Keynote Speaker
Dr. Farrah Gray has recently been featured by AOL Black Voices as making Black History 2008. He was also named as one of the most influential Black men in America by the National Urban League's Urban Influence Magazine. Ebony Magazine recognized him as an entrepreneurial icon, business mogul and best-selling author. More
State Housing Plenary
The Honorable Richard Cordray was elected Ohio Attorney General in November 2008. He previously served as Ohio Treasurer of State, Franklin County Treasurer, State Representative, and as Ohio's first Solicitor General. More
Federal Policy Plenary
Sheila Crowley is the president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, where she heads a membership organization that is dedicated solely to achieving socially just public policy that assures people with the lowest incomes in the United States have affordable and decent homes. More
Ohio Economic Forecast
The Honorable Kevin L. Boyce was sworn in as Ohio Treasurer of State in January 2009. Prior to his appointment, Boyce served eight years as a member of the Columbus City Council, was elected as President Pro Tempore, and served as Chairman of the Public Finance Committee. More
National Community Stabilization Trust
Learn about how the National Community Stabilization Trust, a new national nonprofit, is connecting servicers and investors holding foreclosed properties with local organizations in Ohio.
Moderator:
Mark McDermott, Enterprise Community Partners
Mark McDermott is Vice President, Ohio Impact Market and National Foreclosure Response for Enterprise Community Partners. Mr. McDermott joined Enterprise in 1998 to take responsibility for the Cleveland office, was promoted to Regional Director in 2000 and named Vice President in March 2003. Mr. McDermott oversees Enterprise's comprehensive work in Ohio with a focus on the greater Cleveland and Columbus markets. He also coordinates Enterprise's response to the foreclosure crisis in a dozen local markets throughout the country. Mr. McDermott previously headed up the Cleveland Housing Network and worked at the Center for Neighborhood Development at Cleveland State University and Citizens to Bring Broadway Back. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Master's degree in Urban Planning, Design and Development from the Levin College at Cleveland State University. Mr. McDermott proudly lives in the City of Cleveland.
Speakers:
Chuck Ackerman, Cleveland Housing Network
Chuck Ackerman has been in the field of community development for 28 years, including 12 as the Executive Director of a local community development organization and 15 in various positions at the Cleveland Housing Network. His present position is Senior Project Manager, and he is responsible for the implementation of Opportunity Homes, a project that will acquire, rehabilitate and sell 150 foreclosed homes over a three year period. He is also responsible for moving CHN along the green building path.
Edgar Rust, Homesteading and Urban Redevelopment Corporation
Ed Rust is the Director of Homesteading and Urban Redevelopment Corporation, a nonprofit CDC currently under contract with the City of Cincinnati to develop a Business Plan for the City's Neighborhood Homes Initiative. This plan will likely serve as the prototype for the City's NSP program. As a retired bank president with 35 years in banking, Mr. Rust served as Vice Chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati and past Chairman of the Ohio League of Financial Institutions and The Tri State League of Financial Institutions. Presently, he serves as Vice Chairman for the Council of Aging for Southwest Ohio, former Chairman of Clermont Senior Services and is a founding Board member and former Chairman of The Cincinnati Development Corp.
Dawn Stockmo, National Community Stabilization Trust
Dawn Stockmo is the Community Development Manager for the National Community Stabilization Trust, with responsibility for all states east of the Mississippi. As the Community Development Manager, her role is to work with state and local governments and nonprofit housing providers to facilitate the transfer of foreclosed and abandoned property from financial institutions nationwide to localities to promote neighborhood stability. Prior to joining the National Community Stabilization Trust, Ms. Stockmo was a consultant working with a variety of nonprofit organizations, including the Metropolitan Planning Council on its national employer assisted housing initiative, the connections between housing and transportation, and the importance of metropolitan regions; Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance; and the Green Infrastructure Foundation. From 2001 until 2007, she was a Senior Director at the Fannie Mae Foundation in Chicago, Illinois working to increase the production and preservation of affordable housing in the Midwest and Northeast. Previous experiences include Executive Director of North End Area Revitalization, a comprehensive community development corporation in St. Paul, Minnesota; Executive Director of Helping Paws of Minnesota; and Associate Director of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. Ms. Stockmo has served on many nonprofit boards including Chair of the National Nonprofit Unemployment Trust; member of the Nonprofits Mutual Risk Retention Group; Treasurer of the Rondo Community Land Trust; and Co-Chair of the Affordable Housing Funders Group in Chicago. She has a Master of Business Administration from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota and is a graduate of the Bank of America Leadership Academy in 2001.
