Idemudia Nina

Nina Idemudia

CEO, Center for Neighborhood Technology

Nina joined CNT in September 2023 as our CEO. As a native Detroiter, Nina understands firsthand how the built environment shapes the lives of society’s most vulnerable populations. This fuels her passion for empowering people to be change agents through urban planning. Previously, she served as Chicago Recovery Plan Director for the Chicago Department of Planning and Development, where her primary focus was to ensure equitable grant distribution across 11 critical program initiatives supporting Chicago's economic revival. In addition to overseeing a staff of 19 and dozens of delegate agency contracts, Nina helped create and lead a data management and impact team to create new standards for how the department analyzes its economic investments for equitable outcomes.

Nina specializes in equitable community development, inclusive outreach strategies, and organizational innovation for planning agencies. In 2021, Nina was elected the first Black President for the Illinois Chapter of the American Planning Association and now sits on the National Board of Directors. She was also recently reappointed by Major Brandon Johnson as a board member of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, the MPO for southeast Illinois. Nina is also an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs.