Michelle Neugebauer

Michelle Neugebauer credits growing up in Bushwick, Brooklyn in the 1970s as the force behind her lifelong passion for community development and service, for it was there that she experienced incidences of neighborhood and community struggle first-hand.

Today, Ms. Neugebauer is proud to serve as Executive Director of Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation (CHLDC). With community residents leading the way, the mission of CHLDC is to build a strong, equitable East New York, where youth and adults achieve educational and economic success, secure and preserve affordable housing, and develop leadership skills to transform their lives and community.

Ms. Neugebauer began her career at CHLDC in October 1984 as the first full-time employee. There, she has led her dedicated team in planning and carrying out all the organization’s major program initiatives, including CHLDC’s work in public education reform, building affordable housing, community organizing, and supporting young people and their families.

A proud leader, Ms. Neugebauer is integral to Cypress Hills’ mission, a grassroots and holistic community development approach that has resulted in new public schools, hundreds of units of affordable housing, a revitalized commercial corridor, a continuum of youth development supports from early childhood education to college graduation and a legion of very empowered community leaders.

Ms. Neugebauer attended Barnard College and holds Master of Science degrees in Social Work and Urban Planning from Columbia University. She is a member of the Boards of Directors of the United Neighborhood Houses and the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development.