ALGERNON H. PENN
PRINCIPLE PARTNER
Al Penn has been at the forefront of community engagement and development for nearly twenty-five years. His experience professionally has been in housing as Regional Director for The Nehemiah Corporation of America’s Down Payment Assistance program out of Sacramento, CA., which was nationally known as “The Nehemiah Program ©.” At Nehemiah he assisted in providing the opportunity of homeownership for over 150,000 families and individuals across the nation. He was also a Roundtable Member with “Cities-First ©,” a public-private partnership between the U.S. Conference of Mayors and The Nehemiah Corporation of America, committed to the development of economic development in urban cities where Nehemiah had impact for homeowners who lived in those areas.
He has served on four Congressional Task Force Committees across the nation (Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis) addressing the needs of African American homeownership with The WOW (With Ownership, Wealth) Initiative, a national effort promoted by The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation that created one million African American homeowners from 2001-2005. Mr. Penn served as Chairman with Friends of ALNAC (Abraham Lincoln National Airport Commission) which was committed in building a 3rd regional airport in the Chicago Southland area. Penn was responsible for public engagement with Clergy, Unions, Chambers of Commerce, Municipal and State Government. He has also seved as a public official on the Board of Trustees with the Village of University Park, IL. Most recently he served as Special Advisor to the Lightfoot for Chicago 2019 Mayoral Campaign.
In 2015 , he was commissioned by a local group to spearhead the nomination of Emanuel AME Church for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. He attended Governors State University and is a Life Member of the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Presidents Council. His membership provides scholarship opportunities for deserving minority students. Al Penn can be reached at APenn@Obsidian-Consulting.net .
