Philip Lanzafame

Philip Lanzafame is the principal and founder of Interim Executive, Inc., a small boutique consulting firm specializing in short-term executive/senior management coverage, representation in negotiation, special project execution requiring senior-level attention, and leadership training and development for local governments and agencies.

Prior to his retirement from public service in April 2022, Philip Lanzafame was the Director of Community Development for the City of Glendale, a full-service city of 200,000 residents and 1,900 staff. He was responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of CDD Administration; Building & Safety; Economic Development; Housing; Neighborhood Services; and Planning. Prior to that appointment, Lanzafame directed the City’s redevelopment program from 2004 until it was eliminated state-wide in 2012. Lanzafame has led City teams responsible for various projects such as Disney’s Grand Central Creative Campus, the Americana at Brand, KABC7 Studio, Hyatt Place Hotel and Veterans Village apartments. He has collaborated on several planning exercises including the Glendale Downtown Specific Plan, the San Fernando Road Corridor Zoning Project, the East Broadway Neighborhood Plan, the Glendale Art & Entertainment District Program and Glendale’s City-wide Housing Element. He arranged financing strategies to fund several public facilities including the Central Library rehabilitation, the Adult Recreation Center and Griffith Manor Park. Lanzafame also oversaw the creation of local economic development ordinances and programs to continue business development and maximize public asset value in California’s post-redevelopment era.

Mr. Lanzafame earned a Master of Public Administration degree, with distinction, from California State University, Northridge. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from San Diego State University and in 2003, he was awarded a Fannie Mae Foundation Fellowship in the Senior Executives in State and Local Government program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Lanzafame is a frequent lecturer and presenter to a wide variety of organizations and the author of The Effect of the Built Environment on Community, a comparison study of the effect development has on one’s sense of community. He is the founding president of GEF Summer School, Inc., a non-profit, fully accredited private school that allowed students to accelerate and enhance their academic program.

To learn more about Philip Lanzafame’s credentials, you can view his resume/curriculum vitae here.