The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced the inaugural members of its Advisory Committee on Affordable, Equitable and Sustainable Housing (ACAESH). The committee will provide non-binding advice to FHFA on how its regulated entities Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks can best serve as reliable sources of liquidity and funding for housing finance and community investment, including both single-family and multifamily housing.

“I thank the committee members for their willingness to share their deep housing expertise with FHFA,” FHFA Director Sandra Thompson said. “The wide-ranging factors driving the nation’s housing affordability challenges will be best identified and addressed with perspectives anchored in on-the-ground experience.”

FHFA publicly sought representatives from various fields to focus on an array of housing topics, including fair housing, tenant advocacy, single-family and multifamily lending, as well as servicing, affordable housing development, capital markets, and technology.

The National Fair Housing Alliance’s (NFHA) Executive Vice President Nikitra Bailey is one such representative.

“Nikitra Bailey is a well-regarded fair housing and lending expert and her selection to ACAESH is a testament to her expertise and longstanding commitment to advancing innovative and transformational housing opportunities for all Americans,” NFHA stated. “With her extensive leadership [in] advocating for fair housing and lending policies along with equitable community development initiatives, Nikitra will undoubtedly bring valuable insights to the committee. Her leadership will help ensure that FHFA’s regulated entities … [foster] inclusive and sustainable communities nationwide. … We look forward to her contributions in promoting equitable and sustainable housing solutions that benefit underserved communities.”

Each committee meeting will help inform FHFA’s policy development, rulemaking, and community and public engagement functions as described in the committee’s charter. Committee members will serve a term of two years and the first meeting will convene this fall.

Other members of the committee include:

• Laura Arce, senior vice president for economic initiatives at UnidosUS
• David Castillo, CEO of Native Community Capital
• Ozaa EchoMaker, leader and organizer with Bozeman Tenants United
• Ofo Ezeugwu, founder and CEO of WYL (WhoseYourLandlord)
• Lisa Gomez, CEO of L+M Development Partners LLC
• Tiena Johnson Hall, executive director of California Housing Finance Agency
• Alexis Iwanisziw, senior vice president of policy and communications at Inclusiv
• Lark Mallory, president and CEO of Affordable Housing Trust for Columbus and Franklin County
• Michael Newman, general counsel at the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety
• Pamela Patenaude, principal of Granite Housing Strategies LLC
• Sosseh Prom, national housing justice director for African Communities Together
• Janneke Ratcliffe, vice president of the housing finance policy center at Urban Institute
• Paula Reeves, president of the affordable housing division of Land Home Financial
• Sipho Simela, founder and CEO of Matrix Rental Solutions
• Debra Still, vice chair of Pulte Financial Services
• Sheri Thompson, executive vice president and head of affordable housing at Walker & Dunlop
• Eileen Tu, vice president of mortgage policy and credit development at Rocket Mortgage
• John Wiechmann, president and CEO of Midwest Housing Equity Group Inc.
• Stacie Young, president and CEO of Community Investment Corp.