Save the Date! Ohio Housing Conference 2009: Opportunities, Insights, Solutions

Plans are underway for the 11th annual Ohio Housing Conference: Opportunities, Insights, Solutions to be held November 17-19 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Hosted by the Ohio Housing Finance Agency and Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing, this event is the largest and most informative housing conference in the country.

The affordable housing industry continues to experience challenges amid economic distress and market instability. The Ohio Housing Conference allows a chance to network and share experiences with more than 1,400 industry professionals who are responding to these challenges in this unprecedented environment.

Highlights of the 2009 Conference include the State Housing Plenary, The Federal Policy Plenary, and the Ohio Economic Forecast. The following are confirmed panelists:

State Housing Plenary: The Honorable Richard Cordray, Ohio Attorney General; William Faith, Executive Director, Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio (COHHIO); William Hershey, Columbus Bureau Chief, Dayton Daily News; Hal Keller, President, Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing; Douglas Garver, Executive Director, Ohio Housing Finance Agency.

Federal Policy Plenary: Sheila Crowley, President & CEO, National Low Income Housing Coalition; Conrad Egan, President & CEO, National Housing Conference; Judith Kennedy, President & CEO, National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders; Garth Rieman, Director of Housing Advocacy and Strategic Initiatives, National Council of State Housing Agencies, Hal Keller, President, Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing; Douglas Garver, Executive Director, Ohio Housing Finance Agency.

Ohio Economic Forecast: The Honorable Kevin L. Boyce, Ohio Treasurer of State; Daniel Hogan, Director of Research, Red Capital Group; Beth Siville, Senion Vice President, George K. Baum & Company; Edward W. (Ned) Hill, Vice President for Economic Development, Cleveland State University; Mark Milligan, Principal, Passage Management.

The 2009 Keynote address will be given by Dr. Farrah Gray, a renowned entrepreneur, philanthropist, and author. Dr. Gray was raised in the impoverished South side of Chicago and defied the odds becoming a self-made millionaire at the age of 14.

At eight, Gray became co-founder of Urban Neighborhood Enterprise Economic Club (U.N.E.E.C.) on Chicago's South side. U.N.E.E.C. was the forerunner of New Early Entrepreneur Wonders (NE2W), the flagship organization he opened on Wall Street. NE2W enlisted, educated and engaged "at-risk" youth by creating and developing legal ways for them to acquire additional income. Gray is the youngest person to have an office on Wall Street.

Dr. Gray's sense of social responsibility motivated him to create the non-profit organization, The Farrah Gray Foundation. Among other programs and initiatives, his foundation focuses on inner city community-based entrepreneurship education and provides scholarship & grant assistance for students from at-risk backgrounds to attend HBCU's (Historically Black Colleges and Universities).  Dr. Gray is the Co-CEO of Realty Pros Real Estate Asset Management Company Brokerage with over 30 million under management. Dr. Grays continued his philanthropic work signing on as the spokesman for the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Marrow Donor Program.

Registration information for the Ohio Housing Conference will be mailed in early August so please watch your mail and refer to the Conference web site at www.occh.org or www.ohiohome.org.

Sponsorship and exhibit opportunities are still available. Contact Mary Kay Meagher at mmeagher@occh.org for further information.