Welcome to Accessible Housing Matters!

In today's episode, I welcome Micaela Connery

Micaela co-founded The Kelsey with her cousin Kelsey, who continues to inspire and inform the mission and work today. Micaela has been working on inclusion in communities her entire life. She has seen firsthand the housing crisis facing adults with developmental disabilities and their families.

Micaela completed her MPP at Harvard Kennedy School and MBA as a Mitchell Scholar at University College Dublin. She was a Cheng Fellow at the Harvard Social Innovation and Change Initiative where she worked on designing The Kelsey. As a research fellow at the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, she published leading research on housing and disability. She's a proud University of Virginia Wahoo. Prior to The Kelsey, Micaela was the founder and CEO of Unified Theater.

She lives in San Francisco and spends her free time biking around the city, camping, and cooking.

Listen to find out more about:

[00:01 - 03:27] Opening Segment

• I welcome Micaela Connery to the Show
• • Bio
  • Micaela introduces The Kelsey
  • Centering on better housing and community experience

[03:28 - 17:52] Making a Difference through Inclusive Development and Advocacy Model

• 200 units of housing starting from 2017
• A challenging industry for disabled persons and guardians alike
• Micaela talks about defaulting to parent-driven models
• The most important leadership in housing
• The step-by-step process of inclusive development for housing
• "This is the housing I prefer!"
• Micaela shares about their 2 ongoing projects

[17:53 - 29:03] Accessibility and Inclusion

• Accessibility of inclusive housing
• What The Kelsey wants to do and what they have done so far
• No two people have the same needs in housing!
• The Secret Sauce to Financing The Kelsey
• • All or nothing: The three phases Micaela and The Kelsey go through to fund their projects
• What drives Micaela and The Kelsey with their work
• Scaling Up: The Kelsey in 5 Years Time

[29:04 - 30:49] Closing Segment

• See links below to know more about Micaela Connery
• Final word

Resources Mentioned:

Tweetable Quote/s:

"Defaulting to parent-driven models could, not always, lead us to less inclusive, less disability-driven housing models and more what parents want for the housing versus what their children or what other people with disabilities would want." - Micaela Connery

"The most important leadership in housing is by people with lived experience with disabilities themselves." - Micaela Connery

"People with disabilities have diverse housing preferences." - Micaela Connery

You can connect with Micaela through [email protected] or visit the following links: The Kelsey, Accessible Design Initiative, and Raise the Roof to contribute to changing the housing system and policies.

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Accessible Housing Matters is dedicated to raising awareness about important issues around accessibility and housing, and getting conversations going. I'd love to learn more about what's on your mind, and get your feedback about the show. Contact me directly at [email protected] to share your thoughts or arrange a call.