Fannie Mae announced today its formation of an expert advisory panel for its Sustainable Communities Innovation Challenge.
The challenge is a two year, $10 million initiative the company recently launched. Fannie Mae launched first of its three phases and began accepting contract proposals that will focus on developing collaborative, cross-sector approaches to advancing sustainable communities.
Fannie Mae hopes these communities will address the nation’s affordable housing crisis. Proposals will be evaluated against a predetermined set of criteria set forth in the request for proposal, and will go through multiple rounds of review, including a semi-final review by the expert advisory panel. Fannie Mae will make the final contract decisions.
“Affordable housing is not an isolated issue,” said Maria Evans, Fannie Mae vice president of sustainable communities partnership and innovation. “It requires a broad set of solutions and dedicated individuals.”
“We have brought together a stellar group of experts representing a diverse range of backgrounds and industries,” Evans said. “All will bring an important perspective to the panel that will take us one step closer to improve access to affordable, sustainable communities.”
Fannie Mae explained this new advisory panel will bring together experts in the economic department, employment and innovation. The panel will represent the public, private and nonprofit sectors. The members will provide guidance and impartial reviews by collectively selecting promising proposals that reflect the full scope of issues relevant to addressing the nation’s affordable housing issues.
“The efforts to increase economic mobility and provide affordable housing are typically disconnected,” said Lucretia Murphy, Jobs for the Future senior director. “Investing in communities’ efforts to develop a comprehensive solution for employment and affordable housing could be a game changer for residents and communities. I look forward to serving on the advisory panel for the Fannie Mae Innovation Challenge.”
Here are the panelists chosen to be on the expert advisory panel:
- Danielle Goonan, Walmart
- Carla Javits, REDF
- Dorothy Kilroy, Airbnb
- Nicolas Lopez, HCAP Partners
- Lucretia Murphy, Jobs for the Future
- Jennifer Roberts, former mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina
- Graham Schell, Home Depot
- Alice Shobe, Amazon
