Fellow Profile

Katherine Williams

“One of the biggest aspects of the fellowship is learning to navigate between the needs and concerns of residents and the desires of people who want to build in those communities. Design is important, but it must go hand in hand with meeting other needs in a community. These include jobs, childcare, and education for all residents. Community developers must take all these into account when looking to build for, or in, low-income communities.”

— Katherine Williams

Fellowship Hosts:
Visitacion Valley Community Development Corporation
San Francisco, CA
—San Francisco Housing Development Corporation
San Francisco, CA

Katherine Williams had barely begun her Rose Fellowship, but her host, Visitacion Valley Community Development Corporation (VVCDC), could recognize the advantages. A property manager and owner of key community real estate resources in a predominately low-income section of San Francisco, VVCDC is trying to increase the number of affordable homes and improve the quality of life for the area’s residents.

“Katherine’s contribution has allowed us to step up to face several challenges in our neighborhood,” reports Jennifer Dhillon, VVCDC’s Executive Director. “She is helping us solve a long-standing problem; how to fund and build our library. She is helping us analyze the impacts of some massive development projects planned in our neighborhood. She is bringing her expertise and technical assistance to these challenges and helping us to inform and empower our residents to creatively and effectively respond.”

Katherine, who holds a degree in Architecture from Howard University, also believes she is making a difference. “My design background brings tools that VVCDC did not have in-house previously. I am able to think about projects from the perspective of an architect and the perspective of a community service provider and client.”

Enterprise Community Partners