Beyond Four Walls: Conversations on Affordable Housing

In this week's episode, we're joined by Bryan Greene, Vice President of Policy Advocacy at the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) and a longtime housing leader whose career has spanned government, advocacy, and the real estate industry. Greene reflects on his career journey, how he became involved in fair housing, and the experiences from his years at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that continue to shape his approach to housing policy today.

Greene joins NHC President and CEO David Dworkin to discuss the housing policy issues shaping today's market, including implementation of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, housing supply and affordability, assumable mortgages, and the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They also explore Greene's work outside of housing, including how his research into the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival ultimately led to his involvement in the Academy Award-winning documentary Summer of Soul.

In this week's episode, we continue our special two-part conversation with Roy Swan, head of the Ford Foundation's Mission Investments team, where he oversees approximately $1.35 billion in impact investments dedicated to advancing social justice and addressing inequality. If you missed Part 1, we encourage you to go back and hear Swan reflect on the personal and professional journey that shaped his approach to leadership, purpose, investing, and positive-sum capitalism.

In Part 2, Swan joins NHC President and CEO David Dworkin to look ahead at the future of capitalism and philanthropy, and the role financial institutions, investors, and philanthropic organizations can play in building a more inclusive economy. They discuss the opportunities and challenges presented by artificial intelligence, what it takes to achieve meaningful systems change, and how racial equity can be more deeply embedded in investment and economic decision-making.

Drawing on Swan's decades of experience across finance, community development, and impact investing, the conversation also returns to themes from his new book, "Positive Sum: How Zero-Sum Thinking Broke Capitalism—and How We Can Fix It." Swan explores what a positive-sum approach to capitalism can look like in practice and how rethinking the way we deploy capital and design financial systems can expand opportunity, strengthen communities, and create greater shared prosperity.

In this week's episode, we're joined by Roy Swan, head of the Ford Foundation's Mission Investments team, where he oversees approximately $1.35 billion in impact investments dedicated to advancing social justice and addressing inequality. With decades of experience spanning housing, community development, finance, investing, and law, Swan has built a career around deploying capital to strengthen communities and expand economic opportunity.

In Part 1 of this special two-part conversation, Swan joins NHC President and CEO David Dworkin to discuss the personal and professional experiences that shaped his approach to leadership, purpose, and investing. From serving as the founding Chief Investment Officer of New York City's Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone and helping drive the economic revitalization of Harlem, to overseeing more than $13 billion in community development investments as Co-Head of Global Sustainable Finance at Morgan Stanley, Swan reflects on the lessons that have guided his career and his work at the Ford Foundation.

They also explore the ideas behind Swan's new book, Positive Sum: How Zero-Sum Thinking Broke Capitalism—and How We Can Fix It, including how moving beyond zero-sum thinking can create greater economic opportunity and shared prosperity, and what it means to effectively measure social impact.

In this week's episode, we're joined by San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, a lifelong public servant and current president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors who has made tackling the housing affordability crisis the defining priority of his administration. Guided by lessons from his working-class upbringing and a commitment to "leave things better than you found them," Mayor Gloria has led one of the nation's most ambitious local housing agendas while helping elevate housing affordability as a national priority.

Mayor Gloria joins NHC President and CEO David Dworkin to discuss how San Diego is increasing housing production, the policies and leadership strategies that have nearly doubled the city's annual housing output, and why durable, bipartisan policymaking and streamlined permitting are essential to addressing the nation's housing shortage. They also explore the role local, state, and federal governments must play in expanding housing supply and why continued innovation and implementation will be critical to making housing more affordable for future generations.

In this week's episode, we're joined by Teresa Bryce Bazemore, a nationally respected housing finance leader whose more than 35-year career has spanned mortgage banking, mortgage insurance, financial services, corporate governance, and risk management. From leading major financial institutions through periods of unprecedented market disruption to serving on the boards of some of the nation's leading financial organizations, Bazemore has helped shape the future of housing finance while advancing solutions that strengthen housing opportunity and financial stability.

Bazemore joins NHC President and CEO David Dworkin to discuss how lessons learned from leading through periods of financial instability can inform today's housing policy and the future of housing finance. They also examine the growing role insurance plays in the housing affordability crisis, why rising premiums, shrinking coverage, and increasing financial pressures are creating new challenges for homeowners, renters, lenders, and housing providers alike, and how NHC's Residential Property Insurance Collaborative (RPIC) is bringing together leaders from the housing and insurance sectors to develop practical solutions that improve affordability, resiliency, and long-term market stability.

In this week's episode, we're joined by Theresa Finney Dumais, President and CEO of Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF), a national collaborative of nonprofit affordable housing providers that owns and operates more than 160,000 affordable rental homes across the country. Throughout her career spanning affordable housing development, Capitol Hill, housing finance, and nonprofit leadership, Dumais brings a unique perspective on the policies and partnerships needed to expand housing opportunity across the country.

Dumais sits down with NHC President and CEO David Dworkin to discuss why preserving affordable housing is just as important as building new supply and how resident services strengthen both communities and property performance. They also explore the findings from SAHF's groundbreaking research on resident services, the implementation of the newly enacted 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, and the critical role policymakers, housing providers, and investors must play in expanding housing opportunity and ensuring the long-term resilience of the nation's affordable housing stock.

In this week's episode, we welcome Debra Still, retired CEO and Vice Chair of Pulte Financial Services and a recipient of NHC's 2026 Housing Visionary Award, which will be presented at NHC's Annual Gala on June 24 at The Anthem in Washington, D.C.

For more than four decades, Debra has been a leading voice in mortgage finance, helping guide the industry through periods of growth, disruption, and transformation. She joins NHC President and CEO David Dworkin for a conversation on leadership, housing affordability, the future of homeownership, and the growing role of AI in housing finance.

Drawing on her experience leading through events such as 9/11, the 2008 financial crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic, Still reflects on the lessons she learned navigating change, breaking barriers, and helping shape housing policy and finance over the course of her distinguished career.

On April 8, the National Housing Conference hosted its Solutions for Housing Communications convening at the National Press Club. The event brought together policymakers and affordable housing stakeholders to discuss tangible, impactful, and achievable actions to address the nation's most critical housing policy challenges.

In today's episode, we revisit the panel, "Communicating Before, During, and After a Natural Disaster," featuring a discussion on how to communicate clearly and credibly before, during, and after a disaster. Panelists share practical messaging strategies, discuss common communication pitfalls, and offer guidance on reaching residents, policymakers, and the media at each stage of a disaster.

Panelists included Marion McFadden, Vice President of Disaster Recovery at IEM; Michael Newman, General Counsel at the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety; Angie Garling, Senior Vice President, National ECE at LIIF; and Jessie Handforth Kome, Director at CohnReznick.

In this week's episode, we welcome Bill Emerson, Board Member of Rocket Companies and a recipient of this year's Housing Visionary Award, which will be presented at NHC's annual Gala on June 24 at The Anthem in Washington, DC.

After more than three decades in the mortgage industry, Emerson joins NHC President and CEO David Dworkin to discuss the lessons he's learned leading through periods of rapid growth, market disruption, and economic uncertainty. Drawing on experience from nearly every level of the business, Emerson shares insights on leadership, organizational culture, risk management, and the evolving future of housing finance.

In this week's episode, we're joined by acclaimed historian and author Betty Boyd Caroli, a Fulbright scholar whose career has spanned topics from immigration to the lives of America's First Ladies.

Her latest book, "A Slumless America: Mary K. Simkhovitch and the Dream of Affordable Housing," shines a light on a visionary reformer whose name isn't widely known—Mary Kingsbury Simkhovitch. Founder of the National Housing Conference, Simkhovitch was a pioneering force in the fight for safe, decent, and affordable housing. At a time when American cities were facing rapid growth and stark inequality, she worked tirelessly to build stronger communities and push for lasting change—impact that still resonates today.

Caroli joins NHC's President and CEO David Dworkin to discuss the life and legacy of Mary K. Simkhovitch and what her work can teach us about today's housing challenges.