Speakers

Kemena Brooks serves as Chief of Staff at the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA). In this role, she supports executive leadership in advancing agency-wide priorities and managing cross-departmental initiatives. Ms. Brooks also oversees CHA’s real estate development department, leading efforts to plan, preserve, and deliver affordable and mixed-income housing across the city. Prior to joining CHA, she was Vice President of Development at The Community Builders (TCB), where she oversaw the Mid-Atlantic region and previously led the City of Chicago development pipeline, from concept through stabilization. Ms. Brooks holds an MBA from Loyola University Chicago’s Baumhart Scholars program (2022). She was named to Crain’s Chicago Business 40 Under 40 class of 2023 and is a 2022–2023 Urban Land Institute Women's Leadership Fellow. She currently serves as Board Chair of the Chicago Loop Alliance and is a former member of the Chicago Plan Commission.