Mark Joseph, Ph.D. is the Leona Bevis and Marguerite Haynam Associate Professor of Community Development at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University. His research focus is mixed-income development as a strategy for promoting urban equity and inclusion. He is the Founding Director of the National Initiative on Mixed-Income Communities, which conducts research and consulting projects in cities that have included Austin, Calgary, Chicago, Cleveland, Memphis, Minneapolis, Nashville, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Tulsa, and Washington, D.C. He is the co-author of Integrating the Inner City: The Promise and Perils of Mixed-Income Public Housing Transformation. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University, a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, was a Post-Doctoral Scholar at the University of Chicago and a Harlech Scholar at Oxford University.
Amy T. Khare, Ph.D. works nationally on applied research, organizational transformation, and systems change that promotes inclusion and equity within metro areas. Khare’s work is inspired by her personal experience as a sibling in the disability rights movement and her professional experience working within housing and community change organizations. Khare serves as the Research Director of the National Initiative on Mixed-Income Communities and a Research Assistant Professor at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University. Khare is completing a book manuscript entitled Poverty, Power and Profit: Structural Racism in Public Housing Reform. She earned her BSW and MSW from the University of Kansas and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.
Leila Fiester is an independent consultant whose training and experience span the fields of cultural anthropology, journalism, program evaluation, policy analysis, and philanthropic practice. In 2000, she began a consulting practice that focuses on reporting, writing, research, and organizational learning for private foundations, institutes, and coalitions involved in social issues and solutions, especially those that touch on vulnerable populations and communities. Before 2000, Leila was a senior associate of Policy Studies Associates, a research and evaluation firm in Washington, DC that specializes in education programs for low-income and otherwise underserved children and youth. She also held a series of reporting jobs, including a staff position at The Washington Post. Leila has a B.A. in cultural anthropology from Macalester College and an M.A. in journalism from the University of Maryland. She lives in Frederick, MD.
Sherise McKinney is a Research Associate at the National Initiative on Mixed-Income Communities. She coordinates projects aimed at promoting successful mixed-income communities in Cleveland through the creation and implementation of strategies designed to foster strong community ties, with an emphasis on building relationships across lines of difference. Sherise holds a BSW from California State University, Long Beach and a Master of Science in Social Administration from the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University.