Upcoming 2026 Virtual Fair Housing Conference
Fair Housing Justice:
Expanding Opportunities in Every Neighborhood
Fair Housing Justice:
Expanding Opportunities in Every Neighborhood
This conference brings together national fair housing leaders, researchers, advocates, and housing professionals to explore how fair housing policy, access to opportunity, and community investment shape economic mobility, health, and housing stability. Through expert presentations and engaging panels, participants will examine emerging legal strategies, practical tools for housing equity and equitable homeownership, and the connections between fair housing and housing stability.
Conference Agenda (Times in PDT)
Conference Moderator:
- Liz Darby, Fair Housing Consultant
9:30-9:45 am – Conference Introduction
- Julia Howard-Gibbon, Co-Executive Director/Legal Director - Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (FHANC)
9:45-10:00 am – Opening Remarks
- California State Senator Scott Wiener
10:00-10:30 am – Session 1
- Thomas Silverstein, Executive Director- Poverty & Race Research Action Council (PRRAC)
Impacts of Weakening Disparate Impact Protections
In this session, Thomas Silverstein will examine how threats to the disparate impact framework are affecting advocates’ ability to bring impact litigation and challenge systemic discrimination. He will also explore the implications for enforcing and maintaining affirmative fair housing obligations at the state and local level and consider the ripple effects beyond housing, including how weakening disparate impact protections may influence broader efforts to advance racial equity, expand access to opportunity in multiple sectors and address structural barriers rooted in race and, socioeconomic status, and other protected characteristics.
10:30-11:30 am – Sessions 2 and 3 are concurrent panels
Session 2 Panel
- Vasudha Talla, Partner - Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP
- Scott Chang, Senior Civil Rights Counsel - National Fair Housing Alliance
- Lila Miller, Partner - Relman Colfax PLLC
- Panel Moderator: Julia Howard-Gibbon, Co-Executive Director/Legal Director - Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (FHANC)
Strengthening Fair Housing Advocacy: Organizational Standing and Systemic Impact
One of the most important tools nonprofit organizations have to enforce civil rights laws is the ability to bring lawsuits on behalf of the organization when their investigations uncover evidence of discrimination. Known as organizational standing, this doctrine allows fair housing groups to challenge unlawful practices when the organization itself has been harmed by discriminatory conduct. Unlike individual cases, which may result in remedies limited to a single unit or household, organizational standing cases can lead to policy changes across multiple units, properties, and practices. This panel will explore the current state of organizational standing in fair housing law and why preserving it is critical to effective enforcement. Drawing on their litigation and advocacy experience, the panelists will discuss the state of the law and share examples of cases in which organizational standing helped achieve meaningful, wide-ranging fair housing relief.
Session 3 Panel (This session will be held in a separate Zoom meeting.)
- Alexia Smokler, Director, Fair Housing Policy & Programs - National Association of REALTORS®
- Farrah Wilder, Executive Director - Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit
- Doris Ramos, Home Loan Officer - Columbia Bank
- Panel Moderator: DeAnthony Nelson, Strategic Partnerships and DEI Program Manager - California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.)
Expanding Homeownership: Fair Housing Strategies for Underserved Communities
This panel will explore the challenges communities from protected classes may face in accessing homeownership and highlight how industry practices, support programs, and policy changes can help create more equitable and sustainable opportunities for underserved homebuyers.
11:30-11:45 am - Break
11:45 am - 12:30 pm – Session 4
- Matthew Staiger, Research Scientist - Opportunity Insights, Harvard University
Place, Opportunity, and Health: How Fair Housing Shapes Child Development
This session will highlight research showing how neighborhood conditions shape children’s long-term economic opportunities. Focusing on the HOPE VI public housing revitalization program, the presentation will discuss evidence that improving housing environments and increasing social integration can significantly improve outcomes for children growing up in low-income communities.
12:30-1:15 pm – Session 5
- Donald Whitehead, Executive Director - National Coalition for the Homeless
Fair Housing Impacts on Housing Stability and Homelessness
This session will explore the intersection of fair housing and homelessness, focusing on key challenges, how policies and systems impact housing access and stability for vulnerable communities, and what jurisdictions, advocates, and stakeholders can do to better support equitable and stable housing outcomes.
Registration fee: $25 per person
Fee waivers available upon request. Send a request to:
[email protected]
Registration fee: $25 per person
Fee waivers available upon request. Send a request to:
[email protected]
Conference Presenters' Bios
Featured Speakers
Scott Wiener
California State Senator |
Senator Scott Wiener represents San Francisco and northern San Mateo County in the California State Senate. Elected in 2016, Senator Wiener has authored over 100 laws and focuses extensively on housing – including housing production at all income levels and fair housing – and on transportation, civil rights, criminal justice reform, clean energy, and alleviating poverty. He chairs the Senate Elections Committee and is Co-Chair of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus. He is a past Chair of the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus and the Senate Budget and Housing Committees.
Before his election to the Senate, Senator Wiener served as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, representing the district previously represented by Harvey Milk. He also chaired the San Francisco County Transportation Authority. Before taking public office, Senator Wiener practiced law for fifteen years, including nearly a decade as a Deputy City Attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. He also served in a number of community leadership roles, including co-chair of the San Francisco LGBT Community Center and on the national Board of Directors of the Human Rights Campaign. Senator Wiener has lived in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood since 1997. He received degrees from Duke University and Harvard Law School and was a Fulbright Scholar in Santiago, Chile. |
Thomas Silverstein
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Thomas Silverstein is the Executive Director of the Poverty & Race Research Action Council (PRRAC). Thomas is a national leader in multiple approaches to advancing fair housing and community development, including impact litigation, amicus participation, regulatory and legislative policy advocacy, and the provision of technical assistance to states, local governments, and public housing authorities. Prior to becoming Executive Director at PRRAC, Thomas was Director for the Fair Housing and Community Development Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, where he led the Project’s impact litigation docket, using the Fair Housing Act to foster the development of inclusive communities, expand access to opportunity, and fight displacement. Additionally, he currently serves as Visiting Clinical Lecturer in Law at the Yale Law School and previously taught a fair housing clinic at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.
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Matthew Staiger
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Matthew Staiger is a Research Scientist at Opportunity Insights at Harvard University, where his work focuses on economic inequality and economic opportunity. His research uses large-scale administrative data to study how labor markets, family background, and place shape earnings, mobility, and access to opportunity. His recent projects examine job displacement and long-term earnings losses, the role of employer connections in intergenerational mobility, and the effects of neighborhood revitalization on economic outcomes. His research has been covered by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, The Economist, and The Atlantic. He received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Maryland.
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Donald Whitehead
Executive Director National Coalition for the Homeless |
Donald Whitehead Jr. is a leading authority on homelessness, substance abuse, and racial equity, with over 30 years of experience and personal recovery from homelessness and active addiction. He is the Executive Director of the National Coalition for the Homeless and co-founder of Racial Equity Partners. Donald also serves on the Homeless Veterans Advisory Committee for the Secretary of the Department of Veteran Affairs. His career encompasses a wide range of roles in homeless services, from outreach to executive leadership. Throughout his career, Donald has held prominent positions, including two terms as President of the National Coalition for the Homeless, membership on the Board of Directors for Faces and Voices of Recovery, and contributions to the Georgetown Center for Cultural Competency. He has served on the State of Maryland Drug and Alcohol Policy Council and the Baltimore Ten-Year Planning Committee to End Homelessness. Donald has testified before the 107th and 108th Congress, providing both oral and written testimony, and was instrumental in the creation and introduction of the "Bringing America Home Act," a landmark piece of legislation addressing homelessness in the U.S. His work has earned him accolades such as the Distinguished Service Award from the Congressional Black Caucus and a Special Recognition Award from Congress in 2008. Read more... |
Panelists
Vasudha Talla
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Vasudha Talla is a partner at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP, where she represents clients in complex civil litigation in California and New York. She maintains a diverse civil rights practice that includes constitutional litigation and employment and housing discrimination on behalf of plaintiffs Prior her current role, she directed the immigrants’ rights team at the ACLU of Northern California, leading a team of attorneys and investigators to advance and protect the rights of immigrants. Ms. Talla is a graduate of New York University and Yale Law School.
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Scott Chang
Senior Civil Rights Counsel National Fair Housing Alliance |
Scott Chang is Senior Civil Rights Counsel at the National Fair Housing Alliance. Before joining NFHA, he was Litigation Director at the Housing Rights Center, Counsel at Relman, Dane & Colfax in Washington D.C., an attorney at Brancart & Brancart and a sole practitioner. He has litigated fair housing and other civil rights cases in the federal courts and HUD administrative process. At NFHA, he helps lead efforts to address recent changes in organizational standing law. He represented Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California in a precedent setting case that established that fair housing organizations have standing in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Fair Housing of Marin v. Combs, 285 F.3d 899 (9th Cir.).
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Lila Miller
Partner Relman Colfax PLLC |
Lila Miller is a Partner at Relman Colfax PLLC, a national civil rights law firm based in Washington D.C. In her civil rights litigation practice, Lila works on a variety of cases involving discrimination. Much of Lila’s work has focused on eliminating race- and disability-based discrimination in housing, including cases challenging such discriminatory lending practices by banks and exclusionary zoning by municipalities. For example, Lila has led two cases challenging municipalities’ exclusion of housing for people in recovery from substance use disorder. Lila has also served as counsel to individuals and non-profits challenging tenant screening practices that disproportionately exclude minority and women applicants.
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Alexia Smokle
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Alexia Smokler represents NAR’s positions on fair housing to Congress and federal agencies and leads NAR’s ACT! initiative, which emphasizes Accountability, Culture Change, and Training to advance fair housing in the industry. She led the development of Fairhaven: A Fair Housing Simulation, and Bias Override: Overcoming Barriers to Fair Housing. Alexia also oversees NAR’s discrimination self-testing program for real estate brokerages, NAR’s fair housing real estate licensure reform efforts, and other projects aimed at closing racial and ethnic homeownership gaps. Alexia serves as staff executive to NAR’s Fair Housing Policy Committee and writes and speaks regularly on fair housing issues to audiences around the country. Her 2021 cover story for REALTOR® Magazine, Repairers of the Breach, won several awards for excellence in business-to-business journalism.
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Farrah Wilder Executive Director
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Farrah Wilder is the Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit's newly appointed Executive Director. She has extensive experience as a civil rights attorney, real estate agent, organizational consultant, and REALTOR® association executive. She began her legal career at Equal Rights Advocates, where she supported tradeswomen and worked on Wal-Mart v. Dukes, one of the largest gender discrimination cases in U.S. history. She later served with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, enforcing federal civil rights laws. Farrah is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin Law School.
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Doris Ramos
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With more than 14 years of experience in the banking and financial services industry, Doris Ramos brings a deep commitment to community-focused lending and financial empowerment. Over the past decade at Columbia Bank, she has served as a Home Loan Officer, helping individuals and families navigate the homebuying journey with confidence and clarity.
Doris began her career as a teller and advanced through multiple leadership roles—including Regional Manager—before specializing in home lending. Her broad background gives her a comprehensive understanding of retail banking, consumer needs, and long-term financial planning. Throughout her career, Doris has been especially dedicated to supporting first-time homebuyers. She provides education, advocacy, and access to resources that help clients build financial readiness, understand lending options, and achieve sustainable homeownership. Her relationship-driven approach, combined with her industry expertise, makes her a trusted partner to clients, colleagues, and community organizations alike. |
Moderators
Liz Darby
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Conference Moderator: Liz Darby is a consultant who has worked with the County of Marin since January of 2015. Working primarily with the Community Development Agency’s Housing and Federal Grants Division, Liz’s work focuses on affirmatively furthering fair housing and supporting the County’s equity initiatives to address disparities and barriers that limit access and opportunities to basic needs, housing, education and employment. Her role with the County focuses on policies and practices that directly impact underserved communities and members of the protected classes.
Prior to Liz joining the County of Marin, she served as the Executive Director for the Marin City Community Development Corporation. Liz has been a Marin County resident for over 30 years, and is the mother of 2 adult children. |
DeAnthony Nelson
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Panel Moderator: DeAnthony Nelson is the Strategic Partnerships and DEI Program Manager at the California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.), where he advances diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives on behalf of more than 200,000 real estate professionals statewide. He leads strategic partnerships with key stakeholders and oversees both member-facing and internal staff DEI efforts, helping embed inclusive practices across the organization and the broader industry. Prior to C.A.R., DeAnthony helped design and implement equity-centered initiatives at the United Nations Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution, strengthening inclusive engagement and expanding equitable opportunities. Drawing on his background in strategic planning and cross-sector collaboration, he works at the intersection of business and social responsibility to drive meaningful, measurable change. DeAnthony is a graduate of Indiana University, where he studied Management, Psychology, and Political & Civic Engagement.
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Julia Howard-Gibbon
Co-Executive Director/Legal Director Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California |
Panel Moderator: Julia Howard-Gibbon is the Co-Executive Director/Legal Director at Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (FHANC). She has represented FHANC in fair housing litigation and administrative complaints and supervises FHANC’s staff attorneys in advocating for tenants and homeowners facing housing discrimination. Prior to becoming the Co-Executive Director, she was the Supervising Attorney at FHANC. Since receiving her undergraduate degree in Women’s Studies from UCLA in 2005, she has fought for the rights of tenants and those being excluded from housing, including members of protected classes. Prior to law school she was a tenant organizer at a housing counseling organization in Washington D.C.
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For more information, to request a fee waiver,
or for any special needs, please contact:
[email protected]
Thank you to our conference sponsors!
Diamond Sponsors
Ruby Sponsors
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Emerald Sponsors
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Sapphire Sponsors
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