Background
In 2004, Joanna Trotter joined the staff at the Metropolitan Planning Council, an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that serves communities and residents by developing, promoting and implementing solutions for sound regional growth. She worked on suburban outreach and policy with municipal representatives, policymakers, developers and advocates dedicated to workforce housing solutions. In 2006, Joanna began managing MPC's Community Building Initiative (CBI), helping communities address difficult development challenges by illustrating how best practices in planning and development can work on the ground, and in 2010 she was promoted to direct MPC’s community development efforts broadly.
By providing technical assistance and support to communities, Joanna works to inform and increase opportunities consistent with MPC’s broader policy goals of creating a more equitable, sustainable and competitive region, such as enhancing local connections between housing, employment and transportation. Joanna is a part of MPC’s management team and is responsible for shaping MPC’s project tracking and success measurement process, including advising staff on organizational linkages and partnerships to advance MPC’s agenda.
Prior to MPC, she was the Commercial District Planner for DevCorp North, the community and economic development organization in Rogers Park. She helped the Chicago neighborhood revitalize its commercial districts, while encouraging balanced growth to meet current community needs. There, she managed a local Special Service Area, provided technical support for local businesses, and led community-wide planning processes. While in California, Joanna worked to advance affordable housing policy at PolicyLink, a national nonprofit research, capacity building, and advocacy organization, and ran the City of West Hollywood’s inclusionary housing program.
Joanna is a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and serves on the ULI-Chicago Public Policy Committee. She chairs the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) Technical Advisory Committee and serves on the CMAP Housing Committee. She also serves on the Board of the Quad Communities Development Corporation and chairs its fundraising committee. She lives in the Grand Boulevard neighborhood in Chicago with her husband and their son.
