WORKSHOP + HAPPY HOUR
WORKSHOP + HAPPY HOUR
Date: May 30, 2025 | Time: 1:30 - 5:30 PM
San Jose Downtown
SJSU Urban Planning Studio 76 S 1st St, San Jose, CA 95113
Are you passionate about creating a more equitable future for affordable housing development?
Recognizing the critical need for fresh perspectives and the challenges faced by emerging developers in the Affordable housing industry, this unique workshop fosters an environment of empathy, deep collaboration, and the co-creation of genuinely innovative solutions. The core objective of this workshop is to develop practical tools and strategies that provide emerging developers with equitable leverage within the often complex and competitive affordable housing landscape. This includes, but is not limited to, exploring innovative financing models, streamlining regulatory processes, fostering effective community partnerships, and promoting equitable access to resources and mentorship.
Whether you're a seasoned professional or new to the field, your active participation in any aspect of affordable housing will enrich the experience and foster valuable relationships.
The 3-Part Workshop, followed by group presentation includes:
Informative and Engaging Experts: Delivering essential knowledge on critical definitions of emerging developers and currently available resources.
Interactive Strategy Games: Providing a dynamic and low-stakes environment to simulate real-world scenarios in affordable housing development faced by emerging developers, fostering strategic thinking, risk assessment, and collaborative decision-making.
Focused Small-Group Problem-Solving: Utilizing a structured approach to deeply understand the needs and pain points of emerging developers. Participants will collaborate to brainstorm, prototype, and refine tangible resources and actionable strategies that directly address these challenges. This workshop is based on human-centered design principles, which allow collaboration to push boundaries.
A group presentation and a happy hour reception will follow the workshop.
Workshop: 1:30 pm to 4:00 pm
Group Presentation and Reception: 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm
Katie Fisher
SVP Underwriting & Credit
SF Housing Accelerator Fund
"The biggest challenge is the confidence gap created and reinforced by systemic racism & social and economic oppression. "
Kelly Snider
Director,
SJSU Certificate in Real Estate Development Program
President, Inca Homes Infill & Workforce Housing Development
"The biggest challenge is access to capital, since loans for speculative development are expensive and hard to get; and most government-backed loan programs (such as SBA) prohibit using funds for property acquisition."
Atisha Varshney
Principal,
Forward City Labs
Coro Fellow - Affordable Housing Leadership Network
"The real challenge for emerging developers lies in building a brand that the industry will trust, and establishing relationships with the right people who not only support you as early investors but also offer mentorship during difficult periods."
Delvin Hall
Founding Principal,
Onyx Equity Partners
Coro Fellow - Affordable Housing Leadership Network
“Emerging developers face major barriers due to the lack of a clear, centralized hub for capital, partners, and resources—making scale dependent on insider access.”
Contact:
Atisha Varshney | atisha@forwardcitylabs.com | 401 808 0281