{"id":4186,"date":"2022-08-22T16:43:49","date_gmt":"2022-08-22T20:43:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/?p=4186"},"modified":"2025-07-24T13:29:37","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T17:29:37","slug":"davon-barbour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/magazine\/davon-barbour\/","title":{"rendered":"Davon Barbour \u201999"},"content":{"rendered":"

For Davon Barbour \u201999<\/strong><\/span>, growing up in Baltimore meant seeing the city sometimes struggle under challenges. Now, as the president and CEO of the Downtown Development District of New Orleans, Barbour is helping his adopted city tackle its own issues. The Downtown Development District (DDD) of New Orleans is America\u2019s oldest special improvement business district. Barbour specializes in urban placemaking, which he defines as \u201cthe act of curating an environment that\u2019s welcoming, inspiring, and beautiful for all.\u201d The DDD\u2019s mission is to bolster property values and activity, thereby producing new jobs, more local businesses, and an attractive landscape. Barbour was chosen for his position out of 150 candidates and has served since December 2021. He\u2019s responsible for 160 city blocks in New Orleans and represents property owners, civic organizations, and other constituents.<\/p>\n

Prior to the DDD, Barbour revived cities nationwide. One such project was the $2 billion East Baltimore Revitalization initiative. This two-year redevelopment plan between Baltimore, John Hopkins University, and the Abell Foundation welcomed a new live science and technology park.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really proud of that work,\u201d Barbour says. \u201cWhen I go back to East Baltimore today, I can see the live science park that\u2019s there. To know that it was once a series of abandoned and vacant homes\u2014it just makes me so happy. It\u2019s not a perfect project, but the cost of inaction was not acceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not everyone is initially open to change. Barbour recognizes this and works to establish faith within the community. He says, \u201cA lot of my work was making sure that I built up trust by taking care of some of those quality-of-life nuisances. That way, they can trust me when it comes to the complicated issues at hand.\u201d As a representative of many stakeholders, Barbour is used to discussing concerns and criticism.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt all comes back to empathy,\u201d he says. \u201cJust looking at the person on the other side of the table and understanding where they come from.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barbour credits his empathy and critical thinking to his time at Goucher College. He says, \u201cBeing around people from different socioeconomic backgrounds, genders, sexualities\u2014you name it\u2014did prepare me for the diversity of the world that I would be a part of.\u201d Not to mention, Goucher\u2019s focus on writing makes detailing reports easier.<\/p>\n

When asked to give advice for current students looking to enter the professional world, Barbour explained the importance of three attributes. \u201cWhen I hire, I look for three traits: passion, empathy, and critical thinking skills. If you\u2019ve got those, I can teach you the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the president and CEO of the Downtown Development District of New Orleans, Davon Barbour is helping his adopted city tackle its issues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":4187,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[54973],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[87499],"class_list":["post-4186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni-spotlight"],"yoast_head":"\nDavon Barbour \u201999 | Goucher Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As the president and CEO of the Downtown Development District of New Orleans, Davon Barbour is helping his adopted city tackle its issues.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, 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