Whittney Smith is the Deputy Director and Counsel for Lawndale Christian Development Corporation (LCDC) an organization working to revitalize and develop affordable housing in North Lawndale. Whittney oversees a million-dollar revolving fund that supports the effort to redevelop vacant property and increase the rates of homeownership in North Lawndale. She is also leading an economic development initiative to increase small business ownership through cooperative ownership in North Lawndale.

Whittney attended North Lawndale College Prep High School where she was chosen as a Posse Leadership award recipient and went on to attend Carleton College, earning a B.A. in International Relations. Whittney earned a J.D. and Masters of Public Policy at American University, Washington College of Law where she focused on community and economic development lawyering. Whittney has a demonstrated commitment to community development work and contends that by addressing the entrenched generational poverty that exists in Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods the well-being of all Chicagoans can be improved