ELAH Webinar: Advocating for racial equity in housing and community development

Adiyah Ali has over 15 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, with a focus on resource development, program management, and advocacy. In her Development Officer role, Adiyah focuses on cultivating relationships with major foundation and corporate donors and helping to expand private resources for LISC’s national programs and local offices. As a member of LISC’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ) committee and Racial Equity Learning Group, Adiyah focuses on driving systems change to create a more inclusive workplace, un-design inequities wherever they exist, and dismantle systemic and structural racism.

Prior to joining the national Development team, Adiyah managed LISC DC’s development and communication efforts, as well as its racial equity strategies. She has also worked for Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) and Amnesty International, and consulted with the Social Innovation Fund.  Adiyah has a BA in International Relations from Roanoke College and a MPP from Pepperdine University, and is currently pursuing her doctorate in Organizational Change and Leadership. A Baltimore native, she lives in Columbia, MD with her husband and two children.

Noerena Limón is the Senior Vice President of Public Policy and Industry Relations at the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP). At NAHREP, Noerena leads the organization’s policy and advocacy efforts, as well as the Hispanic Wealth Project.

Prior to joining NAHREP, Noerena spent six years at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau both in the Office of the Director and the Office of Mortgage Markets. Prior to that, she worked in the Office of Political Affairs at the White House, served as Deputy Communications Director for Spanish Language Media for the Obama-Biden 2008 Presidential Campaign, and as a Legislative Fellow for the Office of former U.S. Representative Xavier Becerra. Noerena received her B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley and a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Antoine M. Thompson is the Executive Director of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) the largest organization of African-American real estate professionals in the United States. He is a partner with Creative PMO Solutions a consulting firm that focuses on diversity, inclusion and advocacy work. He is also a licensed real estate agent with Howard Hanna.

Antoine is a staunch champion of fair-housing and community re-investment by local and national financial institutions. He has had a significant public service career in his hometown of Buffalo, New York. His positions have included appointments to Buffalo Common Council where he authored the Buffalo’s Fair Housing Law and secured over $75 million for community development projects. He was elected to the New York State Senate in 2004 and 2008 and served as the Senate Deputy Majority Whip and Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Environmental Conversation and Co-Chair of the Senate Minority and Woman Business Enterprise Task Force. He authored the NYS MWBE Mentor/Protégé Law. In 2019, Antoine was ranked on the Swanepoel Power 200 list ranking of the most influential and powerful leaders and executives in the residential real estate brokerage industry.