LEADERSHIP TEAM
James Johnson-Piett
Principal and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Johnson-Piett is responsible for the overall management of operations and strategic vision for Urbane Development. He specializes in neighborhood scale development and revitalization of urban commercial and retail amenities. His work focuses on strengthening neighborhood commercial & retail enterprises by providing services and expertise that infuses principles of social entrepreneurship, sustainability, and technical acumen into the core of his client’s operations. Past clients include the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, the Community Food Security Coalition, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Brick City Development Corporation, Shorebank Enterprises, and small business clients throughout the US.
Prior to Mr. Johnson-Piett’s tenure at Urbane, he served as a program manager for The Food Trust’s Fresh Food Financing Initiative – a $120M public-private loan fund. He also managed the Healthy Corner Store Initiative and Green Supermarkets Initiative, which worked to integrate sustainable design and development practices into supermarket development.
Formerly, Mr. Johnson-Piett was a fellow with the Philadelphia City Planning Commission, the assistant director of an afterschool program in West Philadelphia, and a consulting associate at Public Financial Management, a financial services firm for governments and other public sector entities.
Currently, he serves as Treasurer on the Board of Directors of the Community Food Security Coalition, is a Co-Chairman of the National Healthy Corner Stores Network, and a member of the Philadelphia Development Partnership’s Young Entrepreneur’s Advisory Board. Mr. Johnson-Piett is an alumnus of Swarthmore College with a B.A in Political Science and Environmental Studies.
Adnan Zulfiqar
Principal and Executive Vice President of Policy, Research & Development
Mr. Zulfiqar heads the policy and research division of Urbane Development, with expertise in legal development, governance reform, and civil society development throughout Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. His focus includes drafting legal codes, constructing theoretical frameworks to synthesize multiple legal systems, working with senior government officials and civil society, and providing analysis of complex public policy issues for federal, state, and local policymakers and elected officials.
Specifically, Mr. Zulfiqar’s experience includes serving as Team Leader on the Maldivian Penal Code Project, drafting the first comprehensive penal code for the Republic of the Maldives; as legal associate on environmental justice and land reform for the Legal Resources Centre in South Africa; and as an legislative aide for U.S. Senator Max Cleland (D-GA) on urban policy, immigration and education.
Mr. Zulfiqar received his B.A. in Religion and Anthropology from Emory University, M.L.S. in International Affairs from Georgetown University, Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and is currently completing his Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations at the University of Pennsylvania.