Meet Main Street America’s Three New Board Members | Main Street America
Tres miembros del personal de Main Street America delante de un mural en Marion, Iowa.

Marion, Iowa © Tasha Sams

Acerca de

Trabajamos en colaboración con miles de socios locales y líderes de base de todo el país que comparten nuestro compromiso de fomentar la prosperidad compartida, crear economías resistentes y mejorar la calidad de vida.

Visión general Quiénes somos Cómo trabajamos Colaboraciones de socios Nuestros colaboradores Nuestro equipo Oportunidades de empleo Póngase en contacto con nosotros
Dos miembros de la comunidad de Emporia Kansas posan con un cartel que dice "Soy un Main Streeter"

Emporia, Kansas © Emporia Main Street

Nuestra red

Formadas por pueblos pequeños, comunidades de tamaño medio y distritos comerciales urbanos, las miles de organizaciones, personas, voluntarios y líderes locales que componen Main Street America™ representan la amplia diversidad que hace que este país sea tan singular.

Visión general Programas de coordinación Comunidades de Main Street Impacto colectivo Premios y reconocimientos Marco comunitario de evaluación Únete al movimiento
Dionne Baux y un socio de MSA trabajando en Bronzeville, Chicago.

Chicago, Illinois © Main Street America

Recursos

¿Busca estrategias y herramientas que le ayuden en su trabajo? Sumérgete en el Centro de Recursos de Main Street y explora una amplia gama de recursos, entre los que se incluyen nuestro extenso Centro de Conocimientos, oportunidades de desarrollo profesional, ofertas de servicios sobre el terreno, apoyo a la promoción y mucho más.

Visión general Centro de conocimiento Servicios de campo Relaciones gubernamentales Conferencia Main Street Now Instituto Main Street America Funding Opportunities Apoyo a las pequeñas empresas Allied Member Services El punto Seguros Main Street Área de miembros
Personas en e-scooters en Waterloo, Iowa

Waterloo, Iowa © Main Street Waterloo

Lo último

Su ventanilla única para conocer las últimas historias, noticias, eventos y oportunidades -incluidas subvenciones y programas de financiación- en Main Street.

Visión general Noticias Eventos y oportunidades Suscríbase a
Mujer y niña en un puesto del festival en Kendall Whittier, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Kendall Whittier - Tulsa, Oklahoma © Kendall Whittier Main Street

Participa

Únase a nosotros en nuestro trabajo para fomentar la prosperidad compartida, crear economías fuertes y mejorar la calidad de vida en los centros y distritos comerciales de los barrios.

Visión general Únete a nosotros Renueve su afiliación Donar Asóciese con nosotros Oportunidades de empleo
Tres miembros del personal de Main Street America delante de un mural en Marion, Iowa.

Marion, Iowa © Tasha Sams

Acerca de

Trabajamos en colaboración con miles de socios locales y líderes de base de todo el país que comparten nuestro compromiso de fomentar la prosperidad compartida, crear economías resistentes y mejorar la calidad de vida.

Visión general Quiénes somos Cómo trabajamos Colaboraciones de socios Nuestros colaboradores Nuestro equipo Oportunidades de empleo Póngase en contacto con nosotros
Dos miembros de la comunidad de Emporia Kansas posan con un cartel que dice "Soy un Main Streeter"

Emporia, Kansas © Emporia Main Street

Nuestra red

Formadas por pueblos pequeños, comunidades de tamaño medio y distritos comerciales urbanos, las miles de organizaciones, personas, voluntarios y líderes locales que componen Main Street America™ representan la amplia diversidad que hace que este país sea tan singular.

Visión general Programas de coordinación Comunidades de Main Street Impacto colectivo Premios y reconocimientos Marco comunitario de evaluación Únete al movimiento
Dionne Baux y un socio de MSA trabajando en Bronzeville, Chicago.

Chicago, Illinois © Main Street America

Recursos

¿Busca estrategias y herramientas que le ayuden en su trabajo? Sumérgete en el Centro de Recursos de Main Street y explora una amplia gama de recursos, entre los que se incluyen nuestro extenso Centro de Conocimientos, oportunidades de desarrollo profesional, ofertas de servicios sobre el terreno, apoyo a la promoción y mucho más.

Visión general Centro de conocimiento Servicios de campo Relaciones gubernamentales Conferencia Main Street Now Instituto Main Street America Funding Opportunities Apoyo a las pequeñas empresas Allied Member Services El punto Seguros Main Street Área de miembros
Personas en e-scooters en Waterloo, Iowa

Waterloo, Iowa © Main Street Waterloo

Lo último

Su ventanilla única para conocer las últimas historias, noticias, eventos y oportunidades -incluidas subvenciones y programas de financiación- en Main Street.

Visión general Noticias Eventos y oportunidades Suscríbase a
Mujer y niña en un puesto del festival en Kendall Whittier, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Kendall Whittier - Tulsa, Oklahoma © Kendall Whittier Main Street

Participa

Únase a nosotros en nuestro trabajo para fomentar la prosperidad compartida, crear economías fuertes y mejorar la calidad de vida en los centros y distritos comerciales de los barrios.

Visión general Únete a nosotros Renueve su afiliación Donar Asóciese con nosotros Oportunidades de empleo
Updates from the Main Street America board

Working with Main Street America’s Board of Directors is one of my favorite parts of my job at Main Street America. The Board is made up of so many passionate, accomplished professionals with a combined many decades (centuries!) of experience in community and economic development, historic preservation, and social movements. They’re smart, plugged in, and resourceful, and the guidance they provide to Main Street as an organization and as a network is truly invaluable.

That’s why I’m so excited to announce that three new Board members — Lynda Tran, Tyrone Rachal, and Mary Helmer Wirth —have joined us! The diversity of their experiences in government, economic development and Main Streets themselves will add deep and unique perspectives to our Board, and I can’t wait to work with all three of them.

Lynda Tran

Lynda Tran

A nationally recognized leader in transportation and infrastructure policy, Lynda served most recently as Senior Advisor to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Director of Public Engagement for the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). In this role, she helped activate stakeholders to secure passage of the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. She also represented DOT as the agency’s official designee to the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, an especially significant effort in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and rising hate crimes against these communities.

A longtime organizer and communicator with more than two decades of experience in policy, advocacy, and campaigns, Lynda returned to DOT after co-founding 270 Strategies, where she developed public engagement strategies for clients including the Environmental Defense Fund, Oxfam America, United Way Worldwide, FAMM, the Black Economic Alliance, and the Economic Security Project. She was a senior strategist for Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy and served on the Board of Advisors for Higher Ground Labs and Battleground Texas. In addition to being a CBS News Political Contributor through the 2020 cycle, she led teams for Organizing for America, former Governor Tim Kaine, and SEIU.

Lynda attended the University of Pennsylvania where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Georgetown University where she received a master’s in public policy on International Policy and Development.

The Main Streets I have been most inspired by have managed to keep the soul and heritage that built them, while adapting to new needs and being brave enough to accept change. That change can mean trying new ways to use community blocksas temporary shared public spacesor it can mean advocating directly for federal resources for the first time ever, or simply connecting with other Main Streets to learn from each other. It looks different everywhere, but I think great Main Streets evolve with the times while honoring their past.” — Lynda Tran

Tyrone Rachal

Tyrone Rachal

Tyrone serves as President of Urban Key (UK) Capital Partners and has over 20 years of experience in community development and municipal finance, and private equity funding. Prior to founding UK, Mr. Rachal was founder and President of Atlanta Emerging Markets, Inc. which is a four-time allocatee with the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program receiving $148 million through that program. In addition, he served as Managing Director of Redevelopment for Invest Atlanta, the development authority for the City of Atlanta where he managed all tax increment finance and NMTC activity for the City.

Tyrone has vast experience securing NMTC investors and debt providers, identifying and screening projects, underwriting investments, maintaining compliance and organizing opportunities for community involvement. Prior to Invest Atlanta, he co-founded Red Rock Global, a minority-owned real estate advisory services business focused on distressed urban communities in Atlanta. He also served with the Private Equity Group of Merrill Lynch where he had the responsibility of advising financial sponsors in the private placement of over $7 billion of LP interests to institutional investors.

He is a graduate of Dartmouth College with degrees in Economics and Government, as well as the University of Chicago Law School and Booth School of Business, where he received his JD and MBA degrees, respectively. He is a licensed attorney, a licensed real estate broker and serves on multiple nonprofit boards.

I have worked most of my career attracting capital to redevelopment areas that do not attract traditional capital sources. I’m excited to assist in the delivery of transformation strategies for communities that are often unheard through the community engagement process. As downtowns like Atlanta continue to benefit from large catalytic projects, community voices will help to create a thriving space for everyone well into the future.” — Tyrone Rachal

Mary Helmer Wirth

Mary Helmer Wirth

As President and State Coordinator for Main Street Alabama, Mary brings a wealth of knowledge, specializing in the areas of community and business development strategies, relationship building, training and leadership development. Prior to her position with MSA, she spent ten years as a local Main Street Director in Emporia, KS. This experience forged a lifelong interest in downtown revitalization and community development. Following her tenure as Emporia’s Main Street Director, Mary served as Kansas Main Street State Coordinator for five years. There, she developed a leveraged funding package and managed the public relations on a project to convert a former high school into a hotel and convention center in Emporia.
Since taking on the relaunch of the statewide coordinating program for Main Street Alabama, Mary has traveled the state extensively. She has provided training and direct services to the Designated Main Street Alabama cities and Downtown Network communities, including incorporating the Downtown Design Guide and the Downtown Development Guide as key resources.

Mary has served as a keynote speaker and presenter at several events including Electric Cities Conference, Alabama League of Municipalities, Economic Development Association of Alabama, Alabama Communities of Excellence, Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation, EPA Community Framework Planning, Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham, Eastern Alabama Regional Planning & Development, Pepper Place Charrette as well as several local Main Street and Chambers of Commerce Annual Meetings and service clubs.

During my time as a local Main Street director, I’ve found that the most important skill is relationship building. That means taking time out of your day to listen to individual business and property owners as well as other partners involved in the Main Street. The best strategy is to go in person and meet them on their turf. Have some leading questions but most importantly, allow them to do most of the talking while you listen. Then, follow up and make sure that they know they were heard. This may sound basic, but nothing else can happen without this listening.” — Mary Helmer Wirth