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Catalysts for Change: Reducing the Racial Homeownership Gap
June 29, 2022 10:00 am - 2:00 pm EDT
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In recognition of homeownership month, Urban Institute and National Housing Conference will be co-hosting a convening called Catalysts for Change: Reducing the Racial Homeownership Gap. The event will feature remarks from Ginnie Mae President Alanna McCargo and a lunchtime fireside chat with DC Mayor Muriel Bowser. Panels include discussions of vertical and horizontal alignment of federal programs and resources, and best practices for closing the homeownership from local stakeholders. We will also showcase an innovative virtual “Data Walk” capturing learnings in homeownership policy from Urban Institute. Register today!
Catalysts for Change is brought to you by Wells Fargo, whose generous grantmaking supporting innovative practice, programs and research to close the racial homeownership made this event possible.
Speakers
 Alanna McCargo was sworn in as Ginnie Mae’s 18th President in December 2021. She began her work with the Biden-Harris Administration as a Presidential Appointee in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as Senior Advisor for Housing Finance for Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. Ms. McCargo’s career in housing finance spans decades and has centrally focused on how America’s housing finance system can equitably and affordably serve the capital and credit needs of all households. Prior to joining the Biden-Harris Administration, Alanna was Vice President of the Housing Finance Policy Center at the Urban Institute, a social and economic policy research firm where she led and developed evidence-based research and analysis on the U.S Housing Finance system. |
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Muriel Bowser is Mayor of Washington, D.C. She is committed to making sure every Washingtonian gets a fair shot in a growing and prosperous Washington, DC. Her administration is focused on making DC’s prosperity more inclusive, advancing DC values, and building safer, stronger, and healthier neighborhoods across DC’s eight wards.
Panel: A Closer Look: Federal Interventions in Homeownership Disparities
Narrowing the homeownership gap will take bold, intersectional policy solutions that recognize the changing dynamics of the first-time homeownership market. This panel will explore various facets of the racial homeownership gap, including the lack of affordable housing, fair access to quality credit, digitization, and the consumer. Panelists will discuss how these pieces can be addressed to create a holistic view of how federal housing policy interventions can move us toward a more equitable housing system.
 Daniel Hornung is Special Assistant for Economic Policy to President Joe Biden. |
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 Vanessa Perry is a professor at the George Washington University School of Business and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Urban Institute’s Housing Finance Policy Center. Her research is focused on consumers in housing and financial markets, marketplace discrimination, and public policy interventions. Perry previously served as a senior advisor to the Secretary of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and as an expert at the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. She also served for several years as a senior economist at Freddie Mac and has been a consultant to numerous public and private sector clients. |
Luis C. Padilla is the 2022 President of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, an organization with which he has been involved since 2008. To expand NAHREP’s Hispanic Wealth Project principles, Mr. Padilla became a NAHREP 10 Certified Trainer and sits on the approval committee. In 2015, he was the President of the NAHREP South Florida chapter, and under his leadership, the chapter won the national Chapter of the Year Award. The Atlanta chapter also won Chapter of the Year under his mentorship as a coach. He is the Co-Owner of RE/MAX Oceanside Realty in Miami along with his wife Debbie.
Lisa Rice is President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance, where she leads the organization’s efforts to advance fair housing principles, preserve and broaden fair housing protections, and expand equal housing opportunities for millions of Americans. NFHA is the trade association for over 200 member organizations throughout the country and is the nation’s only national civil rights agency solely dedicated to eliminating all forms of housing discrimination.
Panel: Local Perspectives: Aligning Federal and Local Policy to Address the Racial Homeownership Gap
During the pandemic the federal government acted to prevent millions of Americans from eviction and foreclosure. This unprecedented intervention, operationalized at the state and local levels, serves as a demonstration that collaboration at all levels of government with local stakeholders can have a powerful impact on many Americans, including the most vulnerable among us. This Local Perspectives panel will examine policy solutions and local initiatives working to close the racial homeownership gap with an eye toward how existing and additional federal policy can be harnessed toward complementary ends.
 Chrystal Kornegay currently serves as Executive Director of MassHousing which lends over $1 billion annually to produce and preserve affordable rental housing and create homeownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income borrowers. Under Ms. Kornegay’s leadership, MassHousing launched a highly successful Down Payment Assistance program; secured over $80 million to expand its Workforce Housing initiative; and developed a nationally recognized program for homeownership production in communities of color. |
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Christie Peale was named Executive Director of the Center for New York City Neighborhoods in February 2012. Under her leadership, the Center has become a leading local and national voice for affordable homeownership, while greatly expanding its portfolio of services for homeowners. Christie has been instrumental in organizing foreclosure prevention services statewide with the New York Attorney General’s Office, raising millions of dollars for homeowners recovering from Hurricane Sandy, and launching a $7.5 million resiliency program for coastal communities. Christie also oversaw the expansion of the New York State Mortgage Assistance Program with an $80 million loan fund and the establishment of one of the nation’s largest annual affordable homeownership conferences.
Nick Mitchell-Bennett is the Executive Director of Come Dream, Come Build, headquartered in Brownsville, Texas. Prior to taking the position of ED Nick served in multiple positions within the cdcb organization. During his tenure with cdcb he has assisted and/or led in the development and preservation of over 4,000 affordable homes, raise over $100 million in public and private grant funds and deployed over $300 million in private lending capital and equity.
Monica L. Jefferson is the Vice President & COO Human Resources of Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia. She is responsible for the oversight of all agency programs and administrative divisions, internal systems and strategies for programs and services, and achieving quality performance goals. Monica holds a master’s degree in Nonprofit Studies from the University of Richmond and received her bachelor’s degree in Human Resources Management from Virginia Commonwealth University. With 30 years of experience in administration, affordable housing, human resource planning, organizational development, mortgage lending, training/facilitation, and community development, she serves as a consultant to nonprofit organizations for technical assistance and managing partner and stakeholder relationships.
Sasha Gaye-Angus is a leader of affordable housing and community development with over 20 years’ experience in re-building communities for low-income individuals, families, and seniors. She brings executive experience in leading teams, directing projects, risk management and building public- private partnerships. She has led multiple LIHTC projects resulting in over $350,000,000 of investment in affordable and mixed income communities. In, 2020, she joined MANNA, Inc. as President & CEO from McCormack Baron Salazar, Inc., one of the nation’s leading for-profit developers of economically integrated urban neighborhoods where she served as Senior Vice President. There she managed a diverse team and oversaw the planning and implementation of large multi-phased neighborhood transformation projects.