Taft partner Marcia L. Fudge will be honored by the Fairfax Renaissance Development Corporation as a recipient of the Louis Stokes Visionary Award. The award honors and recognizes individuals who are committed to community development, provide leadership and vision, and help to maintain the quality of life for those who live and work in communities such as Fairfax. Fudge will be honored on Sept. 19, 2025, alongside attorney George Forbes and the Reverend Dr. Otis Moss, Jr. For more information about the event, visit here.

Incorporated in the spring of 1992, FRDC is a nonprofit community development corporation whose mission is “strengthen neighborhoods in Northeast Ohio through comprehensive community development.” FRDC carries out community revitalization activity through the development of affordable and market rate housing, promotes economic development activity through commercial, retail and institutional initiatives, acts as a catalyst to spur community visioning through comprehensive master planning.

Fudge is a partner in Taft’s Public Affairs Strategies Group and serves as firmwide Chair of Public Policy. She brings more than five decades of experience working with lawmakers, elected officials, key staff, and coalitions at the local, state, and federal levels. From 2021 to 2024, she served as the 18th Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). During her tenure, Fudge led initiatives to increase housing supply, eradicate the growing homelessness issue, end discriminatory practices in the housing market, and ensure compliance with fair housing rules.