Joseph Waldo, Executive Director

Joseph Waldo is a transportation economist with a unique combination of for-profit and non-profit experience. He has been President of URDC since 2002, successfully growing the organization in the establishment of its Owner Occupied Repair Program.  He developed a partnership with National Penn Bank to offer low-interest loans that supports the program and expanded the all-volunteer organization to three part-time staff positions. Joe is also Vice-Chairman of the Germantown Special Services District (GSSD), a quasi-public corporation with assessment authority to improve commercial corridors in Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood.

 

In the private sector, Joe is a successful transportation professional with extensive experience in logistics, Class 1 railroad management, business development, and multi-modal economic analysis. He currently works as a consultant advising public- and private- sector clients in support of transportation infrastructure investment.

 

Joe resides in Chestnut Hill and is an Adjunct Professor in Economics at Montgomery County Community College. He holds a MA in Regional Economics from the University of Philadelphia and a BA in Sociology/Urban Studies from The Catholic University of America. See: www.joewaldo.com

 

Valerie Harris, Housing Coordinator 

Valerie has been with URDC since mid-2013 overseeing the Owner-Occupied Repair Program.  A licensed real estate agent with degrees in Social Work and Urban Economic Development, Valerie has extensive knowledgeable of housing issues and the needs of the people she serves. She has long been active in the community, having worked for the Philadelphia Housing Authority and having developed policy for the Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN) and Transformational Housing Program (THP).