Special thanks to our title sponsor: Affirmed Housing
Click here to see more photos from the event, sponsored by Related CA.
CHC Chair Doug Shoemaker and Title Sponsor Jim Silverwood started the day welcoming the crowd of nearly three hundred of California’s affordable housing leaders. CHC Executive Director Ray Pearl reflected back on his 10 years of service to the affordable housing industry, sharing his perspective on the strides made over the past decade.
The program started with a federal policy update from byDavid Gasson from Boston Capital. David gave us a peek into the workings of Washington DC, provided key updates on the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act, and ideas for how we can get this bill passed.
We enjoyed our keynote speaker California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, who shared her ideas for TCAC and CDLAC and her support for an expansion of the state housing credit.
We were then joined by author Richard Rothstein who presented his book The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America. In his talk, Richard explained how his background in education policy ended up leading him to study segregration. He explored evidence that our local, state, and federal governments not merely ignored discriminatory practices in the residential sphere, but promoted them.
CHC Policy Chair Robin Hughes then moderated and participated in a panel with Richard, Susan Friedland and Megan Kirkeby. The panel explored ways the state and affordable housing developers can begin to reverse or undo a century’s worth of discriminatory policies.
It was a privilege to honor this year’s distinguished group of inductees into the California Housing Hall of Fame. This year we were pleased to recognize the following affordable housing industry supporters: Dianne Spaulding Local Leadership Award – Ann Sewill, California Community Foundation
For-Profit Sector – Jack Gardner, The John Stewart Company
Lifetime Achievement – Mike Alvidrez, former CEO of Skid Row Housing Trust
As always, the success of our event would not be possible without our amazing group of sponsors. We sincerely appreciate your support and look forward to having you all back in 2020!