Michael Prats Joins CDS Team

CDS Community Development Strategies

Michael Prats joined CDS in January 2017 as a Senior Market Analyst where he provides demographic, economic and real estate market research, analysis and evaluation for a variety of private and public sector clients.

Michael Prats is an economic community development, urban and regional planning professional. He was born in New Orleans, LA and moved to Kingwood, TX at age five where he attended elementary, middle and high school and began his college education at the University of New Orleans. In 2005 after being displaced by Hurricane Katrina he transferred to Texas State University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Geography in 2008. In Summer 2007, prior to his final undergrad semester, he was accepted to America's Leaders Program at The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars in Washington D.C. where he gained experience in lobbying and policy making at the federal level while also working as a research intern at the Urban Land Institute Headquarters.

Michael moved back to New Orleans in 2008 after being accepted to the University of New Orleans Master of Urban and Regional Planning graduate program. Graduate school work included a team project for a CDFI client which involved a five-month, ten county demographic and market analysis and presentation of strategic recommendations to the client’s executive board and community stakeholders. He also authored a thesis on local business retention and expansion.

He became very involved in post-Katrina neighborhood revitalization and disaster recovery efforts. Michael worked with the Boston based planning firm Goody Clancy as a public meeting facilitator for the New Orleans Master Plan and Zoning Ordinance.

​In addition to working with local groups gutting flooded homes, he led a successful neighborhood revitalization and recovery project and worked in youth development throughout the Greater New Orleans region from 2008 to 2012.

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​In early 2013 he began working for the Lake Houston Area Economic Development Partnership. He spent the next three years as the primary point of contact for economic development projects in the area. He increased local economic development capacity and created a formal and organized economic development plan and strategy for the Lake Houston area by; creating a business retention and expansion program, researching and publishing demographic trends and market data reports for the area as well as branding the Lake Houston area by creating and growing an effective web presence with www.LakeHoustonEDP.org, social media and other content. He managed the day to day activities of the EDP and expedited the area’s transition from bedroom community to activity and job center.