Kennedy Smith is a senior researcher with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s Independent Business Initiative and is an expert on commercial district revitalization and independent business development. Her work focuses on analyzing the factors threatening independent business and developing policy tools that communities can use to address these issues and build thriving, equitable local economies. In addition to her work with ILSR, Kennedy is an advisor to the Community Land Use and Economics (CLUE) Group, a consulting firm that she cofounded in 2004. Prior to that, she served on the staff of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s National Main Street Center for 19 years, the last 14 of them as the Center’s director.
