Our Team
Liz Blume
Principal
Liz started Blume Community Partners after almost 20 years as the Director of the Community Building Institute (CBI) at Xavier University, where she built her career blending community organizing principles with community planning processes. She is a planning professional with more than 30 years of experience in the field. Liz has led multiple city, county, and neighborhood planning processes, always with the voice of the community at the heart, and with an asset-based lens. Liz has led research efforts on important issues facing many metropolitan areas today including affordable housing, urban education, land use, community and economic development, equity and community engagement.
Liz has been the Co-Director of a master’s program in Urban Sustainability and Resilience at Xavier University. This interdisciplinary program incorporated principles from public policy, planning, and business to help students prepare for careers in environmental sustainability and resilience. She has also served as the Planning Director in Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, and worked as a planning consultant throughout the Midwest. Liz is currently the Vice-President of the Seasongood Foundation, a local philanthropic organization striving to support good government and expand and enhance the nature of civic discourse in the region. She is also on the national Preserving Of Affordable Housing (POAH) Board, where along with her colleagues she is working to create affordable housing across the County in communities that work for residents, including in Cincinnati.
Over her career, Liz has come to understand the systems at play in urban environments that produce just and sustainable outcomes for people and the communities they live in, and she also understands the systems that create poor outcomes that destroy community. Through her own work at CBI and her teaching at Xavier University, Liz is working to create more productive, sustainable, thriving urban communities that support the people who live in them. Liz is a frequent speaker on topics including, housing, community development, urban education, community organizing and engagement, and planning and public policy. Liz holds a Master’s in Urban Planning from the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning at the University of Cincinnati.
Emma Shirey-McNamara
Project Manager
Emma is the Project Manager at Blume Community Partners. Prior to joining Blume Community Partners Emma spent 8 years at the Community Building Institute at Xavier University. She worked in a community organizing capacity to support neighborhood-led initiatives, resident leadership development, and neighborhood plan implementation, and has experience working directly with Community Councils and Community Development Corporation. Emma provided ongoing capacity building and technical assistance support to resident led initiatives in the communities surrounding Xavier University, specifically in Evanston and Norwood, through partnership development, resource alignment and ongoing community engagement. Emma is particularly proud of the work she has done to support the Evanston Business Association on three successful project applications through the Neighborhood Business District Improvement Program (NBDIP) helping to raise over $450k to prepare 3 critical buildings in the district for redevelopment.
In her current and former roles, Emma has also managed a variety of projects including comprehensive neighborhood planning efforts, issue-based research projects, and other projects. Her strong organization skills, clear communication style, writing skills, and ability to work on teams with a wide variety of stakeholders, lay the foundation for successful projects and help clients achieve their goals. Emma has managed the collection and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data using various research methods including surveying, one-on-one interviews, and focus groups.
Emma has a passion for helping communities align resources to further their vision for the future of their community. She is committed to values of balanced growth and equitable development. Emma approaches her work with steadfast patience, a commitment to listening, and a desire to cultivate trust. Emma is an AmeriCorps alum from the Public Allies Cincinnati Class of 2015 and served as a member of the Public Allies Cincinnati Advisory Board. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Sociology-Anthropology from Denison University. Emma is a current participant of class 4 of the Urban Land Institute’s Real Estate Accelerator Lab.
Blume Community Partners 