About Us
Our Mission
Princeton GROWS strives to promote a welcoming, diverse, and cohesive Princeton community made of neighbors that prioritize abundant, dignified, sustainable, and affordable housing for all.
Our Vision
We envision a vibrant, cohesive, and sustainable Princeton community where people from all walks of life can afford to live and thrive.
Our Story
Princeton GROWS was founded in the summer of 2023 to organize the many voices in support of sensible pro-housing reform, protections for vulnerable renters, and social housing under one banner. Forming a pro-housing advocacy group culminated out of many letters to the editor, hours spent advocating at Municipal Council and Planning Board meetings, and dozens of conversations among advocates. All of this led to a recognition that ad-hoc and uncoordinated advocacy was not enough to meet the scale of the housing issues facing Princeton and many other communities. So Princeton GROWS emerged to provide neighbors a tangible way to promote fair and affordable housing for all. From its inception, Princeton GROWS has had two missions: (1) educate the public about the sources of our housing crisis and the necessary solutions at all levels of government and (2) directly advocate for the appropriate local-level solutions in Princeton. We understand that Princeton cannot solve the housing crisis on its own, but we believe that positive steps in Princeton will positively benefit our neighbors in need and can be a blueprint for other communities for larger impact.
Our Team
Dipali Desai
Steering Committee Member
Dipali has been a Princeton resident since 2014, where she lives with her husband and two children who attended Princeton Public Schools. Her family chose Princeton not only for its excellent schools, but also for its cultural and economic diversity, and the opportunity for their children to safely walk and bike to school.
Dipali built a career in the private healthcare sector before earning a graduate degree in Global Policy. Her studies deepened her understanding of the structural causes of inequality and inspired her to focus on housing as one of the most significant drivers of opportunity in the United States. She believes housing occupies a unique place as both a basic human need and an economic asset, influencing access to education, employment, transportation, and long-term financial security.
Through her graduate coursework in Urban Economy and Spatial Patterns, Dipali examined Princeton’s housing and zoning policies within the broader context of New Jersey’s changing economic, demographic, and cultural trends, it’s legislative landscape, Princeton University’s unique institutional influence, and the Township’s recent Master Plan. She joined Princeton GROWS to help advance local policies that expand housing opportunities, promote sustainability, and ensure Princeton remains an inclusive and vibrant community that can meet the needs of current and future residents.
Mathew Mleczko
Steering Committee Member
Matt lived in Princeton from 2018 to 2023 while earning his PhD at Princeton University. He enjoyed the many wonderful amenities in Princeton – the greenspaces, transit access, the walkability, local institutions like Small World and the Princeton Public Library – but often struggled to find housing. He lived in four different apartments in five years and watched many friends move away for similar reasons.
Matt got involved in local housing advocacy efforts with neighbors in the summer of 2020, including organizing to support rezonings for hundreds of units of affordable housing through Princeton’s Third Round fair share plan. These experiences led Matt to join Princeton’s Affordable Housing Board for two years. Afterwards, Matt founded Princeton GROWS to better organize the pro-housing voices in Princeton, to help build a more cohesive and inclusive community in Princeton, and to foster a more equitable and integrated Mercer County.
Matt is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Marquette University in Milwaukee, close to where he grew up. He studies and teaches about integration, housing politics and policy, poverty, and inequality, focusing on the role of housing policies and practices in fostering equitably integrated communities. Much of his research and teaching informs his advocacy through Princeton GROWS. Though based in Milwaukee, Matt is grateful for his time in Princeton and remains committed to promoting access to and belonging in Princeton through Princeton GROWS.
Chris Strum
Steering Committee Member
Chris moved to Princeton with her family 30 years ago, seeking a place with people from many backgrounds, incomes, and ethnicities, that was walkable and bikeable. They found it–in university housing, the public schools, their Riverside neighborhood and the Unitarian Universalist Congregation.
Chris has over 25 years experience advocating for land use and infrastructure policies that underlie sustainable communities in New Jersey. At the nonprofit organization New Jersey Future, she spearheaded collaborative efforts to advocate for affordable housing in great neighborhoods, and to update the state’s water infrastructure. She has achieved innovations in land use planning, housing affordability, climate resilience, and active transportation. Her approaches included convening diverse public, private, and NGO interests, conducting policy research, running advocacy campaigns, and raising foundation funding to hire teams and launch programs. Chris also serves as a trustee of Princeton Community Housing.
Chris learned about the power of Princeton Grows when she got an email alert to testify to the planning board on a mixed-income housing proposal. She found a group of like-minded people making a difference by speaking in support of the proposal and welcoming new neighbors.