Welcome Hieu Truong and Gen Fujioka to the National CAPACD Team!

National CAPACD is pleased to announce two new additions to the team.  Hieu Truong is our Program Coordinator and Gen Fujioka will be joining us as our interim California Advocacy Coordinator of the California Coalition of National CAPACD.

The California Coalition of National CAPACD was formed at our Annual Convention in May to advance a state housing and community development agenda.  California Coalition members include over twenty organizations that together have developed over 4400 units of affordable housing and own over $430 million in community centers, housing developments, and community based enterprises.  Over the coming months, Gen will be working to develop our community based strategy with local members and national staff to address the deepening foreclosure crisis and to serve disadvantaged communities.  A veteran attorney and community activist, Gen brings with him over twenty-five years of experience representing minority and low income communities with an emphasis on federal, state, and local housing and civil rights issues.  Gen can be reached by e-mail at . 

Hieu Truong will be working to build the capacity of our member organizations while coordinating our research and data policy efforts. 

Prior to working at National CAPACD, Hieu has worked with a variety of organizations to improve the vitality and livelihood of urban neighborhoods and communities of color.  At the Baltimore office of Enterprise Community Partners, she assisted in the implementation of their local technical assistance program.  For Baltimore-area developer, Struever Bros., Eccles and Rouse, she analyzed the ramifications of an inclusionary housing bill passed by the Baltimore City Council.  As Planning Assistant at the Planning Department of the City of Baltimore, she assisted in the day to day operations of the Land Use and Urban Design Division, including fielding requests for information by the citizens of Baltimore City and facilitating community meetings and hearings.  Hieu has recently graduated from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design with a Master in Urban Planning, concentrating in housing and community development.  Please welcome Hieu at !

National CAPACD and CAPAC Host Successful Foreclosure Briefing

National CAPACD along with the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) hosted a briefing on “The Impacts of Foreclosures on the AAPI Community” on September 8th.  The briefing highlighted crucial points needed to address the escalating home mortgage foreclosure crisis impacting AAPI communities by providing information and data on the current foreclosure situation specific to AAPIs. 

John Moon of the Federal Reserve Bank presented data and trends on foreclosure rates in AAPI communities across the country.  Sunny Chanthanouvong, Executive Director of Lao Assistance Center of Minnesota, shared his stories of working with Lao families in the Twin Cities who were losing their homes.  Eileen Fitzgerald, COO of NeighborWorks America, provided information about the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling program, and Faith Schwartz, Executive Director of the HOPE Now Alliance, discussed the importance of partnering with community organizations such as National CAPACD.  Ruth Roman of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) also shared their plans on mitigating the foreclosure crisis. 

The briefing had over 30 people attend from financial institutions, Congressional offices, government agencies, and AAPI national organizations.

2nd Asian American Community Development Conference: Crisis, Innovation, Opportunity

National CAPACD is partnering with Asian Americans for Equality on the 2nd Asian American Community Development Conference in New York City.

The conference offers a space to examine a wide range of community development issues, including the current credit and foreclosure crisis and its impact on affordable housing, social services, and small business development.  The conference will also provide s space for private and public sectors to generate input from experts on identifying innovations and best practices to sustain the community through these challenging times.  Through these discussions, powerful partnerships will be created between community leaders, government, and the private sector.

The 2nd Asian American Community Development Conference will take place November 14, 2008 at the Millennium Broadway Hotel at 145 West 44th Street.  For more information and to register, please visit www.aafe.org