Powering Inclusion Fall Forum Virtual Event:

Employer Benefits and Public Policies: Innovative Formulas to Fuel Inclusive Housing

Thursday, December 14 - 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Virtual Event - Registration Required

WATCH NOW:

At our final event in our 2023 Powering Inclusion series, we will explore employer strategies and policy actions that impact livability, employee engagement, recruitment, and retention. Hear from our panel of experts in the public, private, and non-profit sectors as we address the critical questions that Minnesota employers must address to build competitive housing solutions. 

This virtual workshop will examine innovative approaches to accelerate equitable and inclusive Housing and affordability. 

We know these solutions need to be inclusive not siloed—that it will take the combined actions of employers and public policy to get toward real solutions in inclusive housing. Finally, our expert panelists, dig deep into:

  • Ways that employers and policymakers are addressing housing insecurity as a means to strengthen employee engagement, retention, and racial justice.

  • How we build competitive housing solutions that will fuel inclusive housing solutions. 

  • Following our panel discussion, we will offer time for Q&A.

FEATURING

Tawanna A. Black, Founder & CEO, Center for Economic Inclusion

Shoreé Ingram - Managing Director, Employer Services & Consulting

In her role as managing director of Employer Services and Consulting, Shoreé Ingram leads teams across the Center and within the Consulting department to equip mid-sized businesses and government agencies to build racially equitable and inclusive workplaces that contribute to building inclusive regional economies.

Shoreé develops tools to improve client services and results, guides and codifies the Center’s proprietary consulting process, and monitors the fidelity of those processes. Shoreé has an extensive background in racial equity and housing practices through her work with Habitat for Humanity, designing strategic priorities to close the racialized homeownership gap through visioning, operations, policy and community accountability.

Heather Worthington - Managing Consultant

As Managing Consultant, Heather Worthington leads efforts to accelerate racial equity and regional inclusive economic growth through the development and implementation of systems-change initiatives with local, regional, and state government agencies.

As Director of Long Range Planning in Minneapolis, her team led the creation, engagement, and policy adoption of the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan.  She also served as the Interim Community Development Director in Bloomington, Minn.

Heather has served as Deputy County Manager in Ramsey County, City Administrator of Falcon Heights, Minn., and Assistant City Manager of Edina, Minn.

Heather is committed to seeking authentic community engagement and leading racial equity efforts to strengthen communities that have experienced disparities, disinvestment, displacement and marginalization.

PANELISTS

Chris LaTondresse - President & CEO, Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative

Chris LaTondresse is an accomplished public servant and social change leader with experience spanning national, state, local government and advocacy roles, including currently as President and CEO of Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative and recently as Hennepin County Commissioner.

LaTondresse has dedicated his leadership to growing winning advocacy coalitions, building powerful cross-sector partnerships, and inspiring action for the common good including previously serving in President Obama’s Office of Faith Based and Community initiatives at USAID, as a senior leader at The Expectations Project (a national civil rights advocacy organization) and as vice-chair of his hometown school board. As Commissioner, he has been a bold champion for affordable housing, helping secure unprecedented funding for housing stability, strengthening partnerships with mission-driven housing developers, and partnering with advocates to expand political will.

LaTondresse was named a "40 Under 40" honoree by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal in 2022 and is a sought-after speaker on housing, democracy, and the role of advocacy in driving social change. He lives in Hopkins with his spouse, Ashley, their two boys, and their spirited French bulldog. 

Alison Pence, MPH

Alison Pence is the Director of Community Engagement at Allina Health. With more than 20 years of experience connecting healthcare organizations to the communities they serve, Alison currently acts as the liaison between community interests and Allina Health’s facilities in the Minneapolis and the west metro. Her role includes distributing charitable contributions and grants, engagement in public policy work, encouraging employee volunteerism and ultimately working to improve the health of all people living in the communities served by Allina Health.

Alison also leads Allina Health’s anchor institution strategy in the Phillips neighborhood of South Minneapolis and represents the interests of community on the organization’s DEI&B strategy leadership team.

Alison holds a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Olaf College.

Mai Chong Xiong - Ramsey County Commissioner, District 6

Mai Chong Xiong was first elected to the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners in 2022 to represent District 6, in a historic race where she became the first Asian, first Hmong American, and youngest to serve on the Board. She is a public servant, community organizer, working mother of two young children, caregiver to elderly parents, and wife to Dan Yang. As a first-generation American and child to refugees, she and her family experienced housing instability where she found herself having to navigate many bureaucratic programs and services to meet their basic needs. These experiences have profoundly shaped her commitment to public service and community organizing to eliminate racial, social, and economic inequities.

Under Mai Chong Xiong's leadership, the Ramsey County Housing and Redevelopment Authority has implemented several groundbreaking initiatives to expand and preserve access to deeply affordable housing and economic opportunities for small businesses, including the First-Generation Homebuyer Program, historic $1.15M investments in current public housing infrastructures, and Emerging and Diverse Developers Program. Prior to serving on the Ramsey County Board, she worked in local government as a policy aide and in community development for a non-profit. In those roles, she advocated and pushed for policies that supported working-class people such as greater access to health care and food, increasing the minimum wage, paid parental leave, earned sick and safe time, and rent stabilization. As a Commissioner, she will continue to lead on affordable housing, access to health care, and access to economic opportunities for all Ramsey County residents regardless of their race, class, gender, and/or sexual orientation.

Sponsors

Activator

Innovators

Friends of the Center

Media Sponsors

Sponsor the Powering Inclusion Series

Showcase your commitment to racial equity and inclusive growth!

The Minneapolis-St. Paul region and similar regions across the country are at a critical moment in the journey to economic inclusion. The Center seeks partners who are ready to take action and join us in creating an economy that works for everyone by sponsoring our 2023 Powering Inclusion Annual Summit, Fall Series Reckoning to Rise Digital Workshops, and Reckoning for Truth, Trust & Racial Justice Tours.

As a sponsor, your investment tells the story of your commitment to anti-racism and inclusive economic growth to your clients, employees, and prospective partners and investors.