Carol Coletta
BLOOMBERG PUBLIC INNOVATION FELLOW
Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation
at Johns Hopkins University
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. Coletta’s Fellowship project, Innovative Approaches to Foster Connection in Public Space, will convene a Community of Practice to systematically test prototypes for optimizing social connection in public spaces in order to develop a pilot framework for public space leaders. Coletta is driven by a passion for increasing connections across people of different socioeconomic backgrounds in order to realize more inclusive public spaces in cities.
Coletta has spent a lifetime focused on public space and its impact on cities. As CEO of Memphis River Parks Partnership, she led the creation of a new riverfront public space concept and the award-winning Tom Lee Park. As Senior Fellow at Kresge Foundation, she led the foundation’s national initiative, Reimagining the Civic Commons, a multi-funder effort to demonstrate that transformative public spaces can connect people of all backgrounds, cultivate trust, create more resilient communities, and generate greater value in neighborhoods nearby. Coletta has previously served as Vice President of Community and National Initiatives for the Knight Foundation, led the start-up of ArtPlace, was president/CEO of CEOs for Cities, and led the Mayors’ Institute on City Design. For almost a decade, Coletta created and hosted the nationally syndicated public radio show, “Smart City.”
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.
FEATURED MEDIA
Inclusive Placemaking: Tom Lee Park, Memphis
Interview: Why Cities Need Big, Bold Moves
Kresge Foundation: Carol Coletta’s Role in Memphis Riverfront Transformation
Daily Memphian: Carol Coletta Named Among Top 100 Urbanists
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