Christopher Ptomey has joined the Urban Land Institute (ULI) staff as the Executive Director of ULI’s Terwilliger Center for Housing. ULI is a global, multidisciplinary real estate organization whose work is driven by 42,000-plus members dedicated to responsible land use and building thriving, sustainable communities.
Ptomey will lead the overall strategic direction of the Terwilliger Center by implementing the center’s program of work and connecting it to other mission-driven activities of the Institute, which include advancing policies to increase the supply of housing, especially for lower- and moderate-income households. He will also work with other senior ULI staff on industry initiatives that intersect with housing, such as resilience, infrastructure, capital markets, public policy and leadership. In addition to those duties, Ptomey will also focus on building and maintaining relationships between ULI and private and public sector leaders and the organizations that serve them.
“I am very pleased to have Christopher on board to guide the Center’s program of work,” said Terwilliger Center Founder and Chairman J. Ronald Terwilliger. “A major focus of the center is to foster more development of mixed-income housing in communities across the nation. The substantial experience Christopher has in housing and community development gives me high hopes for what the center will continue to accomplish.”
The Terwilliger Center, founded by Terwilliger in 2007, focuses on a broad range of housing issues, with an emphasis on expanding housing affordability to a full spectrum of buyers and renters in communities across the country; and it is a leading authority on housing issues. In June 2018, the center released a report, The New Geography of Urban Neighborhoods, on how growth rates in urban areas are nearing growth rates in the suburbs and the urban development implications of the change. This research is the latest in a series of reports published by the Terwilliger Center that explore the role of housing in creating thriving communities.
“We are delighted to welcome Christopher to the ULI staff,” said ULI Global Chief Executive Officer W. Edward Walter. “We are fortunate to have him in a key leadership role at our Terwilliger Center, where the breadth of his experience and the relationships he has developed over his career will be instrumental in growing and enhancing its work going forward.”
“Home affordability, particularly for lower and middle-income households, is a growing concern for communities throughout the U.S.,” said Ptomey. “Through its partnership with ULI District Councils and other ULI member networks, the Terwilliger Center is uniquely positioned to drive development strategies and policies to improve affordability across the housing continuum. I’m honored to have been selected to join ULI and am eager to support its members as they continue to build the thriving communities of tomorrow.”
Prior to joining the staff of ULI, Ptomey served as the lead of the U.S. government relations and advocacy team at Habitat for Humanity International. During his time there, Ptomey focused on improving federal, state, and local housing policies and systems. Prior to his service at Habitat for Humanity International, Christopher served as the federal liaison for the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, and he served five years as a senior legislative aide to former U.S. Representative Michael “Mac” Collins of Georgia. Ptomey lives in Arlington, Virginia, and is licensed to practice law in his native state of Tennessee.
