The Partners

Frankie Blackburn is a Partner in Trusted Space, an effort to support grassroots action to connect people across lines of difference for mutual support, empowerment and quality of life.

Frankie is the founder of IMPACT Silver Spring, leading the organization from 1999 to 2010 as its Executive Director, and now serving as a Senior Strategic Advisor. She has worked for over 25 years in public interest law, affordable housing, community development, and public and nonprofit management. Previously, Frankie helped found Silver Spring Community Vision, a comprehensive service center for the homeless. As Vice President of Montgomery Housing Partnership (MHP), she developed a community-based approach to preserving existing housing in older communities and a new model for supporting and partnering with the low and moderate income families living in MHP housing. Frankie worked as Special Assistant to the Executive Director of the Housing Opportunities Commission in Montgomery County. In this role, she spearheaded a new approach to linking services with housing and sparked a new county-wide approach to addressing the long-term needs of homeless individuals and families. In the early years of her career, Frankie served as a legal service attorney with the National Housing Law Project.

Frankie currently sits on the Board of Trustees of Washington Adventist Hospital and the Board of Directors of Maryland Vietnamese Mutual Association. In 2005, she was honored as one of Montgomery County’s 25 Outstanding Women in Business and in 2000 she received the Linowes Leadership Award and the Comcast Cool Woman Award. Check out Frankie’s Blog called Resident Driven Change at http://residentdrivenchange.wordpress.com

Bill Traynor is a Partner in Trusted Space, to support grassroots action to connect people across lines of difference for mutual support, empowerment and quality of life.

Bill also a Strategic Advisor to Lawrence CommunityWorks Inc., where he served as Executive Director for over 11 years. LCW is an initiative working to rebuild the struggling city of Lawrence, Massachusetts, his hometown. Bill has 30 years of experience in community development and community organizing, working in urban areas throughout the United States. He is the former Executive Director of the CBA Inc. in Lowell, Massachusetts and was the Director of Community Development for CTAC Inc. of Boston. In 1992 Bill created Neighborhood Partners and the Neighborhood Partners Fund, which has assisted more than 200 community development efforts nationwide.  Through his work at LCW and in communities around the US, Bill has developed an innovative approach to place-making and community building called the Network-Centric Organizing approach.

Bill is a graduate UMass Lowell (BA) and received a Masters Degree in Management from Heller School at Brandeis University (MMHS). In 1998, Bill was awarded a Loeb Fellowship from Harvard University at the Graduate School of Design (GSD) In addition to his work at LCW, for the past 15 years, Bill has provided technical assistance in resident engagement and community building to the Annie E. Casey Foundation and other foundations and groups  in cities across the United States. Bill is the author of numerous articles and handbooks on community development, community organizing and leadership. Check out Bill’s Blog called The Value of Place at http://valueofplace.wordpress.com/