About Us
Image courtesy Ross Chapin Architects.
Our commitment
At our core, we are motivated to build better communities. Our goal is to strengthen community bonds by guiding faith-based communities to build beautiful, dignified housing in their neighborhoods. We work to empower communities of faith to execute their visions. We are faith-filled designers, community activists, and builders who believe that together we can—and must—develop life-giving, community-nourishing places.
Meet the Team
-
Sara Joy Proppe
is a real estate development and placemaking consultant and founder of Proximity Project. She is dedicated to helping churches and missional organizations steward their properties to foster neighborhood flourishing. Her experience includes urban planning, private real estate development, and placemaking. She is co-host of The Embedded Church podcast and writes and speaks on design for dignity and the theology of the built environment.
-
Aaron Lubeck
is a designer and builder. He is the author of Green Restorations: Sustainable Building and Historic Homes and a former adjunct at Duke University’s Nicholas School, where he lectured on sustainable home building. In 2012, Aaron developed Durham’s first net-zero-energy home, an infill project designed to fit seamlessly in its historic neighborhood.
-
Eli Smith
serves as the Director of the Faith-Based Housing Initiative. Drawing on his deep knowledge of case studies, best practices, and innovative models within this burgeoning movement, he works with congregations to design and implement housing projects on historically underutilized property. He has also consulted on faith-based housing legislation at both the state and local levels. Eli is a graduate of Dartmouth College, where he studied Religion.
-
Allison Quinlan
is an Architect, Landscape Architect, and Small-Scale Developer who focuses on building lovable, walkable, and economically sustainable towns and cities. She is a former member of the City of Fayetteville, AR Planning Commission and Construction Board of Appeals, a CNU member, and the Executive Director of the Incremental Development Alliance.
-
Thomas Dougherty
is a graduate of the Architecture School at Notre Dame, where he focused on the inner-block urbanism of traditional European and early American cities and its relevance to the incremental infill development of modern American cities - especially in light of new faith-based housing legislation. He is the author of The American Alley and writes on Faith-Based Housing for Southern Urbanism.
Our Professional Partners
Our Board of Advisors
Chris Elisara
After growing up in New Zealand Dr. Elisara moved to the United States to undertake graduate studies at Eastern University (MBA) and Biola University (Ph.D.), where in 1995 he and his wife Tricia founded the first Christian undergraduate environmental study abroad program, entitled the Creation Care Study Program (CCSP), with campuses in Belize and New Zealand. He is also the leader of the Congress for the New Urbanism’s Christian Caucus.
Ralph Plaskett
is a self-motivated and driven IT Professional with executive leadership experience focused on transformational work where Information Technology meets Culture and Personal/Professional Development. He possesses nearly 20 years of experience leading complex projects, managing cross-functional geographically dispersed teams, and delivering effective solutions.
Jarah Jacquay
Jarah Jacquay is a Pensacola, Florida–based civic entrepreneur whose work sits at the intersection of health, housing, and civic life. He is also the Founder and Managing Principal of Virtuous Cycle, a real estate development and advisory firm, and Co-Founder of Bluffline Inc., a regional initiative to reconnect Pensacola’s neighborhoods and waterfront through safe, resilient, multimodal infrastructure. As a convert to Catholicism and father of seven, Jarah is especially interested in how churches, nonprofits, and local partners can steward land and capital in ways that help families and communities live healthy, connected, and dignified lives. Jarah is a Florida-licensed real estate agent, a WEDG Associate, and a CNU-A through the Congress for the New Urbanism.
