WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 15, 2009 – Arent Fox is very pleased to announce that Ellen M. McCarthy, the firm’s Director of Planning and Land Use, has been named as one of the recipients of the Entrepreneurial Leadership Award by Partners for Livable Communities (PLC), a non-profit leadership organization working to improve the livability of communities by promoting quality of life, economic development, and social equity.

Ellen shared the honor with her husband, Richard H. Bradley, who currently serves as Executive Director of the DC Downtown Business Improvement District (BID), a nonprofit organization dedicated to the continued revitalization of the District of Columbia’s urban core.

PLC honored Ellen and Richard “for their combined role in contributing to a renaissance in downtown Washington, DC through progressive urban planning techniques. Bradley and McCarthy have held some of the most influential urban planning and community revitalization positions in the city. This husband and wife urban team has been – and continues to be – a major player in the revitalization of the nation’s capital.”

Prior to joining Arent Fox, Ellen served as the director of the District of Columbia Office of Planning, where she managed a 60-person team to provide a wide range of services for District of Columbia citizens. As DC’s planning director, her projects included getting city council adoption of a new Comprehensive Plan, the re-engineering of the development review function, and the crafting of a strategy to revitalize dilapidated affordable housing projects into lively, mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhoods while retaining existing low-income residents. Ellen also directed the integration of the Historic Preservation Office into the Office of Planning from the permitting department, revamping its financial accountability system, and oversaw planning efforts for the Anacostia Transit Station Area, Northeast Gateway, Shaw/Convention Center Area, NoMA and Georgia Avenue, along with completion of new zoning for waterfront districts and numerous large development projects.

Ellen and Richard was honored at the PLC's “Celebration of Vision Community Spirit” Event at the Fairfax Hotel in Washington, DC.

Bob Peck, Commissioner of Public Buildings for the US General Services Administration, was honored at the event, accepting PLC’s “Founders Award for Civic Leadership.”

To read more about the event and the other honorees recognized, please click here.