Our Core Team

Steve Barlow

Vice President/General Counsel – The Works, Inc.

Steve is a leader in neighborhood and community development in Memphis, Tennessee, where he has worked since 1996. At The Works, Inc., a citywide community development corporation, Steve is an officer of the corporation and directs the legal and policy team. The Works, Inc. is a developer and provider of affordable housing, an urban farm and nursery operator, a grocer, a community service provider and an advocate for improved housing and neighborhood quality in Memphis. Since 2012, Steve has represented the City of Memphis in civil litigation targeting public nuisance properties. Starting in 2015 much of that litigation has been handled under Steve’s guidance by second and third-year law students enrolled in the University of Memphis School of Law’s Neighborhood Preservation Clinic.

Daniel Schaffzin

Professor of Practice and Director, Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution – University of Tennessee College of Law

Danny is a founding member of the Strategic Code Enforcement Management Academy (SCEMA). From January 2015 to May 2025, he directed and taught the University of Memphis School of Law’s University of Memphis Neighborhood Preservation Clinic, through which faculty and law student attorneys continue to represent the City of Memphis and non-profit clients in litigation seeking to abate the nuisance condition of badly neglected, vacant, and abandoned properties. In connection with his Clinic casework, Professor Schaffzin held an appointment as a Senior Assistant City of Memphis Attorney for Neighborhood Preservation.  After 16 years at the University of Memphis, Professor Schaffzin will join the faculty of the University of Tennessee Winston College of Law as a Teaching Professor and the Director of the Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution.

Kermit J. Lind

Clinical Professor Emeritus – Cleveland-Marshall School of Law

Professor Lind taught history at Cleveland State, led nonprofit advocacy organization for 13 years and practiced law in Cleveland for eight years before joining the clinical faculty at C-M Law. During his 16 years as a clinician, he supervised the Urban Development Law Clinic that provided legal services to nonprofit community development corporations in Cleveland’s neighborhoods. Professor Lind authored several law review articles prior to retirement and now writes, consults and lectures on community development law and public policy.

Joseph Schilling

Senior Research Associate – Urban Institute

 Joe Schilling is a senior research associate in the Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center at the Urban Institute. He is also a fellow with the Interdisciplinary Research Leaders program, led by the University of Minnesota with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Schilling is the founder of the Vacant Properties Research Network (VPR Network)—a dynamic hub for policy and research translation which connects researchers and practitioners on critical neighborhood revitalization issues such as code enforcement, urban greening and public health. He holds an LLM in environmental law from the George Washington University and a JD from Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.

Mark Weston

Staff Attorney and Operations Lead – The Works, Inc.

A Memphis native, Mark joined The Works, Inc. in 2023 following stints with the Tennessee Supreme Court, the United States District Court in Lafayette, Louisiana, and a somewhat meandering series of pre-legal careers.  As part of his work with TWI, Mark helps lead the Strategic Code Enforcement Management Academy (SCEMA), in addition to supporting the organization’s broader litigation efforts.  If he’s not at work scheming about courtroom strategies, you can probably find him cheering from afar for his beloved (but alas, often troubled) Baltimore Orioles or acting in Memphis’s local community theatre scene.  Mark holds a BA in Christian Studies/Philosophy and English from Mississippi College, an MDiv from Duke, and a JD from Harvard Law School.

Lindsay Woodson

Program Manager – City Support

Lindsay T. Woodson, AICP, is a Program Manager for City Support at the Bloomberg Center for Cities. She contributes to a variety of programming that supports mayors and city leaders driving meaningful change in their city halls and for their residents. In her previous role with the Innovation Field Lab—New York program at the Ash Center, she provided research-based support and advisory facilitation to ten participating cities, coordinated the program’s student research assistantships, and managed administrative requirements. She is inspired by work that requires participation from dynamic stakeholder groups, addresses complex urban challenges, and builds strategies that foster innovation in governance to deliver positive social outcomes.

Snapper Poche

Program Director – City Support

Snapper Poche is a Program Director for the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, where he contributes to the city support and student engagement team. He believes strongly that mayors and city leaders are facing more and increasingly complex challenges than at any point during his lifetime and that the tools and resources offered through the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative can significantly improve a city’s understanding of and capacity to address those challenges and ultimately drive positive impact for residents. He loves contributing to work that improves government operations and considers navigating bureaucracy a substantially under-appreciated skill.

Thomas Ronan

Legal Fellow – The Works, Inc.

Thomas Ronan is a legal fellow at The Works, Inc. Thomas got his first exposure to housing and property law as a summer intern with Neighborhood Preservation, Inc. in college. At TWI, he has done a range of work in these fields, including property management facilitation, support for the Klondike Community Land Trust, and event planning for the Shelby County Division of Community Services’ Renters’ Rights Clinics. In the code enforcement and receivership space, he provides support for SCEMA and is involved in receiver representation in Environmental Court.

Current and Past Faculty

Nisha Baliga

Co-Executive Director – Hester Street

Nisha Baliga, Co-Executive Director, has worked extensively with public agencies, community organizations, cities, and private institutions on master plans, programming studies, and urban design frameworks. Before Hester Street, Nisha worked as a Senior Associate in the Urban Design and Planning Studio at Beyer Blinder Belle for more than 10 years. Nisha’s experience includes project for the New York City Economic Development Corporation, New York City Department of City Planning, New York State, Princeton University and Aga Khan University. In her role as Senior Planner on a large campus master plan for the Aga Khan University, Nisha was posted for almost two years in Arusha, Tanzania.

At Hester Street, Nisha has led multiple large scale projects involving infrastructure, resiliency, arts and culture, health and wellness, open space and urban planning for public and private entities. She oversees Hester Street’s planning and capacity building portfolio and has lead large scale projects such as CreateNYC, Cities RISE and Take Care New York 2020. She was named Co-Executive Director of Hester Street in 2019.

Michael Braverman

Former Commissioner of Baltimore City Department of Housing & Community Development (2017-2020)

Michael served as the Housing Commissioner for the City of Baltimore from 2017 through 2020, and he led the City’s efforts to create both a comprehensive framework for equitable community development and an effective, integrated community development agency with the resources to implement it. Prior to leading the agency, Michael achieved national acclaim for his innovations as the Deputy Commissioner for Code Enforcement, re-engineering code enforcement, demolition, permitting, and litigation practices and aligning them with community goals. Michael is known for his expertise in well-managed government, for forging partnerships across city and state agencies, and for building relationships with community residents and leaders, private and non-profit investors, anchor institutions, and others to achieve big picture goals. He now consults nationally with practitioners, researchers and students who share his passion for designing and delivering data-driven approaches that are efficient, equitable, and impactful. Michael holds a JD from the City University of New York and a BA from the Johns Hopkins University.

Eric Booker

Deputy Commissioner, Housing Code Enforcement & Emergency Operations, Department of Housing and Community Development – City of Baltimore

Eric Booker, Deputy Commissioner for Permits & Code Enforcement, began working for the Department of Housing & Community Development as its Division Chief in 2004. During his tenure, Booker served in the capacity of Assistant Commissioner before being promoted to his current role as Deputy Commissioner.   The Baltimore native has extensive professional experience working for Fortune 500 companies, including Exxon Mobil and Verizon. Mr. Booker is a strategic planning, leadership development, and operations specialist who has extensive experience in civic engagement, community organizing, and redevelopment.   As Deputy Commissioner, he is responsible for property maintenance inspections and emergency operations for the Agency. Mr. Booker, a former military officer, was discharged with honors from the United States Army. He earned a master’s degree in management and finance from Notre Dame of Maryland University and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Howard University.

John Cameron

Shelby County Environmental Court Referee 

John Cameron is the lead Referee for the Shelby County Environmental Court. Judge Larry Potter appointed him to this position in 2007 with the approval of the Shelby County Commission. As Referee, Mr. Cameron presides over environmental and traffic cases in Division XIV of the General Sessions Criminal Court. Off the bench, he conducts law enforcement and community education programs.

Judge Patrick Dandridge

Shelby County Environmental Court Judge

Judge Patrick M. Dandridge’s career as a Georgetown Law graduate and young lawyer in Washington D.C. had just begun when Memphis elected Willie Herenton as its first black mayor. Sensing opportunity in Memphis, the Central High School Class of 1983 graduate returned home in 1994 and opened a law office.  Working as a part-time assistant city attorney in the Herenton administration for many years, Dandridge found a specialty — enforcing the building codes that specify minimum requirements for houses and other structures. After the 2008 financial crash saddled Memphis with foreclosures and property blight, Dandridge led the 60-employee code enforcement unit in the city’s Neighborhood Improvement division. Key matters before the Shelby County Environmental Court court center enforce building code violations when owners refuse or neglect to comply. If a tenant, for example, sues a landlord for a leaky roof, the case often lands in Circuit Court. However, If the tenant instead files a leaky roof complaint with the code enforcement department, then the City can sue the landlord in the Environmental Court. In 2018, Dandridge succeeded long-time Judge, Larry Potter, as the Judge of the Shelby County Environmental Court where he had previously brought cases as the City’s chief code enforcement official.

Jake Dishaw

Deputy Commissioner of Code Enforcement & Zoning Administration – City of Syracuse

Jake is the Deputy Commissioner of Code Enforcement & Zoning Administration for the City of Syracuse Department of Neighborhood & Business Development.  He has a passion for serving others and the community which he was born and raised.  With 20+ years of experience in the Department, Jake has been a part of the Syracuse Code Enforcement team since he was in high school working a summer job maintaining vacant properties.  After college graduation, he returned to Code Enforcement Full-Time in 2008 and has been there ever since serving in roles as an Inspector and Permit Director before becoming Codes Director in June of 2021.

 

In July of 2023 he took on an expanded senior leadership role within the Department, being appointed as the cities very first ever Deputy Commissioner overseeing all of Code Enforcement, Permitting, Licensing, and Zoning while acting as the cities authority having jurisdiction namely as its Chief Building Official and Zoning Administrator.

 

He is a graduate of the State University of New York at Oswego and has been a New York State Certified Code Enforcement Officer since 2008.  Syracuse has always been home for him and he is inspired daily by his daughter, as he works to make Syracuse a better place for all children in the Syracuse Community.

 

In his free time, Jake likes to play golf and works hard at a lifelong avocation officiating Division-I College football for the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Austin Harrison, M.P.A

Austin Harrison is an Assistant Professor of Urban Studies at Rhodes College. Prior to Rhodes, he worked for nearly a decade as a practitioner in the community development field in Memphis, Youngstown and in other cities across the country. His research interests include neighborhood change, community development and organizing, housing policy, and structural disinvestment. Previous work is featured in Housing Policy Debate, the Journal of Urban Affairs, Metropolitics and by the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Cleveland. He also serves as a Senior Research Fellow for Innovate Memphis, a non-profit think tank in Memphis, Tennessee, driving solutions for a variety of neighborhood-level challenges in the Memphis area.

Jason Hessler

Deputy Commissioner, Permits & Litigation, Department of Housing & Community Development – City of Baltimore

Jason Hessler, Deputy Commissioner, Permits & Litigation, began working for the Department of Housing & Community Development as assistant counsel, Northwest District, Code Enforcement Legal Division, in 2001. On the road to becoming acting deputy commissioner, Mr. Hessler has served as the Code Enforcement Legal Division’s managing attorney, deputy director, and acting director before eventually being named assistant commissioner of litigation. The Baltimore native’s area of expertise is in code enforcement litigation. As Acting Deputy Commissioner, Mr. Hessler oversees all aspects of zoning, permitting, plans examining, licensing, trade inspections, registration, special investigations and litigation. Mr. Hessler earned his JD from the University of Baltimore and bachelor’s degree in government and politics from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Andrew Kieve

CEO, Tolemi

Andrew Kieve is the co-founder and CEO of Tolemi, a civic technology company that builds data integration and spatial analytics software for local governments. Tolemi’s mission is to unlock the power of municipal data and enable cities to be more strategic, efficient, and evidence-based. Their flagship BuildingBlocks application brings together data on property and neighborhood conditions from across siloed departments into a single, map-based intelligence tool. Prior to Tolemi, Andrew was a management consultant with Innosight, where he helped Fortune 50 executives in healthcare & finance manage disruptive innovation in rapidly evolving industries. Andrew has a BA in International Relations from Stanford University and a bi-lingual MBA from IESE Universidad de Barcelona and the Yale University School of Management.

Matt Kries

General Counsel – Center for Community Progress

Matt Kreis is General Counsel at the Center for Community Progress. In addition to serving as in-house counsel for the organization, he brings two decades of experience in local government and the nonprofit field to help communities identify and reform the laws and policies that touch vacant, deteriorated properties. Matt is a leading voice in national issues touching housing and building code enforcement, delinquent property tax enforcement, land reuse and land banking, and general municipal and real estate law. He has worked closely with communities in Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, New York, West Virginia, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Indiana, Connecticut, and other states to develop more equitable and effective approaches to code enforcement and land banking. He has also helped to draft and advise key partners in the creation of state land bank laws and to improve delinquent property tax and code lien enforcement in states including Illinois, Alabama, Texas, Minnesota, and Michigan.

 

Prior to joining Community Progress, Matt spent 10 years as an attorney at the City of Chicago’s Department of Law, working closely with City departments and officials to enhance the tools needed to address vacant, deteriorated properties. Matt received his bachelor’s degree from Augustana College and a Juris Doctor from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. He is based in Chicago, Illinois.

Dana Malkus

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Clinical Professor and Director, Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic – Saint Louis University School of Law

Professor Dana Malkus joined the Saint Louis University School of Law faculty in 2009.  Her work focuses on community development, neighborhood businesses, and the collective power of neighborhood residents.  Since 2009, she has taught the Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic.  Through the clinic, she and her students represent nonprofit organizations and small business entrepreneurs on a range of transactional matters including structuring and formation, operational issues, contract drafting and review, regulatory compliance issues, and real estate matters.  In addition, she and her students have been active participants with the St. Louis Vacancy Collaborative since they helped found it.  They work with the Collaborative to address the complex challenge of abandoned property in St. Louis, a challenge exacerbated by local, national, and international forces.  Her previous experience includes working as an associate at Lewis, Rice & Fingersh (St. Louis, MO), a law clerk for the Honorable E. Richard Webber in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, and an AmeriCorps volunteer (Indianapolis, IN).  She holds a B.A. from Indiana University and a J.D. from Saint Louis University School of Law where she was an 1843 Scholar.

Monica Passeno

Housing Code Attorney and Advisor; Former Municipal Technical Assistance Manager for MASS Housing, Inc.

Monica recently relocated to Baton Rouge from Massachusetts and brings a strong background in community development, municipal engagement, and housing policy. She holds a B.A. in Sociology and a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law. Monica currently works at the Center for Planning Excellence where she engages with the public around the value of supporting good planning in communities.  Monica previously led planning initiatives at the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency, focusing on affordable housing and economic development in distressed areas. She also served as an Assistant Attorney General, where she litigated receivership actions and advised municipalities on addressing health and safety issues related to vacant and abandoned properties.

Larry Evans Potter

Retired Judge General Sessions Court, Division XIV Shelby County Environmental Court

Judge Larry E. Potter has lived in Memphis for over 40 years and is a well-known leader and a judicial innovator. Recently introduced as a “treasure of our city,” he was appointed to a City Court Judge position in 1982 at the age of 35, becoming one of the youngest judges to ever serve on the bench. He was elected to his first full term in 1983 and then overwhelmingly reelected to 6 additional terms, diligently serving our city and county court systems for 35 years. During the 40 years he has lived in Memphis, Judge Larry E. Potter has proven to be a leader, a judicial innovator and a man of great wisdom and compassion for the citizens he serves. On March 1, 2018 he retired from office and has since served as a Senior Policy Advisor with Neighborhood Preservation, Inc.

Jimena Veloz

Program Manager – Hester Street

Jimena is interested in planning as an interdisciplinary field that explores the interaction of people and place: how we build the spaces we live in and how we organize to do so. At Hester Street, she has managed projects that involve research and analysis of topics as varied as code enforcement, zoning and mental health, as well as capacity building for community-based organizations and local governments. She is currently working on Cities RISE, a project to embed equity considerations and community engagement in code enforcement processes in 10 cities in New York State.

Prior to Hester Street, Jimena worked on advocacy for transportation projects with the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, focusing especially on transit-oriented development and reducing car use. She holds a Master in Urban Planning from Harvard University, where she focused on learning about equitable development, design and real estate.