ATLANTA (January 23, 2019)—ULI Atlanta, an Urban Land Institute (ULI) district council, today announces Amanda Rhein is the new chair for the Livable Communities Council(LCC). Effective Jan. 1, 2019, Rhein is leading the council in its mission to improve metro Atlanta’s quality of life through advancing the critical role affordable housing plays across the region, transit investments and its implementation, improved connectivity, and regional and cross-jurisdictional collaboration.

“As one of the fastest growing cities in the country, we expect Atlanta’s population to continue to rise, increasing the awareness and urgency for equitable development across the region,” said Rhein. “I’m honored for the opportunity to pick up the torch from former chair John Goff and collaborate with local leaders across the private, nonprofit and public sectors to advance the inspiring work of the council.”

Rhein, who was recently appointed as the executive director of the Atlanta Land Trust in August 2018, is a seasoned real estate professional with 15 years of experience facilitating public-private partnerships and local community development. In her role with Atlanta Land Trust, she is responsible for stewarding the establishment of permanent affordable housing throughout the

City of Atlanta, with a focus on the 45 neighborhoods surrounding the Atlanta BeltLine.

Prior to joining the Atlanta Land Trust, Rhein served as the Senior Director of Transit Oriented Development and Real Estate for MARTA as well as has worked in multiple leadership roles with Invest Atlanta. She received a master’s degree for city and regional planning with a focus on land development from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Boston College.

“Amanda’s varied experience and dedicated leadership are well aligned with LCC’s vision,” said Sarah Kirsch, executive director of ULI Atlanta. “She will be an incredible asset to future initiatives of the Livable Communities Council as we continue to seek creative solutions to improve connectivity and develop healthy communities.”

In July 2013, the LCC was established as a 50-member, executive-level council when Livable Communities Coalition, a nonprofit metro Atlanta advocacy group formed in 2005, merged with ULI Atlanta. Together, ULI and LCC bring a vast array of resources and tools to advance thought leadership around the responsible use of land, TOD, and building inclusive and walkable communities, from best-in-class research to tangible application of best practices from ULI membership.

Key recent projects shepherded by the LCC include a published study on the state of housing affordability in the Atlanta region  led by the Bleaky Advisory Group, which is being used as a framework for both the Atlanta Regional Commission’s CatATLyst strategy to improve regional competitiveness and collaboration throughout the 10-county region, as well as for HouseATL, a cross-sector, open taskforce of civic leaders initiated through ULI Atlanta, The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, Central Atlanta Progress, Center for Civic Innovation, and Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce to build a housing affordability action plan for the City of Atlanta.

The LCC has also overseen the “MARTA Means Business” campaign, in which council members promoted the critical connections between economic development, income mobility and transit investment by creating research-based communications, publicizing interviews with local business leaders and hosting regional forums on how MARTA is driving corporate relocation decisions.

LCC is a member-driven Council with support from ULI Atlanta including Sarah Kirsch, Executive Director and Daphne Bond-Godfrey, Director. In addition to Amanda Rhein, the council is chaired by an eight-member executive committee including: David Allman, Regent Partners; Kevin Cantley, Cooper Carry; John Goff, Da Vinci Development Collaborative; Kevin Green, Midtown Alliance; Marc Pollack, Pollack Shores Real Estate Group; Pam Sessions, Hedgewood Homes; Jim Stokes, Sustainable Solutions Georgia; and Dave Williams, Metro Atlanta Chamber.