CHC’s 2013 Policy Forum & Housing Hall of Fame Awards, presented by JP Morgan Chase Bank, was held this year on May 16th at the Sacramento Grand Ballroom. Two-hundred affordable housing leaders spent the day hearing from insightful housing experts and honoring six “heroes among us” who have made a profound impact in the affordable housing field.
The theme of this year’s Policy Forum centered around the idea of affordable housing touching all parts of life. With that theme, the day began with a keynote address from UC Berkeley Associate Professor Carolina Reid. Professor Reid presented a case on California’s affordable housing gap and how the industry is affected by the current economic recovery. She debunked five myths we face in our industry such as ‘California has more priorities than housing’, with a focus on the fact that stable, quality housing is a leading factor in a thriving society.
We then had a thoughtful panel discussion titled “”Affordable Housing – Part of the Core. Touching Transportation, Energy, Education & Health”. Our panel of experts included Matt Schwartz, California Housing Partnership Corporation; Stuart Cohen, TransForm; Vanitha Venugopal, The San Francisco Foundation and Doug Shoemaker, Mercy Housing and was moderated by Linda Mandolini of Eden Housing. The group discussed how the fields of transportation, energy, education and health are all touched by housing. Affordable housing plays a vital role in a healthy and educated society as well as helping achieve public policy and societal objectives surrounding climate change and transit oriented development. It can help save millions of dollars by reducing the amount of homelessness, trips to the hospital emergency room and putting people closer to where they work.
To close the policy program we were honored to have a final keynote address by Senator Mark DeSaunier. He spoke of his pride in co-authoring of the California Homes & Jobs Act, SB 391 and the importance of finding a permanent source of funding for affordable housing. Senator DeSaulnier has been a true champion of our industry.
Finally, we had the privilege of honoring a distinguished group of inductees into the California Housing Hall of Fame. This year we were pleased to recognize the following affordable housing industry all-stars
Private Sector: Pat Sabelhaus
Nonprofit Sector: Matt Schwartz of the California Housing Partnership Corp
Public Sector: Assemblymember Toni Atkins
Philanthropic: The San Francisco Foundation
Lifetime Achievement Awards: Will Cooper, Sr. and Gary Squier
The success of our event would not be possible without our great group of sponsors. We sincerely appreciate your support and look forward to having you all back next year!
Presenting Sponsor:
Breakfast Sponsor: US Bank, Policy Forum Sponsor: Union Bank,
Luncheon Sponsor: AmCal Multi-Housing, Inc.
Table Sponsors Abode Communities, Affirmed Housing, CCRC, Citibank, Clark Consulting, CohnReznick, Eden Housing, Highridge Costa Investors LLC, Housing Trust Silicon Valley, Jamboree Housing, Law Offices of Patrick Sabelhaus, ME Shay & Co, Mercy Housing, MidPen Housing, Novogradac & Co, Related California, USA Properties Fund, Wakeland Housing & Development, Wells Fargo, WNC & Associates