Joseph Duffy
Title: Executive Director
Organization: St. Clair Superior Development Corporation
Location: Cleveland, OH
Joe Duffy is Executive Director at St. Clair Superior Development Corp., a nonprofit community development agency, serving a uniquely diverse urban community along the Lake Erie shoreline between Cleveland, Ohio’s 2 largest employment centers, and home to Cleveland’s Asiatown. SCSDC exists to deliver results for, and on behalf of neighborhood residents, businesses and partners – acting as a central connection point between Ohio’s most diverse lakefront neighborhood, and the larger world. As Executive Director, Joe oversees day-to-day operations, engages key stakeholders, and guides organizational activity as it relates to a forthcoming Strategic Plan.
Incorporating over 10 years of public and private sector work experience, Joe has advanced community strength across a variety of environments, ranging from thriving central business districts to neighborhoods heavily impacted by 2008’s national home foreclosure crisis. In these roles, he has sharpened a passion for socially conscious real estate development, neighborhood voice and identity cultivation, and led programmatic efforts designed to restore wealth for neighbors facing well-documented systemic barriers. Understanding the relationship our surroundings play upon our mental and physical health, Joe views his work as a necessary means to heal longstanding inequities – bridging the gap – so that we may yield stronger communities for all individuals within.
Native to Savannah, Georgia, he holds a Master’s in Business Administration from Case Western Reserve University, a Bachelor of Arts from Ohio Wesleyan University and an [IN]City Program Certificate in Urban Planning from the University of California, Berkeley. Joe is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, a National Development Council certified Economic Development Finance Professional, and an EcoDistricts Accredited Professional. In his “off” time Joe remains engaged in civic affairs, exploring new cities and towns, and finding natural beauty in unexpected areas.