August 21, 2026
The Southwest Michigan Regional Housing Partnership, led by Upjohn’s Community Development Project Manager Emily Petz, is hosting a housing summit on August 25, 2026. The event is entitled “Building Capital” and will feature multiple experts on building funds for patient, flexible capital in housing projects.
The housing summit will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Van Buren Conference Center, 490 South Paw Paw St., in Lawrence, Michigan.
The summit will open with Region J housing updates, followed by presentations from speakers with expertise in capital financing and housing funding options. Speakers are:
Accelerator Funds—Gregory Heller, Partner at Guidehouse: Learn how to create financing options for affordable housing with a focus on increasing capital access for small-scale developers and nonprofits.
Community Investment Funds—Christopher Miller, CEO at National Coalition for Community Capital: Find out how these locally controlled funds allow community members to invest and support many local businesses, projects, and initiatives within their own neighborhoods.
Funding CLTs with CDs—Jackie Luedtke Borozan, Executive Director, Housing Trust of Benzie: Discover how to work with your local banks to create more flexible and affordable financing for single family developments.
Housing Millage—Willa DiTaranto, Deputy Director of the Kalamazoo County Housing Department: See how Kalamazoo County created a dedicated funding source designed to address critical housing challenges throughout the County.
To learn more about the event, RSVP, and make plans to attend either in person or by Zoom, click here.