On Wednesday, March 30^th we hosted our annual Solutions for Housing Communications convening at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. This year’s focus was on developing communications strategies to help housers connect with the people and communities we serve.

Keynote speaker Marc Morial, President, and CEO of the National Urban League encouraged housers to continue their work in pushing leadership at all levels to confront today’s housing crisis with “power, passion, ingenuity, and foresight”. Enjoy recorded video coverage of the convening below.

Keynote speaker: Marc Morial, President, and CEO of the National Urban League    Mr. Morial opened the conference with an inspirational and uplifting speech, acknowledging that he was in the presence of a communications “honors class” of housing and finance professionals. He addressed the widespread concern that one of life’s most basic necessities, shelter, is becoming increasingly out of reach for many Americans. He also stated that this is a critical time for this generation to confront the current challenge with “power, passion, ingenuity, and foresight… We must centralize the idea that adequate shelter, as well as access to food, are fundamental human rights.”

Panel: Combatting NIMBYism  Following Marc Morial’s remarks, a panel, moderator Laura Grannemann (Rocket Community Fund) assisted in elucidating the various attitudes that can lead to anti-housing stances and how housers can combat them at the local, state, and federal levels. Combatting NYMBYism featured Matthew Lewis (California YIMBY), Jenny Schuetz (Brookings Metro), and Matthew Taylor.

Interactive Luncheon Session featuring Matthew Yglesias  During the Interactive Luncheon, NHC Board of Governors member Ali Solis (S3 Advisory Solutions) and journalist and blogger Matthew Yglesias (Slow Boring) took the stage to discuss how housers can maximize our media impact. Yglesias argued that our industry should emphasize the link between housing and national security: a stagnant, anti-growth America will lose its dynamism and become increasingly outcompeted on the global stage.

Panel: Promoting homeownership in communities of color Angie Garcia Lathrop (Bank of America) moderated the first afternoon panel discussion, Promoting Homeownership in Communities of Color. Panelists Lot Diaz (UnidosUS), Marcia Griffin (HomeFreeUSA), and Gisele Roget (Overbrook Square Group) discussed how to move the millions of mortgage-ready families of color who are currently renting into homeownership, based on research that has informed the work of the Black Homeownership Collaborative.

Panel: Making Data Digestible  Moderator Mercedeh Mortazavi of JPMorgan Chase led an lively discussion on Making Data Digestible with panelists Chris Ptomey (the Urban Land Institute), Allegra Tasaki (National Housing Conference), and Anne Kat Alexander (Eviction Lab). They shared how housing organizations who maintain databases (such as NHC’s Paycheck to Paycheck tool) can make that data available to housers on the ground.

Panel: Best practices in ERAP and HAF communication The panel Best Practices in ERAP and HAF Implementation, moderated by Eileen Fitzgerald (Wells Fargo) and panelists Llewellyn Anderson (Virginia Housing), Meg Burns (Housing Policy Council), and Jennifer Schwartz (Wells Fargo) (National Council of State Housing Agencies) was an engaging discussion with some of the most well-informed practitioners in the housing affordability community.

A special thanks is extended to our Presenting Sponsor, who made this event possible: