Bret develops neighborhood investment strategies, public-private partnerships, and economic opportunity programs that align community interests with sustainable growth, creating new pathways to prosperity.
With experience spanning both public and private sectors, Bret specializes in projects requiring rigorous analysis, meaningful stakeholder engagement, and careful alignment of diverse interests. His background in community development, real estate, policy, and communications enables him to help clients successfully navigate complex urban challenges from neighborhood revitalization to citywide planning initiatives. Bret’s approach emphasizes creating economic opportunity while ensuring that development benefits existing communities and supports long-term affordability and resilience.
Strategic planning anchors Bret’s methodology for addressing complex urban challenges through comprehensive, data-driven frameworks that balance multiple stakeholder priorities. When project-managing OneNYC 2050, New York City’s long-term blueprint to tackle economic inequality and climate change, Bret coordinated across multiple agencies and community stakeholders to create actionable implementation pathways. Similarly, his multidisciplinary vision plan for the Rikers Island jail complex required navigating the intersection of criminal justice reform, real estate development, and community needs. This approach enables clients to develop cohesive plans that coordinate across sectors, jurisdictions, and time horizons while maintaining focus on measurable outcomes and community benefits.
Bret’s expertise in economic mobility emerges from his recognition that successful neighborhood development must create pathways for residents to participate in and benefit from economic growth. For example, through Colorado’s Governor’s Coaching Corps, he designed a first-in-the-nation program for workforce system coaches that has since become a national model, while his strategic planning with CUNY LaGuardia Community College positioned the institution as a leader in tech workforce development. These initiatives illustrate how strategic investments in human capital can strengthen both individual opportunity and regional competitiveness, helping clients structure programs that address immediate employment needs while building foundations for long-term economic advancement.
Public-private collaboration drives Bret’s approach to maximizing development impact through strategic partnerships that leverage different sectors’ strengths. Leading a developer solicitation process for a 47-acre waterfront site adjacent to the New Orleans Convention Center required balancing visitor-serving amenities with community housing and open space needs. His Downtown Revitalization Initiative work across four New York State communities involved coordinating $140 million in investments to ensure private development aligned with local priorities. This expertise enables clients to navigate regulatory requirements, secure financing, and build sustainable partnerships that deliver lasting value for all stakeholders.
Bret holds an M.B.A. from Cornell University and a B.A. from New York University.
Member, Urban Land Institute
- Senior aide at the New York City Council
- Community Journalist
Projects
HR&A advised the Bronx Chamber of Commerce to facilitate a collaborative economic development strategy among 15 major Bronx employers and institutions. Our work resulted in the Bronx Prosperity Plan — a comprehensive framework focused on talent development, strategic marketing, and targeted investments that established concrete pathways to enhance economic opportunity and prosperity across the borough.
Since 2022, HR&A has supported New York State's Empire State Development to design and implement a comprehensive workforce strategy for the newly established Office of Strategic Workforce Development. The office’s core focus is to establish strategic priorities for job training aligned with industry needs and to fund new programs – through a $150 million grant program – that connect un- and underemployed New Yorkers especially from historically marginalized communities to in-demand, high-quality jobs in priority industries. Ultimately, this internal and external-facing effort seeks to strengthen New York’s economic competitiveness and expand economic opportunity and mobility for all New Yorkers.
Since 2022, HR&A has worked with leaders in Manhattan’s Chinatown neighborhood to support recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, address systemic challenges facing the small business community, and foster a new generation of AAPI entrepreneurs seeking to preserve the cultural identity of Chinatown.
HR&A prepared the Syracuse region to absorb housing demand from Micron's $100 billion chip plant—the largest private investment in New York State history—through comprehensive market analysis across six counties that identified optimal growth areas and recommended strategies ensuring this transformative investment strengthens communities rather than creating displacement.
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