Biographies, Board of Directors and Staff

Executive Director

Deborah Miness Westbrooke, AICP

Westbrooke became the Executive Director of the Washington Smart Growth Alliance in July 2007 following a national search. At the time, Alliance President Sam Black said Westbrooke had "demonstrated commitment, imagination and success in bringing together multiple stakeholders to achieve smart growth results at a regional level. We are delighted to have her on board.” She came to the Alliance from the Georgia Conservancy, where, as Vice President for Land Programs and Growth Management, she oversaw the Conservancy’s Blueprints for Successful Communities program, which brings together citizens, developers, environmental interests and other stakeholders to plan for the future in a participatory framework. She is a recognized expert on civic-based planning to retain the best aspects of existing communities as they grow. Previously she spent seven years at the Georgia Department of Community Affairs' Office of Planning and Quality Growth, where she revised and implemented smart growth planning regulations and assisted local governments on growth and land use issues. Westbrooke is a certified planner and for several years was a leader in the Georgia Chapter of the American Planning Association including serving as President-Elect in 2007 prior to relocating to the Washington region. She has worked as a professional planner for local governments and regional planning agencies in Georgia and Florida. During her six years' tenure at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy in Cambridge, Massachusetts, she conducted national research on growth management and co-authored two books on the subject.  

Trustees

Chairman of the Board and President

Sam Black
Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, L.L.C.

Representing ULI Washington

Vice-President

Lee Epstein
Chesapeake Bay Foundation

David Bowers
Enterprise Community Partners

Edward S. Byrne
Kettler

Representing Metropolitan Washington Builders Council

Jeffrey E. Frank
Representing Greater Washington Board of Trade

Stewart Schwartz
Coalition for Smarter Growth