Four Special Housing Awards Presented During PHFA’s Housing Forum
2024 awards recognize three tireless housing leaders and one outstanding organization
HARRISBURG, PA – The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency today recognized three affordable housing leaders and an impactful organization serving the homeless during its Housing Forum conference at the Hilton Harrisburg.
Honored with the agency’s prestigious Housing Pioneer Award, recognizing distinguished housing leadership, are:
- Tammy Thompson, founder and executive director, Catapult Greater Pittsburgh
- Bonnie Zehler, retired executive director, Luminest Community Development, Chambersburg
PHFA also presented its inaugural Housing Legacy Award, which recognizes people and organizations for housing efforts that have an ongoing powerful impact in their communities. This year’s winners are:
- Lawrence Swanson, executive director, ACTION-Housing, Pittsburgh
- Project HOME, Philadelphia, founded by Sister Mary Scullion and Joan Dawson-McConnon
“These three people and the organization honored this year are true housing champions,” said PHFA’s Executive Director and CEO Robin Wiessmann. “Their tireless efforts to expand affordable housing options in Pennsylvania are critical in meeting the current demand for quality, stable housing and should inspire us all to do even more. They are role models of service we all should aspire to emulate.”
Wiessmann’s comments honoring all four award recipients during the conference are available on the Housing Forum website at: https://housingforum.phfa.org/presentations.aspx.
PHFA’s biennial Housing Forum provides professional development opportunities for people working in the housing field. The 2024 Forum program included 23 educational sessions, two keynote presentations, a bus tour of a Harrisburg tiny house village for veterans, and a popular networking event. The conference ran May 1-2 and drew more than 550 attendees. Also during the Housing Forum, the agency celebrated 51 years of housing successes achieved with its many business partners who were attending the conference.
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 $18.1 billion of funding for more than 198,000 single-family home mortgage loans, helped fund the construction of 103,328 rental units, distributed approximately $289 million to support local housing initiatives, and saved the homes of more than 50,860 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.
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