WCA's 2022 Real Estate Conference - Statewide Solutions to Westchester's Housing Crisis

Jenny Schuetz is a Senior Fellow at Brookings Metro, and is an expert in urban economics and housing policy. Dr. Schuetz has written numerous peer-reviewed journal articles on land use regulation, housing prices, urban amenities, and neighborhood change. Dr. Schuetz has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, the PBS NewsHour, The Indicator podcast, Vox, and Slate.

Dr. Schuetz is the author of Fixer Upper: How to Repair America’s Broken Housing Systems.

Topics of recent research include: how statewide zoning reform could improve housing affordability; local strategies to help renters during the COVID-19 crisis; rethinking homeownership incentives to narrow the racial wealth gap; and how housing costs exacerbate economic and racial segregation.

Before joining Brookings, Dr. Schuetz served as a principal economist at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Dr. Schuetz was also an assistant professor at the University of Southern California and a post-doctoral fellow at NYU Furman. Dr. Schuetz is a nonresident senior fellow at GWU’s Center for Washington Area Studies and teaches in Georgetown’s urban planning program.

Dr. Schuetz earned a PhD in public policy from Harvard University, a master’s in city planning from M.I.T., and a B.A. with Highest Distinction in economics and political and social thought from the University of Virginia.

Patrick Cleary, AICP, CEP, PP, LEED AP, CNU-A is professional planner with over 40 years of experience in the field of planning. Mr. Cleary serves as the Principal of Cleary Consulting a professional planning firm established in 1990, with offices in Northport, NY – offering a full range of planning and environmental services for government and the private sector throughout the New York metropolitan area.

Prior to the formation of Cleary Consulting, Mr. Cleary served as a staff planner for communities in Westchester and Long Island, and also worked for private consulting firms.

Mr. Cleary is an accredited member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, and is a licensed Professional Planner in the state of New Jersey. Mr. Cleary is a member of the American Planning Association, Urban Land Institute, National Association of Environmental Professionals, New York Planning Federation, Westchester Municipal Planning Federation.

Mr. Cleary is a member of the US Green Building Council, is an accredited member of the Congress for New Urbanism and was one of the first in the nation to obtain LEED AP certification in the specialty of Neighborhood Development (first offered in 2010).

In 2011, Mr. Cleary was a member of the first class of approximately 30 professionals nation-wide to obtain the Certified Environmental Planner (CEP) credential offered by the American Institute of Certified Planners.

Mr. Cleary is on the Board of Directors of the Westchester Municipal Planning Federation, formally served on the national Board of Directors of the American Society of Consulting Planners, and is the Chairman of the Village of Asharoken Planning Board.

Jonathan Gertman leads The NRP Group’s New York City office, originating and overseeing market rate and affordable development. He is responsible for the company’s development efforts in New York City, Westchester, Long Island, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Jonathan opened NRP’s New York City office in 2016.

Prior to joining NRP, Mr. Gertman worked in New York for Forest City Realty Trust. At Forest City he originated and managed multifamily and mixed-use projects in Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. In that role he worked on the development of 980 units of luxury multifamily housing and ancillary retail.

Jonathan is a graduate from the University of Pennsylvania, from which he holds a degree in Urban Studies with a minor in Urban Real Estate from the Wharton School of Business. He is committed to philanthropic endeavors and giving back to the community. Currently he is a member of the board of a Brooklyn based food bank called Neighbors Together, and sits on the executive committee of Congregation Beth Elohim of Brooklyn

Blanca López is an experienced professional with over two decades in community
development, planning and housing. Currently, Ms. Lopez serves as the Deputy
Commissioner for Westchester County’s Planning Department.
She previously served as Assistant Director of Operations for Westchester County
responsible for oversight of all county housing-related programs, overseeing the
recommendations and implementation of policies from the Police Reform Task Force
across all County departments and work with the Probation Department on Raise the Age
implementation. Ms. Lopez joined the Latimer administration in 2018 serving as adviser
on Fair and Affordable Housing and liaison to various county departments such as
Correction, Emergency Services, Human Rights Commission and the Office for People
with Disabilities.
Ms. Lopez’s prior experiences include working in the not for profit sector as Program
Director for Human Development Services of Westchester, a program funded by New
York State to preserve affordable housing, and as Legislative and Community Affairs
Representative for then U.S. Representative Nita M. Lowey assisting constituents in the
areas of housing, immigration and veteran affairs, as well as developing strategies to
reach Spanish speaking and immigrant populations throughout Mrs. Lowey’s
congressional district.
She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Latin American and Latino Studies from Fordham
University and a Master’s Degree in Urban & Public Policy and Management from the
New School University. She is a Fellow of the New York Immigration and Social Justice
Institute’s Immigrant Advocacy Fellowship Program and was honored by The Business
Council of Westchester as one of Forty under Forty Rising Stars in 2011. Ms. Lopez is
also the first Latina elected to office in the Villages of Port Chester and Rye Brook,
serving as Trustee for the Port Chester-Rye Union Free Board of Education from 2009
through 2012. In 2016, she was recognized by then New York State Senator George
Latimer for her noteworthy achievements as part of the Women of Distinction Event
Honoring Women in New York.
A lifelong advocate for affordable housing and community services for vulnerable
families and individuals, Blanca was born in Peru and migrated to the United States at 8
years of age. Currently she is the co-President of King Street Elementary School PTA, a
member of the Port Chester-Rye Brook Kiwanis Club and Board President of the Council
of Community Services for Port Chester, Rye Brook, and Rye Town, a nonprofit
organization that provides supports to local nonprofit organizations serving these
communities.
Ms. Lopez lives in the Village of Port Chester with her family