In December 2021, Davon Barbour was unanimously appointed President & CEO of the
Downtown Development District of the City of New Orleans. He is an enthusiastic urban
advocate, possessing more than twenty years of progressive leadership in inclusive economic
and community development. His areas of expertise include public/private partnerships, retail
revitalization, economic development, and community development. He has worked for the
private sector, public sector, and non-profit organizations revitalizing urban communities across
the nation including Baltimore, Miami, Orlando, and Los Angeles.
Davon led the Community & Economic Development Division of the Los Angeles County
Development Authority for where he oversaw the county’s redevelopment initiatives, revolving
loan portfolio, construction administration, and the nation’s largest urban county district
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. He played a lead role in developing and
administering more than $150M in COVID-19 economic recovery programs such as business
microgrants, loans and childcare. Additionally, Davon led the Downtown Partnership of
Baltimore to win an Award of Excellence in economic development for “TechConnect”, a
business attraction program, from the International Downtown Association (IDA).
Early in his career, Davon oversaw the development of a master plan and urban renewal
legislation for an ambitious $2 billion mixed-use redevelopment project that features the two
million square feet Life Sciences + Technology Park at Johns Hopkins, new mixed-income
housing, park space and local employment opportunities to revitalize neighborhoods that
encompass the world-renowned Johns Hopkins Hospital in his hometown of Baltimore, MD. As
Director of the City of Hollywood, Florida Community & Economic Development Department,
he led the city to win three (3) consecutive annual awards from the National Community
Development Association.
Davon has served in numerous volunteer leadership roles throughout his career. Locally, Davon
is on the Board of Directors of UNITY for Greater New Orleans, a non-profit dedicated to ending
homelessness. He is a member of the IDA Board of Directors and a former Vice Chair. Davon has
been also extensively involved in ICSC where he currently serves on its Board of Trustees and is
a past Western Division P3 Public Chair, past Eastern Division P3 Public Sector Chair, and former
faculty member of its University of Shopping Centers. Davon has also contributed to
advisory/technical panels for both the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and IDA. Finally, his writings
have been published by ICSC, IDA, and ULI.
