Services
Developing and advocating for policies addressing displacement, public property disposition, land use, community ownership, foreclosure prevention, aging in place, and more.Â
Policy Development & Advocacy
Program Design
Leading landscape analysis, stakeholder engagement, and design of nonprofit and public sector programs.
Advocacy & Campaigns
Strategy development, consensus building, advocacy, stakeholder engagement, lobbying, and narrative strategies for state and local policy campaigns.
Facilitation & Convening
Conference and workshop planning, multistakeholder planning processes, governance support, and community engagement.
Community-based housing startup, governance, fundraising, capacity building, business planning, and strategy.
Quantitative and qualitative methods, mapping, and interviews to support community development projects.
Capacity Building
Research
About Leo
Leo works with community-based organizations, national nonprofits, government agencies, and funders to design and advance impactful policies and equitable development strategies. As a consultant, Leo has supports affordable housing project and policy implementation and increases the capacity of practitioners. His projects have included initiatives to increase the universe of community land trusts, manufactured housing cooperatives, and impactful policy coalitions. He has also supported community development organizations with strategic planning and fundraising support.
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As the California Community Land Trust Network’s Co-Director for Policy and Capacity Building and first full-time staffer, Leo coordinated policy and capacity building work and managed the administration and finances of the 60+ member organization Network which supports community controlled, permanently affordable housing across California. Leo also supported the founding and development of California CLT Action, a 501(c)(4); the drafting and publication of research reports, guidebooks, and advocacy materials; program design and implementation including the launch of a technical assistance program; the drafting, advocacy, and passage of state legislation (AB1206, AB1837, AB671, AB2897); and the development of CACLTN’s membership structure including planning convenings and conferences, fundraising, and supporting the board of directors and several member committees. Leo also acted as the Network's point person and representative in several policy advocacy campaigns including those focused on social housing implementation, affordable housing preservation, community benefits agreements, and tenants rights.
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 At the Center for New York City Neighborhoods, Leo’s work covered policy advocacy, data-driven housing research, program design, and project management. In addition to supporting the design of city and state housing programs, Leo project managed the launch of a citywide community land trust focused on creating affordable homeownership opportunities for low-income families. He worked with community-based organizations, translating their on-the-ground experiences into policy and program design projects centering foreclosure prevention, speculative real estate practices, and the racial wealth gap. Leo also convened citywide policy campaigns at the Coalition for Affordable Homes.Â
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Leo lives in Oakland, California, and holds a B.A. in History and Urban Studies from Columbia University and an M.A. in City Planning from MIT.
