LaToya Thomas

City planner LaToya Thomas often gets called in when communities are fighting over the future of their neighborhoods. She doesn’t offer solutions. She helps people listen to each other and find a shared vision for growth. “I weave community because we can't have good neighborhoods, good cities, or good places of any kind without people who are united in nurturing those places.”

Thomas works primarily in the Washington, DC region, where she was raised. She has seen urban decay, gentrification and the problems of each, as well as how our built environment can create spaces of both opportunity and exclusion.  She named her consulting firm Brick & Story because she approaches neighborhoods as more than streets and buildings.

Each place holds the identities, memories, and hopes of those who live in it – the collective stories. “I am given the gift of people’s stories and experiences. Then I help planners, developers, government agencies, and residents find community-driven solutions.”

Thomas works on affordable housing, urban revitalization, and community development, with a commitment to creating opportunities for marginalized populations. She has served with Urban Land Institute, Friendship Place, and the WHC Stakeholder Council. She was a member of Next City’s 2012 Vanguard Class. 

Thomas has a Master’s of Regional Planning from Cornell University. She often speaks to planners and government officials about how to authentically include communities in urban design and development. She spoke of her work weaving communities at the 2019 Aspen Ideas Festival with New York Times columnist David Brooks.