Our 2021 Friday Forum series was a huge success. A special thanks to all of our sponsors and nonprofit partners who made the series possible. You can find recordings of all the panels below.

 

@ Home with HUD: The Bold New Biden Agenda


Longtime Network friends Peggy Bailey and Richard Cho, currently Senior Advisors at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, joined us for a conversation on the exciting new federal housing agenda. Afterwards, National Low Income Housing Coalition's Diane Yentel and Supportive Housing Network of New York Executive Director Laura Mascuch discussed NLIHC's HoUSed Campaign.

Speakers:

Peggy Bailey, Senior Advisor to the Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Richard Cho, Senior Advisor to the Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Diane Yentel, President & CEO, National Low Income Housing Coalition

Moderator: Laura Mascuch, Executive Director, The Supportive Housing Network of New York
 

Mental Health Housing: Looking Back, Looking Forward

Nonprofits created supportive housing over 30 years ago to meet the needs of New Yorkers struggling with mental health challenges. This conversation featured supportive housing providers who are reimagining what we need in mental health housing and services moving forward.

Speakers:

Gabby Gomez, Program Director, Center for Urban Community Services
Cal Hedigan, Chief Executive Officer, Community Access
Stacy Matuza, Deputy Chief Program Officer, Center for Urban Community Services
Melissa Toonkel, Assistant Program Director, 985 Bruckner Blvd, Community Access

 

​Democratizing Land Use: Who Holds the Power Moving Forward?

For too long, an elite few have had the power to dictate land use in cities across the United States, leaving communities of color with a lack of resources and agency. This panel discussed methods for shifting our land use practices to deconcentrate power and emphasize equity.

Speakers:

Lorraine Collins, Director of Public Policy and External Affairs at Enterprise Community Partners
Conor Dougherty, economics reporter at the New York Times and author of Golden Gates: The Housing Crisis and a Reckoning for the American Dream
Tommy Newman, Senior Director of Impact Initiatives at the United Way of Greater Los Angeles

Moderator: Nicole Clare, Chief Real Estate Development Officer, Bowery Residents' Committee

 

Restorative Justice 101

In this workshop, participants learned the foundational concepts of restorative justice, which is both a response to harm and an indigenous practice of community togetherness. We heard from practitioners active in the criminal legal system space, education, and community justice. There was also time for small group conversations to reflect on what restorative justice could look like in our supportive housing community.

Speakers:

Ummer Ali (he, him), Restorative Justice Coordinator, Make the Road NY
Anooj Bhandari (they, he), artist and community organizer, Restorative Justice Initiative
Vivianne Guevara (she, her), facilitator, public defender, social worker, Federal Defenders of New York
Daralee Vázquez García (she, her, Ella), educator and community organizer, CONNECT Safe Families and Peaceful Communities

 

Level the Playing Field: How Do We Get to Wage Equity?

The nonprofit human service sector has been calling on the government to rectify the deep wage inequities on government contracts. Our women-led workforce has carried the cost of economic inequity for too long. In this panel discussion, we heard directly from leaders and workers on current campaigns and how we can create a stronger voice for wage equity.

Speakers:

Na'ilah Amaru, Policy Director, Human Services Council of New York
Ambroisine Agbelor, Case Manager, Urban Pathways
Beverly Neufeld, President, PowHer
Fred Shack, Chief Executive Officer, Urban Pathways

Walking the Talk: Practical Applications for Equity Transformation in Nonprofits

In this panel, we learned from dynamic nonprofit leaders who are actively transforming their organizations into more equitable, representative, and inclusive spaces. The panel examined various strategies, but focused on leadership pathways, workforce and HR practices, and organizational culture.

Speakers:

D. Dayneen Caldwell, Chief Human Capital and Compliance Officer, Women in Need
Dr. Myra Henry, President & Chief Executive Officer, YWCA of Rochester
Fiona Kanagasingam, Chief Equity and Learning Officer, Planned Parenthood of Greater New York
Pascale Leone, Director, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Corporation for Supportive Housing

Moderator: Jeannette K. Ruffins, Executive Director/CEO, Homeward NYC

 

Re-Entry Supportive Housing: Lessons from LA

The Network hosted Los Angeles’s fascinating Housing for Health program at our 2018 Conference, through which nonprofit Brilliant Corners found and managed over 10,000 scattered site apartments for various homeless populations. This year, Brilliant Corners' Housing Justice Manager Jose Osuna and Project 180's Program Coordinator Herminio Zuniga returned to detail years of learnings from their program for justice-involved individuals struggling with mental health challenges.

Speakers:

Jose Osuna, Housing Justice Manager, Brilliant Corners
Herminio Zuniga, Program Coordinator, Project 180

Moderator: JoAnne Page, President & CEO, The Fortune Society