Episode 3: The State Response to the Housing Crisis with Seila Mosquera-Bruno
08/31/21 • 35 min
Today’s guest on YIMBY Nation is Seila Mosquera-Bruno, Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Housing (CDOH) and Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA). Appointed by Governor Ned Lamont, Seila brings a wealth of knowledge to the Department of Housing. Prior to her appointment, she was the President and Chief Executive Officer of NeighborWorks New Horizons (NWNH), a non-profit organization dedicated to providing affordable housing opportunities to help build strong communities and revitalize neighborhoods, which expanded its operations beyond New Haven County to New London and Fairfield counties under her leadership. Seila holds a Master’s degree in Urban Studies from Southern Connecticut State University, a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Charter Oak College, and she completed the Community Development fellowship program at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. She has also served on the National NeighborWorks Association board and is co-chair of their National Real Estate Development Advisory Council. In this episode, Seila shares her mission to increase access to quality housing opportunities in the State of Connecticut, the important role that education plays, and how individual communities can address housing inequalities by being proactive. We also touch on Seila’s advice for creating more diverse and equitable communities and the value of collaborative efforts between the state, organizations, and individual communities using the resources available. Tune in today to learn more!
Key Points From This Episode:
- Seila introduces herself and her mission to increase access to quality housing opportunities.
- The historic and current systemic issues behind the lack of affordable housing in CT and what Seila’s department is doing to remedy them.
- She highlights the holistic approach required to address housing supply and demand issues.
- The importance of educating the state and communities about affordable housing.
- Learn more about the CDOH Affordable Housing Plan and Process Guidebook.
- How the CDOH is supporting Black and Latinx households facing eviction in CT with legal aid.
- How households in need can access the UniteCT emergency rental assistance program.
- Why Seila views House Bill 6430 as a means to increase production of affordable housing.
- What individual communities can do to address CT housing inequalities; be proactive.
- Tips to create more diverse and equitable communities: embrace change, be more tolerant, and be willing to learn from one another.
- The power of working together with the resources available to accomplish shared goals.
- The critical interplay between education systems, communities, homes, and the state.
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Seila Mosquera-Bruno on LinkedIn
Connecticut State Department of Housing
Connecticut Housing Finance Authority
Today’s guest on YIMBY Nation is Seila Mosquera-Bruno, Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Housing (CDOH) and Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA). Appointed by Governor Ned Lamont, Seila brings a wealth of knowledge to the Department of Housing. Prior to her appointment, she was the President and Chief Executive Officer of NeighborWorks New Horizons (NWNH), a non-profit organization dedicated to providing affordable housing opportunities to help build strong communities and revitalize neighborhoods, which expanded its operations beyond New Haven County to New London and Fairfield counties under her leadership. Seila holds a Master’s degree in Urban Studies from Southern Connecticut State University, a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Charter Oak College, and she completed the Community Development fellowship program at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. She has also served on the National NeighborWorks Association board and is co-chair of their National Real Estate Development Advisory Council. In this episode, Seila shares her mission to increase access to quality housing opportunities in the State of Connecticut, the important role that education plays, and how individual communities can address housing inequalities by being proactive. We also touch on Seila’s advice for creating more diverse and equitable communities and the value of collaborative efforts between the state, organizations, and individual communities using the resources available. Tune in today to learn more!
Key Points From This Episode:
- Seila introduces herself and her mission to increase access to quality housing opportunities.
- The historic and current systemic issues behind the lack of affordable housing in CT and what Seila’s department is doing to remedy them.
- She highlights the holistic approach required to address housing supply and demand issues.
- The importance of educating the state and communities about affordable housing.
- Learn more about the CDOH Affordable Housing Plan and Process Guidebook.
- How the CDOH is supporting Black and Latinx households facing eviction in CT with legal aid.
- How households in need can access the UniteCT emergency rental assistance program.
- Why Seila views House Bill 6430 as a means to increase production of affordable housing.
- What individual communities can do to address CT housing inequalities; be proactive.
- Tips to create more diverse and equitable communities: embrace change, be more tolerant, and be willing to learn from one another.
- The power of working together with the resources available to accomplish shared goals.
- The critical interplay between education systems, communities, homes, and the state.
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Seila Mosquera-Bruno on LinkedIn
Connecticut State Department of Housing
Connecticut Housing Finance Authority
Previous Episode
Episode 2: The COVID Eviction Crisis with Karen DuBois-Walton
Welcome to the first episode of Your In My Back Yard Nation, the podcast that looks at housing from a macro level to understand the aspects of life it impacts. In this episode, we invite Dr. Karen DuBois-Walton to help us address the COVID eviction crisis which disproportionately affects Black and Latinx renters in Connecticut. Dr. DuBois-Walton is the President of Elm City Communities, the largest public housing authority in the state of Connecticut. Before taking the helm of the ECC she served New Haven as Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff for former Mayor John DeStefano. She has also been named one of the 100 most influential Blacks in Connecticut and was awarded the Greater New Haven NAACP Community Service Award, so we cannot think of a better guest to kick off the show! Our conversation begins on the subject of the housing crisis and how it has been exacerbated by the pandemic. We then dig deeper into the issue of long-term housing segregation and poverty in communities of color which have sown the seeds for what we are experiencing today. Dr. Dubois-Walton weighs in on actions that have and can still be taken by federal, state, and local governments to help address the issue. She also talks about some of the advocacy she has headed up such as pulling together non-federal funds to cancel rent for an entire month. Tune in and hear more about how Dr. DuBois-Walton is helping to break cycles of poverty in Connecticut today.
Key Points From This Episode:
- An intro into Dr. DuBois-Walton and the amazing work she does for Connecticut.
- How the issue of eviction disproportionately affects people of color in Connecticut.
- Lack of affordable housing access and how the pandemic has exacerbated this issue.
- A severe crisis looming; smaller landlords that can’t weather tenants who can’t pay rent.
- Actions that can be taken by federal, state, and local governments to help address the issue.
- On-the-ground actions that Dr. DuBois-Walton has headed up to aid the crisis.
- How private sectors can help ECC aid people who can’t afford rent in the long term.
- Tough decisions families have to make between work and family and how this feeds the issue.
- Dr. DuBois-Walton weighs in on the history of housing policy and the broader issue of segregation.
- How our guest is trying to address the issue of segregation and rental through HB No. 6430.
- The work of breaking cycles of poverty for families and helping them build wealth.
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Next Episode
Episode 4: Community Development, The COVID-19 Impact & The Tribal Response with Bruce “Two Dogs” Bozsum
On today’s show, we are pleased to welcome Bruce “Two Dogs” Bozum, President of Eight Paws NDN, a Native Gaming Consulting firm. Bruce was first elected to the Mohegan Tribal Council in 2004, where served for eight years as Chairman and helped to secure refinancing for Mohegan Sun. He was involved in the expansion of the Mohegan Sun brand into Pennsylvania, Atlantic City, Washington State, Massachusetts, and New York. In this episode, Bruce describes community development in the sovereign state of the Mohegan Tribe, including how its community is housed on the reservation, whether or not they are affected by the affordable housing crisis in Connecticut, and what we can learn from their community revenue sharing structure. We also touch on the perceptions of outsiders, what pushback the Mohegans receive from NIMBY locals as they look to expand, and how home and land ownership works on the reservation. Tune in today to learn more about the Mohegan approach to building a more resilient and equitable community!
Key Points From This Episode:
- Bruce introduces himself and how he came to operate Mohegan Sun.
- How the Mohegan Tribe as a sovereign nation determines how its community is housed.
- Bruce responds to the affordable housing crisis in Connecticut; whether the tribe is affected.
- How it works if a tribe member is interested in housing outside the reservation.
- The pushback the Mohegan Tribe receives from NIMBY locals as they seek to expand.
- Hear about the Mohegan attitude towards family and how they look out for their own.
- The short-term impacts of COVID-19 on Bruce’s community of 3,000 individuals.
- Learn about Mohegan tribal structure and governance and the role Bruce plays.
- Bruce elaborates on their revenue sharing structure and how his community has been affected by the eviction crisis.
- What states and business leaders can learn from the Mohegan Tribe community.
- How Bruce responds to perceptions from outsiders, who believe the Mohegans are wealthy.
- The difference in ownership between Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods.
- Bruce talks about expansion of the Mohegan Sun brand and opportunities for new facilities.
- What Bruce has been working on, including the song he has out on Spotify.
- Find out how home and land ownership works on the Mohegan reservation.
- Bruce’s advice for building stronger and more equitable communities: communication is key!
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
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