We are still running on the great energy from our Solutions for Housing Communications Convening in New York last week. Thanks again to our sponsors, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Nixon Peabody and BNY Mellon, and to our speakers, who made this event such a success. With folks coming from 28 different states and Canada, our attendees were the real star of the show and we are already looking forward to seeing you next year in Minneapolis! Amy has a summary of the convening below.
Our attention now shifts to our 44th Annual Housing Visionary Award Gala and Policy Symposium on June 2 and 3 here in Washington, D.C. These events comprise two days of focus on what matters most to the affordable housing community: the policies and practices that will move housing forward.
We’ll begin with an evening of celebration, networking and reflection at the Housing Visionary Award Gala. We’ll recognize NHC’s 85 years of building the affordable housing movement with you, our members and friends, and learn what two of our nation’s leading rural housing organizations are doing to create partnerships that build community.
This year we are pleased to honor Rural LISC and the Housing Assistance Council for their decades of work on rural housing issues across this country. This is a great opportunity to celebrate and come together as a field as we lift up the successes and ongoing challenges of providing quality, affordable homes in rural America.
This year’s Gala is chaired by Michael M. Horn, Chairman of the Council of Federal Home Loan Banks, and Martin Sundquist, Senior Vice President & Director of the Wells Fargo Foundation. They lead a team of volunteers who are working to secure sponsorship and tables for the gala.
As this is NHC’s most important fundraising event, your support is vital for NHC to continue our work in serving as a resource on policy, communications and research to support the field and move it forward. You can secure your tickets and choose your sponsorship level on our website.
The next day, we will explore the role of housing in shaping economic change for individuals and communities at our Annual Policy Symposium. The Symposium will feature Lisa Mensah, Under Secretary for Rural Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture as our opening keynote. She will be followed by two panel presentations that look at the role of housing in personal and community well-being.
Rural Communities in Transition will discuss how housing policy is shaping development in rural areas rapidly changing to exurban or suburban areas and how lending and development is responding. Panelists will explore what that means for housing affordability, economic development and future public-private partnerships.
Housing’s Place in Solving Poverty will feature ways housing programs are helping households become more self-sufficient, and what policy changes could enable more people to move out of poverty. They will also dive deep into some of the key details that make housing distinct in poverty responses.
The symposium is complimentary and will be offered via webcast and archived for those of you unable to attend in person.
I hope you will take this opportunity to support NHC by being a sponsor at this year’s Housing Visionary Award Gala!