ELPN: Social Housing Forum

ELPN’s Social Housing Forum will be an open and exploratory discussion on the prospect of introducing a social housing model to California. We will discuss what “social housing” really means, what it looks like abroad, and what it might look like in California. Panelists from a variety of backgrounds will share their thoughts, research, and plans for this development model and participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and share their thoughts on what shape social housing may take in their communities.

Alex Lee, Assemblymember for California’s 24th District

Alex Lee represents California’s 24th Assembly District which includes the Alameda County communities of Fremont, Newark, and Sunol, and the Santa Clara County Communities of Milpitas and San Jose. Lee has been a leader advocating for social housing in California since his election in 2020 and was the first Member of the California State Legislature to introduce and work on social housing legislation. He recently introduced AB 309, his third iteration of the Social Housing Act, which he will discuss at the forum. He has been Chair of the Select Committee on Social Housing since 2022.

Helmi Hisserich, Global Policy Leadership Academy

Helmi is a Director at the Global Policy Leadership Academy, a firm that specializes in creating immersive educational programs for policy leaders focused on systems change in housing. Helmi has done extensive research on international best practices in affordable housing and is currently leading delegations of California policy makers to Vienna, Austria to learn about the Vienna Social Housing Model, and will share some of her findings with us, along with insights on what lessons/aspects may be applicable to housing in California. Helmi is a former Deputy Mayor of Housing in LA and was a Senior Manager at the Los Angeles Housing Department.

Shanti Singh, Tenants Together

Shanti Singh is the Communications and Legislative Director at Tenants Together. She left the tech industry to work full-time in tenants’ rights after organizing with renters in private, public and nonprofit housing, alongside housing justice groups in San Francisco. She formerly co-chaired the San Francisco Democratic Socialists of America and worked on tenant & land use issues there, in addition to being a city commissioner for clean municipal energy, chair of the SF Housing Stability Oversight Board, and a board member of the San Francisco Community Land Trust.

Rob Wiener, California Coalition for Rural Housing

Since 1981, Dr. Robert Wiener has been the Executive Director of the California Coalition for Rural Housing (CCRH), one of the oldest state low-income housing coalitions in the U.S. Under his leadership, CCRH has played a major role in federal and state housing policy and program efforts that have gained billions of dollars in financing, as well as land use supports, for production of new rental housing, self-help housing, farm labor housing, housing preservation, and other areas of housing provision. Wiener has also been a lecturer in the Department of Human and Community Development (HCD) and an author contributing to books like Right to Housing (2006), Inclusionary Housing in International Perspective (2010), and Rural Housing, Exurbanization, and Amenity-Driven Development. He has a doctorate in urban and regional planning from UCLA.

Moderator: Muhammad Alameldin, Terner Center for Housing Innovation

Muhammad T. Alameldin is the Policy Associate for the Terner Center. He brings the Center’s innovative research to inform housing policy at the local, state, and federal levels. Muhammad has written for and been cited in a variety of publications, from CalMatters to The Atlantic. He is driven by the desire to help every person live in an affordable and sustainable home.