After a year and a half of working from home, I finally saw many of you in Miami this week for our Southeast Regional Event. I almost can’t believe I got to hug, break bread, dance, and simply get inspired by each other’s energy and love for our beautiful Latino community. There truly is nothing like being able to feel the power of NAHREP energy in person. I’m so pumped for everything we’re about to accomplish.
Read moreIt’s time for another wonky policy term of the week explained. If any of you want to understand what in the world is happening right now in Congress with this infrastructure bill that seems to be moving at tortuga speed, let’s try to define another term the politico types throw around like pizza dough: reconciliation. What the heck is reconciliation? No, its not what happens with your significant other after she/he/they pissed you off and then cooked you your favorite meal to lure you through your stomach. In this case, it’s a tool used in Congress to get tough things passed.
Read moreInfrastructure. This term has been thrown around a lot. This is all that Congress is talking about, all that President Biden is talking about, and quite frankly, a lot of what we’ve been focused on this year as the National Advocacy Committee. But what is infrastructure? We usually think of bridges, roads, and transportation when we think of infrastructure, public projects that get us from one place to another. By this definition, broadband and internet are definitely infrastructure – as that is the way we travel (zoom meetings!) and communicate in today’s world.
Read moreWho saw In the Heights? If you haven’t, que carajos esperan? Listen up, if we want representation in Hollywood, and we want to change the narrative about Latinos, showing up at the box office when we’re on the main screen is the least we can do. Lin Manuel Miranda shared our stories, one of familia, comunidad, and powerful sueñitos that keep us alive and hungry (in a good way). “Start small, dream big.” Isn’t that how we all got started? Seeing those choreographed scenes of beautiful Latino faces dancing to the vibrant beat of our music, filled my heart in a way few things have during this past year.
Read moreRaise your hand if you hear people talk policy and you zone out mostly because they keep using strange words that you don’t understand? I spent over a decade in Washington D.C., a town where people talk in acronyms. Before NAHREP, I spent 6 years working at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), where it was seen as perfectly normal to say something like, “Since the HMDA working group finalized the ANPRM, there’s an OPM meeting at the EEOB to discuss collaboration between FHFA and the CFPB. Make sure you bring the RESPA proposal!” Como dice mi mama, “Apenas se puede creer!”
Read moreWhat is more valuable than gold right now and is adding fire to our housing inventory crisis? You got it: LUMBER! First, we were out of toilet paper, then we couldn’t find any disinfectant wipes anywhere, and now, lumber. I know many of you have seen the memes or the TikToks by now of just how crazy this whole “run on lumber” has gotten, so I thought I would give you a quick timeline of how we got here:
Read moreI have a challenge for all of you: Let’s show the country how powerful our network actually is. We put a lot of work into our State of Hispanic Homeownership Report. It’s how we measure progress, how we get the country to see the power of investing in the Latino community, and it is also the way we change the narrative about Latinos in the U.S. Latinos are the engine behind the housing market and therefore, behind the U.S. economy. It is time more people realized that.
Read moreFirst of all, a major shout-out to everyone who participated in NAHREP’s 2021 Capitol Hill Visits over the past two weeks. In total, NAHREP did 42 meetings and 202 of you participated in at least one meeting. Major kudos to our chapter leaders from around the country and our Government Affairs Directors. From Illinois to Texas, California to Florida, we traveled the country virtually, passionately advocating on behalf of our mission. But it doesn’t end there!
Read moreIf you tuned in to the NAHREP Housing Policy Summit or saw the social media posts, you heard that the LA South Bay Chapter won Advocacy Chapter of the Year. One of the main reasons? The board collectively attended and spoke at over 40 city council meetings in 2020! They showed up and dropped the mic.!
Read moreIf you tuned in to the NAHREP Housing Policy Summit or saw the social media posts, you heard that the LA South Bay Chapter won Advocacy Chapter of the Year. One of the main reasons? The board collectively attended and spoke at over 40 city council meetings in 2020! They showed up and dropped the mic.!
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