Housing Is Summit 2021 Recordings & Materials

Spanning three days and featuring sessions focused on the intersection of housing and education, health, racial equity, and COVID-19, CLPHA's 2021 Housing Is Summit shared lessons learned in cross-sector collaboration, including deep dives into systems change, embedding equity practices, and the evolving impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our work and lives.

View Summit session video recordings and slides below.

Quotes from 2021 Housing Is Summit Attendees

“Breakout session was informative and was relevant to issues we face everyday. Helpful information was shared.”

"[The most beneficial takeaway was] reconnecting with folks after a tough 2020 and hearing insightful information that other agencies/companies have implemented to serve families.”

"As a first-timer, it was interesting to hear from speakers across several sectors. I feel like they really showed the bigger picture of challenges and accomplishments.”

“Highly informative, enlightening, elevating.”

“The focus on the collaboration of health, education and housing to better address people's needs is important.”

Plenary Recordings

Day 1: Welcome & Plenary: Cross Sector Efforts on COVID-19

Opening Remarks

Sunia Zaterman, Executive Director, CLPHA
Stephen Norman, Board President, King County Housing Authority Executive Director, CLPHA
Abra Lyons-Warren, Director of Cross-Sector Initiatives

CLPHA Sponsor Remarks

Jeff Bischoff, Senior Director of Sales, Yardi Systems Inc.
Andy McMahon, VP of Health and Human Services Policy, UnitedHealthcare Community & State

Plenary: Cross Sector Efforts on COVID-19

More than a year into a global pandemic, we continue to see disparities in infections, access to care, and economic supports, with an unequal burden on low-income and communities of color. This roundtable will discuss perspectives from housing, health, and policy for what we have seen and what may be to come, as well as ideas we may enact to create more permanent solutions, in addition to addressing current crises.

Richard Cho, Senior Advisor for Housing and Services, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Rupali J. Limaye, Associate Scientist, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Vivian Brady-Phillips, Executive Director, Jersey City Housing Authority (Moderator)

Day 2 Plenary: Welcome Back & Keynote: Pathways to Postsecondary Success: Unlocking Education Opportunities for Low-Income Adults

Welcome Back

Abra Lyons-Warren, Director of Cross-Sector Initiatives,
CLPHA Jennifer Angarita, Senior Program Officer, Funders for Housing & Opportunity

Keynote Pathways to Postsecondary Success: Unlocking Education Opportunities for Low-Income Adults

Susan Corbin, Acting Director, Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (presentation)

Day 3 Plenary: Welcome Back & Keynote and Plenary: Reducing Childhood Poverty

Keynote: Reducing Childhood Poverty

Michael Bennett (D-Co), Congressional Video Message

Plenary: Reducing Childhood Poverty

Following Housing Is’ 2019 Summit discussion of reducing childhood poverty and the idea of a universal child allowance, this panel will explore the renewed discussion of legislation around a child tax credit and the idea of a universal basic income.

Ariel Kalil, Director, Center for Human Potential and Public Policy, Co-director, Behavioral Insights and Parenting Lab, University of Chicago
Sukhi Samra, Director, Mayors for a Guaranteed Income
Richelle Friedman, Director of Policy, Coalition on Human Needs (presentation)
Erika Poethig, Special Assistant to the President for Housing and Urban Policy, White House Domestic Policy Council

Education Breakout Recordings

Day 1: Out-of-School Opportunities and Support in a Virtual World

After over a year of remote learning, everything is out-of-school time at this point. With unknowns about vaccinations for children, communities should prepare for uneven plans across communities for summer and fall 2021. This discussion session focuses on capacity: how to support virtual and hybrid learning, how to counter learning loss, supporting parent engagement, supporting staff to support parents, providing adult socio-emotional learning, and providing connection to services. Panelists will share examples from on the ground, toolkits, and other resources, while also allowing time for small group discussion to share challenges and troubleshoot solutions.

Linda Lu, Director of Strategy and Learning, Partnership for Children & Youth (presentation)
Brodrick Clarke, Director of Technical Training, National Summer Learning Association (presentation)
Ted Dezember, Senior Manager for Educational Initiatives, King County Housing Authority
Ken Nsimbi, Youth Program Coordinator & REDI Co-Chair, King County Housing Authority

Day 2: Partnering to Improve Postsecondary Outcomes

Meet with members of CLPHA’s Postsecondary Leadership Institute to learn about how PHAs and postsecondary partners are working with students. Attendees will have a chance to hear short presentations about innovative approaches for improving postsecondary success and then ask questions in small groups.

Michelle Zamperetti, Principal and Founder, Zamperetti Consulting (Moderator)
Jennifer Thomas, Community Development Manager, Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles
Alison De Lucca, Executive Director, SoCalCAN
Lina Calderon-Morin, Deputy Director, SoCalCAN
Maria Flores, Director of Operations, Housing Authority of the City of El Paso
Sahar Lawrence, Resident Capacity Program Coordinator, Boston Housing Authority
Maddie Thomas, Senior Assistant Director, Northeastern University
Ashley Thompson, Education Program Specialist, Chicago Housing Authority (presentation)
Erica Farris, District Director of Student Development, City Colleges of Chicago
Brittany Crosby, Project Coordinator, City Colleges of Chicago
PuraCarina Gonzales, Director of Innovation and Strategic Initiatives, One Million Degrees (presentation)

Day 3: Working Towards Digital Equity

Long before the pandemic forced virtual learning and digital connections, public housing authorities have been working to address unequal access to the internet and devices. Recent provisions in COVID-19 relief packages have begun to provide for temporary assistance for lowincome individuals and families, and PHAs and legislators are pushing for more permanent supports. Panelists will discuss recently enacted funds, as well as introduced legislation.

Ruthy Gourevitch, Policy Advisor, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) (presentation)
Arvind Sohoni, Director of Strategic Planning, New York City Housing Authority
Kate Black, Acting Chief Policy Advisor to Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, Federal Communications Commission

Health Breakout Recordings

Day 1: Countering the Climate Crisis

The devastating consequences of climate change will continue to impact our everyday lives, testing the resilience of our communities and influencing the processes of how we build housing. PHAs have been on the front-line managing disaster recovery efforts and are well-positioned to be leaders in advancing policies to develop environmentally friendly green infrastructure. This panel will discuss past endeavors to secure safe housing for displaced communities, what steps are required to mitigate future disasters, and how PHAs are designing plans to make greener and more healthier communities.

Michele Moore, Director of Recovery and Resilience, New York City Housing Authority
Alejandro E. Salgado Colon, General Counsel, Puerto Rico Department of Housing
Alan Isa, Policy Analyst, Houston Housing Authority
Bill Bryant, Energy Manager, Houston Housing Authority

Day 2: Supporting Residents with Substance Use Disorders

In 2019, CLPHA collaborated with Johns Hopkins University on a member survey to better understand how public housing authorities (PHAs) are serving residents affected by addiction and what policies or resources PHAs continue to need. The intent of CLPHA’s participation in the survey was to identify best practices for most effectively serving residents affected by addiction and inform CLPHA’s advocacy efforts on addiction issues. During this panel, the JHU researchers will review results of the survey and panelists will hear from the PHA perspective about what practices have been most effective and where there is work to be done.

Craig Pollack, Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (presentation)
Brendan Saloner, Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Alene Kennedy-Hendricks, Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Kristy Johnson, Interim Sr. Director of Policy, Research, and Social Impact, King County Housing Authority (presentation)
Cassandra Jackson, Director of South Region, Sound Health

Day 3: Improving Maternal Health & Infant Vitality

Based off of data that Ohio has high rates of infant mortality, housing authorities there are working to address this concern, which disproportionately affects people of color. Under different initiatives, the Akron and Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authorities collaborate with cross-sector partners like mayor’s offices and public health officials to improve outcomes. Panelists will describe their efforts, tactics to reach at-risk families, and ways to fund the work.

Shaleeta Smith, Maternal & Child Health Manager, Summit County Public Health and Co- Lead for Akron’s Full Term First Birthday Initiative
Jill Spillman, Educational Initiatives Supervisor, Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority (presentation)
Sonja Nelson, Vice President of Resident Initiatives, Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (presentation)
Jessica Ehule, Director of Programs, CityMatCH
Priyam Khan, Director of Community and Legislative Strategies, CelebrateOne
Amy Riegel, Director of Housing, CareSource

Partnerships Breakout Recordings

Day 1: Addressing the Digital Divide

As public housing authorities have worked to keep residents and staff safe from COVID-19, they have turned from focusing on emergency response to longer-term solutions. Sub-grantees from CLPHA’s partnership with the Center for Disaster Philanthropy share how they have been implementing initiatives to counter the digital divide that has only been exacerbated by the pandemic.

Laura Gregory, Resident Services Manager, Oklahoma City Housing Authority (presentation)
Lacy Kendrick, Executive Director of Social Responsibility, YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City
Lynne Picard, Vice President of Community Engagement & Enhancement, Wilmington Housing Authority (presentation)
Jaria Atkins, Community Relations Rep, Healthy Blue NC

Day 2: Revisiting Eviction Prevention Practices Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

Over the past several years, CLPHA has worked with its members to disseminate information on the best eviction prevention practices and many public housing authorities (PHAs) have made great progress in developing new strategies to keep families housed. The eventual ending of the CDC eviction moratorium provides an opportunity for PHAs to review their eviction prevention strategies. Panelists will review the latest research on COVID-19 and evictions, protecting voucher holders from eviction, and work that PHAs are doing to evaluate their own eviction practices through a racial equity lens.

Kathryn Leifheit, Postdoctoral Researcher, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health (presentation)
Eva Rosen, Assistant Professor, Georgetown University (presentation)
Taylor Smiley Wolfe, Director of Policy and Planning, Home Forward (presentation)
Dorivette Nolan, Director of Policy, Planning, and Housing Mobility, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (presentation)

Day 3: Measuring Racial Equity

In the past couple of years, people and organizations have been more aware of and interested in discussing racial equity. This session will provide a space to step away from tackling this issue due to social pressures and look at how to think about this work from a systems level and go deeper than just surface efforts. Panelists will discuss how to know when initiatives are actually equitable and how can impact be measured, examining work from a racial equity lens, potential leads to impact, as well as measuring both in the short term as well as long-term.

Anne Griffith, Senior Director of Economic Mobility, Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. (presentation)
Charles Carter, Senior Evidence Director, Project Evident

Thank you to our Sponsors & Exhibitor!

Foundation Sponsor:

Presenting Sponsor:

Networking Sponsor:

Supporting Sponsor:

Exhibitor:

The Housing Is Initiative, led by the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, helps build a future where systems work together to improve life outcomes.

Fragmented service delivery systems and siloed policymaking often fail to address the needs of low-income individuals and families holistically, resulting in stagnant outcomes and costly inefficiencies. CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative is based on the premise that systems can better meet these needs and improve life outcomes when they work together.

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Housing Is Summit 2021 Recordings & Materials

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