California Community Economic Development Association Names Robert  Zdenek as Interim Executive Director

Los Angeles, July 28, 2025

The California Community Economic Development Association (CCEDA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Robert “Bob” Zdenek, DPA, as the Interim Executive Director of CCEDA effective July 14th.

 “CCEDA is an important organization serving an important state and is fighting for equity and justice against the national headwinds of regressive attitude and behavior,” said Bob Zdenek.

Bob has over forty-five years of leadership experience in community economic development, including serving for fourteen years as the President of the National Congress for Community Economic Development (NCCED) and other major leadership positions.

Frank Woodruff, Executive Director of Community Opportunity Alliance, says of Bob: “Community development organizations in California deserve strong, experienced leadership. Bob brings exactly that to CCEDA at a pivotal moment. We’re pleased to support him and the organization through this important transition.”

Kerry Doi, CCEDA Board Chair and President & CEO of the Pacific Asian Consortium in Employment , stated, “I have known Bob for over forty-five years in a variety of capacities and he brings leadership, organizational, communication, policy, and collaborative skills to CCEDA.” Kerry went on to describe Bob’s history with CCEDA, “He has a long, positive history with CCEDA and served as one of the early founders back in the 1980s and was an initial funder through funds from the Ford Foundation and U.S. Economic Development Administration.” 

Joe Duran, Vice Chair of CCEDA and Chief Financial Officer of City Ministry Network, echoed Kerry Doi’s comments about Bob. Joe also stated that he has had the pleasure of working with Bob in establishing a new CDC (Stanislaus Equity Partners) in California’s Central Valley. “Bob’s assistance was critical in helping our community fulfil the dream of creating a successful Community Development Corporation. Bob is incredibly connected and respected, and I am confident that this new position he will play is the right role for the right time for CCEDA.”

Edward Block said “Having collaborated with Bob Zdenek for ten years as Executive Director of NACAA while he was Executive Director of NCCED, I congratulate CCEDA on his appointment as interim Executive Director. Bob brings considerable experience and leadership skills in support of strengthening CCEDA membership”. 

Bob has also worked closely with numerous statewide initiatives in California for the past decade, was a Visiting Scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and co-authored with Dee Walsh one of the major textbooks in community development, Navigating Community Development, published by Palgrave MacMillan in 2017. He has served on over 25 boards of directors and is currently Vice Chair of the Insight Center for Community Economic Development. Bob is excited to become Interim Executive Director of CCEDA and “help position the organization for growth through frequent communication, designing public policy, providing technical support, forging new partnerships, and building membership.”

As one of the early founders of CCEDA, Bob is uniquely qualified and poised to bring his leadership, communication, and policy strengths to elevate CCEDA and its’ members to pursue new opportunities leading to greater impact on behalf of their communities. 

California Community Economic Development Association empowers California nonprofit organizations to create economic opportunity and social equity in low to moderate income communities. It accomplishes this through training and continuing education, technical assistance, and advocacy on public policy.