Mr. McNeely is a nationally known expert and consultant on community development and a veteran community organizer. He has been a leader in the evolution and development of community development corporations (CDCs) and other community based development mechanisms. In over forty years of community development work he has served as the executive of a successful CDC, a national funder, an advocate of public, private, and philanthropic policies and programs, a trainer of CDC leaders, and a forceful speaker and writer on the subject.

Mr. McNeely was the founder and, for twenty years, the president of the national Development Training Institute (DTI). He served in the Carter administration as the founding director of the National Office of Neighborhood Development at HUD and assistant to Monsignor Geno Baroni. Prior to serving at HUD, Mr. McNeely was the founding organizer and executive director of the South East Community Organization in Baltimore, then one the country's most highly regarded community organizations and community development corporations.

As an attorney, Mr. McNeely specializes in the tax and legal consequences of development projects. He has an MA in psychology from Florida Atlantic University and a law degree from the University of Maryland. He lectures and publishes widely on community building and on nonprofit management topics and now teaches at the graduate level at the University of Maryland, the University of Baltimore, and the New School University in New York City. He is currently working on two books for national publishers.

Mr. McNeely lives in Baltimore, is the father of twin daughters, and is married to Patricia Massey, a real estate developer in Baltimore City. Mr. McNeely currently serves as general counsel to her firm, Metroscape Development. He serves on numerous boards and committees in Baltimore and at the national level.