Creating change and inspiring growth.

Sarah Kampf
Director of Neighborhood and Community Services
City of Albany

This was my first introduction to The Strategic Code Enforcement Academy (SCEMA). Prior to attending the conference I was certain that I was going to learn more about strategic code enforcement, but unsure that I would bring home anything applicable to our Neighborhood Services Department. I was wrong. I was happily surprised at how relevant this very informative conference was to this department. I found myself regularly noting different practices and procedures that could work in Albany and ultimately connected with three other municipalities after the conference to further discuss those initiatives. Our department is a youthful three years old, so being in the room with cities that have had similar departments in place for 5-15 years was invaluable. SCEMA is a wonderful convergence of like-minded people and ideas. I particularly like the organization coordinators and amount of attendee involvement, which makes it a true learning and sharing opportunity among people with common goals. I fully intend to continue to cultivate the professional relationships I made at SCEMA and look forward to being involved in the future.

Richard LaJoy
Director of Buildings and Regulatory Compliance
City of Albany

The Strategic Code Enforcement Academy (SCEMA) was a great opportunity and resource to meet other like-minded people in our shared profession of Code Enforcement. We all understand that Code Enforcement and addressing blight and quality of life issues can feel like a thankless profession at times, but when you have the ability to meet others from across the country, you realize that we are not alone. Every community deals with similar issues. They may present themselves in different ways, but the root causes of these problems are often the same. SCEMA gives us an opportunity to brainstorm and discuss these issues and learn how other municipalities deal with them. SEMA gives us the ability to learn new tactics and procedures that are proven to work in other areas, and then try and adapt them to our individual communities. The networking and long term relationships that are fostered at SCEMA are invaluable.

Carlos Marín García & César Atresino Martínez – Team Puerto Rico
Regional Coordinators
Center for Habitat Reconstruction 
San Juan, Puerto Rico 

Being part of SCEMA was an incredibly valuable and enriching experience for Team Puerto Rico—both personally and professionally. The Academy offered us a deeper understanding of how code enforcement can be used strategically to address systemic issues like blight, vacancy, and abandonment, while centering equity and community impact.

Through this program, we gained critical tools, frameworks, and new perspectives that will strengthen our work on the ground. We especially appreciated the opportunity to engage with a national network of practitioners and thought leaders. The relationships and connections we built during SCEMA have opened doors to future collaboration, support, and shared learning.

As a nonprofit organization working to transform abandoned and deteriorated properties through a community-engaged and intersectoral approach, SCEMA gave us a rare platform to share our experience and highlight the unique challenges and innovations emerging from Puerto Rico. It was deeply affirming to see our model recognized within a broader movement toward equitable development and strategic enforcement.

We return home inspired, better equipped, and grateful to be part of a growing community committed to reimagining what’s possible in the spaces too often left behind.

Carlos Miguel Marín García
Regional Coordinator
Center for Habitat Reconstruction
San Juan, Puerto Rico

Participating in the Strategic Code Enforcement Management Academy was a transformative experience. The program provided me with a wide range of tools, approaches, and strategies to more effectively address blight, vacancy, and nuisance issues in our communities. It deepened my understanding of code enforcement as a powerful tool for community revitalization and gave me fresh insight into program design and implementation.

One of the most meaningful parts of the experience was the opportunity to present the work of our nonprofit organization, which focuses on tackling property abandonment through a community-engaged, intersectoral approach. Sharing our model and learning from others across the country reaffirmed the importance of collaborative, grassroots-led efforts to bring lasting change to our neighborhoods.

I left the Academy feeling better equipped, inspired, and more connected to a network of professionals committed to equitable and strategic community development.

Dennis Kennedy
Former Commissioner of Code
Department of Neighborhoods,
City of Toledo

When you live and breathe blight and vacancy every day in your professional life, you can quickly find yourself living in a vacuum, where the approach for this work can be met with the same routines.  What I found the most useful about SCEMA was the introduction to subject matter experts on all things related to not only enforcing the code, but the genesis of why chronic nuisance issues exist in our communities.  SCEMA has found a path to create a network of professionals whose main focus is the support and outreach of folks doing this great work in sister cities.  Everyone is very passionate about improving quality of life for residents in our communities, and the SCEMA staff hits the target on providing useful and valuable tools and strategies for tangible outcomes.

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.