Carol Wyant

Throughout Carol Wyant’s professional career she has been a transformational change agent. In the early 1980s it was unusual for a woman, working for a full-service real estate firm specializing in downtown mixed-use development to have lead development responsibility for projects, but for Williams Realty Corp. she led the team that accomplished all aspects of design, financing, construction and leasing successfully for two projects. She then shifted her role to obtain public approvals at the city, state and national level for Rivercenter, a $350 million mixed-use development on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas.

As the real estate market took a downturn toward the end of that decade Wyant was recruited to lead the turn-around for a statewide not-for-profit historic preservation advocacy organization. In her seven- year tenure Wyant transformed Landmarks Illinois from being virtually unknown to partner with the Mayor of Chicago and State of Illinois agencies. Landmarks was instrumental in the creation of state and local public incentives for preservation. As Landmarks’ mission results increased so did its bottom line with a 300% increase in funding under Wyant’s leadership. She also oversaw inauguration of an endowment fund to sustain the organization into the future.

Recognizing her successful leadership, the National Trust for Historic Preservation sought out Wyant to initiate a new national program resulting in stronger and more effective statewide historic preservation organizations and the creation of a national preservation network.

Wyant brings her ability to institute and manage change and build collaborative partnerships to her consulting practice, advising more than 35 profit and non-profit organizations since 1999. As a consultant she co-founded and served as founding executive director of the Form-Based Codes Institute, a think-tank of leading practitioners in the fields of urban design, planning and land use law. As a part of Smart Growth America FBCI’s mission is to reform zoning regulations, making communities more walkable and sustainable.

Most recently Wyant developed initiatives in Spain and Portugal to build support for the cultural and physical heritage of those countries; the programs in Spain are in partnership with two ministries of the Spanish government.