All events will be held at The Carolina Club in the George Watts Hill Alumni Center, 150 Stadium Dr. Chapel Hill, NC 27514.

1-2:30 p.m. (EDT) Buffet Lunch
Registration is now closed for the buffet lunch

3-6 p.m. (EDT) Panel Discussion and Reception
Open to alumni, guests, students, faculty, staff and friends of DCRP.
Price $50 | Student $15 | Carolina Alumni member $35
Panel discussion will begin at 3 p.m., followed by the reception at 4 p.m.

Nicole Thompson began her career in economic development while working for the Institute of Minority Economic Development in downtown Durham in the early 90s. Since then, she has worked in economic and community development on the state government, local government and nonprofit/community levels in North Carolina, Virginia and Colorado. She has experience in leading economic development efforts and growth in both rural and urban areas. Nicole joined Downtown Durham, Inc. as its President & CEO in February 2017 and has spent the last four years advocating for responsible and strategic economic growth and development in downtown Durham while also supporting the small, vibrant locally-owned business climate that makes downtown Durham such a unique, attractive asset for the Triangle. Nicole graduated from the University of Richmond with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Urban Studies and received a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Natalie Britt, Vice President of Real Estate Development. Ms. Britt joined DHIC in 1996 after completing undergraduate degrees and the Master of Regional Planning program at UNC-Chapel Hill. She is a member of DHIC’s senior management team and heads up its real estate development line of business. Since joining DHIC, she has completed 19 rental developments with various combinations of financing including conventional and tax-exempt mortgage loans, low-income housing and historic tax credits, local government loans, among other sources. DHIC currently owns 2,900+ units and has another 928 units in the pipeline with funding commitments in place.  Ms. Britt currently serves on the Finance Committee of the YMCA of the Triangle and has served on the Women’s Leadership Committee of ULI of the Triangle, the Board of Triangle Commercial Real Estate Women (TCREW) & the Land Protection Committee of Triangle Land Conservancy. She was a member of the 25^th class of Leadership Raleigh.

Amanda Martin is Chief Resilience Officer with the State of North Carolina. Amanda is passionate about building resilience in ways that advance economic prosperity, strengthen housing options, and celebrate cultural and natural heritage. In her current work with the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency, she advances the state’s resilience through policy advising, stakeholder engagement, and technical assistance. She completed her PhD in City and Regional Planning at UNC-Chapel Hill, where her dissertation examined post-disaster home buyouts in North Carolina from the perspectives of resilience, recovery, and racial justice. Amanda has over a decade of experience in climate resilience, disaster recovery, and community development, and she holds a Master in City Planning from MIT and Bachelor’s degree from Harvard. She lives with her wife and two children in Durham, North Carolina.

Kunio Kikuchi serves as Senior Advisor for Washington Research and Analysis, LLC. He began his career a Transportation Planner with Alan M. Voorhees and Associates, which was known for its computer-based ridership projections for Urban Transit. From 1970 to 2000, he functioned as the Principle Loan and Investment Officer for the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group. After joining the World Bank, he spent three years with the newly established Urban Projects Division. He became interested in the developmental potential of the entire country and transferred from the specific sector unit to country specific unit(s). With the International Finance Corporation, Kunio worked on countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Thailand, Laos, Egypt, Syria, Iran and West Bank and Gaza (Palestine). He pioneered Urban Development Projects in Brazil which spread to other countries and other regions of the world. Kunio graduated from the Case Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and received a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Can’t join on Nov. 12?

Consider a donation to DCRP! Your donation will be used to support Carolina Planning MCRP students:

• $50 can fund student registration fees to local conferences
• $250 can fund student travel to a conference
• $1,000 can fund summer research opportunities
• $5,000 can fund a tuition fellowship
• $10,000 can fund career support services staff to help MCRP students launch their careers

Donate today.