Mike Davis
Executive Director
Mike Davis is the Executive Director of the Central Illinois Land Bank Authority. Before his transition to Illinois, he worked as a Senior Program Officer for LISC Boston. During his time at LISC from 2012-19, he provided affordable housing owners across the state with technical assistance on energy efficiency, clean energy and healthy housing. Additionally, Mike led LISC’s lending for community development projects across Massachusetts. Previously, he worked for five years at New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation & Development as a Director of Operations for the Division of Architecture + Engineering and as a Senior Planner for the Bronx Planning Unit. Mike also spent three years as grassroots organizer on drinking water/watershed protection for Clean Water Action in MA and a year in AmeriCorps with MA Community Water Watch.
Mike has a Master of Urban Planning from New York University’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and a BA in English and a BS in Earth Science from Pennsylvania State University. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and a LEED Accredited Professional with a specialty in Building Design and Construction.
Emma Walter
Community Development Consultant
Emma Walters is the Community Development Consultant for the Central Illinois Land Bank Authority and assists grant writing, program and policy development, and strategic planning. Emma is also a PhD Candidate at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where she studies housing and community development in shrinking communities. Prior to moving to Central Illinois, Emma was the Executive Director of Allston Village Main Streets in Boston, MA.
Emma received her B.A. from Boston University and has a M.A. in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.
Brandon Snyder
Intern
Brandon Snyder is an intern and recent graduate of the University of Illinois’ Master of Urban Planning Program. Growing up next to East St. Louis taught him about the impacts of housing blight and urban decay on his own community. This experience has given him an interest in helping similar communities across the state manage their own housing issues. Brandon has prior experience in transit planning, GIS, and political consulting.
Megan Yarusso
Intern
Megan Yarusso is a second year master’s student in Urban Planning at the University of Illinois. Since she began her time the program, she has taken a key an interest in how housing shapes daily life across different communities. With CILBA, she hopes to learn more about the unique housing conditions affecting central Illinois and how local communities can navigate them.