Ben Austen, contributing editor at Harper’s Magazine and author of High Risers: Cabrini-Green and the Fate of American Public Housing, will address the NLIHC 2018 Housing Policy Forum: Building the Movement taking place March 19-21 in Washington DC. Mr. Austen will share his reflections on the impacts of race, class, income, politics, and policy choices on our nation’s effort to provide public housing to families with low incomes—and the lessons for the future. The deadline to receive the early-bird registration rate for the Forum is February 23, and space is filling up quickly, so register today!
In his riveting book, High Risers, Ben Austen tells the story of residents who struggled to make a home for their families as powerful forces converged to accelerate the demise of the Cabrini-Green public housing complex in Chicago. He explores the state of public housing amid the changing fortunes of American cities and the shifts in federal public policies and funding. The insights he will share at the Forum on the declining fortunes of public housing in America are particularly timely given President Trump’s proposals to gut public housing funding in the administration’s FY19 budget request.
U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) has also recently confirmed he will address the 2018 NLIHC Housing Policy Forum. Mr. Booker has established himself in the Senate as an innovative and bipartisan problem-solver, working to develop collaborative solutions to some of our nation’s most complex challenges. He will share his perspectives on achieving such solutions in the current political environment.
In addition to Mr. Austen and Senator Booker, confirmed and invited speakers and panelists at the Forum include:
- Charlie Cook, editor and publisher of The Cook Political Report
- Mark Horvath, founder, Invisible People
- Kriston Capps, staff writer, CityLab
- Laura Kusisto, reporter, Wall Street Journal
- Danica Roem, state delegate (D-VA) (Invited)
- Richard Rothstein, author of the The Color of Law
- James A.A. Cadogan, director, NAACP Legal Defense Fund Thurgood Marshall Institute
- Don Chen, director of equitable development, Ford Foundation
- Sheila Crowley, former NLIHC president and CEO
- Megan Sandel, MD MPH, principal investigator, Children’s HealthWatch
- Joseph Lawler, economics reporter, Washington Examiner
- Gregory Lewis, CEO, True Colors Fund
Please note that the hotel room block at the Washington Court Hotel, at which the Forum will be held, is filling up fast, and the last day to get the conference rate is February 23.