Cy Richardson
Legislative Policy Conference
Cy Richardson
Cy Richardson is Senior Vice President for Programs at the National Urban League, and a member of the League’s Executive Leadership Team. Cy is a recognized and respected expert on housing and community development, job creation and racial wealth equity and is a sought-after thought leader on issues related to building a more inclusive economy. Central to his work is the promotion of asset building and intergenerational wealth creation opportunities for people of color in urban America. In his current role he leads the League’s program design, implementation and evaluation activities, supporting national efforts to create economic and social opportunities and ensure that prosperity is widely shared regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, or geography. As a grants officer, he has supported efforts to increase economic security and mobility for low-income families, close the racial wealth gap, and advance financial inclusion.
Earlier in his career, Cy served as Senior Planner and Community Navigator at the Pratt Institute Center for Community Development where he played a lead role in several community development plans in diverse, low-income neighborhoods in Brooklyn. At the Center, he also managed training and technical assistance programs throughout New York State, served as a trainer on community development and organizational management issues, and provided policy analysis and public testimony on a variety of economic development subjects. Prior to joining NUL in 2002, Cy worked in various positions in New York City municipal government including as a legislative director with the New York City Council, with the New York State Legislature as an economic policy analyst, and as a Land Use Planner for the Brooklyn Borough President.
Cy has published numerous program evaluation reports and opinion articles on a range of economic topics, including housing and urban development policy; he also conducts basic and applied research around the guiding principles and practices of equitable development and is a frequent commentator and blogger on the boosts and blocks to building sustainable wealth in communities of color. His scholarly interests include economic inequality and intergenerational economic mobility. His research and commentary has been featured in the nation’s top publications, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and many others, and he speaks frequently at a broad spectrum of events. He participates as an advisory board member for several of the nation’s largest financial institutions, nonprofits and research organizations, and previously served terms on the Federal Reserve Board’s Consumer Advisory Council and the Fannie Mae Affordable Housing Advisory Council. He currently serves on the boards of America Scores! and the Center for Financial Planning, two non-profit organizations. He is also serving a three-year term as a Mayoral-appointed Director on the Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation, a subsidiary of Empire State Development.
Cy earned his undergraduate degree in Political Science with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a starting infielder and captain of the nationally-ranked baseball team. He holds graduate degrees in City and Regional Planning from Pratt Institute and Urban Policy and Politics from the City University of New York’s (CUNY) Graduate Center. In 2001 Cy received an Advanced Certificate in Urban Policy Analysis from Humboldt University (Berlin), and in 2013 earned an Executive Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Georgetown University. Cy lives in Brooklyn and is a proud husband and father of two girls.