Jessica Katz leads the NYCHA Regeneration Initiative, building on her career at the forefront of housing issues in New York City. She also serves as a Strategic Policy Advisor at Cannon Heyman & Weiss LLP, specializing in New York City housing policy. 

Prior to her current roles, Jessica served as Chief Housing Officer of New York City, overseeing the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), the Housing Development Corporation (HDC), the Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery Operations, and the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants. Jessica was previously the Executive Director of the Citizens Housing & Planning Council (CHPC), where she led a policy and research agenda on topics ranging from basement apartment conversions to equitable code enforcement to resident decision-making at NYCHA. She also spent more than a decade at HPD, most recently as the Associate Commissioner for New Construction, where she oversaw the creation of affordable and special needs housing. 

Jessica holds a B.A. in Urban Geography from McGill University and a Master's in City Planning from MIT, and she is a professor at Columbia University. She resides in Brooklyn with her family.

Alicka Ampry-Samuel is a public governance specialist focused on efficacy and legitimacy at the community level. She is a democracy and human rights champion with more than a decade of experience successfully interacting with responsible community and organization leaders. 

Most recently, Alicka served as Regional Administrator for New York and New Jersey at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), where she was responsible for ensuring HUD served local communities, including by managing housing assistance programs and directing resources to state and local governments. Before her tenure at HUD, Alicka served as the New York City Council Member representing the 41st District — home to the highest concentration of public housing in North America — and Chair of the Public Housing Committee, where she advocated for investment in public housing and worked to ensure residents’ voices were heard in policy decisions. Alicka has a strong connection to NYCHA, having previously served as Senior Advisor to the Executive Vice President for Community Engagement and Partnerships, after growing up in the Marcus Garvey Houses in Brownsville, Brooklyn.

She holds a B.A. in Psychology from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and a J.D. from the City University of New York Law School.