Graciela Watrous is an urban policy leader focused on affordable housing and community revitalization. A Brooklyn native, she began her career at Bank of America Merrill Lynch before joining Detroit’s Housing and Revitalization Department, where she led public-private partnerships and the sale of city-owned land to create hundreds of affordable housing units. She also directed community-focused planning studies and supported U.S.-Canada infrastructure negotiations. After earning her MBA from Harvard, Graciela became VP of Property Strategy at a Softbank-backed infrastructure venture, then became the first employee of an affordable housing acquisition firm in New York City. As the senior acquisitions lead at Contour Housing Partners, she helped preserve affordable housing nationwide. Today, she is Assistant Vice President at the NYC Economic Development Corporation, managing the disposition of public land for economic benefit. Graciela holds a BA from Stanford and an MBA from Harvard.