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Session Resource 1

Preserving What We’ve Built: The Urgent Role of Community Developers in Saving Affordable Housing

Monday, October 6, 2025
10:30 AM - 11:45 AM ET
Location: Federal B

    Speaker(s)

  • Carolyn Placke

    <strong>Director of Housing</strong>
    Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)

  • Daniel Swain

    <strong>Program Officer</strong>
    Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)

  • Solomon Greene

    <strong>Executive Director, Land and Communities</strong>
    Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

  • Carmen Lopez Murguia

    <strong>Executive Director</strong>
    Westside Housing Organization

  • Johnette Brown

    <strong>Senior Director</strong>
    Urban League of Greater Atlanta

As the national conversation in housing shifts toward new construction, a critical threat looms: the deterioration and loss of existing affordable rental housing. This session will elevate the growing crisis of at-risk affordable units and spotlight the essential and often-overlooked role that community development organizations play in preserving them.

Participants will engage with data illustrating the scope of the preservation crisis and learn about real-world tools and strategies already being deployed. We will explore financing mechanisms, capacity-building investments, and policy frameworks that center community ownership, resident stability, and organizational sustainability.

This session is a must for practitioners, policymakers, and funders committed to safeguarding community-based assets and ensuring that existing affordable housing remains a cornerstone of neighborhood stability and prosperity.