Biography

As the founder and president & CEO of Liquid Studios®. The firm specializes in implementation strategies help community based organizations and others renew and revive communities as a collaborative effort (www.liquidstudios360.com). He directs all business areas such as client development, policy and procedure development, operations, design, and project implementation. He collaborates with a diverse group of consultants to achieve a shared vision for community development or revitalization. LS experts consist of seasoned “encore” professionals, “bridge” and “next generation” professionals. In June of 2012 he founded and incorporated, the Institute for Local Innovations, Inc. (www.ili360.org) as a New Orleans based not-for-profit to seek out and support community development organizations and their staff in low-wealth communities. Between Liquid Studios® and the ILI von sees the focus on supporting local innovations to uplift low-wealth and under served communities as the focus of his work in the field. In 2016 he designed, raised some $200K for and launched of the Mi Rialiti Smartphone App for iOS and Android (www.mirialiti.com). Mr. Nkosi is also a licensed architect with a history of community development. Most notably leading the design team that created the implementation plan for the revitalization of the Martin Luther King Jr. Historic District in Atlanta for the Historic District Development Corporation (HDDC) and Bank of America in Atlanta. He has coalition builder, links to national foundations, and effective change agent. Renowned public speaker and author. He served on several Boards and Committees with the ability to bring diverse groups of professionals together to reach a common goal. In his post Katrina New Orleans work von directed $30-million of Disaster CDBG funds into a soft second housing program, funds for non-profit developers to boost housing production, and allocated funds for the creations of a one-stop housing resource center. In 2008 he lead a 35 person exchange – meeting between Delegation of Japanese Representative and New Orleans Leaders on Disaster in New Orleans. In April 2009 was a New Orleans delegate visiting Tokyo & Miyakejima Japan to share experience on disaster recovery issues. He continues to do work in New Orleans in the area of non-profit capacity building as consultant to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) and is also a coach-mentor for several 2014-2017 WKKF Fellows in the “National Cohort” focused on Racial Equity & Healing (REH). Von is a dedicated, accomplished leader and entrepreneur. He is a visionary in the field of community development and urban planning including Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). He has optimized Smart Growth Strategies for municipalities through expertise in housing and land use policy, public/private development, and strategic planning and delivered large scale real estate projects. He has a strong ability to build consensus in the sharing of a high level business vision.