Creating change and inspiring growth.

Tiberius Laughlin
Kansas City, Kansas

Kansas City, Kansas showed up to SCEMA feeling like we have a pretty good grasp of blight and vacancy issues. We are in year 3 of our 5 year SOAR project. SCEMA provided our team a wonderful sense of validation for the strides we have made! It also showed us how far we have left to go to bring our legal processes into line with our other progress in the SOAR war on blight and vacancy. The contacts we made among the faculty, the guest and from other cities energized our commitment to continue fighting to bring our community what it needs and what it deserves! SCEMA left us feeling proud to be a member of a growing family of communities struggling and winning many of the same fights we have here in Kansas. We are not alone in the dark! SCEMA introduced us to tools he have not explored yet. We are not at the end of our journey and out of ideas! We are on an ever more crowded road with colleagues who face the same hurdles.

Kathy Dillon
City Manager,
City of Union City Tennessee

The Union City team was fascinated by the amount of knowledge and accomplishments in one place at one time. We learned much of what we are doing right and where we need to improve or change.  We are looking forward to this conference and networking next year.

Matt Moak
Executive Director,
Community Development Administration,
City of St. Louis

There is something about working on City vacancy that affects you. It gets under your skin. I believe it has to be a part of you for you to want to work to achieve success addressing it.  It is not for everyone. The participants and instructors at the Memphis SCEMA conference had this in common.  To hear each of them present, question, offer insights and guidance with enthusiasm and determination was inspring and stirring.  It was real to connect with other urban cities in this way.  This type of work can make one feel quite alone.  Memphis brought us “loners” together. An incredible conference. Practical and intellectual, thought provoking, interactive while consistently positive and hopeful. The great cities preserve but also have to rebuild.  I felt the ability to do this at SCEMA.  Thank you.

Dana M. Malkus
Associate Dean for Experiential Education,
Associate Clinical Professor,
Supervisor, Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic
Saint Louis University School of Law

SCEMA’s team-based approach and commitment to meeting workshop participants where they are was exactly what our team needed.  We came away with deeper relationships, a renewed sense of purpose, new perspectives, and some concrete ideas for action.