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The National Association of Homebuilders recently released a study highlighting the impacts of housing costs and mortgage rates on housing affordability. With every increment of $1000 in the price of a Central Ohio home, there are 1,093 households that will no longer qualify for a standard mortgage loan. Ensuring that quality housing is available at a range of income levels is critical to supporting shared prosperity throughout Central Ohio.
Launched on April 5, NextHome:2021, a housing design competition, seeks forward-thinking strategies and high-quality housing solutions that provide greater access to housing for everyone. Learn more about the competition by visiting nexthome2021.org.
Join us for a panel discussion highlighting:
- Housing development
- Building and zoning modernization
- Local, state, and federal residential housing policies
April 22 at noon
Earn 1.0 LU|HSW
Free and everyone is welcome.
Details will be sent prior to meeting.
Speakers:
Leah F. Evans | Senior Vice President, Real Estate Development, Homeport
Leah is the Senior Vice President, Real Estate Development, having previously served as the Director of Home Ownership and Neighborhood Revitalization and Vice President of Neighborhood Strategies. Leah oversees the financing, development and implementation of Homeport’s multi-million dollar residential development and neighborhood revitalization strategies and leads business development to support the targets of Homeport’s strategic plan and increase investment and impact in Central Ohio communities. Prior to her work at Homeport, Leah served as the Deputy Director of Planning & Development for the City of Gahanna where she oversaw the building, code enforcement, land-use planning, economic development and zoning activities and managed the administrative functions of the department. Prior to being Deputy Director, Leah was the city’s first Economic Development Manager and held several positions in community and economic development with the Ohio Department of Development (now the Ohio Development Services Agency). Leah holds a Master of City and Regional Planning from The Ohio State University, is trained in Project Management and a certified Economic Development Finance Professional. She has over 20 years of experience in the community and economic development fields and is committed to building and sustaining strong and inclusive communities where everyone can succeed.
John Geha | CEO, Columbus Realtors
CEO of Columbus REALTORS® since January 1, 2020, John Geha provides leadership to over 8,800 real estate professionals engaged in residential sales and leasing, commercial sales and leasing, property management, appraisal, consultation, real estate syndication, land development and more. Since 1987, Geha has served as an Association CEO, Brand President, Senior Vice President, International Consultant and National Franchise Director, leading all functions of the largest association in Ohio, Canadian association, a national real estate brand, and national franchisor.
An accomplished speaker and author of leadership, growth and coaching platforms. Geha also has over 25+ years consulting universities, city governments, as well as the largest global corporate owned real estate brokerage and 20 of the largest privately held brokers in the U.S. and Canada. While serving as a CEO in Canada Geha created a regional collaborative relationship with Federal, Provincial and Municipal leadership, as well, several key regional entities, including a joint education initiative with Fanshawe College & Western University, Ivey School of Business.
Tre’ Giller | Chief Executive Officer and President, Donald R. Kenney and Company Realty
As CEO and Broker, Tre’ Giller is responsible for the overall direction of Donald R. Kenney and Company Realty (DRK) and all of its related companies, including Metro Development. Giller has been with DRK for over 20 years, first as a real estate agent, then as sales manager for the investment sales team. Charged with developing the commercial property management division, the company now manages over 5 million square feet of space with assets in excess of over $400 million with projects located throughout Central Ohio.
Giller is actively involved in the Columbus Board of Realtors, the Ohio Association of Realtors, the Buildings Industry Association, and is the current President of the Commercial Real Estate Development Association (NAIOP).
In February of 2012, Governor John R. Kasich appointed Mr. Giller to serve on the Ohio Real Estate Commission and currently serves as President of the board.
Moderator:
Yanitza Brongers-Marrero, AIA | Principal and Director of Housing at Moody Nolan
Yanitza Brongers, AIA, LEED BD+C and LEED for Homes, is a Principal and Director of Housing at Moody Nolan and has practiced architecture for the last 25 years. At Moody Nolan, she oversees the housing practice which includes 12 locations in the United States. Yanitza’s s experience as an architect includes civic, educational, and corporate projects but for the last 10 years of her career, she has solely focused on multi-family housing and community development projects.
In 2012 she was appointed Director of Moody Nolan’s Housing Studio and was asked to create a focused studio to grow the firm’s housing portfolio. She is responsible for leadership, management, business development, and design quality. Since then, Yanitza has developed a rapidly growing practice that includes affordable and market-rate residential, student housing, senior housing, and large-scale mixed-use developments.
Yanitza holds a bachelor’s degree from the Universidad de Puerto Rico and a master’s from The Ohio State University. Yanitza was the 2019 AIA Columbus Chapter, representing the fourth woman and first Hispanic holding in the history of the Chapter. Yanitza is a member of the Housing and Community Development Knowledge Committee and a member of the AIA Strategic Council. Also, she volunteers for other community organizations.
