Lorena D. McDowell, Director, Housing Affordability & Community Revitalization for Wake County and Ashley Lommers-Johnson, Chief Executive Officer for the Raleigh Housing authority will speak on homelessness and lack of affordable housing in Wake County, how their respective organizations address these issues, the challenges they face, and potential solutions. There will be time for the audience to ask questions and offer perspective.
This event is open to the public. Zoom link will be provided in the registration confirmation. PLEASE RETAIN YOUR REGISTRATION CONFIRMATION.
Speakers
Lorena McDowell
Lorena McDowell leads Wake County’s Department of Affordable Housing & Community Revitalization. Here, she and her team are responsible for leading the charge on a wide array of affordable housing efforts, including homeless services, permanent supportive housing and multimillion-dollar annual investment in affordable housing development.
Prior to her work with Wake County, Lorena served as vice president of programs for the largest human service agency in northern Virginia and as a deputy director in Atlanta under Mayor Kasim Reed. In Atlanta, Lorena’s work was specifically focused on retooling the Atlanta Homelessness Continuum of Care system that ultimately resulted in a significant reduction in the number of residents experiencing homelessness in the Atlanta metropolitan area.
Ashley Lommers-Johnson
Ashley Lommers-Johnson has served as the Chief Executive Officer for the Raleigh Housing authority since April 2023. Prior to this position, he served over 10 years as the Executive Director of the Housing Authority of the City of Everett, Washington. Before coming to Everett, Ashley served approximately 7 years as the Associate Deputy Executive Director, Housing Operations, with the Housing Authority of Baltimore City. He also spent time with the King County and Seattle Housing Authorities earlier in his career.
Ashley grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, where he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Cape Town. He also holds a Master of Arts Degree in Linguistics from Northwestern University and a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Affairs.