Conference Program

Monday | Tuesday | Download the Program-At-A-Glance (PDF)

Concurrent sessions are identified as either a focus session or workshop.

• Focus sessions generally present a broad perspective on topics that encourage discussion and debate.

• Workshops present introductory facts and training on a specific program or subject. 

All session topics and speakers are subject to change.

---

Monday, September 15

7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Conference Check-In

7:30 – 9:00 a.m.
Breakfast with Exhibitors

9:00 – 10:15 a.m.
Opening General Session

KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Words and Magic: The Secret Language of Advocacy
Michael Shadow, Ph.D., President, Shadow and Associates
Usually, great ideas just remain ideas until people agree to act and turn them into reality. Words are the vehicles that carry your ideas along that road to reality. Your words are magical. Through them hope is created, an idea takes life, and a new consensus is shaped. In this opening presentation, Dr. Michael Shadow will share some of the recent thinking on what happens when you use words to make your ideas “come alive” to others. Learn how to use words to frame issues, to communicate information or to inspire, motivate and touch the spirit of others. You’ll want to attend this opening session.

Welcome Remarks: Karen Miller, Chair, Washington State Housing Finance Commission
Juli Wilkerson, Director, Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development

10:15 – 10:45 a.m.
Beverage Break with Exhibitors

10:45 a.m. – Noon
Focus Sessions and Workshops

M1 Focus Session

Impact: Messages that Make the Case for Housing
Presenter: Michael Anderson, Community Development Network of Portland
We know our work is vital to our communities, but do our communities feel the same way? Michael Anderson will discuss the process his organization undertook to develop messages that made the case for affordable housing in Oregon. He will also share useful insights into ways of conveying these messages to community members, policy makers and business leaders in a way that will deliver results for the people you serve.

M2 Focus Session

Congressional Roundtable
Moderator: Washington State Housing Finance Commission
Panelists: Staff Members of the U.S. Congress
Returning to Housing Washington, U.S. Congressional staff members responsible for housing policy issues and affordable housing will present the policies and legislative initiatives of the Congressional members they serve, and take questions. This is your opportunity to engage with lawmakers on Congress’ agenda and current priorities as they relate to affordable housing.

M3 Focus Session

Design for Affordability: A Middle Income Housing Proposal
Presenter: Sarah Karlinsky, San Francisco Planning + Urban Research Association
Alongside all the formal programs to create affordable housing, there exists an under-appreciated, but potentially important, component of urban housing markets: units that cost less because they are small and efficiently designed, and in many cases do not come with a parking space. Learn how these “affordable by design” units could become an important part of San Francisco’s middle income housing strategy, and could hold lessons for other hot market cities as well.

M4 Workshop

Housing 101
Presenter: Paul Purcell, Beacon Development Group
What everyone who wants or needs to develop affordable housing must know about the process, the players, the market, the skills and the vernacular. An interactive introduction to what it takes to develop much needed affordable housing in today’s environment.

M5 Workshop

Implementing a No-Smoking Policy in Multifamily Housing: A Win-Win Solution
Presenters: Theresa Cross, Clark County Public Health
Colleen Hermann-Franzen, American Lung Association of Oregon
Jim Wiard, Guardian Management LLC
This panel includes representatives from Portland’s Guardian Management and the Portland-Vancouver Metro Area Smokefree Housing Project. Beginning in 2007, Guardian successfully converted 6,500 existing apartment units in Oregon (8,000 total units across the West) to smoke-free by implementing a no-smoking policy. The panelists will highlight the business and health benefits of a no-smoking policy, as well as share tips on implementation and enforcement.

12:15 – 1:45 p.m.
Lunch

KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Transformational Planning and Development: Density, Place Making and Green Communities
Nicole Katherine Sherwood, Director, Perry Rose, LLC, Jonathan Rose Companies
In the next 30 years, America will grow by 94 million people. We have a serious choice about how we accommodate this growth. If we sprawl, we will increase the damage caused by climate change and place increasing health and economic burdens on the poorest members of our society. This presentation will provide an overview of one innovative real estate development and planning firm’s efforts to address these challenges. We believe that the right solution is to responsibly reinvest in our existing cities by creating communities that are economically, socially and culturally diverse and in which residents can live, work, learn and play in close proximity.

Comments and Introduction: Senior Representative, U.S. Bank

2:00 – 3:15 p.m.
Focus Sessions and Workshops

M6 Focus Session

Supportive Housing: Preventing Veteran Homelessness
Presenter: John Driscoll, National Coalition for Homeless Veterans
One-quarter of all homeless people and one in three homeless men in America are veterans. Though the number of homeless veterans on the street each night has decreased by 38% since 2002, the greatest need of this population is still not being met: access to affordable housing. Community planners, developers, government agencies and private financial interests hold the key to creating housing options to prevent veteran homelessness. The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans is at the center of this emerging campaign. This discussion will highlight various housing types, necessary services, and financial incentives that demonstrate the benefits of providing supportive housing for local governments, the business community and, most of all, for veterans who are threatened by homelessness due to health and economic disadvantage.

M7 Focus Session

Inclusionary Housing: Applying the Lessons Learned
Moderator: Paul Schissler, Northwest Community Land Trust Coalition and Kulshan CLT
Presenters: Kat Gjovik, Formerly with Community Housing Coalition
David Rosen, David Paul Rosen & Associates
Washington law allows Inclusive Housing strategies, like inclusionary zoning, but our state has some catching up to do compared to places with decades of Inclusive Housing experience. An expert panel will present the latest national data and a local case study to illustrate the policy choices and program components that create a predictable, fair and productive inclusionary housing land use ordinance.

M8 Focus Session

Manufactured Housing Communities: People, Policies, Preservation
Presenters: Ishbel Dickens, Columbia Legal Services
Marjorie Neff, Hidden Village Owners’ Association
Brian Sullivan, Snohomish County Council
A panel of manufactured homeowners and other experts will discuss how state and local policies can result in the preservation of manufactured housing communities in Washington.

M9 Focus Session

America’s Rental Housing: The Key to a Balanced National Policy
Presenter: Rachel Drew, Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard University
Rental housing is a crucial element of our nation’s housing supply, but is too often overlooked as policy and business interests focus on homeownership. But now, in the midst of the largest housing market decline in a generation and turmoil in mortgage markets, rental housing is being viewed in a new light. To bring the housing market out of its slump, we need to look at owning and renting together and move forward with a national agenda that focuses on households finding housing that is affordable and suitable for them, regardless of its tenure.

M10 Workshop

Permanently Affordable Homeownership through Community Land Trusts: An Introduction
Presenter: Lisa Byers, OPAL Community Land Trust
Community Land Trusts (CLTs) provide affordable access to land and homes that lasts for generations. Public and private investments that make the home affordable for the first homebuyer remain in the property. At the same time that affordability is maintained, each successive homeowner builds equity. Fannie Mae, HUD, USDA, major mortgage lenders and a growing number of communities now recognize the advantages of having a CLT in the mix. This workshop will provide an introductory description of how the community land trust model works, including the CLT ground lease and resale formula basics, descriptions of the CLT’s adaptability to a wide range of housing types and partnerships, the results from a performance evaluation on the largest CLT in the United States and examples from local and national CLTs.

3:15 – 3:30 p.m.
Beverage Break

3:30 – 4:45 p.m.
Focus Sessions

M11 Focus Session

After the Charrette: Post-Occupancy Evaluations of Green Multifamily Housing
Presenters: Jon Hall, GGLO
Joanne Quinn, City of Seattle Office of Housing
Bill Singer, Environmental Works
With the new requirement for the Evergreen Sustainable Development Standard, everyone wants to know, “Do sustainable design features cost more than conventional design?” “Do they provide measurable and actual long term cost savings?” Results of a multi-year study of affordable and market-rate projects will be illuminated, along with discussion on lessons learned, post-occupancy information (including water and energy costs) from Green Communities and LEED-rated projects, and on buildings without a “green” rating.

M12 Focus Session

Mortgage Markets and Financial Regulation: Past, Present and Future
Presenter: Scott Jarvis, Washington State Department of Financial Institutions
The Director of the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions will present a state financial regulator’s perspective on the residential mortgage markets. He will discuss the evolution of our markets and practices that have contributed to the current credit crunch, offer observations on the roles played by Wall Street, product delivery systems and federal and state regulators, and conclude with an update on lending-related legislation recently adopted in the state of Washington, and with some thoughts as to what we might expect from “the other Washington” in the coming year.

M13 Focus Session

Promising Practices and Recommendations for Housing Former Foster Youth
Presenter: Misty Stenslie, Foster Care Alumni of America
Those of us who are alumni of the foster care system are often entering and living our adult lives without the safety net that typically comes from having a family; including knowledge and resources for finding and maintaining adequate and appropriate housing. There are an estimated 12 million adults who share the foster care experience in the United States, and to us, ‘home’ is an elusive concept — particularly for young people leaving foster care. Hear about promising practices across the country for working with this particularly vulnerable and highly rewarding group of people, along with recommendations directly from alumni of foster care for your program practice and policy.

M14 Focus Session

Asset Management: The Final Frontier or To Infinity and Beyond
Moderator: Lisa Vatske, Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development
Presenters: Robin Boyce, Housing Development Center
Tess Colby, Impact Capital
Tracy Reich, Impact Capital
Molly Rogers, Housing Development Center
This session will provide updates on current initiatives, including the development of a web-based annual reporting system and the MacArthur Foundation proposal. In addition, there will be a presentation and discussion of best practices on a specific asset management issue, with time for Q & A.

M15 Focus Session

Build Housing for Fifty Cents on the Dollar through Unique Partnerships
Presenter: Jay Schupack, Master Builders Care Foundation
Learn how nonprofits can collaborate with private industry, public agencies and private funders to build transitional housing for the homeless. In typical projects, the homebuilding industry contributes half of the construction cost. Participants will share their experience and discuss starting your own project.

4:45 – 6:30 p.m.
VIP Networking Reception with Exhibitors

VIP Networking Reception
Join us for a vibrant reception where you may make new contacts and build progressive partnerships while enjoying hors d’oeuvres and no-host beverages.

top of page

---

Tuesday, September 16

7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Conference Check-In

7:30 – 9:00 a.m.
Breakfast with Exhibitors

9:00 – 10:15 a.m.
General Session

KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Housing at a Crossroads
Julia Stasch, Vice President, Program on Human and Community Development, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Historically, housing becomes a high priority only in times of crisis. With the subprime mortgage meltdown and the challenge of increasing unaffordability, housing debates abound. It is time to move beyond rhetoric and quick fixes to a comprehensive, balanced housing policy that works for homeowners, renters and communities alike. Julia Stasch will address the elements of such a policy and what the MacArthur Foundation is doing to help bring it about.

Comments and Introduction: Senior Representative, KeyBank

10:30 – 11:45 a.m.
Focus Sessions and Workshops

T1 Focus Session

Designing for Life: Inclusive Residential Design for Socially Sustainable Communities
Presenter: Valerie Fletcher, Institute for Human-Centered Design (formerly Adaptive Environments)
Suddenly there is a new sense of urgency to think in a fresh way about building for seamless inclusion if we are to thrive through the aging of the largest generation in our history. Valerie Fletcher will share an international perspective and specifics on the demographic, economic and design opportunities intended to entice Washington state to model solutions for the nation.

T2 Focus Session

Farmworker Housing: Fair Housing and NIMBY
Moderator: Janet Abbett, Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development
Presenters: Marty Miller, Office of Rural and Farmworker Housing
Idolina Reta, Washington State Human Rights Commission
Brien Thane, Washington State Farmworker Housing Trust
Fair Housing laws protect both individuals and proposed housing developments from discrimination based on national origin. House Bill 2279, which became state law this year, prohibits local jurisdictions from discriminating against affordable housing developments for farmworkers and other low income and special needs populations through land-use and permitting actions. This session will discuss both laws, as well as present recent case studies where discrimination actions were effectively countered in Washington state.

T3 Focus Session

Building Coalitions to Build Better Communities
Presenter: Carl Guardino, Silicon Valley Leadership Group
Carl Guardino will discuss ways to engage the business community and other stakeholders to build consensus for affordable and appropriately located home developments. His efforts in Silicon Valley include the establishment of the nation’s most innovative Housing Trust Fund, advocacy for specific home developments, media messaging for affordable homes, and passage of California’s largest successful housing bond.

T4 Focus Session

Affordable Housing Options in Our Single Family Zones
Presenters: Jim Burton, Blip Design
Justin Fogle, Hewitt Architects; Northwest EcoBuilding Guild
Sheri Newbold, Live Work Play
As the population in the Puget Sound increases exponentially, we are in need of affordable housing options within our residential neighborhoods. Come learn about the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild’s proposal for increasing walk-ability, livability and affordability in our single-family areas (focused on Seattle’s land use).

T5 Workshop

Leaping from Section 8 to Home Ownership
Moderator: Karen Carlson, Washington State Housing Finance Commission
Presenters: Melinda Szatlocky, Homeward Bound CLT (Jefferson and Clallam Counties) formerly with Clallam Housing Authority
Mia Vermillion, Countrywide Home Loans
Learn details and specific steps on how a lender qualifies, processes and underwrites loans with Section 8 vouchers as well as what types of layered financing can be used in combination with these vouchers. Current market obstacles will also be discussed.

Noon – 1:15 p.m.
Lunch

KEYNOTE ADDRESS
The Shock Doctrine and Its Impact on Housing
Naomi Klein, Internationally Acclaimed Author, The Shock Doctrine
Exposing the thinking, the money trail and the puppet strings behind the world-changing crises and wars of the last four decades, The Shock Doctrine is the story of how “free market” policies have come to dominate the world through the exploitation of disaster-shocked people and countries.

Comments and Introduction: Senior Representative, Washington Mutual

1:15 – 1:45 p.m.
Exhibit Viewing

2:00 – 3:15 p.m.
Focus Sessions and Workshops

T6 Focus Session

Affordable Housing and the Environment: The Growing Connection between Housing, Open Space Conservation, Parks and Outdoor Recreation — Part I
Moderators: Former Governor Mike Lowry, Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition
Kollin Min, Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.
Presenters: Michelle Connor, Cascade Land Conservancy
Sara Nikolic, Futurewise
Tom Reeve, Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition
Mike Ryherd, Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition
For too long, environmental goals and affordable housing development have been dismissed as unrelated — even conflicting — policy objectives. There is growing recognition, however, that these missions are more closely aligned than previously understood, and new coalitions of environmentalists and affordable housing developers are collaborating in innovative ways to accomplish common goals. The Cascade Agenda, a 100-year visioning effort for the Puget Sound, is drawing the connection between the need for dense, affordable housing and open space protection, and is developing new tools and resources to encourage quality urban development that accomplishes these objectives. Part I of this presentation will focus on the efforts of the Cascade Agenda to draw attention to the need for affordable and workforce housing as a key component of a long-term regional growth strategy. Continues as T11.

T7 Focus Session

Community Land Trusts and Wealth Creation: Balancing Common Wealth and Individual Asset Building
Presenters: Dena Al-Khatib, Chicago Community Land Trust
Erika Malone, Northwest Community Land Trust Coalition
One of the most important, and often misunderstood, facets of the shared equity approach taken by Community Land Trusts (CLTs) is its strength as an asset building strategy for lower-income homeowners. With nationally growing interest in Shared Equity Homeownership (CLTs specifically), and after research funded by the Ford Foundation and others, a panel of experts will present the latest thinking on how to balance the two primary CLT goals: asset building and permanent affordability.

T8 Focus Session

Making Sustainability More Accessible: Michelle Kaufmann Designs’ Green Mission
Presenter: Michelle Kaufmann, Michelle Kaufmann Designs
A sustainable, healthy living environment should not be a luxury available only to the wealthy; thoughtfully designed green homes should be accessible to more people. Michelle Kaufmann will discuss some of the emerging trends in the green building industry that are making this possible. She will also explain what her firm is doing to make going green easier for more people by utilizing a more streamlined production process and by working in volume with developers on mixed-income multifamily projects.

T9 Focus Session

Legislative Roundtable
Moderators: Washington Low Income Housing Alliance; Washington State Housing Finance Commission
Participants: Members of the State Legislature Housing Committees
The state legislative leadership will report on Washington’s housing agenda from 2007. Members of a bipartisan mix from the Senate Consumer Protection and Housing Committee, and the House Housing Committee of the Washington State Legislature will participate in an interactive discussion of key housing issues.

T10 Workshop

State Quality Awards Program: Rewarding the Heart of Your Organization
Presenter: Jennifer Sprecher, Washington State Quality Award
Your organization has a great mission, but you find your people are off committing random acts of goodness that are not leading to a cohesive goal. This presentation will share a model designed to help you create a culture of excellence by aligning efforts around a common goal and providing effective empowerment. Recent legislation (Senate Bill 5959) requires all organizations receiving over $500,000 from state housing-related funding sources to apply for the Washington State Quality Award every three years. This presentation will explain what that means to your organization and how to turn this from a compliance exercise into an effort of excellence. Learn how to use this experience to drive your organizational results to the highest level.

3:15 – 3:30 p.m.
Beverage Break

3:30 – 4:45 p.m.
Focus Sessions

T11 Focus Session

Affordable Housing and the Environment: The Growing Connection between Housing, Open Space Conservation, Parks and Outdoor Recreation — Part II 
Moderators: Former Governor Mike Lowry, Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition
Kollin Min, Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.
Presenters: Michelle Connor, Cascade Land Conservancy
Sara Nikolic, Futurewise
Tom Reeve, Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition
Mike Ryherd, Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition
The Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition (WWRC) is demonstrating an increasing commitment to working with affordable housing developers to improve the lives of low income families by ensuring that they have direct access to parks and open spaces through Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program funding. Part II of this presentation features a discussion by the WWRC of their efforts to ensure that low income families benefit from parks and recreational opportunities throughout the state. Continued from T6.

T12 Focus Session

Making Employer-Assisted Housing a Reality in Washington State
Presenters: Mark Ellerbrook, City of Seattle Office of Housing
Suzanne Petersen, Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center
Robin Snyderman, Chicago Metropolitan Planning Council
This session will discuss national models of employer-assisted housing programs and local efforts to expand this in Washington state. The team will summarize the proposed state legislation that would create a statewide employer-assisted housing program, outline how the program could work for a variety of employers and discuss potential uses for the program around the state.

T13 Focus Session

Affordable Senior Housing: National Trends in the Provision of Housing, Care and Services
Presenter: Julie Peterson, Washington Association of Housing and Services for the Aging
Explore opportunities for seniors to remain in their own homes or communities, and learn about service delivery models, which can be adopted by senior housing providers and community partners, enabling residents and citizens to receive services, when they want them, and in the place they call home. Debate the sustainability of funding affordable senior housing, care and services as the aging population grows exponentially, and with very different expectations of what ”growing older” means compared to previous generations.

T14 Focus Session

Re-Entry Housing: A Solid Foundation in the Making
Presenters: Mary Jo Braaten, Northeast Washington Housing Solutions
Molly Onkka, Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development
Kevin St. Jacques, Sound Mental Health
Charles Wend, Washington State Department of Corrections
Over 90% of individuals who are incarcerated return to their communities. It is not a question of whether or not, but rather of when and how. Housing is of key importance to safe re-entry and is a practical hub around which necessary protections and supports can be structured. Stable housing supports effective monitoring, compliance with treatment, supervision requirements and community safety. This panel discussion will address the on-going collaborative effort and current status of the Re-Entry Housing Program. Time for dialog will be included.

4:45 – 5:30 p.m.
Closing General Session

KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Social Responsibility Starts at Home
Karen Trilevsky, Founder and CEO, FullBloom Baking Company
“Social Responsibility,” “Being Green,” “Creating Sustainable Businesses”… these are all popular topics being slapped into corporate brochures today, but to Karen Trilevsky, these values are entirely fundamental to her approach to life and to building her business. You don’t have to look any further than her personal story to see that the passion she has for giving back to the environment, to her employees and to her community comes from her personal journey — from homelessness to life as a successful businesswoman running a multimillion-dollar baking company. In addition to sharing her own story, Ms. Trilevsky will also share the inspirational stories of participants of her Smart Cookies Program to reveal how an organization’s investment in its community can be an enriching experience for all. Through the lens of the Smart Cookies Programs, she shows that making social responsibility fundamental to your business gives business success — and life — new meaning.

Closing Remarks: Kim Herman, Executive Director, Washington State Housing Finance Commission
Comments and Introduction: Senior Representative, Bank of America

5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
The 15th Annual Friend of Housing Awards

Friend of Housing Award Ceremony and Reception       >>>Nomination Information & Form
This evening’s ceremony will honor the individuals who and organizations that have built Washington state’s affordable housing communities with unswerving dedication and unquestioning service to the people of this state, especially those in greatest need. The Washington State Housing Finance Commission is proud to be presenting the 15th Annual Friend of Housing Awards. Enjoy gourmet hors d’oeuvres and no-host beverages at this uplifting early evening event.