Building Communities Together

I love my job. As the leader of NAHRO I work with and for the folks who house America: thousands of housing and community development professionals and organizations who serve millions of families across our nation. Home by home, person by person, our members work tirelessly towards our shared vision: a world where everyone has access to affordable homes in thriving communities. It’s not a solo job. That’s why NAHRO’s slogan is building communities TOGETHER.

We raise our voices together. We’re midway through our August Advocacy campaign, and your voice is critical. Whether you’re an affordable housing professional or someone who cares about making sure people have homes, your elected officials need to hear from you. Join us – tell Congress and the White House to strengthen and fund the affordable housing and community development programs that house and serve millions. You can send a message in just a couple of minutes – just head to our August Advocacy page and follow the prompts. More than 2,000 advocates from all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. and the US Virgin Islands have already sent nearly 23,000 letters to 74% of Congress and the White House, and there’s much more work to be done. Make sure you report your engagements with local, state and federal officials. It’s easy to do! 

We learn and teach together. Next month, join me and all of your housing friends, business partners and future friends and  partners at our biggest event of the year in Phoenix, Arizona for our 2025 National Conference and Exhibition. We’ll have:  

• 47 concurrent sessions on topics like public housing and housing choice vouchers, repositioning, partnerships, preparedness and more; 
• Thought-provoking speakers like Mingle Project’s Michael Smerconish and Arizona mayors including Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and Tempe Mayor Corey Woods;
• Extra learning opportunities like the housing and community development tour, the Bootcamp for Executive Directors, and Commissioners Fundamentals; 
• An exhibit hall filled with trusted business partners; and more. 

We celebrate together. In Phoenix, we’ll honor the outstanding work of our Award of Excellence-winning agencies and commemorate our peers’ achievements. We’ll also celebrate the achievements of the soon-to-be graduates of our Emerging L.E.A.D.ership program and our latest cohort of NAHRO-LDG Scholars.   

And we lead together. At the end of our National Conference and Exhibition, we’ll swear in our new NAHRO President, Senior Vice President and leadership team – the hardworking volunteers who will steer NAHRO forward through these turbulent times.  

Thank you for your advocacy, thank you for sharing your knowledge and wisdom with us and with your peers, and thank you for being involved with NAHRO. See you in Phoenix!