Staff
The Voorhees Center (VC) staff includes full-time professionals, PhD candidates and Master's level research assistants. In addition, Urban Planning faculty, as well as experts in other disciplines in UIC, participate in research activities and projects undertaken by the Center. VC works in collaboration with community and local government partners to carry out research and technical assistance projects. The Center employs an interdisciplinary approach to community development.
Directors
Janet L. Smith, PhD
Co-Director and Professor
janets@uic.edu; 312-996-5083
For the past 20 years, Dr. Smith's teaching, research, and community service has focused on equity issues in local and national housing planning and policy. The majority of Dr. Smith's research and outreach activities are conducted in partnership with community organizations and policy stakeholders through the UIC Voorhees Center. She has led several large-scale housing research projects in Chicago including a regional homeless needs assessment and a rental market study funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Along with Larry Bennett and Patricia Wright (former Voorhees director), Smith co-edited and co-authored Where are Poor People to Live? Transforming Public Housing Communities (ME Sharpe 2006). She and John Betancur recently published Claiming Neighborhood: New Ways of Understanding Urban Change (University of Illinois 2016).
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Yittayih Zelalem, JD, LLM, MS
Co-Director and Research Assistant Professor
yittazel@uic.edu; 312-996-6674
Mr. Zelalem worked as Director of Housing Policy Analysis at the Chicago Rehab Network prior to coming to the Voorhees Center. In addition, he has worked for over half a dozen years as Director of Property Development and Executive Director of several CDCs in Chicago. Mr. Zelalem was also professor of law at the Addis Ababa University Law School in Ethiopia and currently teaches development financing courses. Mr. Zelalem has law degrees from Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia and the Yale Law School, as well as a Masters Degree in Urban Development.
Staff
Jessica Kursman
Economic Development Planner
kursman2@uic.edu; 312-413-0215
Jessica’s background includes work in community and economic development, data analysis, policy analysis, and community organizing. Jessica has worked in community development in Chicago in a variety of capacities, including non-profit, governmental, and consulting positions, offering her the opportunity to work in supportive housing and affordable housing development, economic development, and community development finance. Prior to moving to Illinois, Jessica held research roles at the University of Michigan Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy, and the University of Michigan Graham Sustainability Institute. She began her career in community development working as both an organizer with the Sierra Club, and as an AmeriCorps volunteer with a sustainability and green jobs non-profit in Detroit, Michigan. Jessica holds a Master or Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Policy from the University of Michigan.
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Zafer Sonmez
Post-doctoral Research Associate
zsonme2@uic.edu; 312-993-4323
At the Voorhees Center, Zafer contributes to the development and completion of economic impact analyses and various community technical assistance projects with major economic components. His academic research focuses on innovation mechanisms in knowledge-intensive industrial sectors. He is investigating the role of spatial proximity in the innovation process, the extent to which spatial co-location of firms facilitates collaborative invention efforts at the firm level. He has a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Colorado Denver, a PhD in Urban Planning and Policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).
Research Assistants
Andy Born
Research Assistant
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Andy is a Ph.D. student in Urban Planning and Policy at the University of Illinois-Chicago. His research interests include neighborhood development and comprehensive community initiatives. Andy holds a Bachelor's Degree from DePaul University and Master's Degree in Urban Planning & Policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Andy also works for Austin Coming Together, a community-based organization on the west side of Chicago, where he has worked since its founding in 2011.
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Elizabeth Ginsberg
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Elizabeth is a Master of Urban Planning and Policy student at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In addition to working with the Voorhees Center, Elizabeth is an intern at SB Friedman Development Advisors. At SB Friedman, Elizabeth contributes to a variety of projects including financial deal reviews, TIF eligibility studies, and market analyses. Elizabeth’s areas of interest include equity planning, regional economic development, community revitalization, and affordable housing. Prior to UIC, Elizabeth worked in portfolio and asset management at the Chicago Community Loan Fund. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Political Science from Pacific Lutheran University.
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Jasmine Gunn
Research Assistant
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Jasmine is a Master of Urban Planning and Policy student at the University of Illinois at Chicago. While working with the Voorhees Center, she is also working as an assistant project manager at a community development organization called Claretian Associates. Her role there includes developing affordable housing and supporting other quality of life programs. Her areas of interest are in community and economic development, equity, and social justice. She holds a bachelor degree in Architecture from Iowa State University.
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Nicholas Zettel
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Nicholas is a Master of Urban Planning and Policy student at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Prior to Voorhees Center, his community development experience spanned housing counseling, zoning, and affordable housing finance realms. Interests include community economic development, equity planning, and shrinking cities. In a past life, Nicholas earned a Master's Degree in History of Philosophy at Marquette University.
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Sarah Cooper
Research Assistant
scoope20@uic.edu; 312-996-4401
Sarah is a Ph.D. student in Urban Planning and Policy at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Her research examines housing for low-income households in Canada, and focuses on the expiry of the social housing operating agreements—an issue that will transform the landscape of housing and housing policy in Canada over the next few decades. Sarah holds a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from York University (Toronto, Canada) and a Master of City Planning, from the University of Manitoba (Winnipeg, Canada).