Panel 2
Putting Research into Action: Anti-displacement and Equitable Development Tools and Practices from Other Cities
1:00 - 2:15 pm
This panel of public officials, leaders of community-based organizations, and researchers will share strategies employed by cities around the country to prevent involuntary displacement and promote inclusive, equitable development. Examples will include: creating and preserving affordable housing in gentrifying areas, strategic use of city-owned land; land banking, property tax benefits, zoning initiatives, linkage fees, rent regulation, tenant anti-eviction/harassment initiatives, and tenant organizing.
Kalima Rose, Senior Director, PolicyLink (Moderator)
Kalima Rose is Senior Director of the PolicyLink Center for Infrastructure Equity. She helps groups win and implement federal, state, and local resources for greater workforce participation, accessibility, and new investments that serve low-income communities and communities of color. She leads the organization’s sustainable communities work, helping implement regional equity, fair housing, and new infrastructure investments. With three decades of economic, housing, and land use policy expertise, she created the PolicyLink Equitable Development Toolkit, an online resource that highlights best social equity practices. Kalima has a degree in narratives and culture from the University of California, Berkeley.
Lisa Bates, Associate Professor of Urban Studies and Planning, Portland State University
Lisa K. Bates, PhD is Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Urban Studies in the Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University. Her research focuses on housing and community development policy and planning, and is especially concerned with policy design and implementation that dismantles institutional racism. She often works in partnership with local government and community-based organizations, collaborating on research-informed policy development, implementation, and evaluation. Dr. Bates’ research and practice partnerships have included ACORN Housing Corporation in New Orleans and Chicago, the City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, the Multnomah Youth Commission, the Portland Housing Center, the Portland African-American Leadership Forum, and PolicyLink.
Olson Lee, Director of the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing
Olson Lee serves as Director of the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing (MOH) which is the local administrator of the federal Community Development Block Grant and HOME programs and is the successor Housing Agency for the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency (the “Agency”). Prior to MOH, he served as Deputy Executive Director of the Agency for 15 years. Before that, he worked for six years as Chief Housing Finance Officer at MOH. He also worked for nine years as Senior Multifamily Field Service Officer for NeighborWorks America. Mr. Lee graduated from the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Maryland, College Park.
Devin Quirk, Director of Operations for the City of Boston's Department of Neighborhood Development
Devin Quirk is the Director of Operations for the City of Boston's Department of Neighborhood Development (DND), which aims to improve Boston’s neighborhoods through developing affordable and market-rate housing, managing the City’s real estate portfolio, partnering to end homelessness, assisting Bostonians to become and remain homeowners, and helping renters preserve their tenancies through DND's new Office of Housing Stability. Prior to joining DND in 2013, Devin led the City of Boston's analytics and performance management programs, where he was responsible for comprehensively measuring city performance and providing leaders with data-driven strategies to improve city services. Devin holds a Master of Public Policy and Urban Planning from the Harvard Kennedy School and a Bachelor of Psychology from Harvard University.
Guacolda Reyes, VP of Real Estate Development, The Resurrection Project
Guacolda Reyes is the Vice President of Real Estate Development at The Resurrection Project, a leading Chicago-based community development corporation. In 2014, she was appointed by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to the City’s Affordable Housing Task Force, which is charged with examining the City’s Affordable Requirements Ordinance and making recommendations that will ensure that the City meets its affordable housing development goals. She holds a Master of Urban Planning and Policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Master of Social Work from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.
Tony To, Executive Director of HomeSight
Tony To is the Executive Director of HomeSight, a Seattle-based CDC and CDFI whose mission is “to promote equity by preserving and enhancing economically and culturally diverse communities.” HomeSight was a lead partner with the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) in its successful application for the HUD Regional Planning Grant in 2010. Tony served as the Vice Chair of the Growing Transit Communities Partnership and is a current member of the PSRC Economic Development District Board and a Co-Chair of the Regional Equity Network. Tony is on a collaborative effort to include anti-displacement elements the Seattle Comp Plan update.