Joel Bookman is the President and CEO of Bookman Associates, Inc., providing consulting services in economic development, comprehensive community development, commercial corridor revitalization, and strategic planning.
Previously, he served as Managing Director of the Institute for Comprehensive Community Development, a venture of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and Director of Programs for LISC Chicago.
The Institute was established in 2009 to advance the field of comprehensive community development and the positive impact it has in urban and rural communities across the country.
At LISC Chicago, Bookman guided the work of LISC staff in its New Communities Program, Elev8 Education Initiative, and its Centers for Working Families. The New Communities Program was a 10+-year program to support comprehensive community development in 20 Chicago neighborhoods. Elev8 Chicago was an educational initiative to transform achievement and life outcomes of middle grade students in five public schools in underserved areas of the city. The 12 Centers for Working Families supported by LISC Chicago were established to provide employment services, financial counseling, and income supports to increase financial stability of low-income residents in Chicago neighborhoods.
Over the past 35 years, Joel Bookman served as the Executive Director of the North River Commission and the Lawrence Avenue Development Corporation (LADCOR), and the Chief Executive Officer of the Kimball Plaza Development Corporation (KPDC) and the Mayfair Commons Senior Living Center LLC, on Chicago’s northwest side. He has served as a consultant in strategic planning, economic and community development, and nonprofit management since 1981. Mr. Bookman is a Master of Urban Planning and Policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Affiliations & Honors
Professional Affiliations
Impact for Equity Director, 2014 – present
Chicago Community Land Trust
Mayoral Appointee, 2012 – 2020
City Club of Chicago
Member, 2013 – present
City of Chicago Retail Advisory Committee
Co-chair, 2013
International Council of Shopping Centers
Member, 2006 – present
Georgetown University Adjunct Faculty Capstone Advisor, 2015 – present
The Hatchery Title Holding Corporation NFP. Director, 2017 - present
Lambda Alpha International Land Economics Honorary Society Member, 1989 – present
Metropolitan Planning Council
Member, 1998 - present
North River Commission
Member and Past President, 2001 – 2022
Openlands
Member, 2008 - present
Partners for Sacred Places
Director, 2014 – 2019
TREND Community Development Corporation Director, 2019 - 2021
Recognition and Honors
University of Illinois at Chicago Alumni Achievement Award
For contributions to the vitality of the Chicago metropolitan area in exemplary ways.
2012
Korean American Community Services Outstanding Service Award
For exceptional service to the Korean-American community in Chicago and Illinois.
2011
North River Commission Lifetime Achievement Award
For thirty years of service to the North River communities of Albany Park, North Park, and Irving Park in Chicago.
2008
Chicago Association of Neighborhood Development Organizations (CANDO) President’s Award
For exemplary service as chairman of the board of CANDO from 1995-1999.
1999
Lambda Alpha International Land Economics Honorary Society
Selection as a member of the Ely Chapter, Chicago, Illinois.
1989
Clients
A few current and past clients
Alamo Community Group, San Antonio
City of Chicago Department of Planning & Development
Chicago Metro Housing Development Corporation
Chicago Public Schools Office of Specialized Services
City of Los Angeles Housing & Community Investment Department
Cuyahoga County, Ohio Economic Development Department
Enterprise Community Partners
Family Farmed
Greater Chatham Initiative
Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago
John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Local Initiatives Support Corporation
National, Bay Area, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Louisville, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Richmond, San Antonio, San Diego, Toledo, & Twin Cities
LISC MetroEdge Corridors of Retail Excellence (CORE)
Neighborhood Economic Development Corporation (NEDCO), Mesa, Arizona
RAIL CDC, Mesa Arizona
Rockford, Illinois Economic Development Council
Trellis (formerly NHS Phoenix)
Uptown United, Chicago
Vietnamese Association of Illinois
Publications
Harvesting the Past: Lessons for Today’s Community Development Leaders
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, ProfitWise News and Views
The Trouble with Expectations: Debatable assumptions and the evaluation of CCIs
The Tamarack Institute
Building Participation and Relationships in a Complex Community
Perspectives on Activism and Civic Life, Field Museum Center for Understanding & Cultural Change, 2003
Who Says CCIs Don’t Work? Lessons Learned from Chicago’s Comprehensive Community Initiative
The Tamarack Institute
Linking Regional Economic Clusters with Targeted Urban Places
LISC Indianapolis, with Mass Economics, RW Ventures, Capraro Consulting, & JLL, 2014