Rebecca Cordes Chan is the executive director of the Friends of the Rail Park, a position she has held since March 2020. Prior to joining the Rail Park, Rebecca was the program officer for the National Economic Development and Creative Placemaking programs at Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), where she managed a portfolio of projects focused on using arts- and culturally-based strategies as tools for inclusive economic development.
A preservationist by training, Rebecca’s work centers empathy, creativity, and social justice as the foundation for solving complex community development challenges.
She received her MS from the University of Pennsylvania’s Weitzman School of Design, and a BA from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.