Jesus "Jesse" Leon is a Development Officer with Banc of America Community Development Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of America, North America, in Tampa, Florida. Mr. Leon is managing a 2,000+ unit mixed-income, mixed-use development in downtown Tampa. The 28.8 acre development represents an investment of over $800 million for the City of Tampa. Building heights will range from 7 to 29 stories with full amenities such as swimming pools, gyms, movie theatres, and parking garages. Mr. Leon is also managing two other mixed-income, multifamily development projects in Pinellas County each with over 200+ units with heights ranging from 4 to 7 stories.

Mr. Leon brings over 10 years of experience of working with the non-profit sector on land use development issues. Most recently, Mr. Leon served as Program Manager for the Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities (TFN). At TFN, Mr. Leon worked with foundations to make financial and programmatic investments in land use development issues. He identified and networked key leaders needed to implement demonstration projects across the U.S. on issues such as mixed-use development, transit oriented development, mixed-income housing, and overall economic revitalization strategies to achieve healthy, livable, and sustainable communities. Previous to TFN, Mr. Leon worked in the Public Finance Department at Standard and Poor's in New York City, where he conducted in-depth financial, economic, and managerial analysis of governments to assess their credit worthiness for bond financing.

Mr. Leon’s volunteer experiences span the nation, ranging from working with HIV/AIDS issues in communities of color to volunteering at a number of inner city youth organizations on social justice issues and community organizing. He has also been a mentor and volunteer group discussion facilitator in youth incarceration units throughout the U.S. on topics ranging from drugs to education for incarcerated youth.

Mr. Leon is originally from an inner city neighborhood in southeast San Diego and comes from a single parent, low income, Mexican family. He attended San Diego City College for four years after high school before transferring to the University of California at Berkeley where he received his B.A. in American Studies with an emphasis in Social Policy and Social Justice. Mr. Leon received his Master in Public Policy degree in 2001 from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. While at Harvard, Mr. Leon worked on a number of projects involving economic development (on Native American reservations), digital divide issues, and inner city non-profit organizational assessment. During his stay at Harvard he was the Marketing Director for the Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy. Mr. Leon is also a Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Fellow. In addition, Mr. Leon has had the privilege of studying abroad in Spain for one full academic year and in Cuba for a summer where he conducted research on the spread HIV in Havana. He is a native Spanish speaker and proficient in Portuguese.