Mark your calendar for Thursday, November 17^th, 2016.  HousingWorks Austin is pleased to announce an exciting opportunity for dialogue, discussion and action, Housing + Health: Building Blocks for Equity and Opportunity. This one-day summit will take place on Thursday, November 17, 2016 at the J.W. Marriott in downtown Austin.

Along with co-hosts Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and Children’s Optimal Health, HousingWorks Austin is bringing together diverse audiences – including health care, community development and financial institutions – to better understand challenges and opportunities around creating and investing in vibrant, healthy, mixed-income communities.

Registration opens in August. Look for more information in the August newsletter.

SUMMIT NATIONAL SPEAKERS

Megan Sandel, MD, MPH

Megan Sandel, MD, MPH

Dr. Megan Sandel is a nationally-recognized expert on housing and child health who speaks passionately about the social determinants of health and how affordable housing can act as a vaccine for healthier children. Sandel is an associate professor of pediatrics at the Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health, the medical director of National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership, and a Principal Investigator with Children’s Health Watch.

Dr. Sandel is also the former pediatric medical director of Boston Healthcare for the Homeless program. In 1998, Sandel published with other doctors at Boston Medical Center, the groundbreaking DOC4Kids report, a national report on how housing affected child health. She has also written numerous peer reviewed scientific articles and papers on this subject.

Dr. Sandel has also served as a Principal Investigator for numerous NIH, HUD and foundation grants, working with the Boston Public Heath Commission and Massachusetts Department of Public Health to improve the health of vulnerable children, particularly those suffering from asthma. She has served on numerous committees and advisory boards including the National Center for Healthy Housing, the National American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC Advisory Committee for Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention.

Ruth Ann Norton

Ruth Ann Norton

Ruth Ann Norton serves as President & CEO of the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI) which currently operates in 25 US cities. Founded in 1986 to eliminate childhood lead poisoning, Norton broadened the mission of GHHI to focus on the creation of healthy, safe and energy efficient housing for America’s children.

One of the nation’s leading experts on healthy housing, Ms. Norton led efforts to reduce childhood lead poisoning by 98% in the state of Maryland. She also developed and implemented one of the nation’s first healthy homes programs to address the multiple environmental health and safety hazards in low and very low income housing for pregnant women.

Ruth Ann Norton has authored over 30 pieces of healthy housing legislation and has managed numerous federally funded grant programs to combat unhealthy housing. Ms. Norton has served on numerous national committees and commissions dedicated to healthy housing. For her work, in 2005 she received the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Community Health Leader Award.

David J. Erickson, PhD.

David J. Erickson, PhD.

Even the best ideas fail without the necessary funding. David Erickson is an expert in connecting innovative public policy with financing. Erickson is the director of Community Development at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and serves as Community Development Officer for the Federal Reserve’s Twelfth District. In this role, he leads he Community Development team in its mission to advance economic opportunity for lower-income Americans.

David Erickson launched and now advises the Federal Reserve Journal Community Development Investment Review and previously served as research manager for the Center for Community Development Investments, where he fostered initiatives exploring innovative community development financing models and greater intersections with the health, arts and environmental sectors to identify new investible opportunities that benefit-income communities.

Erickson led the collaboration between the Federal Reserve and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to bring together the health and community development fields. He has authored numerous books, articles and other publications on community development and investing in America’s communities.

There are still opportunities for sponsorship, at a variety of levels. This is a great opportunity for your organization to reach a diverse audience of decision makers and thought leaders.

For additional information about sponsorships, please contact Nora Linares-Moeller at nora@housingworksaustin.org or (512) 413-1627.