KINGSTON, R.I., Nov. 1, 2013 – The director of the Hartford Department of Development Services Thomas E. Deller will be the guest speaker at the 7th annual Marcia Marker Feld Lecture for Social Justice and the City Wednesday, Nov. 6, at the University of Rhode Island Feinstein Providence Campus. The event will feature a panel of city leaders from Providence and Hartford.

Deller, who has a master of community planning and a bachelor’s degree from URI, directs Planning, Housing and Property Management, Economic Development, Licensing and Inspections, and the Marketing Events and Cultural Affairs Divisions. He serves as executive director to the Redevelopment Agency and has been appointed by the mayor to the Capital Region Development Authority. Deller was director of the Department of Planning and Development for the City of Providence for nine years and executive director to the Redevelopment Agency, the Economic Development Partnership, the Housing Trust, the Off Street Parking Corporation, and the Public Building Authority.

The lecture will start at 7 p.m. in the Paff Auditorium, first floor URI Feinstein Providence Campus, 80 Washington St. Deller will open for a panel comprised of:

• Barbara G. Fields, regional administrator, U.S. Department of Housing and Development, will moderate. As a presidential appointee, Fields represents the Obama administration and the HUD secretary in New England and serves as liaison to mayors, state and local officials, members of Congress, private and non-profit developers, public housing authorities and other stakeholders.

• Ruben Flores-Marzan, director of Planning and Urban Development, Providence, a leading member of the mayor’s Economic Development team and the mayor’s cabinet.

• Frank Shea, executive director, Olneyville Housing Corporation since 2000. Shea was director of Program Development for the National Association of Housing Partnerships, now known as the Housing Partnership Network.

• Andrea Pereira, executive director of Local Initiatives Support Corporation for both Hartford and Connecticut statewide programs. She is responsible for all program activities, supervising staff, and managing funder relations.

• Khara C. Dodds, Planning Division director, Hartford. She has served as Plymouth, Conn.’s director of planning and economic development and as professional planner for the State of New Jersey.

The program will be simulcast on URI Live! at www.uri.edu/news/urilive/