Meet Our Team
The People Behind the Work
Monjia Bélizaire
Founder & Community Real Estate Strategist
As Founder and Community Real Estate Strategist, Monjia leads Simply Sustained's vision, strategy, partnerships, and programs, drawing on more than 20 years of experience across real estate development, finance, sustainability, design and construction, and community development.
Dr. Anthony Gualtieri
Co-Founder & Board Director | Nonprofit Strategy & Compliance
Anthony Angelo Gualtieri, Ph.D. is an applied anthropologist, educator, and researcher whose work explores communal cooperation, affordable and public housing, and creative economic development. He is an adjunct professorial lecturer at American University and previously served in the research department of the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum, where he contributed to research, publications, and exhibitions. Anthony earned his doctorate in Anthropology from American University, following bachelor's and master's degrees in anthropology from The George Washington University. His museum work included curating Separate and Unequaled: Black Baseball in the District of Columbia and contributing to award-winning community history exhibitions. His scholarship brings a critical, community-centered perspective to questions of place, development, and belonging.
Dr. Mora Pressley
Board Director | Nonprofit Governance & Organizational Leadership
Dr. Mora Pressley is an educator, program strategist, and advocate with nearly two decades of experience across K–12 and higher education, nonprofit leadership, and national education initiatives. Her work centers on educator sustainability, leadership development, and building systems where people can thrive. She is the founder of Blackberry Educator Empowerment Initiative, a nonprofit focused on educator sustainability through leadership, wellness, community, and opportunity. Previously, Dr. Pressley led place-based initiatives at the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, including work supporting the California Black Educator Initiative. She holds a Ph.D. in the Education of Students with Exceptionalities from Georgia State University and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).
Places That Shaped Us
Our work begins with a simple belief: places matter.
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The places that hold us—homes, neighborhoods, gathering places, businesses, schools, streets, and cultural spaces—shape how we see ourselves and what we believe is possible.
We asked our team to reflect on a place that shaped them, what it gave them, and what would have been lost if it disappeared.
Monjia
Brooklyn Public Library
"The library was a place to escape, focus, and imagine. Through books, I could see possibilities beyond the environment I knew..."​​
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Dr.Anthony
Eden House
"Eden House taught me about community, place, power, and the relationship between housing and opportunity..."
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Dr. Mora
Charleston, South Carolina
"It is where I first learned the importance of community, history, and being rooted in something larger than myself..."
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The places that shape us become part of the way we lead.
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And they remind us why community ownership matters.
About our Team
Simply Sustained is intentionally built around a lean leadership structure and a broad network of practitioners, advisors, community leaders, developers, financial partners, and subject-matter experts.
Our core team provides the leadership and stewardship needed to move the mission forward, while our partnerships expand the knowledge, relationships, and resources available to the communities and developers we serve.
Build with Us
Community-centered real estate doesn't happen alone.
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Whether you're a developer with a project, a funder looking to invest in community capacity, a financial institution seeking stronger project pipelines, or a professional with expertise to share, there's a place for you in the Simply Sustained ecosystem.
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Let's build something communities can own and sustain.