Three Housing Leaders Honored During PHFA’s Housing Forum
Awards recognize their decades of leadership in the affordable housing field
HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency today recognized three affordable housing leaders during its Housing Forum conference at the Hilton Harrisburg.
Honored with the agency’s prestigious Housing Pioneer Award were:
- Jane Downing, senior program officer, economic and community development, The Pittsburgh Foundation, Pittsburgh
- Ira Goldstein, president of policy solutions, Reinvestment Fund, Philadelphia
- SEDA-COG Housing Development Corporation, Lewisburg, Union County (marking the first time an organization is being so honored)
“Our Housing Pioneer Awards are not bestowed often, which makes them a special and distinct honor,” said PHFA’s Executive Director and CEO Robin Wiessmann. “The two people and one organization being honored today have distinguished themselves over decades as champions for affordable housing. This recognition is intended to honor and thank them, and hopefully inspire others to follow in their footsteps.”
The three award winners were presented with unique art glass plaques recognizing this honor.
PHFA’s biennial Housing Forum provides professional development opportunities for people working in the housing field. Attendees participate in a variety of focused educational sessions and hear from nationally recognized speakers. The 2022 program of events included 21 educational sessions, two keynote presentations, an Abraham Lincoln presenter who spoke on the topic of leadership, a tour of PHFA’s Passive House and LEED Platinum office addition, and a popular networking event. The conference ran May 11-12 and drew more than 450 attendees. This year, PHFA celebrated 25 years of producing its housing forums.
About PHFA
The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency works to provide affordable homeownership and rental housing options for older adults, low- and moderate-income families, and people with special housing needs. Through its carefully managed mortgage programs and investments in multifamily housing developments, PHFA also promotes economic development across the state. Since its creation by the legislature in 1972, it has generated more than $15.9 billion of funding for more than 186,412 single-family home mortgage loans, helped fund the construction of 138,000 rental units, distributed approximately $191 million to support local housing initiatives, and saved the homes of more than 50,520 families from foreclosure. PHFA programs and operations are funded primarily by the sale of securities and from fees paid by program users, not by public tax dollars. The agency is governed by a 14-member board.
Contact:
Scott Elliott
717-649-6522 (cell)
