Affordable Housing Summit
The City of Hendersonville’s Strategic Housing Plan Steering Committee invites the community to attend and participate in the 2024 Affordable Housing Summit.
On Thursday, May 16, 2024, a free event will be held from 5:30 PM to 7:45 PM at the Hendersonville High School auditorium located at 1 Bearcat Blvd. The evening will featuring acclaimed housing policy expert and author, Shane Phillips. The summit is open to non-profit service providers, members of the business community, government leaders, affordable housing advocates, community members, and anyone committed to expanding and improving housing in Henderson County and across the WNC region.
This program is FREE and open to all. Current residents and those seeking residency in Hendersonville and Henderson County are encouraged to attend.
In addition to the informative sessions, a resource center will be available for non-profits and service providers to share valuable information and connect with attendees. Interpretation services will be provided in partnership with True Ridge and Henderson County Public Schools.
Parking is available on-street and in Hendersonville High School Parking lots. Additional overflow parking is available at nearby Immaculata School, Bruce Drysdale Elementary and St. James Episcopal Church.
Featured Speaker and Panelists:
Affordable Housing Summit Featured Speaker – Shane Phillips
Featured speaker Shane Phillips is a researcher, public speaker, and consultant on housing policy and affordability. He manages the Housing Initiative within the UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies, focusing on research, policy analysis, and education, and he co-hosts the UCLA Housing Voice Podcast, a biweekly interview show that translates emerging research for a non-academic audience. He’s the author of The Affordable City, published in 2020, which advocates for a three-pronged approach to solving the housing crisis — Supply, Stability, and Subsidies — and offers more than 50 recommendations for advancing those priorities. Outside of his role at UCLA, Shane has presented to audiences across the U.S. and abroad, written for major publications including the Los Angeles Times and Atlantic, taught at the University of Southern California, and worked with local governments and organizations to identify context-specific solutions to their housing challenges. Originally hailing from Seattle, he earned his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Washington and masters degrees in public administration and urban planning from USC.
Dogwood Trust – Sarah Grymes
Sarah Grymes serves as Vice President of Housing with the Dogwood Health Trust. As an experienced housing development expert with a strong financial background, she joined Dogwood’s Community Investment Team in early January 2021 after previously serving as the Executive Director of the Housing Assistance Corporation in Hendersonville.
Development Finance Initiative – Sarah Odio
Sarah Odio joined DFI in 2016 as a graduate fellow while pursuing a master's degree in city & Regional Planning at UNC Chapel Hill. Now, as an Assistant Director, Odio specializes in affordable housing, and has helped urban and rural communities across NC understand their housing needs and attract private investment to mixed-use and mixed-income developments. She also oversees projects that range from commercial adaptive reuse to neighborhood revitalization.
City of Hendersonville – Lew Holloway
Lew Holloway is the Community Development Director for the City of Hendersonville, overseeing the Planning, Code Enforcement and Downtown Development for the City. Trained as a Landscape Architect with a background in Urban Design, Lew has worked in both the public and private sectors, including with the North Carolina Main Street Center.
Henderson County – Chris Todd
Christopher Todd is the Business and Community Development Director for Henderson County. In this role, he oversees all land use regulatory departments for the county. Previously Mr. Todd was the Town Manager of the Town of Laurel Park and the Town of Sawmills.
Visit www.hvlnc.gov/housingplan for updates on the summit as well as information on the City of Hendersonville’s strategic housing plan development process.