Last week, women in the affordable housing industry came together for a well-attended networking event hosted by AHTCC. Carmen Chubb, the Deputy Executive Director for Housing for the Georgia Housing and Finance Authority, kicked off the event by welcoming the attendees to Atlanta. Attendees were then treated to two lively panel discussions. The first panel comprised the following established leaders in the housing credit industry who were able to provide insight into their careers, including how they came to the industry and why they choose to stay: Ann Cone, CBRE; Meg Manley, McCormack Baron Salazar; Diana McIver, DMA Companies; Shelly Patton, Tapestry Development Group.
The second panel looked to the future by including emerging leaders in the housing credit industry who spoke of their role models and mentors, as well as challenges they have faced by being a female in the industry. Panelists included Ashley Prendergast, Tidwell Group; Emily Cadik, Enterprise Community Partners; Stephanie Kinsman, Red Stone Equity Partners; and Tammy Thiessen, RBC Capital Markets. Attendees left the event inspired, empowered, and appreciative that they were able to take part in the event.
Over a year ago, AHTCC formed the group Women of Affordable Housing Affinity Group. The thought behind this group was that to achieve diversity of thought you must first have diversity. AHTCC recognized that women have a large impact on the affordable housing industry, yet their overall numbers do not seem to match their impact. The formation of the Women of Affordable Housing Affinity Group created a forum for women to share their experiences and to support each other in the male-dominated field. Since its inception, the group has hosted several events, with each one more successful than the last. The next event of the Women of Affordable Housing Affinity Group will take place during the AHTCC annual meeting in Austin, TX in January 2018.
If you or your colleagues are interested in receiving information about future Women of Affordable Housing events, please send your contact information to AHTCC executive director, Victoria Spielman, at info@taxcreditcoalition.org.
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