People Associates

Tara Howard joined RSG in 2004, has over five years of redevelopment and economic development experience, and has a well-rounded knowledge base in all aspects of community development. During her time at RSG, Ms. Howard has successfully managed a variety of complex projects, ranging from redevelopment plan adoptions and amendments to acquisition and relocation services to affordable housing projects and monitoring, including the award-winning Vista Dunes Courtyard Homes, a LEED Platinum affordable housing project in the City of La Quinta.

Ms. Howard is a skilled project manager and can navigate a project from beginning to end, including client collaboration, strategic planning, research and analysis, report writing, community outreach, and presentations to decision makers. Recent projects include redevelopment plan adoptions and amendments, five-year implementation plans, economic feasibility studies, excess surplus plans, affordable housing compliance plans, annual reports, and ongoing consultant services for several cities.

In 2004, Ms. Howard was hired by RSG to assist the La Quinta Redevelopment Agency with the Vista Dunes Courtyard Homes project. The Agency acquired a dilapidated mobile home park, with the vision of building safe and sanitary affordable housing on the site. RSG provided 360-degree services to the Agency on the project, from property acquisition to construction management of 80 very-low income affordable housing units. Ms. Howard was responsible for relocating 92 households, site clearance, overseeing property management, and marketing the project. Upon completion of the project in 2008, Vista Dunes Courtyard Homes was the largest multifamily affordable housing project in the nation to receive LEED Platinum certification. Since then, Vista Dunes has received seven awards, in recognition of the project's green and sustainable features.

Ms. Howard has been the Project Manager for various assignments with the El Cajon Redevelopment Agency since 2004, where RSG provides ongoing consulting services. In this role, Ms. Howard is responsible for coordinating staff communication, drafting redevelopment documents, preparing Agency financial analyses, affordable housing project and compliance review, and providing other as-needed services. Ms. Howard recently developed a redevelopment accounting financial model to assist the Agency with tracking and budgeting redevelopment revenues and expenditures.

RSG's core values (Social and Community Responsibility, Creativity and Innovation, Honest and Ethical Behavior Above All Else, and Excellence in Products and Services) speak to Tara's personal values. She is engaged in community and economic development services to positively impact the communities that RSG serves, thriving on collaborating with both the public and private sectors to identify and solve community issues --  working behind the scenes to create better communities!