Staff Directory
Ben HechtPresident & CEO
Mr. Hecht is an experienced nonprofit executive, author and social entrepreneur. He was appointed President & CEO of Living Cities in July, 2007 to lead the organization’s new and ambitious agenda to transform the lives of low-income people as well as the urban neighborhoods in which…READ BIO>
Robin HackeDirector of Capital Formation
Ms. Hacke joined Living Cities as Director of Capital Formation in September of 2007. At Living Cities, Ms. Hacke is responsible for developing initiatives to aggregate and deploy investment capital in low-income and underserved urban communities. She manages the Living Cities Catalyst Fund, the…READ BIO>
Jonathan HermanExecutive Director, Admiral Community Impact Center at Living Cities
Jonathan joins Living Cities from his previous position as Principal Consultant for Strong Representation, a marketing and management firm that represents the business and/or charitable interests of Allan Houston (former NBA All-Star), ME3 Global (a San Diego-based video game developer) and others.…READ BIO>
Neil KleimanDirector of Policy and Research
Neil is responsible for framing the policy agenda at Living Cities and producing a series of research reports on a broad range of community and economic development topics that affect urban areas. Prior to joining Living Cities, Neil was the Vice President…READ BIO>
David LafleurDirector of Finance and Administration
David is responsible for managing and developing financial, administrative and other internal functions to support the growth of Living Cities. With an extensive background in finance, administration, and operations, David has worked for a variety of nonprofit organizations and associations in New…READ BIO>
Sunitha MalepatiChief of Staff
Sunitha Malepati works closely with the CEO to lead special projects. Prior to joining Living Cities, Sunitha worked as a syndicated research analyst at The Advisory Board Company, a best practices health care research and consulting firm…READ BIO>
Marian UrquillaDirector, Program Strategies
Marian Urquilla helped found the Columbia Heights/Shaw Family Support Collaborative, where she served as executive director for nearly 12 years. An innovative network of community institutions working to support families in northwest Washington, DC, the…READ BIO>
Stockton WilliamsSenior Advisor, Director, Green Economy Initiatives
Stockton leads Living Cities’ activities to create opportunities for low-income people in the emerging green economy, including large-scale building energy retrofit initiatives, clean energy workforce development strategies and sustainable development projects. Stockton also advises cities,…READ BIO>
Jeong BaeFinance and Administration Manager
Jeong works with Director of Finance and Administration to support and grow Living Cities’ organizational capacity. Before joining Living Cities, Jeong last served as the chief operating officer at the Leader to Leader Institute (formerly the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit…READ BIO>
Daniel BassichisSpecial Advisor to the Admiral Community Impact Center
Dan joined Living Cities as a Special Advisor to the Admiral Community Impact Center at Living Cities. He is the co-founder of Admiral Capital Group, a real estate private equity firm formed with David Robinson, formerly of the San Antonio Spurs. Prior to forming Admiral Capital, Bassichis spent…READ BIO>
Amy ChungSocial Investment Manager
Prior to joining Living Cities, Amy was a Vice President at Citi Community Capital, where she originated, structured and underwrote socially responsible investments with a primary focus on renewable energy and real estate tax equity transactions. Social returns from these investments include job…READ BIO>
Kimberly OstrowskiSenior Program Associate
Kimberly joins Living Cities from the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) where she successfully implemented and managed career advancement programs designed to achieve economic security for low-income residents in New York City. The programs are a part of Mayor Bloomberg’s Center…READ BIO>
Evelyn BurnettProgram Associate
Evelyn possesses a solid background in public relations, marketing and sales with a strong emphasis on relationship-building, data and project management, and creating strategic alliances. Prior to joining Living Cities, Evelyn served as project director in the city of Cleveland’s Office of…READ BIO>
Matthew ChouInspire Fellow
Matthew Chou joined Living Cities in August 2009 as a member of the inaugural class of Inspire Fellows, a one-year fellowship sponsored by ProInspire that supports working professionals seeking to transition into the nonprofit sector. At Living Cities, Matthew works with the directors of…READ BIO>
Tamir NovotnyProgram Associate
Tamir supports Living Cities’ efforts in areas including housing, transit-oriented development, and field building more generally. Tamir is also the staff person primarily responsible for implementing Living Cities’ 10-city initiative to mitigate consequences of concentrated foreclosures…READ BIO>
Matt PacenzaEditorial Manager
Matt Pacenza helps write and edit Living Cities' reports and other policy materials. Previously, he was a health and environment reporter with the Albany Times-Union and an urban affairs reporter with City Limits magazine. He has a BA in environmental policy from Cornell University and an MA in…READ BIO>
Natalie ProffitProgram Coordinator
Natalie works closely with The Integration Initiative team and the members serving on the Integration Initiative committee and lenders group providing programmatic support. Before joining Living Cities, Natalie was a Project Manager with KaBOOM!, a non-profit that envisions a great place to…READ BIO>
Laura SanchezProgram Coordinator
Laura supports the Director of Finance and Administration by managing communication and logistics for all of Living Cities’ committee meetings. Before joining Living Cities, Laura was an intern at the Center for Health Justice, a non-profit organization that works to improve the disparities…READ BIO>
Hannah WilsonAdmiral Center Member Services Coordinator
Hannah combines her studies of sports and media with a background in nonprofit fundraising, event planning and program work as member services coordinator for the Admiral Center. She began her career with Cathe & Associates and Our Piece of the Pie in Hartford, Conn., working on employment and…READ BIO>