About MZ Strategies, LLC

American communities are facing a fundamental shift in the challenges they face -- from changing demographics, to shifting mobility patterns and greater economic inequality, to new technologies that are changing the role of government and reframing economic competitiveness. Navigating these shifts requires an integrated set of strategies. Moving from a shared vision to implementation takes an innovative and inclusive approach to problem solving and policy development.

How can your community or organization leverage its past success and build on existing assets to create new opportunities?

What approaches make the difference in securing scarce federal funding or tackling complex challenges like displacement, systemic racism within housing and transportation sectors, or take on regional competitiveness to drive greater economic inclusion?

What type of legislative or policy changes may be needed to make your vision a reality, and how do you navigate rocky political waters?

How can you engage new voices, particularly those historically under-represented, and craft messages to make your message heard with different audiences?

MZ Strategies, LLC builds upon the experience of its Founder, Mariia Zimmerman, who brings two decades of experience working at the intersection of planning, politics, advocacy and policy development at the national and regional levels. We offer common sense, politically proven strategies to make government more effective, generate value for citizens and property owners, and create greater opportunity for all members of the community.

Areas of Specialty:

Urban Planning: regional and metropolitan planning, transportation planning; land use planning, economic development planning, transit corridor planning, transit-oriented development and station area planning
Finance: equitable transit-oriented development and value-capture finance strategies, federal and local transportation funding strategies, affordable and mixed-income housing funding tools
Anti-Displacement Policies: finance, planning and policy tools to adopt at the local and regional levels to ensure that existing residents, culture and businesses continue to thrive as new infrastructure investments and zoning updates are adopted.
Strategic Planning: policy alignment and development; creating and maintaining effective organizations and coalitions; leveraging existing resources and assets; facilitation, survey methods and assessment tools
Coalition and Network Strategies: successfully changing policy and markets requires creating and managing diverse coalitions working across sectors, racial backgrounds, industries and ideologies.

Disadvantaged Business Enterprise / Woman-Owned Business Enterprise: MZ Strategies, LLC is DBE and WBE certified in the Commonwealth of Virginia and in Oregon.

Mariia Zimmerman, Founder and Principal of MZ Strategies, LLC

Mariia Zimmerman, Principal and Founder of MZ Strategies, LLC, is a seasoned veteran of shaping organizational change and entrepreneurship. She opened Reconnecting America's Washington, DC office and served as its Vice President for Policy. She was a founding member and interim Director of Transportation for America and served as Deputy Director of the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities helping to manage the establishment of a $250 million grant program within the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. Mariia also spent six years on Capitol Hill working in the office of Congressman Earl Blumenauer.

Mariia has led a wide range of technical, research, and planning efforts on a range of policy subjects from transportation reform to transit-oriented development to affordable housing and regional planning. She is a frequent national speaker and author on transit-oriented development (TOD), smart growth, public transportation finance and urban planning issues. Feel free to check out a June 2020 discussion hosted by SPARCC and Rail~Volution on crafting Chicago’s ETOD Policy Plan; or her talking with WTS-San Antonio about her evolving career in transportation and racial equity (password rr9jCNeCYAcG).

Mariia has been a Visiting Fellow at Virginia Tech's Metropolitan Institute in Alexandria, VA and a guest lecturer at VCU’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs. She served as Vice Chair for Regional and Metropolitan Planning with the American Planning Association's Regional and Intergovernmental Division and was a past Chair of the American Public Transportation Association’s Land Use and Economic Development Committee. She is on the Board of Directors for the Shared Use Mobility Center and for RVA Rapid Transit. In 2020, she was appointed by Governor Northam to represent metropolitan Richmond on the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority. Mariia is active with the Campaign to Reduce Evictions.

Mariia has testified before Congress and helped reform transportation programs to support streetcars and transit-oriented development.

MZ Strategies, LLC offers services to develop and evaluate local, state or federal infrastructure and development programs, cultivate critical advocates, and communicate key messages needed to garner political support for implementing plans and policies to create thriving, inclusive communities.

For information on our current work with communities and organizations visit the PROJECTS page, or send an email to Mariia at Mariia@MZStrategies.com (And yes, she does spell her name with 2 i's!). You can also follow MZ Strategies on Twitter (@MZStrat), and sign up to receive our semi-regular blog postings.