Dr. Tiffany Manuel: The Case Made for Affordable Housing (Online)

Howard County Library System and Horizon Foundation are partnering on a multipart series, Racial Equity and Local Action, focusing on the importance of racial equity in Health, Education and Housing, and how communities can act and be involved in change at the local level. In this installment of the series, we hear from Dr. Tiffany Manuel on how to strategically communicate when advocating for affordable housing - with lessons that apply to advocacy on many equity topics.

In this virtual presentation, Dr. Tiffany Manuel discusses proven strategies for advancing housing issues taken from hundreds of housing campaigns across the country. It can often be difficult to convey the importance of housing and to build public support for investing in the housing needs of those in our communities. However, in a time of budget cuts related to housing and the increased need to build more housing to address affordability issues, it is more important than ever that community members and housing professionals have a strong and persuasive message to share.  

Dr. Manuel will provide an overview of how we can think about housing as an issue area; explain how and why some of our messaging is backfiring; and help us think through what language will help elevate our work. She also addresses how we can counter the thorny challenges of community opposition to affordable housing.  

Q&A and discussion of affordable housing and racial equity follows the presentation. 

Register for the follow up event Taking Action for Equity in Housing on Oct 27.

ABOUT DR. TIFFANY MANUEL 

 DrT  (as she prefers to be called) is a dynamic speaker, best-selling author and the President and CEO of TheCaseMade, an organization dedicated to helping leaders powerfully and intentionally make the case for systems change. 

In her role at TheCaseMade,  DrT  works with hundreds of passionate social changemakers, innovators and adaptive leaders around the United States who are building better, stronger communities that are diverse, equitable and inclusive.  By aligning their community stakeholders around the kind of deep systems changes that can improve population outcomes, these leaders are able to grow their impact, scale their programs, and harness the investments they need to improve their communities. 

DrT grew  up in Detroit, Michigan during one of the most turbulent times in the city’s history.  It was because of the challenges of that experience that she champions better policy, programs, investments and services that can transform our cities and communities for the better.  It is also the reason that DrT has worked to expand opportunity, equity and inclusion through 25+ years of professional and volunteer experience spanning the private and non-profit sectors, government and academia. Trained  as a social scientist in quantitative and qualitative methods, she is a self-professed “data, policy, and messaging wonk!” She is passionate about translating the insights harvested from her research and practice to improve our ability to build public will around the critical issues that matter most. She holds doctorate and master’s degrees in public policy from the University of Massachusetts Boston, a master’s degree in political science from Purdue University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago. DrT  has  served on numerous nonprofits and social-impact boards and is a lifetime member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, an African American public service sorority.