Derwin Sisnett has spent the last fifteen years in community development, public education, and impact investing with a particular focus on coalescing and maximizing community assets. He is the founder and CEO of Adaptive Commons, a real estate company that invests in the transformation of civic spaces for social good. His previous experience includes co-founding Maslow Development Inc. and serving as the co-founder and CEO of Gestalt Community Schools (GCS). Honored by the White House and the U.S. Department of Education, GCS grew into one of the highest-performing networks of schools in Tennessee, anchoring over 40 acres of a mixed-use development that Derwin spearheaded, including a performing arts center and affordable housing.

Derwin’s work has been featured in numerous publications, including Urban Land Institute’s Urban Land Magazine, The New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. He has also lectured at various colleges and universities, including Harvard Graduate School of Design, Yale School of Management, and Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design, where he is a Faculty Lecturer in Real Estate Development + Design.
Derwin holds a bachelor’s degree from Emory University, a PhD from the University of Memphis, and he is an alumnus of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, where he was a Loeb Fellow. Derwin is also a Cambiar Education Change Agent and a Pahara Fellow of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, where he was selected as a Braddock Scholar.