Building Assets, Strengthening Communities
June 4 – 5, 2008 Yakima, WA
Breakout Session Presentations by Tracks
Basic Track
Asset Building 101: Spearheading Asset Building in Your Community
Explore the critical elements of an effective asset building initiative, including identifying key stakeholders, setting realistic goals, and measuring success.
Moderator: Paul Knox, Commerce
Tracy Fletcher, Northwest Community Action Center
Barb Gorzinski, Pierce County Associated Ministries - Presentation
Asset Building Tools on the Web
Many web tools exist to better help you work with clients and your community. Learn about different web tools that you could incorporate into your asset building strategies.
Moderator: Barb Gorzinski, Pierce County Associated Ministries
Cobi Jackson, One Economy/Beehive
Scott Kinney, Chair, Jump Start
Jeremy Lushene, Washington State Department of Financial Institutions
Expanding Homeownership in Your Community
Discuss how you can promote homeownership in your community. Assess your community’s current home ownership resources and determine what is needed to meet current needs of first-time homebuyers.
Moderator: Jan Navarre, Commerce Housing Trust Fund
Karen Carlson, Washington Housing Finance Commission
Linda Taylor, Seattle Urban League
Cori Bautista, Peoples Bank, Wenatchee
Effective Financial Planning and Asset Preservation Practices
How can communities ensure that its citizens have convenient access to financial counseling services? What types of services are most needed and how can they be delivered? Debt reduction, foreclosure prevention, credit repair are among the subjects to be discussed.
Moderator: Liz Myntti, Lower Columbia Community Action Program
Charlie Helms, Executive Director, Consumer Counseling Northwest - Presentation
Judy Poston, Solid Ground
Policy Track
Asset Policy and Advocacy
Learn about Washington State’s current asset policy and participate in a conversation on how it can be improved. Find out how you can advocate for changes in public policy that would help individuals and families build wealth.
Moderator: Kim Justice, Statewide Poverty Action Network
Assets Scorecard – Washington State
How does Washington rank when compared to other states on asset building? Learn about CFED’s Assets and Opportunities Scorecard measures and how you can use it to change policy and priorities.
Moderator: Kim Justice, Statewide Poverty Action Network
Andrea Levere, President, Corporation for Enterprise Development - Presentation
Microenterprise as an Asset Building Tool
Learn what makes microenterprise a viable tool for individuals and families as they move toward financial self-sufficiency. Gain an understanding of the role self-employment and micro-business plays in asset development.
Moderator: Teresa Lemmons, Washington State Microenterprise Association
Kerri Rodkey, Spokane Neighborhood Action Programs - Presentation
Mike Skinner, Washington CASH
Funding your Asset Building Initiative
Find out about cost-effective strategies to support your local asset building initiative. Identify key strategic partners by understanding their interests and resources. What are Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) and are they worth it?
Moderator: Kerri Rodkey, SNAP
Marie Kurose, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation
Paula Mahoney, WAMU
Deborah Squires, United Way of Snohomish County
Training Track
Earned Income Tax Credit Campaigns – Training
While the EITC may be the Federal government’s largest anti-poverty tool, many low-income individuals and families are missing out on the opportunities to keep and retain their earnings at tax time. Learn how you can promote the EITC and establish volunteer income tax assistance sites in your community.
Moderator: Anee Brar, Commerce
Courtney Noble, United Way of King County
Linda Limbeck, Chelan-Douglas Community Action
Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) – A skills-based Primer
An IDA is a matched savings account that can be used for the purchase of a first home, further education or start a small business. Learn how your community could offer IDAs.
Moderator: Anee Brar, Commerce
Terri Stoflet, Spokane Neighborhood Actions Programs - Presentation
Promoting Savings, Banking and Sound Financial Behaviors
Learn how your community can implement effective financial education and savings campaigns, as well as increase mainstream banking. Topics will cover savings campaigns, financial education and initiatives that promote financial access for low and moderate income people.
Moderator: Liz Mynnti, Lower Columbia Community Action
Louisa Quittman, US Department of the Treasury - Presentation
George Barany, America Saves/Consumer Federation of America, Cleveland OH
Todd Pietzsch, BECU and Bank on Seattle
Financial Education for Youth
Learn how states and communities promote financial education and how Washington State can be a frontrunner. Topics range from children’s savings accounts and financial education in schools through education for seniors.
Moderator: Lyn Peters, Washington State Department of Financial Institutions
Lisa Kanemoto, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
Dory Rand, Shriver Center on Law and Poverty, Illinois ABC
Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, Financial Literacy Private Public Partnership
Special Topics Track
Homeownership Preservation
What is predatory lending and what steps can be taken to protect potential victims. How can your organization assist distressed borrowers and prevent additional foreclosures? Learn how financial institutions and local organizations are working with borrowers facing foreclosure to help them stay in their homes.
Moderator: Paula Mahoney, WAMU
Fred Corbit, Northwest Justice Project
Arturo Gonzalez, El Centro de la Raza
Joshua Watler, ACORN
Promoting Self-Sufficiency and Assets in Public Assistance and Housing programs
Come learn about and discuss how clients receiving public assistance benefits and services can be linked to financial education and asset building by their case managers.
Moderator: Paul Knox, Commerce
Diane Christy, SHARE, Vancouver
Karen Heppler, Neighborhood Networks
Cathy Moray, Seattle Housing Authority
Working with People with Disabilities – Outreach Strategies and Dispelling Eligibility Myths
What are federal and state asset limits for people with disabilities? Do people with disabilities lose benefits when they open an IDA account or a business? Case managers and program administrators will learn about building assets for disabilities without jeopardizing their benefits.
Moderator: Abby Cooper, Cooper/Lindman and Associates
Frances Pennell, Washington Assistive Technology Foundation
The ABCs of Asset Building in Tribal Communities
Explore how asset building programs could be provided to each of the state’s 29 federally-recognized tribes. Identify potential partners, programs and curriculum that would meet tribal members’ needs.
Moderator: Iris Friday, Department of Housing and Urban Development
Leadership Track
Financial Services Needs of Low Income People
An estimated 10 million American households do not have accounts at banks and other mainstream financial institutions. As a result, these individuals pay excessive fees for basic financial services, are susceptible to high-cost predatory lenders, or have difficulties buying a home, car or otherwise acquiring assets. Learn how you can help increase awareness of these problems, promote practical solutions by partnering with local stakeholders, and bring the benefits of mainstream financial services to the unbanked.
Moderator: Soya Harris, High Cost of Being Poor project - Presentation
Sarah Gordon, Center for Financial Innovations, ShoreBank, Chicago - Presentation
Brenda Kurz, Low Income Credit Union
Brad Williamson, Department of Financial Institutions - Presentation
Measuring Outcomes in Asset Building
What are different ways to measure and report outcomes in asset building programs? How do we define success and failure, and what do we do next? How do we best tell our asset building stories and demonstrate results and progress?
Moderator: Dave Sieminski, Low Income Credit Union (LICU)
Jen Romich, University of Washington
Asset Building around the Country
What are practitioners in other states doing to promote asset building? How can those models be applied in Washington state?
Moderator: David Sieminski, National Community Tax Coalition & LICU
Sonia Klukas, US Department of the Treasury - Presentation
Dory Rand, Shriver Center on Law and Poverty, Illinois ABC - Presentation
Understanding Cross Cultural Attitudes and Values for Reaching New Immigrants
Learn how different cultures view money and how you help them reach their financial goals. Determine the best way to reach new citizens.
Moderator: Manny Lee, HUD
Toan Nguyen, International District Housing Alliance
Rosemary Sanchez-Allen, Heritage College
Roundtable Track
Roundtable Discussion – Microenterprise: Learning from Experienced Hands
Experts and amateurs meet for an open ended discussion on Micro Enterprise. This discussion will focus on how organizations and agencies can come together to support, foster and grow microenterprise programs for their communities. Be ready to share your questions and perspectives.
Moderator: Teresa Lemmons, Washington State Microenterprise Association
Roundtable Discussion – Strengthening Existing Asset Building Coalitions
Experts and amateurs meet for an open-ended discussion on strengthening current asset building coalitions. How can local coalitions be effective in meeting their goals? This session will be a forum for new and existing local coalitions to learn from each other. Bring your questions and perspectives.
Moderator: Peter Badame, Peninsula ABC
Roundtable Discussion: NW Native Asset Building
Experts and Amateurs meet for an open-ended discussion on Northwestern Native asset building. This forum is an opportunity to discuss how tribes and Native groups can foster asset building in their communities. Bring your questions and perspectives.
Moderator: Iris Friday, HUD
Roundtable Discussion: Individual Development Accounts – Washington & Oregon
Sharing best practices and challenges in program operations
Anee Brar, Commerce, Washington
Cynthia Winter, Neighborhood Partnership Fund, Oregon
Goal Team Huddles – Come find out about WABC goals teams and decide if you want to get involved.
Create a range of private and public financial products and services;
Facilitators: Kerri Rodkey, Bonnie White
Develop and promote public and lending policies for asset building;
Facilitators: Roberta Marsh, Abby Cooper
Market savings, smart borrowing and benefits like the EITC; and
Facilitators: Deborah Squires, Dave Sieminski
Expand financial literacy opportunities and outcomes across the state
Facilitators: Liz Myntti, Barb Gorzinski
Regional and Tribal Asset Building Coalition Meetings