Shin is the President of National Non-profit Leader Urban Strategies, Inc.
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI JUNE. 2, 2022 | Esther Shin was recognized with an Award of Distinction from Washington University’s Brown School. The Distinguished Alumni Award was presented to Shin for her outstanding contributions, tireless commitment, innovation, and strong leadership to alleviate society’s most urgent concerns.
As president of Urban Strategies, Inc. (USI) Shin leads a team of professionals with expertise in human capital and economic development to assist communities across the country. She believes that all residents want safe, vibrant neighborhoods in which to work, live and play. Her expertise spans the spectrum of community transformation activities, ranging from resource development to community engagement to program development and evaluation.
Shin has led or supported securing 15 Choice Neighborhood Implementation grants from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. These grants served more than 500,000 children and adults in 38 communities and amounted to more than $450 million in federal resources, which has leveraged more than $3 billion in additional investments.
Shin, who was the commencement speaker for Washington University’s winter graduation, serves on the US Bank CDE Advisory Board, the MBS Urban Initiatives CDE Advisory Board, the HomeGrown STL Regional Steering Committee and the Data Science for Social Impact Advisory Committee. She was also selected by the Annie E. Casey Foundation for a Children and Family Fellowship. The fellowship works to increase the pool of leaders with the vision and ability to frame and sustain major system reforms and community capacity-building initiatives that benefit large numbers of children and families. In addition to her master’s degree in social work form the Brown School, Esther has bachelor’s degrees in both pollical science and English literature from Washington University.
Founded in 1978, USI is a national non-profit leader with extensive experience in the design and implementation of people-centered strategies, family supportive services, and community development for families in underserved urban-core residential communities. USI works with partners in 38 communities in 22 cities/territories. USI is an organization of color led by people of color seeking equitable results for children and families. For more information www.urbanstrategiesinc.org.
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Watch Esther Shin’s Commencement Speech at Washington University’s December Graduation
