The LA Housing Crisis

John Perfitt has worked in community development, economic development and affordable housing for more than 20 years. He has worked internationally and in various communities in Southern California, with a recent and particular focus on the lower-income areas in the city of Los Angeles.

Perfitt has implemented large-scale community development programs and managed most aspects of large and small-scale economic development, affordable housing and real-estate-based redevelopment projects. He worked more than 10 years in local government with both large and medium-sized cities. 

Currently, Perfitt runs Restore Neighborhoods LA (RNLA), a specialized real estate nonprofit focused on investing in real estate in lower-income neighborhoods while using economically and environmentally-sustainable strategies. He also serves as a director for the Los Angeles Better Buildings Challenge, a city of LA-sponsored leadership initiative aimed at making Los Angeles buildings 20 percent more energy efficient by 2020. 

For the last 12 years, Perfitt has taught economic development finance to graduate planning students at Price. He holds a Bachelor of Administration from Michigan State University and a master’s in business administration from Loyola Marymount University.