Cecilia Cuff

Cecilia Cuff is an urban planning, community development strategist and a nationally recognized hospitality & resort designer whose work reshapes how disinvested urban and rural communities reclaim space, culture, and capital. As founder of The Nascent Group, she operates at the intersection of public policy, design, philanthropy and entrepreneurship, building pathways to ownership for small businesses while advancing community rooted development strategies nationwide. 

Across her career, Cecilia has advised and led projects connected to more than $4 billion in vetted development initiatives and has secured over $36 million in public and philanthropic funding for small businesses & nonprofit organizations. Her work translates large scale hospitality and real estate expertise into grassroots impact, aligning capital with community vision. 

Her personal ventures, Bronzeville Winery in Chicago, South Side Sanctuary, and The Stakeout in Taos, New Mexico, each recognized nationally for blending cultural storytelling, placemaking, and entrepreneurship. A Loeb Fellow at Harvard University, Cecilia mentors emerging leaders, cultivates women of color in design and development, and advises cities on inclusive growth. Her work transforms spaces of exclusion into platforms for agency, opportunity, and cultural memory.