Robert O. Zdenek

23 Posts

Robert Zdenek is a community development consultant and principal investigator at the Public Health Institute. He is the co-author of Navigating Community Development.

Second Chances

Workforce Intermediaries for the Twenty-first Century, edited by Robert P. Giloth. Temple University Press in association with The American Assembly, Columbia University, Philadelphia, PA, 2004. 288 pp. $41.50 (hardcover). Workforce […]

The Community Economic Development Handbook

The Community Economic Development Handbook: Strategies and Tools to Revitalize Your Neighborhood, by Mihailo Temali. Amherst H. Wilder Foundation (www.wilder.org). 2002. 288 pp. $35 (paperback).. As a community economic development […]

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Building Wealth

Community development corporations have attracted billions of dollars of public and private funds to revitalize urban neighborhoods and rural communities. But global and national economic policies have undermined these efforts, […]

The New Urban Leaders (by Joyce Ladner)

The New Urban Leaders, by Joyce Ladner. Brookings Institution Press, Washington D.C., 2001. 135 pp. $22.95. Kent Amos was an IBM executive who, with his wife, raised at-risk foster children […]

Weaving Storytelling and Theory

Renewing Hope Within Neighborhoods of Despair, by Herbert J. Rubin. State University of New York Press, Albany, NY. 2000. 280 pp. Herbert Rubin, a sociology professor from Northern Illinois University, […]

Developing Future Leaders

Leaders Who Make A Difference: Essential Strategies for Meeting the Nonprofit Challenge, by Burt Nanus and Stephen M. Dobbs. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA 1999. 279 pp. $26. As the complexities […]

Book cover showing row house with US capitol dome in background and title It Takes a Nation: A New Agenda for Fighting Poverty
Equity

Fighting Poverty as a Nation

The dramatic changes in federal and state antipoverty programs are leading to renewed interest in policies and strategies for reducing poverty. Borrowing from the theme of Hillary Clinton’s It Takes […]

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The 8 Habits of Highly Effective CDCs

1 CDC leaders must be aware of their own limitations and recognize they’re responsible for developing staff and building institutions. Any entrepreneurial venture – not just a CDC – can […]

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Connecting People to Jobs:

Capitalizing on Regional Economic Development Opportunities In the fall of 1996, New Community Corporation (NCC) in Newark and the nearby Hillside Auto Mall launched an effort to train city youth […]

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Creating Stakeholders with Individual Development Accounts 

  Millions of Americans have built assets and improved their economic standing through higher education, business creation, and homeownership. Yet in order to engage in such efforts, most people need […]

Community Development Field

Toward Comprehensive Approaches for Strengthening Communities

Last January, The New York Times Magazine published “The Myth of Community Development” by Nicholas Lemann. The article painted a gloomy picture of urban community development, citing failed programs and […]