Mike McKenna
Affordable Housing 101
Friday, July 2, 2021
6:30-8:00pm
Mike McKenna has served as the CEO of Tabor Community Services since October 2018.
Mike was inspired by the 5 decades of Tabor’s service to the community and the track record of tackling tough issues. Over the past 18 months Mike has been leading an effort to merge Tabor and a fellow strong affordable housing services organization, Lancaster Housing Opportunities Partnership, into a new united organization – Tenfold. Tenfold offers a broader continuum of services to address homelessness to affordable rental housing to homeownership, and the creation of new housing units through Tenfold Community Lending. During the pandemic, Tenfold has been instrumental in responding to the dual crises of mounting evictions and strained homeless services.
Mike is passionate about expanding economic opportunity. He believes safe, affordable housing is at the center of a thriving community. Before Tabor, he served as Chief Impact Officer at Community Action Partnership of Lancaster County, and the Director of the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program. He has degrees from the University of Notre Dame and Georgetown University. Mike and his wife live in the Lititz area with their two daughters, and are eagerly awaiting the birth of a baby boy in June.
Ismail Smith-Wade-El
Affordable Housing 101
Friday, July 2, 2021
6:30-8:00pm
Lancaster native, Ismail Smith-Wade-El is proud to serve his hometown as a member of City Council.
As a child, he attended Sacred Heart Catholic School, the Janus School in Mount Joy, and West Nottingham Academy. He attended Carnegie Mellon University of Pittsburgh, before returning to Lancaster City. Since moving home, Ismail has worked in behavioral health and drug and alcohol rehabilitation for the Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg and the Spanish American Civic Association. He worked for the Community Action Partnership as a grant writer and the lead researcher for the Commission to Combat Poverty.
For seven years, Ismail has written as a columnist for Lancaster Newspaper, overlapping with work at several universities and institutions as a research associate in the social sciences.
Lanc Co MyHome (the Lancaster County Homelessness Coalition) welcomed him to their staff in August of 2020. There, he works with a team providing housing solutions for Lancaster’s most vulnerable. Currently, he also serves on the Board of the United Way of Lancaster County, the Lancaster Public Library, Safehouse, and the Lancaster LGBTQ Coalition.
Elected to Council in 2017, he was elected President of that body by his colleagues at the beginning of 2020. He’s excited to be running again, and grateful for the opportunity to keep on serving Lancaster’s community.
Ryan Gabriel Davis
Future of Affordable Housing
Friday, July 9, 2021
6:00-8:00pm
Ryan Gabriel Davis is the visionary and founder behind The Starlight Saloon.
An LGBTQ+ art bar, social lounge, and nightclub that offers affordable and transitional housing above its establishment – Coming to Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
The Starlight Saloon will preserve a 40+-year-old LGBTQ+ business from closing and will be the only queer-owned and operated nighttime establishment existing in Lancaster City.
The affordable housing aspects of this project will provide newly renovated and modern one-bedroom apartments to low-income LGBTQ+ individuals in emergency crisis situations. In partnership with The Lancaster LGBT Coalition through the non-profit’s affirming housing program known as THE HEART. Together, they will create a safe and secure place for LGBTQ+ individuals to gain support in overcoming the obstacles presented by housing insecurities and be a part of a welcoming environment. 40% of the homeless youth served by agencies identify as LGBTQ+ according to Williams Institute.
The Starlight Saloon is live crowdfunding this project –> You can donate directly at www.gofundme.com/thestarlightsaloon
Dr. Jennifer M. Frank, LSW
Future of Affordable Housing
Friday, July 9, 2021
6:00-8:00pm
Dr. Jennifer M. Frank is an assistant professor in the Millersville University School of Social Work.
A licensed social worker in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, her research and practice interests are in poverty and homelessness. Jennifer holds a Phd in Social Work from the Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research. Dr. Frank’s practice experience has been primarily in homelessness services, including direct service, program development, program supervision, and social action. In research, she is currently studying student empathy, perceptions of poverty, community collaboration, the consequences of social and economic distance between people, and the dehumanizing effects of hyper-professionalism. She recently presented her work on social isolation with Dr. Granaruth on our local NPR program, Smart Talk. Dr. Frank is a research fellow with the Millersville University Center for Public Scholarship and Social Change. Dr. Frank is active in the community as a founding member and board vice president of the Loft Community Partnership and as a member of the Lancaster County Health Care Rights Committee of Put People First! PA.
Ben Lesher
Future of Affordable Housing
Friday, July 9, 2021
6:00-8:00pm
President & Founder of SDL Devco
Kearasten Jordan
Future of Affordable Housing
Friday, July 9, 2021
6:00-8:00pm
Co-Executive Director of SafeHouse Lancaster
Carlos Graupera
Future of Affordable Housing
Friday, July 9, 2021
6:00-8:00pm
Home is Here / El Hogar está Aquí 