2010 Vision Awards
NH&RA's 2010 Affordable Housing Vision Awards will be presented at a special reception at 6:30 pm on October 18 at the Boston College Club in Boston, in conjunction with the 2010 Fall Developers Forum. We hope you will join us in showing your support for affordable housing and this year’s Visionaries by registering for the 2010 Fall Developers Forum or attending the Vision Awards Reception..
This year's honorees are:
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Tina Brooks, a Philadelphia
native and Cornell graduate received her master’s degree from M.I.T. and
immediately joined The Community Builders in Boston. After serving as the director
of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation’s Boston Office as well as a brief
stint at Paramount Financial, she was appointed Undersecretary of the Executive
Office of Housing and Urban Development by Governor Deval Patrick, with whom
she shares the philosophy that housing is not a silo, but should be linked to economic
development. With her appointment, Ms. Brooks entered an environment that
held the second oldest housing stock in the nation and needed 15,000 new
affordable housing units per year. She has devoted much of her term to
providing education to communities throughout the Commonwealth that previously
lacked sufficient housing expertise. Click here to learn more about Tina Brooks.
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Howard Cohen, a Chicago
native and graduate of Washington University in St.
Louis and Harvard Law, went back and forth between the
private practice and public sector before joining Beacon Communities LLC in
1995, where he now serves as Chief Executive Officer. Since joining
Beacon, Mr. Cohen has spearheaded the development of a diverse portfolio of
over 9,000 residential market-rate, mixed-income and affordable apartments in
seven states. A highlight of
Cohen’s tenure at Beacon Communities and a prime example of the company’s
ingenuity, and social commitment under his watch, is the Treehouse development
in Easthampton, Massachusetts, a special needs development
pairing families with foster and adopted children with seniors. Cohen devotes much of his time away from the
office to Hebrew Senior Life, a not-for-profit senior housing, health care,
educational and research organization affiliated with the Harvard Medical
School that serves 5,000
elders per year with 2,200 employees. Cohen has also served as general counsel of Massachusetts Housing
Finance Agency during Governor Michael Dukakis’s administration as well as with
the Cambridge Housing Authority. Click here to learn more about Howard Cohen.
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Edward A. Fish, who died in August
at the age of 77, was born into the construction business. He began his
career with a company founded by his grandfather in the late 1800s, which was
later run by his father before Ed took over. Throughout a career spanning
more than four decades with Peabody Construction, Suffolk Construction and
Edward A. Fish Associates, Mr. Fish had an industry-wide reputation for
effectively converting abandoned or run-down industrial spaces into livable
properties throughout the Northeast and in Florida. Each of Mr. Fish’s seven
children is now involved in the construction business. Click here to learn more about Edward A. Fish.
Vision Awards Registration
Access to the October 18 awards reception is included with a 2010 Fall Developers Forum event registration. A limited number of Reception Only registrations will also be available. To register for the Vision Awards Reception you must register through the Fall Developers Forum Online Registration System. The cost to attend only the Vision Awards Reception is $80. When you register online you will be given the option to attend only the Vision Awards Reception if you are not planning on joining us for the Fall Developers Forum. Click here for additional details or http://www.regonline.com/2010fallforum_887838
About the Vision Awards
National Housing & Rehabilitation Association instituted its Annual Affordable Housing Vision Awards in 2004 to honor affordable housing and community development leaders for their invaluable contributions and years of dedications to providing affordable apartments to American families. Our awardees continually exhibit foresight and perseverance in addressing affordable housing matters.
Honorees are submitted by NH&RA Board Members through a dynamic nomination process and are selected by a special committee comprised of NH&RA Board Members and staff. The Vision Awards are presented each Fall at a special awards reception, held in conjunction with the NH&RA Fall Developers Forum.
Click here to view a listing of previous honorees.