I led and collaborated with the Community Vision Advising team to launch the Real Estate Readiness Toolkit—a first-of-its-kind digital learning series designed to help nonprofit leaders navigate the complex world of commercial real estate and facility development.

This free, online resource offers 15 concise, 10-minute videos, each paired with downloadable tools to help leaders immediately apply what they learn. Topics range from Navigating the Development Process to Defining Your Space Needs and Assessing Financial Capacity and Funding Your Project.

As Director of Advising at Community Vision I oversee our cohort programs, including CalCORE and CREATE. Each cohort is a year-long program with 10-15 participating organizations, and monthly educational sessions. CalCORE is a program in partnership with Genesis LA, that supports organizations working on the frontlines of community-based real estate development. It is currently in it’s 4th year. CREATE: Community Real Estate—Arts to Equity, is a new cohort that builds financial and real estate readiness for arts organizations.

As a public speaker, I present at workshops and conferences and create original content on various topics including real estate readiness, financial management for nonprofits, governance, financing and the capital stack, economic development, design and development and public art, climate change, and resiliency and smart growth. For more information see my Speaking page.

“Community Vision is an indispensable partner in realizing Safe Passages’ dream of creating a Wellness Center in downtown Oakland with the capacity to serve our diverse families. Their strategic capital project planning and lending support positioned Safe Passages to purchase over 16,000 square feet of commercial property to provide critical services to Oakland’s children, youth, and families.” — Josefina Alvarado Mena, Esq., CEO, Safe Passages

Nzilani’s new building will serve both the business and the neighborhood—a place for preservationists, artists, and community members to gather, share knowledge, and sustain the art of restoration for generations to come.

Community Vision supported the GLBT Historical Society in pre-development work and the exploration of several sites, in collaboration with Ventura Partners, through our contract with the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD). This included conducting a historic financial trend analysis, educating leadership on real estate readiness, providing referrals for construction and development, reviewing the sources and uses budgets, as well as the building operation forecast budget and the business model for the museum.

While at Greenbelt Alliance, I conducted legislative analysis of local, regional and state policies that impact development, open space preservation, and sustainability practices. I won numerous policy campaigns, including a ballot measure to renew Santa Rosa’s urban growth boundary.

As Vice President of Finance at the Port Workspaces, I was part of a small leadership team for a boutique real estate company that buys and manages buildings for commercial leasing and creative community programs such as a community kitchen that provides space to food entrepreneurs and a maker space for artists.

I played a key role in growing the company as we tripled in both membership and revenue. I was responsible, with a team of four, for the $2M renovation and construction of our Kaiser location, a 47,000-square-foot mall that we converted to a community hub and coworking space.

My work as a placemaker focuses on creating spaces where culture can stay, evolve, and be seen. I collaborate with artists, cultural organizations, and communities to shape places that honor local history while making room for new forms of expression. I’m especially interested in how creative space can resist displacement and strengthen belonging.

Specific projects include organizing family festivals, facilitating visioning charrettes or community memory events, curating exhibits showcasing local visual artists and hosting house concerts with singer songwriters. In 2011 in observance of PARK(ing) Day, held to urge cities to plan with people in mind, I turned a slice of a Santa Rosa parking space into an outdoor patio.