Art & Architecture as Catalyst – Livability and Sustainability

Matthew Ashby is a Senior Community Development Specialist with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.  He is responsible for promoting community and economic development and fair and equal access to credit.  This is achieved by providing technical assistance and training on successful initiatives and programs, convening key stakeholders to identify community development needs, and facilitating partnerships among financial institutions, community-based organizations, and others.

Before coming to the Federal Reserve, Ashby served as acting director of research and chief of policy and program planning at the Tennessee Housing Development Agency and community and economic development specialist in the St. Louis office of the Governor of Missouri.  He holds a master’s degree in community development from the University of Missouri; a bachelor’s degree in music and anthropology from the University of Central Missouri; and a banking school diploma from the Center for Financial Training.

Duane Thompson is a Project Manager at St. Louis Design Alliance, a full service architectural firm. Previously he was a staff architect at Christner Inc. Thompson has degrees from Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Bob Hansman is an artist-in-residence who leads the School’s undergraduate community studies course, “Community Building, Building Community;” he also teaches in the basic design sequence of the undergraduate program, as well as introductory and advanced drawing and painting classes at all levels of the curriculum. An accomplished artist, he has held several solo exhibitions of his work in and around the St. Louis area. Hansman is also highly involved in community programs. His work as director of City Faces and the Jermaine Lamond Roberts Memorial Art Studio in the Clinton-Peabody Housing Project has garnered national attention and awards, and for years he has had his students working with residents of the 22nd Ward in St. Louis City.

In 1997, Hansman was inducted into the Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society. He was a recipient of the Missouri Arts Award in 1997, the Emerson Excellence in Teaching Award for Washington University in 2000, a Founder’s Day Distinguished Faculty Award in 2001, the Gerry and Bob Virgil Ethic of Service Award in 2005, a FOCUS St. Louis “What’s Right With the Region” Award in 2008, and the Rosa L. Parks Award for Meritorious Service to the Community in 2010.

Email

Robert Boyle is a founder and the Chief Executive Officer of Justine Petersen, a St. Louis, Missouri based company that assists low-wealth individuals and families to develop, maintain and increase financial assets. Justine Petersen’s product line includes Credit Building, Homeownership Services through licensed mortgage broker and licensed real estate broker operations, Microfinance and Business Lending and Individual Development Accounts (matched savings accounts designed to promote asset building for low-wealth individuals and families). Rob is a founder and a director of Great Rivers Community Capital, a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), a lending organization wholly owned by Justine Petersen. Rob earned his undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis, and his Masters Degree from Southern Illinois University. His background includes work in urban planning, property management for low-income tenants, single family and multi-family housing development and construction management. Rob also has owned and operated two small businesses, a real estate services company and a contracting company. He is a director of a national asset building organization, Credit Builders Alliance. Rob is married to Barbara (Diekemper), and has two children, Margaret and Patrick.

Website

Jasmin Aber is executive director and co-founder of the ‘Creative Exchange Lab’ (CEL) – Architecture, Urban, Design & Innovation (2008), a unique non-profit organization (501c3 since 2010) – www.creativeexchangelab.org. Her training and education is in architecture; a licensed architect in Germany (1998) with Royal british Institute of Architects Certification I&II from UK, where she received her formal university education as an architect at Portsmouth University/ Architectural Association London from 1986-1991.

As a practitioner she has worked/consulted with Lloyds of London-UK, Holtzman AG. and Aufabua Ag., AS & P in Frankfurt-Germany, Anshen and Allen, MacCormac Baron Salazar, HOK, in the US, and collaborated with Comm-UniverCity San Jose, and the City of San Jose’s Economic development agency in California, in Missouri, with the AIA St. Louis Chapter/City of St. Louis Mayor’s Office and various foundations on master planning for the arts, culture, and interactive multimedia for downtown revitalization projects and is an associate of AAO (Architecture Association of architects), SEED certified (Social Economic Environmental Design).

As an academic, her research work since 2003 has been with SCiRN (Shrinking Cities international Research Network) on strategies of revitalization under architecture & creativity in weak economy cities. SCiRN was started at IURD / Center for Global Metropolitan Studies at UC Berkeley California where she was one of two coordinators for 4 years. The research entails global comparative study on the phenomenon of urban decline, demographic change and strategies of revitalization primarily in post-industrial cities.

Another research focus of her investigation is the relationship between new-media and architecture in the digital city, in place-making, as catalyst for urban regeneration, and in creating competitive regions. She has curated exhibitions and interactive public space design project for Grant Center/ St. Louis Missouri, using interactivity as theme to be unveiled in June 2012.

She has taught / teaches as adjunct lecturer in architecture at Washington University, St. Louis University, San Jose State University, UC Berkeley California, and is currently a CRI fellow at Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts at Washington University.

Jasmin Aber’s published papers included in a UC Berkeley Monograph -2009 (also co-editor) and to be released book chapter/ Roultledge in 2013 titled «SHRINKING CITIES / Weak Economy Cities- International Perspectives and Policy Implications». She has presented papers, given talks, curated exhibitions on the role of architecture, new media technology, Art & creativity as catalyst, in US, Europe and Japan.

Website

Timothy M. Tucker most recently served as the Vice President of Real Estate & Community Development for the St. Louis County Economic Council’s . Tucker was responsible for managing a wide range of economic development projects throughout St. Louis County. His primary focus was to identify new initiatives and redevelopment opportunities while overseeing the day-to-day activities of the Real Estate Division.

Tucker has a Bachelor of Arts in urban studies from Washington University and applied his expertise within both public and private sectors of real estate development. He was president of Blue Urban Kansas City operations where he oversaw its $70 million loft developments, and he managed economic development projects at Trailnet Inc., the Department of Mental Health, Historic Restoration Inc., City Museum, and International Building LLC.

Throughout his career, Tucker has served on a variety of boards and advisory committees for development and planning associations as well as civic organizations. Most recently, Tucker has served on the Cross Roads Neighborhood Association committee until he returned to St. Louis to accept the Economic Council position. He also served on the Mayor’s Homeless Task Force, City Living Campaign, Woman’s Safe House, and was a Boy Scout troop volunteer.

Sean Thomasis the Executive Director of Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, a neighborhood-based, not-for-profit community development corporation with a mission to revitalize the physical & social dimensions of the Old North St. Louis neighborhood in a manner that respects the community’s historic, cultural, and urban character.  Prior to accepting his current position at ONSLRG in 2003, Sean had worked for the St. Louis Association of Community Organizations (SLACO) for 11 years – five as a community organizer and six as Deputy Director.  Sean also has worked as a community organizer in Detroit, Michigan, and Community Initiatives Coordinator for East-West Gateway Coordinating Council (now called East-West Gateway Council of Governments).

Sean earned a Master of Arts in Public Administration from St. Louis University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.  Sean is the founding board president of Old North Grocery Co-op and also serves on the MPA (Masters of Public Administration) Advisory Board at St. Louis University and the Advisory Board for the Nonprofit Management & Leadership Program at University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Email

Juan William Chavez (born in Lima, Peru) is an artist and cultural activist whose studio practice focuses on the potential of space by developing creative initiatives that address community and cultural issues.  He has exhibited at venues such as Art in General, Contemporary Art Museum Saint Louis, White Flag Projects and Van Abbenmuseum.  From 2006-2010, Chavez founded and served as director for Boots Contemporary Art Space, a non-profit organization that supported emerging artists and curators.  Since 2010, Chavez has focused on public projects in North St. Louis. Such projects include Urban Expression for the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, the Northside Workshop and the Pruitt-Igoe Bee Sanctuary.  In 2011, he was awarded the Art Matters Grant, the Missouri Arts Award, and nominated for the United States Artists fellowship.  Chavez has a BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.