Compliance Attends NAHMA Affordable Housing Conference

Fern Mullen, Program Compliance Manager, recently traveled to Washington, D. C. to attend the NAHMA Top Issues in Affordable Housing Conference at the Fairmont Washington hotel. NAHMA stands for National Affordable Housing Management Association. According to the NAHMA website, it, "is the leading voice for affordable housing management, advocating on behalf of multifamily property managers and owners whose mission is to provide quality affordable housing." 

Fern learned about several crucial affordable housing topics throughout the three day conference. She heard about the Certification Review Board that oversees NAHMA programs and these speakers discussed the importance of professional ethics. Fern also heard from the Membership & Marketing Committee with speakers who recommended policies and procedures regarding NAHMA membership.

Fern's favorite session was Pearl Meyer's presentation on "Hiring, Training, and Maintaining Staff During these Challenging Times". She said that, "... the challenges we face in New England are not unique across the country. Challenges with staffing, the work load and getting in units to perform maintenance in a Covid world," are issues that everyone has struggled with.  

Fern also took advantage of the beautiful city of Washington D.C. Check out this amazing photo of her on a sunrise walk to the Lincoln Memorial!

The conference also featured a HUD Leadership and Multifamily Agency Staff Panel followed by an informative Q & A session. Fern got to learn about tactics to enhance health and housing and strategies for jumps-starting portfolio-wide connectivity to overcome the gap for residents of affordable housing. Fern really enjoyed this session because attendees were able to ask questions directly to the HUD leadership team.

In addition to awards ceremonies, the conference came to a close with a discussion on efforts to focus on energy and carbon goals in affordable housing in relation to the Better Buildings Challenge. JMC already has a strong presence in the Better Buildings Challenge. This is a "voluntary leadership initiative that asks multifamily property owners and managers to make a commitment to improving the energy efficiency of their property portfolios by 20% over 10 years, and to share their annual progress and lessons learned with the public."

The conference entailed a diverse range of topics with effective tools and strategies to improve management efforts for affordable housing. Fern had a lot to take away from this experience and she looks forward to sharing her experience with the JMC Compliance team and putting these strategies into action at our affordable properties!

Information for this post comes from the Detailed Agenda with Speakers for the NAHMA Biannual Top Issues in Affordable Housing Conference- Winter 2022. 

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