David Howard, Charlotte City Council at-large

David’s Biography

David L. Howard was born and raised in Charlotte, where he works daily to improve conditions for all citizens of his hometown.  He has been Vice President of Special Projects and Community Affairs of The Housing Partnership since 1997.

Locally, his most visible role has been that of chairman of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Planning Commission. As chair for two years, David has been successful in reformatting, redefining and restructuring the commission and his chairman role. In six years on the commission, David has served on the nominating committee, retreat follow-up committee, and is currently on the executive committee as chairman. He is also the immediate-past chair of the Planning Coordinating Committee, which consists of officials from all elected bodies in Mecklenburg County (County Commission, City of Charlotte, the six towns, and the CMS Board of Education).

On a national level, David has been appointed as an Urban Community Adviser for the National Urban Land Institute (ULI) in Washington DC.  This nine member committee provides expert insight on urban development matters.  Additionally, David was selected as a 2009 American Memorial Fellow by The German Marshal Fund of Washington, DC.  Awarded annually to 55 emerging leaders from across the United States, this fellowship gave him the opportunity to travel to Europe this summer, where he visited five counties over a 25-day period.

David has also been working in Charlotte’s communities for more than 16 years, including 11 years of development experience. In 1997, the Charlotte Observer recognized David as a member of “A New Generation of Leadership.” Recently, the Charlotte Business Journal acknowledged his community leadership in their annual ‘40 under 40′ column. Additionally, he and the other two co-founders of Mothers of Murdered Offspring, Inc. (MOMO) received the 2003 Pride Award for Organization of the Year. As an avid political follower, he was honored to represent the Office of Congressman Mel Watt (NC12) at the 2003 & 2004 National African American Leadership Summits on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. These annual, day-long summits were sponsored by the US Senate Democratic Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus for the purpose of building a more focused dialogue and partnership between African American community leaders and their representatives in Congress.

David has served on numerous non-profit and community organization boards, demonstrating his respect for Charlotte’s past, while building for its future.  They include the following:

• ‘The Committee of 21′ Road Funding Solutions Committee
• Mecklenburg County Environmental Policy Coordination Committee
• Mother’s of Murdered Offspring (co-founded after the murder of his god-sister)
• Urban Land Institute – Charlotte Council
• Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organization (MUMPO)
• YMCA-Steele Creek branch
• the Belmont Community Development Corporation
• Housing Charlotte 2007 Planning Committee
• Mecklenburg County Human Services Council

.
David is married to Mary Walker-Howard (Charlotte) and has three children and one grandson. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, holds a BA in Sociology and a certification as a Housing Development Finance Professional from the National Development Council.  He is also a 1998 Fellow of the North Carolina Institute of Political Leadership.