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Bob Van Meter Named Head of Greater Boston LISC

21 Jan 2008

Appointment ushers in “new era of community development”� in Boston

BOSTON (January 17, 2008) – Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) has named a community development veteran to lead its work transforming Boston neighborhoods into healthy and sustainable communities of choice and opportunity. LISC—the national force behind comprehensive community revitalization—has infused nearly $8 billion of grants, loans and equity into disinvested urban neighborhoods and rural communities since 1980, including $166 million in Boston.

To continue its longstanding work here, LISC this week named Bob Van Meter as the new executive director of its Boston program. Van Meter’s 25 years of local experience include 15 years as executive director of the Allston Brighton Community Development Corporation, a long-time LISC development partner. There, he spearheaded efforts to develop 450 affordable homes and apartments, establish individual development accounts for low-wage residents and create a program that allowed more than 500 families and individuals to acquire their first home. During that time, from 2003 to 2005, he was also a member of Boston LISC’s local advisory board.

“Bob knows the community development business, he knows Boston, and he knows LISC,”� said Robert Wadsworth, chairman of Greater Boston LISC’s local advisory board. “His credentials are tailor-made for implementing LISC’s three-pronged strategy of providing our partner neighborhood organizations with affordable housing financing, community development expertise and professional trainings that will enable them to work more effectively and efficiently. We’re looking forward to a new era of community development in Boston.”�

Prior to his work at Allston Brighton, Van Meter spent six years as a key staffer at the Fenway Community Development Corporation—another local LISC partner—where from 1987 to 1993 he was director of housing development, a senior project manager, and acting executive director. He has also worked as an organizer and lobbyist for the Massachusetts Tenants Organization and as an organizer for Illinois Public Action and the Citizen/Labor Energy Coalition.

He has served on the board and chaired the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations, was a steering committee member and chair of the Ricanne Hadrian Initiative for Community Organizing, and was a member of the MACDC housing committee and other committees. Van Meter, 51, has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago. He will join LISC in mid-March.

The Boston LISC program provides loans, grants and technical assistance to spur the development of affordable housing, new businesses, recreational facilities, safety programs, and other elements that define healthy, sustainable neighborhoods. Since 1981, Boston LISC has made $166 million in grants, loans and equity investments to nonprofit developers, resulting in 7,500 affordable homes and apartments and more than 1.4 million square feet of commercial space in underserved neighborhoods throughout the metropolitan area.

About LISC

LISC combines corporate, government and philanthropic resources to help community-based organizations revitalize underserved neighborhoods. Since 1980, LISC has raised more than $7.8 billion to build or rehabilitate more than 215,000 affordable homes and develop 30 million square feet of retail, community and educational space nationwide. For more information, visit www.lisc.org.

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Article Type: Press Release