This week on EJB Talks, Dean Stuart Shapiro speaks with Bloustein School alumna and Bloustein Advisory Board member, Leah Furey Bruder, MCRP ’06 about her journey into urban planning and her experiences working in municipal and redevelopment planning. Leah explains how her background in international studies shifted to local planning after working on community development in Camden, NJ. She discusses her work in Cherry Hill, her time as an in-house municipal planner in Evesham Township, and her decision to start her own firm to focus on impactful projects.
Topic
community development
Nashia Basit (MPP/MCRP ’24) Named 2025 NLC-NJ Fellow
The Bloustein School’s Nashia Basit (MPP/MCRP ’24) was one of nine graduate students selected as a 2025 New Leaders Council New Jersey (NLC-NJ) fellow.
Newest Community Development Graduate Fellows
Miranda Alperstein (MCRP ’25) and Saul Ruddick-Schulman (MCRP ’25) were recently selected as 2024-25 Morgan Stanley Community Development Graduate Fellows.
Wells Fargo Joins $5.5M Settlement With Oregon Over Inflated Tax Break
New Orleans-based Enhanced Capital, which was acquired by P10 in 2020, is one of the nation’s three big CDEs that have played a dominant role in the state programs, according to Rutgers University public policy professor Julia Sass Rubin.
Kedar Nagarajan Named ANHD/Morgan Stanley Community Development Graduate Fellow
Kedar Nagarajan (MCRP ’23) was one of nine graduate students selected as a 2023-24 Morgan Stanley Community Development Graduate Fellow. He has five years of professional experience across three of India’s largest cities Bangalore, Bombay and New Delhi and worked with Professor DeFilippis on an ethnographic research project.
Nashia Basit Named ANHD/Morgan Stanley Community Development Graduate Fellow
Nashia is a dual MPP/MCRP candidate and is passionate about expanding opportunities for underserved communities through the implementation of new social safety net programs.
EJB Talks Alumni Spotlight: More than Making the Trains Run on Time–A Bloustein Alumna at Amtrak
Urban planning alum Gretchen Minneman Kostura MCRP ’07 talks about her journey from a student focused on community development to her professional work in transportation, currently working for the CEO and President of Amtrak.
Jonathan Bonilla named ANHD/Morgan Stanley Community Development Graduate Fellow
He will be working at Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDco), a community development organization founded on the simple idea that all people deserve healthy, vibrant communities
Research: Community Visioning for Place Making
In his new book, Anton Nelessen details how this process works for community organizations, municipalities, and neighborhoods to evaluate their existing community and translate images into plans that embody their ideal characteristics of places and spaces.
PhD alums Lowe, Solitare to lead TSU’s new Center of Excellence for Housing and Community Development Research
The new center will advance transdisciplinary academic and empirical research and debate on affordable housing and community development policy.