Catherine Sloss Jones is president and CEO of Sloss Real Estate, a multi-disciplined commercial real estate firm in Birmingham, Alabama. Under her leadership, the company focuses on urban development and revitalization in Birmingham’s city center and other projects that incorporate “healthy city” design principles. The company’s projects include renovation of historic buildings, construction of new buildings that honor their surroundings, and provision of planning services and land-use consulting to various projects throughout the Birmingham region.

An active member of the Urban Land Institute, Crenshaw has served on its Inner City Council. Currently, she is on the national steering committee for LOCUS, a network of real estate developers and investors who advocate for sustainable, walkable development. She created and manages the Pepper Place Saturday Market, a nationally-recognized public market, and has been on the Farmers’ Market Advisory Board of the Ford Foundation.

A recognized civic leader, Crenshaw serves on the boards of the Lakeshore Foundation, Birmingham Museum of Art, Leadership Birmingham, and Auburn University Center for Architecture and Urban Studies. She is a member of the University of Alabama at Birmingham President’s Advisory Board and the University Of Alabama Board Of Regents. She also served on the steering committee for a comprehensive update of Birmingham’s City Center Master Plan.

Crenshaw attended Harvard University in 2007 and 2008, first as a Loeb Fellow at the Graduate School of Design, and then as a visiting scholar. While there she worked to improve her knowledge of good design principles and green building. She also studied innovative models for mixed-income, mixed-use neighborhood and is interested in building green neighborhoods and cities through the preservation and creation of urban trees and urban forests. Crenshaw has a broad working knowledge of farmers’ markets in the preservation of small family farms, the revitalization of urban centers, and the health of communities and low-income citizens.