Katanya Raby, Executive Director/CEO

Katanya Raby is a seasoned urban planner, artist, and activist boasting over a decade of professional experience across non-profit, government, and corporate realms. Specializing in equitable planning within Chicago communities, Katanya was recently appointed to the City of Chicago’s Reparation Task Force, serves on the boards of both the Center for Neighborhood Technology and the Chicago Low Income Housing Trust Fund, chairs the Chicago Transit Authority’s Citizens Advisory Board, contributes to the Regional Transit Authority’s Citizens Advisory Board, and is a member of the Lambda Alpha Land Economics Society. She is an alum of the Chicago United for Equity Fellowship, co-founded and presided over the Society of Black Urban Planners at UIC, and established the Al Raby Foundation in honor of her late grandfather, a prominent civil rights leader in Chicago. Katanya is also a proud alum of AmeriCorps VISTA and City Year Chicago, demonstrating her commitment to planning for equity, providing service to underserved communities, and inspiring youth to shape the future of their communities.

Among Katanya’s notable achievements is her leadership in conducting the Racial Equity Impact Assessment (REIA) on the Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) for Chicago’s Department of Housing. This groundbreaking REIA established an inclusive framework for the city’s low-income housing development process, gaining recognition in the Brookings Institute’s June 2023 report on Measuring What Matters for Racial Progress. During her tenure with the Lightfoot Administration, Katanya co-led the development of the ETOD Policy Plan, resulting in the creation of the Connected Communities Ordinance. This ordinance prioritizes opportunities for affordable housing, access to jobs, and enhanced pedestrian and transit infrastructure. As Vice President of Planning and Development at Far South CDC, Katanya spearheaded the planning, designing, and development of POP! Heights Park—an award-winning, vibrant 22,000 sq ft outdoor amenity for Chicago’s Roseland community. This park stands as the first new community asset of its kind introduced to the south Halsted Street corridor in decades.

Katanya’s previous roles include serving as an associate planner at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning and as a policy advisor to Mayor Lightfoot’s administration. Katanya also contributed to Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Housing Subcommittee of the Mayoral Transition Team. Most recently, she leveraged her diverse talents to bring communities impacted by environmental injustice together as the inaugural Earth Fund fellow overseeing the Chicagoland Greening America’s Cities program at the Chicago Community Trust. Additionally, she is the former At-Large Officer for the American Planning Association Illinois Chapter.

Katanya leads her own boutique planning and development firm, Our Urban Dreams, putting her expertise as a planner, designer, activist, and artist to use in the communities that helped raise her and beyond. Additionally, she serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago in the College of Urban Planning and Policy. Katanya, a proud mother of two and graduate of Chicago Public Schools, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology, a Master’s in Urban Planning and Policy, and a Master’s in City Design from the University of Illinois-Chicago.