 As an active member of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women (NCBW) for 20 years, Marva Smith Battle-Bey has held many leadership positions not only at the local chapter level but also on the national board. Specifically, she has served as program chairperson, vice-president and president of the Los Angeles Chapter and board member and first vice-president at the national level. In June of 2006, NCBW elected Ms. Battle-Bey president at its biennial conference in Houston, Texas.
Recognized as a national authority on economic development, she began her efforts to revitalize South-Central Los Angeles through the then Mayor Tom Bradley's office. In 1979, she worked in his Office of Economic Development for two years until she became the executive director of Vermont Slauson Economic Development Corporation (VSEDC). VSEDC was a citizen advisory committee established by the mayor in response to the community's concern regarding the closing of a Sears Department Store. In 1990, she became the president and chief executive officer of the nonprofit, which now specializes in commercial, industrial and residential development. Under her capable leadership, VSEDC has completed over $40 million in economic development projects within the Vermont Slauson community.
Namely, in 1981, a 10-acre, $10 million shopping centre-Vermont Slauson Shopping Center-was opened in the area creating more than 450 jobs and significantly revitalizing the community. Since then, the organization has developed housing projects and provided technical assistance to businesses.
A native of Detroit, Michigan, Ms. Battle-Bey attended Michigan State University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in urban planning. She also possesses a master's degree in both urban and regional planning and in public administration, which were both earned from the University of Southern California (USC). Currently, she is a Ph.D. candidate at USC. She began her professional career as a lecturer. From 1975 to 1978, she taught urban studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Also, beginning in 1975, she worked at USC as a public-administration lecturer. Ms. Battle-Bey then became a trainer in the Community Development Training Program at USC's School of Business. She held this position from 1993 to 1996. Currently, she is a lecturer at the School of Social Policy and Research, Department of Urban Planning, University of California, Los Angeles.
Her leadership in the development arena has led to numerous national positions such as chairperson of the National Congress for Community Economic Development and vice-chairperson of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. It has also led to her meeting high-ranking government officials such as President George Bush; Alan Greenspan, the previous chairman of The Federal Reserve Board; and most recently, the board's current chairman, Dr. Ben S. Bernanke. |
