Benjamin Tallerico

Benjamin Tallerico

Benjamin Tallerico provides a wealth of experience as both a teacher and practitioner. He has taught graduate planning courses since the late 1990's.  In all, he has taught at nine different colleges and universities, in a multitude of disciplines, including Political Science, Geography, Urban Planning and Urban Studies. Teaching both traditional classes and online, he has received numerous accolades. These include a Certificate of Appreciation for Contributions to Scholarly Activity and Academic Programming in the Department of Geography and Planning at the University of Toledo, a Certificate of Appreciation for Exemplary Instruction in the Learning Communities Fall 2012 AtD Initiative at Wayne County Community College District, multiple Outstand Faculty nominees at Monroe County Community College and being selected by the administration to be on the MCCC Adjunct Faculty Advisory Team. This experience has lead to Mr. Tallerico serving as academic advisor for many graduate students for their essays, an unusual occurrence normally reserved for full time faculty. In addition, his experience in the public, private and non-profit sectors has lead to Mr. Tallerico being selected to present on politics, immigration, economic development, housing, planning, transit, and zoning at state and national conferences. He also has been an advisor on historic preservation, a consultant on community leadership, and a member of Jack Ford’s Transition Team, Toledo's first African American mayor.

Today he serves as President of the URBAN group, Senior Associate for Becket & Raeder, grant reviewer for various urban federal government entities, MI Placemaking trainer for the State of Michigan, Economic Development consultant for the Cities of Roseville and Trenton, founder of the U.R.B.A.N. Club, and tour guide for Tallerico Tours. 

Mr. Tallerico was most recently the President and Managing Principal of Vilican Leman Associates, the state's oldest planning firm at the time of his appointment. Prior to that appointment he was the Director of Development Services for the City of Monroe, MI. where he was responsible for planning, land use, community and economic development, housing, historic preservation, building safety, zoning, blight enforcement, rental inspections, and environmental compliance. Previously, he worked for Mexicantown-Hubbard-Communities in Detroit, Michigan and in Toledo, Ohio, as the Executive Director of the Ottawa Community Development Corporation, where he successfully developed market rate and low-income housing (LIHTC). He began his professional career at DTE Energy, where he received the company’s highest award, the ‘Alex Dow’, for his work in economic development. Today Mr. Tallerico teaches in the Graduate Planning Program at both Eastern Michigan University and Wayne State University. He has also been a Visiting Instructor in the Graduate Planning Program at the University of Toledo for seven years. He has combined practice with teaching throughout most of his career.

Service to the Profession includes (past and present): Urban Affairs Center Advisory Board of the University of Toledo, the American Institute of Certified Planners, NAACP, Preservation Detroit, American Planning Association, Michigan Association of Planning, the Urban Land Institute, MAP/MSU Sustainability Task Force, Michigan Association of Planning Government Relations Committee, Neighborhood Conservation Committee (Monroe), Downriver Area Brownfield Consortium, Monroe Country Community Economic Development Strategy, Monroe Municipal Building Authority, Monroe Revolving Loan Fund Committee, Monroe Traffic Committee, Monroe Economic Development Review Committee, Monroe Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, Monroe Heritage Loan Program Committee, Chair-Michigan University Program (Subcommittee of Michigan Suburbs Alliance), Monroe County Historical Society, Michigan Suburbs Alliance, First Suburbs of Toledo, TMACOG's Growth Strategies Council, SEMCOG's Community & Economic Development Advisory Council, SEMCOG's DataCenter Advisory Council, Standard Federal CDC, Community Development Advocates of Detroit, Detroit Office of Neighborhood Commercial Revitalization Advisory Board, Gateways Collaborative, Land Use Task Force of Detroit, Gateways Collaborative Marketing Task Force of Detroit, Property Preservation Board of Toledo, Toledo Housing Fund, Frenchtown Township Zoning  Board of Appeals, Advisor to the Toledo Historic Districts Commission, Greater Toledo Housing Coalition, Toledo CDC Alliance, WSA-GIS (Detroit), Wayne State University GIS Task Force, Intergraph Graphic Users Group (IGUG), Wayne State University GIS Advisory Council, Michigan Geographic Framework Project, Improving Michigan’s Access to Geographic Information Networks (IMAGIN), and the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA).

Service to the Community includes (past and present): Monroe County Board of Determination, River Raisin Watershed Council, Chair of the Frenchtown Township Compensation Commission, Monroe County Housing Commission, Wayne State University Alumni Association, Exchange Club (Monroe), Monroe County Emergency Operations Team, BridgeWatch (Detroit), SEMCOG's Executive Committee, Community Outreach Partnership Center - University of Toledo, Ottawa Coalition (Toledo), Founder: Friends of 1515 Broadway (Detroit), EdPAC - Detroit Edison Power Supply Division Chair, and the Council of Action United for Service Efforts (Detroit).

Education

• Master of Political Science Wayne State University Detroit, Michigan
• Master of Urban Planning Wayne State University Detroit, Michigan
• B.S. in Business Administration Lawrence Tech. University Southfield, Michigan
• Post Grad. Study Urban Politics Wayne State University Detroit, Michigan
• AICP; American Institute of Certified Planners
• HDFP; Housing Development Finance Professional
• FBi; Form Based Code Certified
• Congress for New Urbanism Accredited
• MI Complete Street Certified
• MI Placemaking Certified
• Certified Planning and Zoning Instructor
• National Charrette Institute Mgt/Facilitation Trainer