Betsy Morris

Betsy has been committed to community-based housing and economic development since the 1980s. Her roles have included project developer, program director and applied research consultant working mainly with nonprofit grassroots organizations and leadership in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color throughout the Bay Area.

Betsy holds a Masters and PhD in City and Regional Planning from UC Berkeley.

She has been a public advocate on “Legal Pathways to Tiny Home Ecovillages” since 2015. Betsy is also a member of Berkeley Cohousing and the Cohousing Research Network, and several international research forums on self-governing collectives.

In 2006, with her partner, Raines Cohen, Betsy co-founded East Bay Cohousing and Cohousing California. Together they offer public talks and trainings, conferences, and report on the status of cohousing, cooperatives, and ecovillages worldwide.

Other Board service includes West Berkeley Neighborhood Development Corporation (1990-2010); Foundation/Fellowship for Intentional Communities (2011-2017), and the East Bay Gray Panthers (2016-present). Betsy has also been an ally to the Bay Area Landless Peoples Alliance through the East Bay Gray Panthers and its forming groups since 2017.

For more details on professional projects go to BetsyMorris.com