CARLY FERDMAN

Collaboration Support Partner

BIOGRAPHY

Carly grew up in the St. Louis suburbs, feeling rather isolated from St. Louis City. While studying psychology and human services at Loyola University Chicago, Carly fell in love with the vibrancy of the different Chicago neighborhoods. She spent ten years as a community mental health professional on the South Side and West Side. Working in these neighborhoods that have experienced severe disinvestment, Carly saw firsthand how existing systems and institutions perpetuate cycles of harm. Feeling disenchanted with direct service work, Carly was inspired to go back to school to study social work. 

In 2024, Carly completed her Master’s in Social Work at Saint Louis University. Her studies focused on macro social work: gathering data about community needs, building momentum and capacity for systematic change, and evaluating effectiveness of community-based action. Carly’s dissertation was a deep dive into maximizing community participation in neighborhood-level, comprehensive community development strategy. She’s looking forward to using her education, enthusiasm, and curiosity to uplift resident voices in St. Louis’ historically Black neighborhoods. 

Carly lives in the Shaw neighborhood with her partner and two children. You can usually find them playing near the ponds in Tower Grove Park. Carly’s passions include crochet, potlucks, Afrofuturism, late-night heart-to-hearts, baking, and bird watching. 

CONTACT INFO
Phone : (314) 816-1802
Email : cferdman@investstl.org