Suzanne Gunther's blog

Asserting that reorganization is in violation of Fair Housing Act, the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey (HCDNNJ) filed an amicus brief with the New Jersey Appellate Division requesting that the Court invalidate the governor's Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) reorganization plan. The Appellate Court will hear oral arguments on February 15.

I interviewed Bernie Mazyck on his resolutions and hopes for 2012.  In addition to leading NACEDA, Bernie is President and CEO of the South Carolina Association of Community Development Corporations.

What are your New Year’s resolutions for 2012? I want to work smarter, to collaborate more with other organizations, and to be very optimistic about the future of community economic development in South Carolina and throughout the country. We’re faced with all this news about debt and the deficit and the troubled world market. Sometimes it’s hard to be optimistic about the future. But, at the end of the day, real prosperity -- real success and real change -- happens at the community level. Working collaboratively at the local, regional and national level will enable CDCs to be successful and achieve levels of scale in our work that have phenomenal impact on the economy and on family’s economic security.

I happened to sit next to Jennyfer Phillips, a recruiter for Year Up, at a social media marketing conference. She was there to learn how to get the word out about Year Up’s career training for urban young adults, ages 18 to 24. “We’re looking for motivated students without a lot of options who can see themselves in corporate America,” Phillips explained.