural communities. Julie is the Neighborhood Partners Program Manager at NeighborWorks Green Bay.

Megan Ginn

As the Director of Community Building Strategies, Megan helps place-based practitioners to develop trust and co-create solutions with residents through resource development, facilitated learning, and collaboration. Rooted in Asset-Based Community Development, Megan helps local communities focus not on what is wrong, but what is strong and to develop ways to empower residents for community-driven change. In addition to working directly with communities across the country, she also leads workshops, keynote sessions, and speaks to residents and local leaders about how to create community-driven change.

Dr. Dwayne T. James

Dr. Dwayne T. James, P.E. serves as Director of Access and Inclusive Engagement (statewide) and Community Development Specialist for MU Extension in St. Louis County. He works to embed MU’s Inclusive Excellence Framework across Extension and co-facilitates leadership programs including Neighborhood Leadership Fellows and the Youth Empowerment Program. Dr. James is a trained facilitator in Strategic Doing and Navigating Difference, supporting collaboration, cultural competency, and measurable outcomes.

Megan Joe

Megan is Diné from Nakaibitó (Mexican Springs), New Mexico (NM) where her family raised sheep and still reside. Megan attributes her rural upbringing on the Navajo reservation with her urban connections in Albuquerque to inform her passion for tribal community development work using an equity lens. As an undergrad she studied abroad and later worked for the University of New Mexico (UNM) Community Engagement Center connecting service-learning opportunities for students and community to non-profits in NM focused on food sovereignty, tribal education, and other social justice initiatives. Working with community laid the foundation for Megan to obtain a master’s degree from UNM’s Community and Regional Planning Program in the School of Architecture and Planning where she currently serves as the Education Specialist for iD+Pi (Indigenous Design and Planning Institute). Her background and research interests in rural and urban tribal communities centers Indigenous methodologies to inform Indigenous design and planning processes.

Ra Joy

Ra Joy is a nationally recognized strategist and advocate working at the intersection of the arts, community engagement, and systemic change. On day one of the Biden-Harris Administration, Ra was appointed to serve as Chief of Staff at the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). As Chief of Staff at the NEA, his responsibilities included implementing the NEA’s American Rescue Plan program, which provided $135 million in funding to help the U.S. arts and cultural sector recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. From 2007 to 2015, Ra served as Executive Director of Arts Alliance Illinois, one of the nation’s most prominent arts advocacy and service organizations. Ra now serves as Executive Director of the Bronzeville Center for the Arts (BCA). Located in Bronzeville – a historically African American neighborhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin – the BCA is working to conceive, create, and sustain a world-class museum devoted to the beauty and richness of Black art and culture.

Theodore “Ted” Jojola

Theodore (Ted) Jojola, PhD, is a Distinguished Professor and Regents’ Professor emeritus in the Community & Regional Planning Program, School of Architecture + Planning, University of New Mexico (UNM). He is the founder and Director of the Indigenous Design + Planning Institute.  iD+Pi works with tribal communities throughout the SW region as well as internationally by facilitating culturally informed approaches to community development. He has held several visiting scholar appointments at York University in Toronto, Canada, the University of Arizona, and UCLA. From 2008-2010, he was Visiting Distinguished Professor at Arizona State University in the School of Geographic Sciences and Planning.  He was Director of Native American Studies at UNM from 1980-1996. He is actively involved in major research projects on Indigenous community development, has published numerous articles and chapters, curated major museum exhibits and has a podcast series on PlaceKnowing.  He is coeditor of two books—The Native American Philosophy of V.F. Cordova entitled How It Is (U. of Arizona Press, 2007) and Reclaiming Indigenous Planning (McGill-Queens University Press, 2013).  He is an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Isleta.

Stephen Klimek

Stephen Klimek is a community and economic development leader working at the intersection of place-based strategy, equitable development, and urban systems design. His work focuses on translating complex community priorities into actionable, collaborative initiatives that strengthen neighborhoods, advance climate resilience, and support inclusive growth.

Dr. Greg Koutnik

Dr. Greg Koutnik (Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania) is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Beloit College, where he teaches courses in political theory, American government, and environmental studies. His research in environmental political theory and American political thought focuses on the role of home, belonging, place, and scale in environmental politics. His work on environmental thinkers like Aldo Leopold and Wendell Berry has been published in American Political Thought and New Political Science, and he is the recipient of the American Political Science Association’s 2020 Christian Bay Award for Best Paper in Critical Political Science.

Jen Metcalf

Jen Metcalf serves as the Assistant Director of Downtown Green Bay, Inc., where she plays a key role in supporting the organization’s mission to foster a vibrant, welcoming, and thriving downtown. With a small but mighty team, Jen steps into a wide range of responsibilities—often in a project management capacity—spanning economic development, placemaking, events, and marketing. She leads the small staff, guiding day‑to‑day operations with a focus on collaboration, team culture, and community impact.

Krista Nightengale

Krista Nightengale began her career in journalism when she stumbled into the world of urban design. She discovered the Better Block Foundation, an international, urban design nonprofit that educates, equips, and empowers communities and their leaders to reshape and reactivate built environments to promote the growth of healthy and vibrant neighborhoods. In her 10 years at Better Block, Krista has worked with neighbors in more than 145 cities to rethink streets, turn parking lots to plazas, and identify the barriers keeping communities from enjoying their public spaces. The work has resulted in economic development, calmed streets, and has lowered crime rates. But most importantly, it brings neighbors together.

Andy Northrop

Andy holds a statewide appointment with Michigan State University Extension’s Community, Food, and Environment Institute. Andy’s expertise fosters cross-sector capacity building, leadership and community development, land use and government initiatives, entrepreneurial ecosystems, and sustainable tourism for rural economies. He is also part of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources 2022 Global Scholars inaugural cohort focused on expanding international programs, and a graduate of 2018 National Extension Leadership Development program.
Prior to joining MSUE, Andy’s career spanned more than ten years working abroad across multiple countries. His global experience coupled with his MSUE role fosters the community transformations necessary to create and sustain places where people want to live, work, play, learn and return.

Dr. Kara Salazar

Dr. Kara Salazar is Assistant Program Leader for Community Development with Purdue Extension and Sustainable Communities Extension Specialist affiliated with Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and Purdue University’s Department of Forestry and Natural Resources. She leads multidisciplinary initiatives that support environmental planning, community development, and sustainability across Indiana and the Great Lakes region. Kara holds a Ph.D. in natural resources social science from Purdue University and professional credentials, including AICP. Her work emphasizes collaborative planning, inclusive public forums, and data informed policy and design interventions focused on resilience, green infrastructure, hazard mitigation, parks and public spaces, and renewable energy.

Elena Stephenson

Elena Stephenson is based in Kansas City and well versed in performing, directing, and educating. She holds a BFA in Acting/Directing from ACU, as well as a MA in Applied Theatre for Colleges and Communities from NYU Steinhardt. She has worked as a teaching artist and curriculum consultant for 15+ years. Her essay “The Fundamentals of the Pedagogy of a Teaching Artist” was published in The Teaching Artist Journal, Vol 1 Issue 15. She has worked as a Lead Teaching Artist for The Coterie, as well as a Pre-K Drama Teacher for KC based arts organization, Shining Stars. Before joining the team at The University of Missouri’s Extension and Engagement Program, she worked as the Theatre and Performing Arts Coordinator for the award-winning recreation and culture facility, The Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center, located in Johnson County, Kansas. She sees the inherent value that the arts and community engaged art projects bring back to the community.

Courtney Strow

Courtney Strow is a placemaking and creative industries practitioner based in Ipswich, Australia, the oldest provincial city in the state of Queensland. Courtney serves as Creative Industries Lead at Ipswich City Council, where she works with local government, artists, businesses and community groups to grow long term creative environments. Her work focuses on how arts, culture and community action can activate public spaces, strengthen civic life and support the social and economic vitality of suburban communities.

She brings experience in community engagement, cultural development and local government strategy, advising elected officials and delivering regional engagement programs that connect creativity with place and economic development. Her work has been recognised by Place Leaders Asia Pacific for its contribution to community engagement and localised cultural development. Courtney also serves on the board of Town Team Movement, supporting community led placemaking.

Jenny VandenLangenberg

Jenny is passionate about placemaking and downtown beautification, with a focus on creating welcoming, memorable experiences for everyone who visits Downtown Green Bay. Her work spans cleanliness and safety initiatives, banner and streetscape programs, and the coordination of public art, all grounded in strong partnerships with the City of Green Bay and community stakeholders. With more than 10 years at Downtown Green Bay, Inc., Jenny brings deep institutional knowledge and a collaborative approach to supporting continued growth, stewardship, and positive change in the downtown.

LaShawndra Vernon

LaShawndra Vernon is a creative entrepreneur specializing in creative and community placemaking. She translates global sustainability goals into local policies, leveraging the arts for transformation. With expertise in fiscal management and strategic communication, her leadership includes serving as Chair of the Bronzeville Advisory Committee (Milwaukee) and on the Wisconsin Arts Board. She is also a multidisciplinary artist (Firey Phoenix), published author, and Crisis Analysis & Mitigation (CAM) coach. She holds an M.A. in Public Service.

Daniel Walker

Daniel Walker is a Community Development Regional Educator located in the Purdue Extension Community Development Program and the Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources//Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant.

Daniel collaborates with Purdue Extension staff, community leaders, stakeholders, and interest groups within the Great Lakes Region through programs that combine research-based tools with community planning processes to help community leaders engage with stakeholders on complex issues.

Daniel is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, and brings regional, county, and municipal planning and economic development experience to the program. Daniel holds a Master’s degree of urban and regional planning from Ball State University and a Bachelor’s degree from Monmouth College (IL). He also earned a secondary educator’s license in the State of Illinois.

Jeff Walker

Jeff Walker is the Community Vitality Specialist for Purdue Extension Community Development. Located in Vernon, Indiana, he collaborates statewide with community stakeholders, partners, local Extension professionals, and campus Extension specialists to promote and coordinate the Community Vitality Program funded by the Downing Endowment for Community Vitality.

Dr. Michael Wilcox

Dr. Michael Wilcox is Purdue Extension’s Assistant Director and Program Leader for Community Development and Associate Director of the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD). Michael is also a Community and Regional Economics Specialist in the Department of Agricultural Economics. As Assistant Director and Specialist, Michael furthers the mission of Purdue Extension by fostering innovative, high-impact Extension programs. Michael’s Extension and research integrate the economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainability into addressing community and regional economic issues, with a focus on entrepreneurship, placemaking, and community capacity building. Michael co-leads the NCRCRD’s regional efforts focused on leadership and civic engagement, community resiliency and health and wellness. He is also a Senior Associate at the Purdue Center for Regional Development, leading and supporting Center projects related to regional development.