Susannah Patton

Nii Sowah, vice president of Community Impact at Enterprise Community Development, recently got some good news from Fairfax County, Virginia, about an after-school enrichment program at two multifamily properties. The news, which was about rising student exam scores, is just one reflection of Enterprise Community Development’s efforts to provide a wide range of services to 23,000 residents in 13,000 homes across the Mid-Atlantic region.

In an interview, Lianna Petroski, Enterprise’s senior vice president, head of acquisitions and deputy fund manager, speaks about a recent $2 billion milestone for her team's work, as well as the value of partnership and impact as she looks to the next ten years of investing in preserving affordable homes.

Gloria Palacios worked for most of her life as a migrant farmworker picking fruits and vegetables in several states across the Southwest. Then, in 2018, Palacios took a big step to securing a long-term, affordable home – she applied to build a new house through Come Dream. Come Build.

The federal government must support funding to end the shortage of Native housing, Tonya Plummer, Enterprise’s director for Native American housing programs, testified at a Congressional oversight hearing.

Enterprise's Danielle Hammann and Matthew Singh discuss the origins of the Equitable Upward Mobility Fund and how they hope it will ultimately improve lives and communities.

Deb Haaland made history in 2021 when she became the first Native American to serve as a cabinet secretary. At the same time, a new generation of Native women have been working behind the scenes to lead economic development and affordable housing efforts in Tribal communities across the country. Tonya Plummer, Enterprise’s director for Native and Tribal housing, says none of this is new.

Meaghan Vlkovic, Enterprise’s vice president and market leader for the Southeast region, spoke to us recently about her team’s efforts to advocate for a more equitable housing system and affordable housing preservation and development in Georgia, Florida, and the broader Southeast region.

On her first day in office, new Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced a state of emergency on homelessness and days later launched “Inside Safe” to move people from tent encampments to housing. Jimar Wilson, Enterprise’s vice president and market leader for Southern California, finds this swift action and renewed investment encouraging. Still, he recognizes there are no quick or easy fixes to his hometown’s affordable housing and homelessness crisis. 

Hirabayashi Place, a mixed-use property in Seattle's Chinatown International District, features art to connect the building to the history and culture of its surrounding neighborhood. Leslie Morishita is real estate development director for InterIm CDA, the nonprofit affordable housing and community development organization credited with the development.