Working toward change is difficult – in ourselves, in our relationships, within organizations, and certainly across institutions and geographies that have a strong hold on our daily lives. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside many communities in a diverse mix of places and contexts, each confronted with unique histories and a shifting landscape of challenges and opportunities. Within those experiences, I’ve consistently seen how exploring communities’ ideas about what... Read the rest of this entry »

Like many college graduates, I was unsure of what to do after graduation. I had a lot of customer service experience from my part time jobs in high school and in college, as well as experience volunteering with organizations such as Planned Parenthood. I fell into a receptionist position where I learned that I liked working on the administration side of an organization. While I enjoyed my previous role at Radio Flyer, I knew I wanted to work in the non-profit field from my experience co-... Read the rest of this entry »

Dear friends and colleagues of CNT, We are writing to share some important news about the future of CNT. In late November 2022, Bob Dean informed the CNT Board that after five years as CNT’s CEO, he wants to take on new challenges in the field of equitable transportation by assuming a different role within CNT. Bob believes that billions of dollars in new federal funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to... Read the rest of this entry »

I came into the world of nonprofit finance by pure accident and with no relevant credentials. After graduating college with degrees in Sociology and Peace Studies, I knew that I wanted to work in a mission-based environment but had trouble identifying an entry point. I was lucky to be hired in an administrative role by the Chicago-based Delta Institute, where I saw firsthand the difference that strong operational and financial structures can make towards organizational impact. In the... Read the rest of this entry »

“The numbers don’t lie.” We’ve probably all heard this cliché, used to claim an incontestable truth about a situation. We’ve probably even used it ourselves on occasion. But of course, numbers do lie. All the time. What questions are being asked (and just as importantly, not being asked) and who is doing the asking frame an issue through a particular subjective lens. Which dataset is used, how the data were collected and who is represented in the data offer us a limited glimpse into the... Read the rest of this entry »

Curiosity is powerful. In that, it gives us permission to imagine the possibilities as opposed to being limited by what is. I remember as a child being a quiet observer with a lot of questions; aware of the distance traveled to access basic community amenities such as grocery stores or entertainment venues, while also discovering a love of nature because it was always accessible to me and provided for some of the best memories at holidays – or any day – with family. The natural and built... Read the rest of this entry »

The Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children (CLOCC) has been partnering with community-based organizations (CBOs) for more than a decade to identify and address barriers to walkability in their neighborhoods.  To do this, CLOCC developed their Neighborhood Walkability & Accessibility Assessment Tool (NWAAT), first as a paper and later as an on-line survey tool, providing CBOs with an instrument to gather data used to support their requests to the City of Chicago for local... Read the rest of this entry »

As data analysts and policy professionals, we spend a lot of time at our desks and behind screens, analyzing quantitative data, active or proposed policies and programs, and various written reports and documents. Much of what we analyze and review is -- or becomes -- an aggregation and anonymization of specific places, experience, and impacts, and fails to directly capture the intricacies of an individual’s lived experience. In our work with community-based partners, we’ve committed... Read the rest of this entry »

The Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) has been a strong supporter of the concept of Justice40 since its announcement in early 2021. The goal of this program is to direct at least 40% of the benefits of federal investment to communities that have historically been left behind. Defining those communities is critical, and the federal government attempted this with the release of the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool in February 2022. Generally, the federal definition of... Read the rest of this entry »

Committing to EQUITY is not a one and done achievement: It is an ongoing journey to grow as individuals and as an organization. Being a more equitable organization is not just about putting the word equity in our mission statement or adding it as a hash tag on social media. Justice, equity, diversity and inclusion requires work to address biases, unlearn toxic work habits and acquire tools needed to make brave decisions. It is a process that requires commitment from every level of an... Read the rest of this entry »