Topic: Social Justice Small Developer

It seems to me that if it is a worthwhile endeavor to build communities that people LOVE- it goes (almost) without saying that such communities should be available to people without regard to race, income, educational opportunity, health status. In many ways we all want the same basic things - we want our kids to be safe, we want to be able to provide for ourselves and our families, we want to live in stable neighborhoods and we want a modicum of peace, happiness and health. Being a Social Justice Small Developer is doing the same thing everybody else in CNU is doing but doing it in communities where the LOVE can make an even greater difference in people's lives and futures.

Biography

Margaret has served as the Executive Director of Southside Community Land Trust, a non-profit organization headquartered in Providence, RI since June 2012. The organization provides access to land, education and resources so people in Rhode Island can grow food in environmentally sustainable ways and create community food systems where locally produced, affordable, and healthy food is available to all.

Margaret's background includes comprehensive community development in urban neighborhoods, non-profit real estate development and construction, sustainable building technologies, and micro-enterprise development. She has served as a senior level, public sector and non-profit manager. She has also succeeded as a small business owner. Formerly, Margaret served as Director of Special Projects at Michigan Department of Human Services, Chief of Staff at Michigan State Housing Development Authority, and Vice President for Real Estate and Development at Mexicantown Community Development Corporation in Detroit.

Margaret holds a BA in Metropolitan Studies from Michigan State University and an MBA from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She is a graduate of Leadership Rhode Island and serves as a board member of the Rhode Island Land Trust Council.