"If we’re going to regenerate our cities, we have to embrace the very people who make up our neighborhoods — those with the wisdom and knowledge to make their community better."

Rob Bennett (he/him) CEO & Founder

Rob is the founding CEO of EcoDistricts. He is a recognized leader in the sustainable cities movement with nearly 20 years of experience shaping municipal sustainable development projects and policy at the intersection of city planning, real estate development, economic development and environmental policy.

Prior to launching EcoDistricts, Rob was the Executive Director of the Portland Sustainability Institute, a nonprofit founded by Mayor Sam Adams to accelerate sustainability policy and project innovation in Portland and worked for the Clinton Foundation supporting climate action in cities throughout North America. Between 1998-2005, Rob worked for the cities of Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Canada developing green development market transformation initiatives including catalytic development projects such as Lloyd Crossing (now the Lloyd Ecodistrict in Portland), Brewery Blocks (Portland), South Waterfront (Portland), and the 2010 Olympic Village (Vancouver). Rob was a founding board member of the Cascadia Green Building Council and was a board member of REACH Community Development, one of the Pacific Northwest’s largest and most innovative nonprofit affordable housing providers. Rob has presented throughout the United States and abroad on topics such as green economic development, sustainable municipal innovation and green building policy.

Rob holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst School of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning.