How did a group of tenant organizers, legal advocates, and policy innovators shape a model for mission-driven finance in Philadelphia and beyond? The Seventh Annual Jeremy Nowak Memorial Lecture—hosted by the Reinvestment Fund and the Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR)—reunited the founders of the Reinvestment Fund to reflect on the powerful relationships, social movements, and vision that laid its foundation.
Titled “Founding Visions: A Journey of Collaboration & Impact,” the event honored the legacy of the late Jeremy Nowak, a pioneering urbanist and founding leader of the Reinvestment Fund. This year’s lecture featured Eva Gladstein, Pat Smith, and Joyce Wilkerson—three of the Fund’s original co-creators—moderated by Katherine O’Regan, Professor of Public Policy and Planning at the NYU Wagner School and Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, former HUD Assistant Secretary for Policy, Development and Research, Reinvestment Fund Board Member, and Penn IUR Fellow.
Susan Wachter, Co-Director of Penn IUR, opened the program by celebrating Nowak’s enduring impact and Penn IUR’s longstanding partnership with the Reinvestment Fund. Don Hinkle-Brown, current President and CEO, emphasized the importance of returning to in-person gatherings and reflected on the Reinvestment Fund’s 40th anniversary—a milestone shared by many institutions born from the same era of urban change.
The panelists traced the Fund’s origins to the late 1970s and early 1980s, a period marked by disinvestment, white flight, redlining, and growing grassroots activism. Joyce Wilkerson recalled her early legal work in public housing during a time of militant organizing and housing justice movements, while Pat Smith described working in City Council to manage community development block grants in the face of Reagan-era program cuts. Eva Gladstein, then leading the Tenants Action Group, emphasized the drive to reclaim power over capital and use it for social good.
Emerging from the Bread and Roses Community Fund and networks of tenant advocacy, these women envisioned a revolving loan fund that could cycle investment capital back into low-income communities. Their efforts culminated in the founding of the Delaware Valley Community Reinvestment Fund, the precursor to today’s Reinvestment Fund.
A key decision was hiring Jeremy Nowak—a community organizer with bold ideas and a deep commitment to systems change. Panelists recounted how Nowak’s belief in capital as a tool for organizing helped shape the Fund’s mission: not only to lend money, but to transform the structures and flows of community investment. Early funding came from religious institutions and individuals willing to accept modest financial returns in exchange for meaningful social impact.
The discussion also explored the tensions and growing pains of the movement. As community development financing became more complex—with tax credit syndications and professionalization—some founders worried about losing ties to grassroots organizing. Others noted the challenges of navigating limited philanthropic resources, competition among institutions, and maintaining accountability to community.
Yet moments of innovation followed, including the creation of the Neighborhood Transformation Initiative (NTI) under Mayor John Street. This effort, shaped by reinvestment strategies and grounded in data analysis, represented a major policy success that translated movement principles into citywide impact.
The lecture, organized by Penn IUR Fellow Ira Goldstein on behalf of the Reinvestment Fund with Penn IUR, concluded with reflections on today’s challenges and opportunities. The panelists emphasized the need for activist energy, grounded community work, and adaptability. Their advice to the next generation: start at the ground level, stay in motion, and always plan for success.
The Jeremy Nowak Memorial Lecture series honors the late visionary urbanist Penn IUR advisory board member and Jeremy Nowak, who worked tirelessly to create equitable communities. As leader of the Reinvestment Fund from 1985 to 2011, Nowak reimagined what it means to organize people, capital, data, and capacity in service of a more equitable future.
The Nowak Memorial Lecture series aims to highlight Nowak’s enduring work to integrate public, private, and non-profit expertise to achieve collective urban prosperity. For a list of previous lectures and topics, please visit http://penniur.upenn.edu/events.
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