MRED+D Lecture: A Conversation on Equitable Development and Inclusivity by Design with Marc Norman

Spring 2022 MRED+D Bernadette Ma Distinguished Visiting Fellow in Real Estate

Marc Norman is an internationally recognized expert on policy and finance for affordable housing and community development. Trained as an urban planner, he has worked in the field of community development and finance for over 20 years. With degrees in political economics (University of California Berkeley, Bachelors of Art, 1989) and urban planning (University of California Los Angeles, Master of Art, 1992) and experience with for-profit and non-profit organizations, consulting firms and investment banks, Norman has worked collaboratively to develop or finance over 2,000 units totaling more than $400 million in total development costs.

Norman began his professional work as an intern with the Planning Department of Los Angeles County, worked briefly in Los Angeles as a consultant, and then worked for two different non- profits providing affordable housing in Los Angeles and New York. He then moved into leadership positions with several financial institutions, including Lehman Brothers (Senior Associate), Duvernay + Brooks (Managing Director), and Deutsche Bank (Vice President), specializing in complex financing for affordable housing and economic development projects. Through those endeavors he has conducted or participated in a wide array of projects related to strategic planning, affordable housing development, lending, and investment. He has notable experience in the use of tax credits for affordable housing development. Norman is the president of his own consulting firm “Ideas and Action,” working nationally and internationally on projects promoting affordable housing and community development.

In addition to his professional achievements, Norman was previously a professor of practice at Syracuse University, where he engaged with both students and communities by teaching courses on real estate and housing policy in the Syracuse School of Architecture. He also implemented initiatives at UPSTATE: A Center for Design Research and Real Estate, in collaboration with city, state, and university partners. As a 2014-2015 Harvard Loeb Fellow at the Graduate School of Design, Norman consulted with architects, planners, nonprofit organizations and others throughout the United States.

Complementing his professional practice and teaching experience, Norman has engaged in numerous public service and academic service activities. Since 1994, he has served as a board member for 11 different non-profit and community organizations addressing issues of affordable housing, community development finance and design and serves on many fellowship and design award juries. He currently serves on the Executive Committee of Design Futures, on the Federal Reserve’s Community Advisory Council and on the board of MASS Design Group.