After nearly a decade of meaningful work at Community Vision, we are saying farewell to our colleague and friend Saul Ettlin. While we’ll miss collaborating with him day to day, we are deeply grateful for the impact he has made—and we know he will continue contributing his insight, leadership, and dedication to the broader movement for community-owned and -controlled real estate.
Championing Community Ownership
Saul held several positions during his time at Community Vision: first as a Real Estate Consultant, then Director of Consulting, and finally as Senior Advisor. Across these roles, he became a trusted thought partner, problem solver, and strategist whose influence can be seen both in his consulting work with clients and also in key organizational initiatives.
Most recently, Saul played a central role in shaping our strategic plan and in co-presenting the SPRE Summit, where he supported planning efforts and presented on multiple aspects of social purpose real estate. His white paper, Empty Spaces to Thriving Places, has furthered the conversation about centering community in the ground-floor use of affordable housing developments.
“Saul has been a driving force helping Community Vision step into its leadership in community ownership and imagine new ways of supporting the organizations we serve,” reflected Catherine Howard, President of Community Vision. “Need a new idea? He has several good ones every day. Beyond his creative ideas, Saul cares deeply about communities and the people building solutions within them. We’re grateful for all he has contributed and excited to see how his creativity will continue informing community development work in California and beyond.”
Supporting Community-Rooted Leaders
Helping nonprofits secure mission-aligned, sustainable space has been at the heart of Saul’s work. From arts spaces, to youth hubs, to multi-nonprofit centers, Saul consulted on a variety of real estate projects, partnering closely with nonprofit leaders to navigate the complexities of real estate development and ownership.
As Paula Smith Arrigoni, Executive Director of BAVC Media, shared from her experience working with Saul on space planning for her arts nonprofit: “If I was making a movie about running a nonprofit arts organization, with all its inspirational community highs, and unpredictable funding lows, Saul would be one of its recurring special guests. The seasoned veteran with a heart of gold, tons of expert advice, and occasional salty tales about failed projects or unsavory for-profit landlords. A guy that you want on your team to help you build your dream multi-nonprofit building, to navigate a 100-year pandemic, and to meet new collaborators. Saul has been a star partner to BAVC Media and to me.”
Another example of Saul’s impact is our Community-Owned Shared Space Accelerator (COSSA) program, which he helped design and lead. COSSA supported nonprofits exploring shared ownership models and sparked a deep partnership between Digital NEST and Youth Alliance, two organizations Saul introduced to one another. Their collaboration is now becoming the Gilroy Youth Impact Hub, a space that would not only house their programs but also serve other youth-focused nonprofits, becoming a central hub for Gilroy’s young people. Saul worked closely with the leaders of both organizations over the course of two years.
“Saul leads with a word that beautifully reflects his name, his soul. He guided us through every step of the journey, ensuring we had the insight, partnership, and encouragement needed to succeed. We are deeply grateful for his leadership. We will forever appreciate him, and, more importantly, we will always be friends,” shared Jacob Martinez, founder and CEO of Digital NEST.
Diane Ortiz, CEO of Youth Alliance, added: “Saul has been so much more than a senior advisor to us. He’s been our ally, expert, advocate, and friend. His quick thinking, honest feedback, and deep network of resources helped Youth Alliance and Digital NEST achieve a dream that once felt out of reach. Saul turned the intimidating process of co-ownership into something we could actually navigate and believe in.”
Carrying Forward the Work
Although Saul is stepping away from his staff role, the programs, partnerships, and frameworks he helped build will continue to shape Community Vision’s work. We are grateful for his leadership, humor, creativity, and commitment to communities. We wish him well in the next phase—and we know he’ll never be far from the work of advancing community ownership of community assets.
