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Roger A. Clay, Jr. President
Roger A. Clay, Jr. is the President of the Insight Center for Community Economic Development in Oakland, California, a national consulting and legal organization that develops strategies and programs for people and communities to become economically secure. As a product of the War on Poverty, the Insight Center was the early leader in establishing legal models for business and real estate development by charitable organizations, and wrote the first comprehensive legal treatise on the subject. During its 40 year existence it has provided legal support to over 500 community-based development organizations, and help create housing, jobs, health care facilities, childcare programs, and businesses across the country.
Today, in addition to representing community based organizations, the Insight Center focuses on designing innovative workforce development programs, promoting the importance of quality and affordable early care and education to the economic well-being of the economy, and strengthening low income and minority communities through the creation of financial assets.
Mr. Clay has been committed to achieving racial and economic justice his entire professional career. He began his legal career as a law clerk at the Insight Center and returned 30 years later as its President. Prior to rejoining the Insight Center, Mr. Clay was the General Counsel of the California Housing Finance Agency, a partner with the law firm of Goldfarb & Lipman where he served as managing attorney and advised public agencies and housing and community economic development organizations. He later was the Vice-President with the Corporation for Supportive Housing, promoting permanent housing with services for people at risk of homelessness, a Senior Fellow at the Institute on Race & Poverty at the University of Minnesota Law School and a Senior Advisor at ICF Consulting, advising clients on the design and implementation of housing and community developments programs.
Mr. Clay has been a leader in the legal profession for more than 35 years. He was the Chair of the ABA Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development Law and twice served as the Chair of the ABA Commission on Homelessness and Poverty. In addition, he was a member of the ABA Special Committee on Housing and Urban development Law and served as a special advisor to the ABA President on homelessness and poverty issues. In 2009 he was awarded the Michael Scher Award by the ABA Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development Law for his outstanding commitment to housing and community development law. He is also the 1990 recipient of the Distinguished Counsel Award from the Housing and Development Law Institute. Mr. Clay is the co-editor of the book, Building Healthy Communities: A guide to Community Economic Development for Advocates, Lawyers, and Policymakers, recently published by the ABA.
Mr. Clay has served in numerous community and professional leadership roles. He was the Chair of the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, the Chair of the Human Rights Committee of the State Bar of California and was an initial board member or founder of numerous organizations, including the Low Income Investment Fund, the California Homeless and Housing Coalition, and Oakland Ensemble Theatre. Some of his other board memberships include the boards of the Center for Community Change, the National Law Center for Homelessness and Poverty, and the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities. He currently is on the board of the Center for Social Inclusion.
Mr. Clay has been an active volunteer for his alma mater, Stanford University. He served as vice-chair of the Board of Trustees, Chair of the Stanford Alumni Association, Chair of the Commission on Investment Responsibility, and currently is on the national advisory boards for the Center of the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences and the Center for the Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity. He is the recipient of the Gold Spike award, the University’s highest award for volunteer leadership service.
Mr. Clay received his B.A. in sociology from Stanford University, his M.S.W. from the University of California, Los Angeles and his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the National Association of Black Social Workers, and the California and United States Supreme Court Bars.
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