2012 Building Michigan Communities Conference

Registration for the 2012 Building Michigan Communities Conference (formerly known as the Michigan Conference on Affordable Housing) is now open! The conference is being held April 23-25 at the Lansing Center in Lansing, MI. 

This will be another exciting conference!  Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley and MSHDA Executive Director Gary Heidel will kick-off the conference at the Monday morning breakfast.  The Monday lunch keynote speaker will be Liz Murray, author of the book “From Homeless to Harvard”

We will again have the Tuesday Awards Luncheon, at which time the planning committee will again award the coveted Duvernay Award, along with a variety of awards by various planning committee member organizations.

On Wednesday, come to the breakfast and hear Anneshia Freeman, author of the book “The Lies That Bind”.  The conference will close with a keynote address at the Wednesday lunch by Bill Strickland, President and CEO of the Manchester Bidwell Corporation and the author of “Making the Impossible Possible”.

Along with changing the name of the conference, the sessions are organized somewhat differently.  There will still be a wide variety of sessions, covering the following categories:

·       Housing – Multi-family

·       Housing – Homeownership

·       Assets – Organizational Development

·       Assets – Vibrant Communities

·       People – Ending Homelessness

·       People – Assets

When you look at the session time slots, you will see some other changes from past conferences.  Rather than all sessions being 90 minutes as we typically do, there is a variety of times for sessions.  Monday will feature a number of 30 minute and 75 minute sessions, Tuesday will feature 90 minute sessions, and Wednesday will feature both 90 minute sessions as well as sessions that will go over 3 hours.  Whether you are looking for a quick introduction to topics or a very in-depth review, this conference will provide you those opportunities.

With an annual attendance of 1,600 to 1,700 people, this conference continues to provide a significant opportunity for networking, building partnerships, and spending time with friends and colleagues from across the state!

You can get the details on the specific sessions as well as more details regarding the conference in the attached registration brochure.  You can also get these details and register for the conference at www.housingconference.org.

Jess Sobel
Building Michigan Communities Conference Planning Committee Chairperson

Internal Operations Manager, Community Development Division
Michigan State Housing Development Authority
ph 517.241.0453   fx 517.241.6672