2021 Faith-Based Development Initiative Annual Summit

For 15 years, our Faith-Based Development Initiative (FBDI) has provided trainings, technical assistance, financial support and access to experts to help houses of worship transform their underutilized land into affordable homes and community impact facilities.

Started in our Mid-Atlantic region in 2006, FBDI’s impact is clear – creating and preserving 1,500 affordable homes and investing $154 million in grants, loans and equity in faith-based development in the region. We’ve also awarded $2.2 million in grants in recent years to support similar work across the country.

On Thursday, Nov. 18, our second annual national summit – Gatekeepers: The Role of Houses of Worship in Creating Equitable Community Development – explored the growing movement by faith-based organizations to undertake housing and community development, and what the implications are for expanding racial equity.

A slate of speakers shared their expertise in faith-based development from how to make it work for the community and house of worship, to denominational perspectives to supportive governmental policies. Our keynote was Mark Elsdon, author of We Aren’t Broke: Uncovering Hidden Resources for Mission and Ministry.

Meet the Speakers

Opening

Rev. Dr. Sam Marullo, Grace in Action, Washington, D.C.

Rev. David Bowers, vice president and Mid-Atlantic market leader, Enterprise Community Partners

Jacqueline Waggoner, president, Solutions Division, Enterprise Community Partners

Kathryn R. Clay, Greater Washington Area market manager, Community Development Banking, PNC Bank

Keynote

Mark Elsdon, author, We Aren’t Broke: Uncovering Hidden Resources for Mission and Ministry

Making Development Work for the Community and the House of Worship

FBDI Panel 1 Rev. Joaquin Willis, Dr. Kathleen A. Van Voorhis, Rev. Dwayne Jone, Imam Talib Shareef, Meghan Altidor

Rev. Dr. Joaquin Willis, president and CEO, Collective Empowerment Group of South Florida, Miami, Florida

Dr. Kathleen A. Van Voorhis, chief executive officer, Community Investment Alliance, Colorado

Rev. Dwayne Jones, senior pastor, Mt. Aaron Missionary Baptist Church, Buffalo, New York

Imam Talib Shareef, president and imam, Masjid Muhammad, Washington, D.C.

Meghan Altidor, partner, Nixon Peabody, New York, New York and Washington, D.C.

Denominational Perspectives on Impactful and Equitable Development

Panel 2 Speakers Andrew Fuller, Nolan McCoy, Rev. John Molina Moore, Rev. Dr. Keith W. Byrd, Sr., and Christie Latona

Andrew Fuller, program director of Housing and Human Needs, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Washington, D.C. Advocacy Office

Nolan McCoy, director, Facilities and Real Estate, Archdiocese of Baltimore

Rev. John Molina Moore, general presbyter, National Capital Presbytery, Rockville, Maryland

Rev. Dr. Keith W. Byrd Sr., first vice president, Progressive National Baptist Convention, Washington, D.C.

Christie Latona, chief program officer, The United Methodist Church, Baltimore-Washington and Peninsula-Delaware Annual Conferences

Government Interventions Supporting Faith-Based Affordable Housing Development

Panel 3 Speakers Jennifer Steingasser, Stephanie Velasco, Jorge Damian de la Paz

Jennifer Steingasser, deputy director for Development Review and Historic Preservation, Office of Planning, Washington, D.C.

Stephanie Velasco, communications and external relations manager, City of Seattle, Office of Housing

Jorge Damian de la Paz, senior strategist for Government Innovation, Office of the Mayor, Miami-Dade County, Florida

The 2021 Faith-Based Development Initiative Annual Summit is made possible through our generous donors, PNC Bank, our visionary sponsor, and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, our community advocate sponsor.