371: How possible is affordable housing? (Extended Episode)

"The enormity of the challenges we have in front of us right now, in terms of the deficit of housing, just requires all of us to work together."

This episode revisits the National Housing Supply Summit in March 2025! In this conversation, Devon Tilly and co-host Dennis Steigerwalt chats with Matt Hoffman and Stephen O'Conner about affordable housing, the new administration, and the White Paper: Federal Policy Opportunities to Expand Housing Supply. Request a copy of the White Paper here: https://housingsupply.us/

Our co-host Dennis is active in all things real estate with a specific focus on innovation in the residential development and homebuilding ecosystems. He is a ULI Residential Neighborhood Product Council member, a Professional Builder 40 under 40 recipient, and an active member of Geek Estate. In his spare time he enjoys big adventures with his wife and sons on the water and in the mountains. Dennis is the president of the Housing Innovation Alliance, a future oriented community for production homebuilding. The Housing Innovation Summit is the best place to get engaged + connected where you’ll gather insights + have a voice at each turn. The 2025 Summit is co-hosted by the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation at the University of Pittsburgh. We’ll be at Phipps Conservatory in the Oakland neighborhood and hosting Innovation in Action tours around Pittsburgh.

Matt Hoffman has spent his career applying his strategy, business development, and innovation skills to solving problems that create growth and opportunity in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. With over 20 years’ experience building businesses in the housing and technology sectors, in February 2024 he completed a two-year assignment as the Senior Advisor to the Commissioner of the Public Buildings Service at the General Services Administration (GSA), which oversees the U.S. government’s civilian real estate portfolio of more than 365 million square feet. His core focus was the implications of “the future of work” on the office portfolio and transitioning federal buildings to net zero emissions. He helped launch the federal government’s Workplace Innovation Lab (WIL) and federal coworking offering (think WeWork just for federal employees). He represented GSA on the White House’s housing supply interagency policy council. Based in the Washington, DC area, Matt has a passion for finding housing solutions for the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) community and currently chairs the real estate finance committee of Benedictine Programs & Services, which helps I/DD children and adults achieve their greatest potential. He is a graduate of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government (MPP) and Brown University (BA).

Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. O’Connor has been deeply involved in addressing the multifaceted challenges surrounding the crisis in affordable housing. His long and effective history of advocacy focuses on the promotion of equitable housing opportunities through the development of inclusive communities to enhance the quality of life for diverse populations. With a Ph.D. in Planning and Public Policy, Dr. O’Connor’s expertise extends across various sectors within the housing spectrum, including affordable housing finance, housing policy analysis, and land use planning. He is often called upon by governmental agencies, political campaigns, and non-profit organizations to help develop effective policy frameworks and practical interventions to address housing disparities. As an educator, Dr. O’Connor is committed to developing the next generation of housing advocates, developers, and policymakers. He serves as a mentor and a teacher, inspiring students to explore the intersection of housing, social equity, and public policy. His dynamic teaching style and hands-on approach are informed by more than thirty years of housing industry experience. Personally, Dr. O’Connor and his wife, Sandy, have served long tenures with several medical mission charities. In addition, they have founded two 501(c)(3) organizations to raise money for cure-focused medical research. They have two children and two beautiful grandsons.  

Read James Rouse's book: https://a.co/d/4cVwaKN
Read the "Abundance" book:  https://a.co/d/1N0kr4e

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