Jennifer Cobb has 5 years of consulting experience focused on equitable growth strategies, and over 10 years in community development, project management, and program design. She has extensive experience in organizing and advocacy, working closely with communities to promote economic justice, affordable housing, and transit equity. Jennifer has designed and led initiatives across the Southeast that equip residents to effectively engage in city planning and decision-making processes. Jennifer holds a BA in Sociology from Georgia State University, a MEd from Lesley University, and a certificate in Instructional Design from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Mandla Moyo presently serves as a Senior Advisor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion within AARP Livable Communities. Mandla supports the Livable Programs team’s efforts to integrate Diversity and Inclusion into its strategic priorities and areas of focus. Prior to joining the Livable Communities program team, he served as the Director of Community Engagement at AARP Indiana , working alongside volunteers and community partners to promote and advocate for greater financial and health security, caregiving resources, protection from fraud, and livability initiatives in targeted communities. Mandla received his undergraduate degree in Political Science from Jackson State University in 2004 and a Master’s in Public Administration (MPA) from Strayer University in 2008. Mandla lives in Montgomery, AL with his lovely wife Kristen and three children Myles, Quincy and Nandi. 

Kyle Smith has 16 years of expertise working at the integration of housing and transportation, including equitable TOD, municipal housing policy and land use and zoning reforms. He serves as Project Manager for ICF’s team for the HUD Thriving Communities Technical Assistance program. ICF’s team also includes Smart Growth America, the Partnership for Southern Equity, and Morgan State University. 

Sheila Somashekhar joined the National Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland in 2020 as Director of the Purple Line Corridor Coalition. As Director, she mobilizes coalition partners to realize the vision of an equitable transit corridor. She brings over 15 years of experience in community organizing and engagement, specializing in economic strategy, social justice, affordable housing, neighborhood asset building and workforce development.

She most recently served as Director of Community Impact and Engagement for United Way of the National Capital Area. At United Way she oversaw multiple stakeholder collaboratives and established a new set of community-centered programs, including the launch of one-stop financial service centers across the Washington, D.C. area. She also helped raise over $1M in support of that work. Prior to that she spent six years in New York City, working on neighborhood planning and economic opportunity initiatives in nonprofit and public sector roles.

She holds a Master of Urban Planning and Master of Public Health from the University of Michigan, and a bachelor’s degree in biology from University of Maryland, College Park.

Nedra Deadwyler guides equitable processes to bring community voices into defining and shaping places and the story of place. She is a social worker, cultural preservationist, and creative. She centers humanity, lived experiences, community care, and our beautiful world. Through her organization Civil Bikes she leads tours, provides bike education, advocacy for mobility justice, and youth bike camps. Through Save Your Spaces she facilitates skills sharing to involve the everyday person in preservation. She continues to write, think, and challenge the systems governing our quality of life and invites our collective transformation toward just interdependence.

She holds a Master of Heritage Preservation from Georgia State University, a Master of Social Work from New York University, and a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Georgia. She was Scholar in Residence in 2021 with The Atlanta Beltline. Her publications include the chapter Civil Bikes: embracing Atlanta’s racialized history through bicycle tours. (Routledge, 2016, Bicycle Justice and Urban Transformation: Biking for All? Edited by A. Golub, M.L. Hoffmann, A. E. Lugo, and G. F. Sandoval), the book review Whose Bike Lanes, in “Bike Lanes are White Lanes: Urban Planning and Bicycle Infrastructure and Advocacy, and the article “There is a Tremendous Untold Story of Black. People on Bikes” in Bicycling Magazine, August 2020.

Fatima Elkott is an urban planner and facilitator with a strong focus on creating pathways for community connections and action. She has extensive experience working across public, private, and nonprofit sectors, utilizing her multidisciplinary background in transportation and community planning, facilitation, digital design, community development, and GIS. Fatima excels at bringing together residents, organizations, and government agencies through continuous and innovative engagement, ensuring that complex issues are addressed collaboratively and effectively.

Her work includes facilitating the formation and strategic planning of community collaboratives, where she demonstrates a strong commitment to building authentic relationships and fostering sustainable initiatives. Over the past three years, Fatima has been deeply involved in long-term, place-based community building in the communities of Wimauma, Town ‘n Country, and Tampa Heights.

In addition to her local work, Fatima also serves as the National Youth Power Building Strategist at the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS), where she leads initiatives that empower youth activists and advocates across the nation, with a strong emphasis on mobility justice. She shapes NOYS programming to elevate youth leadership and amplify the voices of marginalized youth. Fatima also collaborates with several partners on art and cultural planning initiatives.

Victoria García is a designer, visual artist, and community lover living along Buford Highway in Atlanta, Georgia.

Janice is the Co-founder and Executive Director of Mundo Gardens, a roots community garden program empowering youth and families throughout San Diego.

Their Community Connectors project is a transformative community-driven initiative aimed at reclaiming 57 acres to create a vibrant, green space that integrates cultural art, reforestation efforts, and sustainable transportation. Born from decades of advocacy, this project seeks to heal the wounds inflicted by divisive highway infrastructure and foster a united, proud community.