NET-WORK | Women's Affordable Housing Network

"Working together to drive change in the affordable housing industry."

NET-WORK seeks to provide education and achievable steps through its networking platform to its members. NET-WORK will bring together organizations across the county from every field of the affordable housing industry, to learn, share and work for change with the guidance of a consultant who specializes in helping organizations assess and change their policies for more equitable workplaces.

Be part of the NET-WORK. Be part of the SOLUTION.

NET-WORK’s mission is to drive changes in the affordable housing field/industry that leads to equity for all, by providing education, active collaboration and actionable steps that will achieve equity in the areas of: pay, parental leave, closing the opportunity/gender gap, and promoting diversity, and inclusion in all aspects organizational culture, leadership and decision-making.

NET-WORK members will be expected to WORK together to identify issues impacting their ability to achieve equity in each of the core areas of pay equity, parental leave, gender gap and DE&I- not only for those who work in affordable housing, but for those we serve with our housing. Ideas and areas of need can then be shared with policy organizations who work within the policy and advocacy realm to inform new policies that will benefit our industry and beyond.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Stay-tuned, Course 4 “Taking Stock and Getting Real,” is coming soon!

CLICK HERE TO WATCH COURSES 1, 2 & 3

01

The How

Education

NET-WORK members will have access to resources, research materials, information from other partner organizations, and the ability to attend 8 specialized courses specifically geared toward our mission.

ACTIVE COLLABORATION

Mutual support, sharing of best practices, and the identification of policy opportunities.

actionable steps

NET-WORK members will receive resources, including tools they will need to assess their organizations against standard best practices to achieve such goals as equitable pay, fair parental leave policies, and DE&I hiring practices with an intentional focus on inspiring and hiring to create pathways and opportunities for our residents that would create a pipeline of candidates for our industry.

02

How to Join

If you or your company wants to be a member of the NET-WORK- simply fill out the registration form here. In order to become a member of NET-WORK you will be asked to complete 8 one-hour monthly sessions which will be taught virtually by Sarah Driver, of Driver Consulting LLC.

COMPANY SIGN-UP WHO IS READY TO NET-WORK!

03

Member Expectations

Women’s Affordable Housing Network is covering the cost through our generous sponsors to bring our members this valuable information for FREE. In return we ask that each member pledges to the following:

– Attend or watch all 8 sessions
– Attend two discussion meetings with fellow members to discuss results, best practices and policy opportunities
– Help promote the NET-WORK initiative on social media, your website or other industry events

“I believe in Equality for Everyone.” – Gandhi

04

Member Benefits

COURSES

Professionally led courses in areas of equity, DE&I, HR Policies and hiring practices for FREE (typically these classes would cost $$$)

actionable steps

Concrete actionable steps for immediate improvement in the focus areas will be shared and opportunities for Q&A with top professionals in the DE&I space will be accessible

network

Part of a national network of other organizations going through the same process- be a part of a national movement!

BRANDING

Corporate member logos will be displayed on the NET-WORK webpage and included in relevant media announcements.

NET-WORK COMPANIES

We invite you to click on the logo below of the company to learn more!

Our Expert Consultant & Creator of NET-WORK Programming

Sarah Driver

Consultant, Gender Equality in the Work Place, Driver Consulting

Sarah Driver is the founder of Driver Consulting (driverconsulting.co), a firm focused on helping companies access the benefits linked to gender equality in the workplace. She developed a method of using personalized assessments and strategic roadmaps to help companies make the practical shifts that drive sustainable progress toward gender equality. Sarah moved to Indiana from Morocco where she worked with both national and multinational companies. She earned her master’s degree in social policy from the London School of Economics. Driver Consulting provides strategic consulting services that allow companies to access the financial and cultural benefits that come with gender equality.

Our Board

Millie Davis, HDFP

National VP, Women's Affordable Housing Network

Millie Hurtt joined Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing (OCCH) in May 2014 and works in many sectors of the company including her role as Vice President of Affordable Housing Lending for Ohio Capital Finance Corporation (OCCH’s CDFI lending affiliate) where she assists the Executive Director with all aspects of OCFC’s lending transactions and reporting. Mrs. Hurtt also worked for Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation in Cleveland, Ohio, a county-designated land bank, as the Compliance and Monitoring Manager overseeing the county’s $40 million NSP 2 Grant. Prior to that Mrs. Hurtt was the ReBuild Ohio Coordinator for Greater Ohio, a non-profit smart-growth policy organization based in Columbus, Ohio. Mrs. Hurtt received her Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Economics from Kent State University and her Masters of Urban Planning, Design, and Development from Cleveland State University. She is also a certified Housing Development Finance Professional through the National Development Council.

Ashley Northcutt

President, Women's Affordable Housing Network

Ashley M.P. Northcutt is a Tax Partner for Tidwell Group in the firm’s Atlanta office, specializing in the areas of real estate taxation, not-for-profit organizations and affordable housing. Northcutt has a passion for helping those less fortunate and sharing policy ideas affecting the affordable housing industry. Northcutt has more than 10 years of experience in tax planning and compliance for multifamily real estate, commercial real estate and construction companies. She has extensive knowledge of tax credit programs at the federal and state levels, including low-income housing tax credits and historic tax credits. Her focus is partnership and individual tax law. She also reviews, implements and applies cost segregation studies. Additionally, Northcutt is a key member of the tax leadership team and excels at training, supervising and mentoring the Tidwell Group tax team. She also works with the IRS and other governmental agencies in resolving issues that impact her clients.

Chris Lahna

Chief Talent Officer & Exec VP, Dominium

Lahna shapes and focuses the company’s investment in its people, culture and performance. He focuses on all elements of organizational transformation including talent acquisition, leadership development, succession planning, organizational design, employer brand, change management, employee experience and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Lahna has a deep background in human resources leadership at American Century Investments and General Electric’s Aviation business. Throughout his career, Lahna has helped organizations transform their culture while working across functions in global roles leading talent and leadership development, recruiting, compensation and incentive design, HR business partners and the Mergers and Acquisition portfolio. Lahna earned a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Leadership and Human Resources from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and an MBA from the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University. Lahna is also a Certified Professional Coach (CPC).

Richard Hanks

COO, co-founder, MMC Consulting

Richard D. Hanks is the Chief Operating Officer and co-founder of MMC Consulting, a government contracting and small business advocacy firm. He is also the Executive Director of The FedPROPEL Institute, a small business accelerator supporting minority-led firm entering federal government contracting. Richard brings over 25 years of progressive leadership experience with roles in municipal government, entrepreneurial and corporate organizations. At FedPROPEL – whose mission is to help 10,000 minority led firms secure $15 billion in annual contracts – his responsibilities include developing strategic goals, executing operational objectives, and ensuring the organization fulfills its mission. Mr Hanks started his professional career as a financial analyst in the Mergers & Acquisitions group at Goldman Sachs, closing $2 billion in transactions.

Dominique Dove

Attorney & Author

Dominique Dove is an attorney and is a co-author of the Parenthood, pregnancy, and post-partum Army Directive 2022-06. The implementation of this directive has affected over 400 thousand Soldiers and their families. The Army Directive was so impactful, she received a coin of excellence from the Secretary of the Army for her contributions. During her career, Dominique has served in a variety of leadership positions including HHC Company Commander, executive officer, BN S3 OIC, and BN S1 OIC. Dominique also graduated as the Honor Graduate of her AG Captain Career Course in April 2017. Dominique is supported by her amazing husband, Aaron, and her toddler Ariana.

Laolu Davies-Yemitan

Principal, Five Woods Realty

Laolu Davies-Yemitan is principal of Five Woods Realty, a real estate development and consulting firm, where he focuses on implementing and executing strategies to facilitate affordable housing and comprehensive community development to serve working class families. Over the last decade, Laolu has been involved in the development of over 1,000 affordable housing units constructed through the leveraging of federal housing tax credits to attract private investment. Furthermore, Laolu has been involved with several affordable development projects leveraging supplemental federal funding sources including HOME Investment Partnerships Program, Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), and CDBG-Disaster Recovery funds. Laolu previously served in the public sector including working as Policy Advisor to a Houston City Council Member, and as Legislative Director for a member of the Texas House of Representatives. Laolu was previously owner and managing principal of Ogun Art + Wine, a wine bar establishment in Houston, TX, and he currently hosts My Brother Podcast a podcast focused on inspiring the next generation of African American leaders.

Nuwandi Trahan, CPA

Director, with Baker Tilly

Nuwandi Trahan, a licensed CPA and Director with Baker Tilly, has been with the firm since 2018. She has more than 16 years of public accounting experience. She works primarily with real estate owners, operators, developers, public housing authorities’, public-private partnerships, syndicators and investors. Nuwandi has extensive experience in audit, assurance and consulting engagements focused on the real estate industry. Nuwandi specializes in evaluating financial controls, financial statement audits of real estate owners, developers and public housing authorities. Nuwandi is a member of firm’s Multifamily Housing Leadership group assisting and collaborating with the real estate advisory team to bring together handpicked team of specialists across the real estate life cycle from concept to disposition for her clients. In addition to Nuwandi’s in-depth knowledge of technical U.S GAAP accounting, she is familiar with government and industry agencies, standards and guidelines, including the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) uniform guidance, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Nuwandi is a member of Baker Tilly’s National Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Steering Program and Growth and Retention of Women Program, she’s a member of WAHN, TECA, NAIOP, TAAHP, CREW, the Austin Chamber of Commerce, and the NHRA.