Susan M. Ifill

Susan M. Ifill is executive vice president and chief operating officer for NeighborWorks America, leading programs and staff who support network and field operations. She previously served as chief executive officer of Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City (NHSNYC), a NeighborWorks network organization, working to address affordable housing and fight displacement across New York City. Prior to joining NHSNYC, Ifill was the senior vice president and chief retail officer for Carver Federal Savings Bank in New York.

Marietta Rodriguez

Marietta Rodriguez knows what it’s like to be a new homebuyer because she was one. "I was 25 and living in a high-cost area," she says. “There was absolutely no way I could buy a home without someone holding my hand and walking me through it.” The folks holding her hand were from a NeighborWorks network organization that provided counseling and financial assistance to first-time homebuyers. Soon, Rodriguez went to work for the organization that assisted her so that she could help more people in her hometown.

For a learning cohort process supported by NeighborWorks America, community development organizations worked hand in hand with arts organizations as they re-imagined the future of their neighborhoods. What they found was often unexpected and revealed ways that the milestones found on the journey are just as important as the final destination. 

College freshman Vanesa Medrano has a vision to inspire the youth in her Near Northside community in Houston, Texas. Through Millennialz Youth Fest, the community organization she founded with friends, she motivates young people to give back to the community, get involved and make their voices heard. 

Neighborhood. Porch. Living room. That's where James Clark, head of the St. Louis Metropolitan Area De-escalation Center, says we must go to talk about gun violence within communities. And that's where his outreach workers have been going for the past two and a half years. 

The black community is facing an internal crisis, Clark says. "African-Americans have to look at the fact that African-Americans kill African-Americans every day in every major city. We can't ignore that. Not to address it is passing it on to future generations." 

Housing is on everyone's lips, says Sheila Rice, who just completed a term as interim executive vice president and chief operating officer for NeighborWorks America. She expects the trend to continue through 2020. 

For starters, the health-care industry is highlighting housing, Rice says, pointing to a quote that is everywhere from the Champlain Housing Trust to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: "Housing is health care." 

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