State Housing Plenary

Begin your 2009 Ohio Housing Conference experience with this timely discussion of affordable housing issues and their impact on Ohio.

Panelists:

William Faith, Executive Director
Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio (COHHIO)

Since 1980, William (Bill) Faith has worked in the affordable housing field with a special focus on very low-income and special needs people. For the past 15 years, he has been the Executive Director of COHHIO, the state's lead organization on advocacy, policy change, public education, training and technical assistance as they relate to homelessness and affordable housing issues. COHHIO's recent successes include winning Issue 5, the payday lending referendum. Despite a $20 million campaign challenge by the industry, COHHIO won two-thirds majority vote at the polls in November. This affirmed HB 545, the payday lending rate cap law passed earlier in the year. Other successes include: winning passage of the Ohio Homebuyers Protection Act (predatory lending reform) of 2006; winning dedicated funding for the Ohio Housing Trust Fund at $53 million per year; sponsoring OhioVOTES, a voter mobilization project targeting nonprofits. Mr. Faith is a board member of the following organizations: Ohio Habitat for Humanity (2007-current); National Low Income Housing Coalition (1990-current), Board Chairman (1999-2006); Coalition for Ohio's Future, Steering Committee – Broad-based coalition to oppose the TEL Amendment (2005-2006); Columbus/Franklin County Housing Trust Corporation (2001-current); Ohio Housing Trust Fund Advisory Board (1991-current).

 

William Hershey, Columbus Bureau Chief
Dayton Daily News

William (Bill) Hershey is currently Columbus Bureau Chief with the Dayton Daily News, where he has worked since 1999. Mr. Hershey has covered every Ohio presidential campaign since 1980 and has been to seven Democratic National Conventions and two Republican National Conventions. From 1997-1999, Mr. Hershey was Director of Strategic Communications with Weber-McGinn, a communications and lobbying firm located in Arlington, Virginia. Prior to 1997, Mr. Hershey held a number of reporting positions, including Washington Correspondent, with the Akron Beacon Journal for 13 years. In 1987, he helped win a Pulitzer Prize for General News Reporting for the Akron Beacon Journal. He was a reporter with the Dayton Daily News from 1972-1975. Prior to news reporting, Hershey was a school teacher with the Peace Corps in Ethiopia for two years. Hershey received a Bachelor's degree in 1967 from Albion College and a Master's degree in Journalism from Columbia University in 1968.

 

Leah Pappas, Partner
Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP

Leah Pappas, serving as Chair of the Government Relations and Legislation group at Calfee, focuses on government relations and legislation, representing clients before legislative and administrative branches of state government. She also has an additional emphasis in the areas of general corporate and public law. As an experienced lobbyist, Ms. Pappas works closely with publicly and privately-held clients to develop legislative strategies and support programs on issues that affect and impact their particular businesses. She advises corporate clients on relevant regulatory action, in addition to counseling a variety of state departments and agencies, higher education institutions and public retirement systems on matters of public policy and law. Ms. Pappas was honored as one of the "Most Effective Law Firm Lobbyists" in a survey conducted by Opinion Strategies, Inc. In 2005, she was named as one of Ohio Super Lawyers' Rising Stars in lobbying and government relations. Ms. Pappas was a participant in the Leadership Columbus Class of 2002, a fellow of the Ohio State Bar Association and host member of the American Council of Young Political Leaders. She is on the Board of Governors of the Capital Club, COSI Board of Trustees, the NAWBO Advisory Board and the Capital Square Foundation Board. Ms. Pappas served as Assistant Deputy Legal Counsel for Ohio's Governor from 1992 to 1995 and was the Director of Special Counsel for the Ohio Attorney General from 1995 to 1999. She began her tenure with Calfee in 1999, became a partner in 2002 and was elected to the firm's Executive Committee in 2009.

 

Stephanie Casey Pierce, Outreach Coordinator
Ohio Department of Commerce

Stephanie Casey Pierce is the Outreach Coordinator for the Ohio Department of Commerce and coordinator of Save the Dream, Ohio's foreclosure prevention effort. Previously, Ms. Casey Pierce was a Senior Policy Analyst for the National Governors Association's Center for Best Practices, where she advised state policymakers on foreclosure mitigation, stabilization and prevention policy. She is the author of two reports on foreclosure policy, Emerging Trends: State Actions to Tackle the Foreclosure Crisis (Feb 2009) and State Strategies to Address Foreclosures (Sep 2007). In 2006, Ms. Casey Pierce received her Master's degree in Public Policy Studies from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., with a thesis that examined racial discrimination in subprime mortgage lending. Prior to that, she worked for the National League of Cities' Institute for Youth, Education, and Families on family economic success and early childhood policy.

 

Hal Keller, President
Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing

Mr. Keller has been with Ohio Capital Corporation since its inception; first as Director of Development and then as President since 1993.  Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing is an independent, nonprofit corporation created by the Ohio Housing Finance Agency in 1989.  Hal oversees all corporate policy and fiscal affairs, including securing corporate investors for Low Income Housing Tax Credit equity funds and coordinating efforts to develop housing projects receiving equity investment from the Ohio Equity Funds.  To date, Ohio Capital Corporation has raised more than $1.5 billion in corporate equity for LIHTC projects involving more than 400 transactions and 20,000 units of affordable housing in Ohio and Kentucky.  OCCH also provides services on a range of affordable housing issues to state and local governments, financial institutions, public housing authorities, as well as local nonprofit and for-profit developers. Hal has been involved in affordable housing for over 30 years as a consultant to state and local government, an administrator of state and local housing programs, and as a neighborhood organizer and tenant advocate.  He holds a Master of Arts degree in both Public Administration and Social Work from The Ohio State University and a Bachelor of Science in Applied Social Science from Case Western Reserve University. Mr. Keller serves on the boards of a variety of organizations including the Columbus/Franklin County Affordable Housing Trust Fund Corporation, Community Shelter Board, YMCA of Central Ohio, Ohio Housing Council, Greater Ohio, National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders, National Housing Conference, and the National Association of State and Local Equity Funds.

 

Moderator:

Douglas A. Garver, Executive Director
Ohio Housing Finance Agency

Douglas A. Garver, Executive Director of the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA), oversees the lead agency for affordable housing in Ohio. OHFA offers many opportunities to help Ohio families obtain affordable, quality housing. The Agency administers a wide range of programs that offer assistance to first-time homebuyers, renters, senior citizens, single parents and other populations with special needs who otherwise might not be able to afford quality housing. Mr. Garver currently serves on the boards of the National Council of State Housing Agencies, National Housing Conference, and the Ohio Statewide Development Corporation. He is also a member of the Fannie Mae National Housing Advisory Council, the Governor's Interagency Council for Homelessness and Affordable Housing, and Ohio's Permanent Supportive Housing Policy Steering Committee. Prior to his appointment at OHFA in February 2004, Mr. Garver served five years as Assistant to the Director and Assistant Director of the Ohio Department of Development. Mr. Garver received a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio with a dual major in Economics and Business Administration. He is certified as an Economic Development Professional by the National Development Council and has attained a Master of City and Regional Planning from The Ohio State University.