City Council member Brad Lander was elected to the New York City Council in November 2009. Prior to his election to the council, Lander was the director of the Pratt Center for Community Development, where he worked with community leaders, city government, and nonprofit organizations to preserve and strengthen neighborhood quality of life, promote sustainability, and create opportunity in low-income neighborhoods. Before joining Pratt, Lander served for a decade as executive director of the Fifth Avenue Committee, a community-based organization in Brooklyn that develops affordable housing, creates economic opportunities, and organizes tenants and workers. Lander also served as the Housing & Community Development chair of Brooklyn’s Community Board 6, on the board of directors of the Jewish Funds for Justice and Grassroots Leadership, as policy cochair of Housing First!, and on several panels advising the City of New York on public policy issues.