Our goal in this two-part series is to inform ourselves on the interconnected issues of housing; to listen, learn and distill our collective knowledge; to identify bold actions to address our challenges; and to become individually and collectively engaged on “getting housing right.”

Housing in WNC Part II will be held at UNCA’s Reuter Center, in the Manheimer Room and additional classrooms to accommodate social distancing and table setup.  We will begin promptly at 5:30 pm (arrive early to check-in and get your table assignment), and will conclude by 7:30 pm.

Our speakers for Part II will be Matt Allen of Land of Sky Association of Realtors, Todd Okolichany, Planning Director for the City of Asheville and Jim Lowder of Homeward Bound.

The added experts who will join our speakers to facilitate small group discussions are: Scott Adams of Land of Sky Regional Council; Ori Baber, Ph.D. with Urban3; Barry Bialik, Founder and CEO of Compact Cottages, Inc. and Thirsty Monk Brewery; Robert Hoke, Real Estate Agent with BlueBlaze Real Estate Group, and Kate Pett, Executive Director of Thrive Asheville.  Members of LAF will serve as notetakers and timekeepers.  We plan to spend about an hour in small groups before closing.

After this two-part series, Leadership Asheville Forum will work with our speakers and facilitators to write and share broadly a “white paper” with a summary of Parts I and II, key findings and recommendations authored by our experts on how we can address the challenges of Housing in WNC.

Your active participation in these fora – including your personal commitments to engage when you return home – will inform our experts as they consider what to include in their recommendations.