Who we are

Frolic
The term “Frolic” describes a tradition in which hundreds of families gather to raise a barn in one week. Frolics were a demonstration of what is possible when a community comes together to build its future.

We created Frolic to enable communities to build projects that reflect the way they want to live. We partner with single-family homeowners to co-develop multi-family housing on their properties. Homes in our projects can be purchased with low down payments and are affordable to middle-income families.

The Frolic model emerged after 2 years of research at the Center for Real Estate at MIT, with input from over 180 innovators and experts in housing, finance, and community-driven development and support from The Terner Center for Housing Innovation, MIT, The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and the Brookings Institution.

Read the Brookings Paper

See How it Works

Meet Our Team

Co-founder & CEO

Tamara Knox

Tamara enjoys rethinking funding and ownership structures in order to expand who can own a home and see a future in their city. Prior to starting Frolic, she did urban economics and affordable housing policy consulting and worked as a developer focused on equitable economic development. She holds a B.A. in Urban Studies with Honors from Stanford University and a Master in City Planning (MCP) and Master of Science in Real Estate Development (MSRED) from MIT.

Chief Strategy Officer

Mele

Mele is an inspired systems strategist, guided by a deep and personal commitment to nurturing healthy and equitable communities. Prior to joining the Frolic movement, she served for 27 years as a bank, financial cooperative, and nonprofit executive with greatest impact growing community loan funds, reshaping financial frameworks to ensure equitable outcomes, community development lending, and affordable housing advocacy. Mele carries a B.A. in Studio Art and Mathematics from the University of Puget Sound, graduate degree in Executive Leadership and Financial Management from Pacific Coast Banking School & UW - Foster School of Business, and DEI Corporate Change Management Certificate from Cornell.

Community Coordinator

Leland Adams

Leland heads our community outreach and homebuyer training programs. He is an excellent facilitator and is helping build out the larger Frolic Ecosystem of partners, residents, and community members. He has a B.A. in Business Administration from the Milgard School of Business at the University of Washington and a minor in Data Analytics

Design Fellow

Audrey Ward

Audrey works on the visual identity of Frolic, primarily focusing on website layout and graphic design. She is passionate about the power of beautiful and functional design and is especially interested in the application of design thinking processes to address problems in cities. She currently attends Stanford University where she is pursing a B.S. in Product Design and a Minor in Urban Studies.

Co-founder & COO

Joshua Morrison

Josh loves the complexity of design, and creating new futures by bringing less-heard voices and needs to the center of the development process. Before co-founding Frolic at MIT, he ran a design firm in Copenhagen and has 8 years of planning and development experience. His work focuses on just transformation of neighborhoods and soft density. He holds a Master in City Planning (MCP) from MIT and a B.A. in Urban Studies and Environmental Design from Brown University.

Development

Alex Herbig

Alex is a licensed real estate broker and heads the development team with our partners, Hybrid Development. He brings experience in building pro formas, conducting market analysis and feasibility, architectural design, permitting, and construction oversight. He helps homeowners and partners as they navigate creating Frolics on their land alongside our development team. He holds a B.A. in development studies from Pacific University.

Associate

Livia Polise

Livia helps keep the Frolic ship afloat, working on a wide range of projects including research, modeling support, and operations needs. She enjoys thinking at the intersection of economics and community building, and supporting new pathways to homeownership. She has a B.A. in Economics and International and Public Affairs from Brown University.