On January 30, 2014 – the Cook County Land Bank Board of Directors selected veteran housing executive Brian White as their first Executive Director.
Brian White comes to the Cook County Land Bank with practical experience in fair and affordable housing, housing counseling, planning and land use decision-making, and community development. Brian White is an experienced professional whose entire career has been in Chicago housing and community development. From 2000-2005, he managed external community relations at the Leadership Council for Metropolitan Open Communities, a nationally recognized private fair housing organization formed in 1966 by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Chicago civil rights, business, and religious leaders. He also served a year as the organization’s director for development. From 2005-2012, he helped found and served as Executive Director of Lakeside Community Development Corporation, a nonprofit neighborhood-based community development organization. Under his leadership, Lakeside grew into an active and vibrant organization helping hundreds of people locate and secure safe, decent, and affordable housing. Most recently, Brian served as Chicago-based Community Development Market Manager for Charter One, the Chicago franchise of Citizens Financial Group, the nation’s 12-largest bank. As Community Development Market Manager, he was responsible for implementing the bank’s CRA (community reinvestment) strategy. During his tenure, Charter One consistently ranked as the top CRA market for Citizens Financial Group, the bank’s parent, across its 12-state footprint.
Among his notable accomplishments, Brian was individually recognized as 2008 recipient of the Barbara Grau Housing Advocate Award from Lawyers Committee for Better Housing. Under his leadership, Lakeside Community Development Corporation was awarded the John “Juancho” Donahue Award for Community Organizing by A Just Harvest in 2012.
Brian holds a Master’s Degree in Political Science from University of Illinois at Chicago, where he also completed coursework in the public policy PhD program. He currently resides in Chicago with his wife and two children.