Making Affordable Housing Flourish through Local, State and National Advocacy
This year I hope to do a workshop at the Christian Community Development Association National Conference in Durham, NC, in Sept with Robert Baird and Samuel Gunter–both amazing folks.
Our topic: Making Affordable Housing Flourish through Local, State and National Advocacy. Below are Robert and Samuel’s bios and the description of the workshop we hope will be approved. Can you join us at the CCDA Conference?
Workshop Description:
“How do we help policies and leaders protect, preserve and add affordable housing stock? How do Moses, Esther, and Jesus help us to understand advocacy?
These questions will be addressed by exploring: a brief survey how US housing policy has both devastated and/or helped our communities; joys and challenges of a ministry’s involvement in advocacy work.
A range of successful approaches and initiatives will be discussed with a more in-depth focus on: No-Net-Loss and Inclusionary Zoning–creating hundreds of affordable units without government funding, using smart growth best practices.”
Presenter bios:
Robert Baird, a community planner advocate, works on land use issues for Community Health Councils, a non-profit community-based policy organization in South Los Angeles. His work includes efforts at developing healthy food retail in urban food deserts, zoning initiatives that address gentrification and displacement, urban design initiatives to promote health and wellness, and economic development policy in under-invested communities. He and his wife, Jenny, helped plant New Life Community Church in East Los Angeles.
Samuel Gunter is the Faith Relations Coordinator at Habitat for Humanity of Wake County. He grew up abroad as the child of missionaries, served as a Peace Corps volunteer and an AmeriCorps member, and has worked in churches as well as faith- and issue-based advocacy organizations. He is a graduate of the University of Texas and Duke Divinity School and is married to Isela Gutierrez.
Jill Shook works as a catalyst to transform communities. She is author of Making Housing Happen: Faith-Based Affordable Housing Models, 2012. She earned degrees from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Multnomah School of the Bible, Denver Seminary (MA), and Bakke Graduate School (DMin).
Jill has led teams from UC Berkeley and Harvard to developing countries, and has founded STARS, a tutoring program; Pasadena’s Gun Buyback, and gang prevention initiatives. An adjunct lecturer at Azusa Pacific University, Bakke Graduate University, and Denver Seminary, she is married to Anthony Manousos, a Quaker peace activist.
Making Housing and Community Happen 
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