Melissa Bondi
melissa (at) smartergrowth.net, ext. 123
Melissa leads the Coalition's affordable housing initiatives and integrates housing and land use issues. Working with residents, housing advocates, local government staff, elected officials and business leaders, Melissa provides policy expertise as well as campaign strategy advice. She is the Coalition's main spokesperson on housing issues.
Melissa previously chaired the Arlington Advisory Commission on Housing, the primary review commission for housing planning and policy. She sits on the Steering Committee of the Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance. She is also a member of the Virginia Housing Commission's Housing Affordability and Real Estate Policy work group, and is a member of her local Community Development Citizens Advisory Committee, which oversees local distribution of federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. She has worked on numerous statewide, regional and local planning, transportation and housing committees and is a past president of her civic association.
Melissa has worked with non-profits as an organizational development manager and strategic planner. Most recently, she helped launch The Commonwealth Institute, a non-profit think tank providing independent research, analysis, and advocacy on Virginia fiscal policy issues, focused particularly on impacts to low- and moderate-income Virginians. Prior to that, Melissa served for seven years as the Assistant Director for the Natural Resources Council of America, a national coalition of the largest conservation and environmental advocacy organizations. She lives in Arlington.
