WHEDA Conference 2024

November 18-19, 2024
Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center - Madison, Wisconsin

The Annual WHEDA Conference connects developers, property managers, financial specialists, lenders, housing advocates, state representatives, municipal leaders, and many others under the same roof to learn about industry changes from experts, gain new knowledge and insights through a wide array of highly engaging sessions, and collaborate to find creative ways to expand safe, affordable housing throughout Wisconsin.

WHEDA strives to make this two-day, in-person conference at Madison's Monona Terrace a valuable learning and engagement opportunity. Sessions and speakers will cover innovative practices and cutting-edge projects that are advancing equity in housing and economic opportunities.

Join us in Madison on November 18 and 19 to gain inspiration and be a partner in How Housing Happens!

Questions? Email WHEDAConference@wheda.com

Agenda

Keynote Speaker

Missing Middle Housing: Thinking Big, Building Small to Respond to Today's Housing Crisis

Jennifer leads the newly established Chicago office of Opticos Design and brings over 15 years of experience in transforming the built environment to enhance people’s everyday lives. In her career, she has led numerous community design charrettes and played a critical role in neighborhood, city, and regional master planning projects. These visions formed the basis for innovative comprehensive and zoning plan overhauls, as well as the future build-out of important development sites. She holds the unique ability to craft projects from broad scale thinking to concrete built form. Jennifer advocates for intentional communities and neighborhoods that provide diverse housing choices, closely collaborating with cities to better calibrate their regulations to enable Missing Middle Housing. Before rejoining Opticos in 2022, she led the zoning code update for the City of South Bend, winner of the 2021 Richard Driehaus Form-Based Code Award, followed by the creation of a pre-approved building catalog to help implement infill housing in South Bend neighborhoods. Under her direction, the Chicago team of Opticos recently completed a Missing Middle Housing Study for Asheville, NC and a zoning code update for the Mixed-Use corridors of Columbus, Ohio.

Visit Opticos Design for more information.

Featured Speakers

Arlo Washington, Founder and President of People Trust Community Loan Fund and President and CEO of People Trust Community Federal Credit Union of Little Rock, Arkansas, will discuss his journey from barber to banker to being nominated for an Academy Award. He’ll also discuss his visionary approach to economic justice and how he creates community development initiatives to advance equity for low- and moderate-income individuals and communities. We will engage in a conversation after viewing selected parts of the 2023 documentary short film, “The Barber of Little Rock,” which chronicles Washington’s transition to becoming a leader advocating for economic justice in his community.

Watch "The Barber of Little Rock"
on YouTube

Markita Morris-Louis, Chief Executive Officer for Compass Working Capital, a national nonprofit founded to end asset poverty for families with low incomes and to narrow the racial and gender wealth divides, joins us to discuss how housing can be used as a platform for asset-building and economic mobility for families with low incomes. She draws from her personal experience growing up in subsidized rental housing and her extensive professional background in real estate law, impact litigation, and community development.

Markita’s leadership at Compass Working Capital focuses on centering equity in every aspect of their work, leveraging asset building as a pathway out of poverty, and amplifying the voices of those Compass serves to shift narratives about communities experiencing poverty and financial challenges.

Find out more about
Compass Working Capital