Recap of our Housing Forum on The ROAD to Housing Act Federal Legislation
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 10 minutes ago
I would like to thank our moderator, panelists, Senator Antonio Hayes, and our guests for participating in our housing forum. The bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act passed by Congress opens up the opportunity for our city to build upon the progress we have made regarding a number of housing related issues. We have to work together to harness the opportunities that may come with this law. Today’s meeting was the first step. I look forward to building on this work and collaborating with our partners to ensure that we are strengthening neighborhoods and creating housing that is accessible and affordable in our city. Take a look at the quick recap video here or below. We are also sharing more information about our moderator, panelists and their presentations below.
More about our Moderator:
Kyara Gray-Uqdah is a Baltimore-based real estate developer, entrepreneur, and community wealth-building advocate. As co-founder of Charm City Buyers, she leads residential development and revitalization projects across Baltimore, including Eager Landing, a 54-home new-construction community in East Baltimore, and the active redevelopment of 211 W. 28th Street, a 60-unit apartment project in Remington. Kyara is also the co-founder of NEXTGen Accelerator, which has helped more than 1,000 aspiring and active real estate investors build the knowledge and capacity to invest and develop in Baltimore. Her work sits at the intersection of development, public-private partnership, housing policy, and expanding local ownership and investment.
More about our Panelists:
Xavier Arriaga is a policy director at Enterprise Community Partners, where he supports the advocacy, policy development, and analysis of appropriations for key federal housing and community development programs. Before joining Enterprise, Xavier was a Professional Staff Member with the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development where he managed and developed the annual appropriation of over $40 billion in discretionary funding for affordable housing and community development programs including but not limited to the Housing Choice Vouchers, Public Housing, HOME Investment Partnership Program, Community Development Block Grants, and Homeless Assistance grants. Xavier was also a policy analyst with the National Low Income Housing Coalition where he analyzed and advocated for progressive federal policy on appropriations, fair housing, housing and immigration, and Native American housing. Xavier also served as a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Public Policy Fellow with the House Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee for Transportation and Housing and Urban Development. In this role, Xavier supported professional staff with passage of the 2020 appropriations bill and supplemental appropriations related to disaster relief for Puerto Rico and the COVID-19 pandemic. Before moving to Washington, Xavier previously worked in his hometown of Hartford, CT on the development of the Swift Factory, an economic and community development project spearheaded by the nonprofit organization, Community Solutions. He also conducted state level data analysis on racial disparities in child and family welfare with the State of Connecticut’s Department of Children and Families. Xavier is a graduate of the University of Connecticut where he earned a Bachelor of Economics.
Michael Wallace is Legislative Director for Housing, Community and Economic Development at the National League of Cities, an organization dedicated to helping city leaders build better communities. Working in partnership with 49 state municipal leagues, NLC serves as a resource to and an advocate for over 19,000 cities, towns, and villages. Michael works closely with mayors, council members, and municipal staff to represent local priorities in the areas of attainable housing, community development, and economic opportunity. Michael worked closely with leaders in Congress and the U.S. Treasury on program design and implementation of the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund program under the American Rescue Plan Act. He also worked closely with the Senate Banking and House Financial Services Committees on the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, and co-directs NLC’s Housing Supply Accelerator. Prior to joining NLC, Michael worked for U.S. Congresswoman Julia Carson (IN), managing her House Financial Services Committee portfolio. While there he advanced new policies and programs as part of the reauthorization of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. Michael graduated from Marian University in Indianapolis, Indiana, with degrees in philosophy and theology.
Jared Grigas (GREE-gus) serves as NACo's Associate Legislative Director for Community, Economic, and Workforce Development. In this role, he advocates for county interests on matters pertaining to housing and neighborhood infrastructure, workforce pipelines and community investment. Prior to NACo, Jared built a foundation working with local leaders at the Florida Association of Counties (FAC). While working with FAC, his podcast, FAC Check, was recognized with a Legislative Excellence award.
