Laura Settlemyer

Laura Settlemyer serves as Chief Operations and Legal Officer at Reimagine Development Partners (“RDP”), overseeing legal, compliance, and operations.

Laura's career spans over two decades in law, urban planning, public policy, and community development, working in New Orleans, Detroit, and Hartford. She served nearly five years as In-House Counsel for the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority, and before that founded and led the Hartord Land Bank, securing millions in startup funding and authoring Connecticut's landmark land banking and receivership legislation. As Hartford's Director of Blight Remediation, she overhauled housing and anti-blight codes and returned hundreds of vacant properties to productive use. She also served as Assistant General Counsel for Michigan Initiatives at the Center for Community Progress, providing technical assistance to land banks across Michigan, working closely with the Detroit Land Bank Authority. She began her career in New Orleans in private practice and later as a city attorney under Mayor Mitch Landrieu, advising on housing, contracts, and post-Katrina recovery.

Laura is also a founding principal at Levee Civic Solutions, a policy consulting firm focused on vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties, helping communities and government leaders advance neighborhood stabilization and foster equitable redevelopment.

She holds an A.B. in Economics from Harvard University and a J.D. from Emory University School of Law. She is licensed to practice law in Michigan and Louisiana.