The Bloomberg Public Innovation Fellowship offers accomplished public innovation practitioners from the United States and abroad an opportunity to reflect on their experience, develop original research and thought leadership, and actively contribute to public sector knowledge and practice.

Carol Coletta is a Bloomberg Public Innovation Fellow at the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University. Coletta has deep experience driving impactful public-private partnerships, leveraging networks of civic assets, and fostering the prosperity of communities and individuals across the United States.

Previously, Coletta served as President and CEO of the Memphis River Parks Partnership, where she led the relaunch of a public-private partnership to develop, manage, and program six miles of riverfront and five park districts along the Mississippi River. Under her leadership, the organization raised more than $100 million for the riverfront to support projects like the award-winning Tom Lee Park, a national model for inclusive public space. 

Prior to her time at the Partnership, Coletta was a senior fellow at The Kresge Foundation’s American Cities Practice, where she led the Reimagining the Civic Commons effort, a $50+ million collaboration of national and local foundations to connect civic assets and produce more widespread shared prosperity for cities and neighborhoods.

Coletta previously served as the Vice President of Community and National Initiatives for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, managing a $60 million annual grant portfolio across 26 cities; led the start-up of ArtPlace, a public-private partnership for accelerating creative placemaking nationwide; and led CEOs for Cities, where for seven years she supported the success of cross-sector local leadership cohorts through research, convenings, and speaking engagements.

Earlier, she was Executive Director of the Mayors’ Institute on City Design, a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the American Architectural Foundation. She also founded Coletta & Company, a Memphis-based public affairs consulting firm serving businesses, foundations, nonprofits, and governments.

For nine years, Coletta hosted Smart City, a nationally syndicated public radio show featuring over 900 global leaders in cities, arts, and business. She later produced city-focused podcasts for the Knight and Kresge Foundations.

Her career began in public relations at Holiday Inn hotels, followed by roles with the City of Memphis Central Business Improvement District, and First Horizon bank. During this time, she also redeveloped a historic downtown Memphis building, where she operated a retail boutique and still resides.

Named one of the top 100 urbanists by Planetizen in 2017 and 2023, Coletta was one of just 21 women on the most recent list.

She holds a Bachelor of Liberal Studies from the University of Memphis, where she designed a major in Public Issues Management, and completed graduate coursework at the Institute of Design in Chicago and the University of Houston at Clear Lake.

Connect with Carol Coletta on LinkedIn.

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