Beth Silverman is a senior practitioner and thought leader at the intersections of social impact, urban planning, real estate development and public policy. Beth’s career includes leadership roles in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors focused on building livable, equitable and resilient communities. Since 2018, Beth has served as the founding Executive Director of the Lotus Campaign, an innovative nonprofit real estate development start-up that tackles homelessness by engaging in private sector partnerships and leveraging capital as a tool for good. Under Beth’s leadership, Lotus Campaign developed 32 partnerships with nonprofits, landlords and funders to facilitate housing for over 430 individuals at an annual cost of less than $1,000 per person per year and was honored in Fast Company’s 2021 and 2023 World Changing Ideas competition. Beth also participated in the 2020 class of SEED20 nonprofit entrepreneurs.

Prior to leading the Lotus Campaign, Beth tackled complex land use and real estate development challenges in communities across the U.S. and internationally. From 2014 to 2018, Beth served as Vice President of Advisory Services at the Urban Land Institute, designing technical assistance programs that addressed a range of challenges from equitable urban redevelopment to planning for resilience. She co-created the Equitable Economic Development Fellowship program with the National League of Cities and Policy Link to help equity, transparency, sustainability and community engagement become driving forces in local economic development efforts and to strengthen public sector leadership.

From 2005 to 2013, Beth oversaw and managed large-scale real estate, policy, and economic development initiatives throughout the New York City region. While at the NYC Economic Development Corporation, Beth managed a $110 million portfolio of 10 projects that created over 300 units of affordable housing, five new cultural assets, and 16,000 square feet of high-quality public space. Beth also led the launch of a city-sponsored incubator supporting emerging entrepreneurs in culinary, food manufacturing, and related industries in Brooklyn.

Beth holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland and a graduate degree in City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania. She is an active member of the Urban Land Institute and serves on the boards of the Petersburgh Community Development Corporation and Asheville Downtown Association. When not working, Beth can usually be found outside; running, biking, surfing, and hiking, and generally encouraging friends and family to enjoy the great outdoors with as much unabashed enthusiasm as she does.

Her personal motto is: “Find out who you are and do it on purpose”, which she proudly lifted from Dolly Parton.