Ted Howard is the founder and executive director of The Democracy Collaborative at the University of Maryland. The Collaborative is recognized as a national leader in the fast growing field of community wealth building strategies and policy development. Its "Anchor Institutions" project focuses on the role universities, hospitals and other place-based anchors can play in fostering inclusive economic and community development. Among the Collaborative's most recent reports are "Building a Green Economy for All: From Green Jobs to Green Ownership" and "The Road Half Traveled: University Engagement at a Crossroads." (These and other reports are available as free downloads.)

In July 2010, Mr. Howard was appointed as the Steven Minter Senior Fellow for Social Justice at The Cleveland Foundation. In this position, he has been responsible for developing a comprehensive job creation and wealth building strategy, which has resulted in the Evergreen Cooperative Initiative. For his leadership of the Evergreen Initiative, Mr. Howard was designated a CFED Innovation Award recipient in 2010. Utne Reader has named him one of "25 visionaries who are changing your world."