Butler Snow attorney Charity W. Karanja has been selected to serve as a panelist for the 2025 Real Estate Developer Academy hosted by the City of Jackson, Mississippi in collaboration with Bloomberg, Grow America (formerly, the National Development Council), and the Jackson Redevelopment Authority (JRA). Charity will serve on a panel titled “Building the Team” held at Union Station in Jackson, Mississippi on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, where she will speak about her experience, insights and lessons learned in the field of development finance.
The Real Estate Developer Academy is an 18-month high-impact, intensive training and technical assistance program designed to equip emerging real estate developers with the knowledge, tools, and networks they need to succeed in the real estate industry. The Academy hopes to transform communities within the City of Jackson by empowering diverse developers to create affordable housing, revitalize neighborhoods, and build wealth. Participants in other SEED AcademyTM programs have already met success in Detroit, Omaha, Tulsa and Seattle, and the program is set to expand to more communities across the United States.
Charity earned her bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and her Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law and is a member of various civic and legal organizations, including the National Association of Bond Lawyers (NABL), Women in Public Finance (WPF), and the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). As part of her continued dedication to the industry, Charity has presented at various conferences and seminars on matters relating to development finance, and jointly or individually authored various articles, including a financing toolkit for medium-density housing developments titled: “Financing Tools and Incentives for Developers in Missing Middle Housing.” Charity also serves on the Steering Committee for the Jackson Real Estate Developer Academy.
