The Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston (FHLBB) is the Keynote Sponsor of the 2024 Vermont Statewide Housing Conference. This year’s conference, to be held on Thursday, November 14, 2024, in South Burlington, will bring hundreds of Vermonters from across the state together to discuss the future of affordable housing in Vermont. This year's keynote speaker presentation, Heather McGhee, was made possible through the support of FHLBB.
FHLBB continues its leadership in community development and racial equity throughout Vermont and New England through programs like Lift Up Homeownership, which provides downpayment and closing cost assistance for People of Color. As this year’s Keynote Sponsor and through its ongoing programming and leadership, FHLBB is contributing to a diverse, thriving Vermont where everybody has a home.
Conference keynote speaker Heather McGhee is an author, national political contributor, educator, and public policy leader. She is the author of The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together, which spent 10 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and was longlisted for the National Book Award and Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. The book was adapted into a Spotify podcast by Higher Ground, the production company of Barack and Michelle Obama, in June 2022.
As a frequent political contributor, McGhee regularly appears on NBC’s Meet the Press and MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Deadline White House and All In. Her 2020 TED talk “Racism Has a Cost for Everyone” has been viewed more than 2.5 million times. She has shared her opinions, writing and research in numerous outlets, including the Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Politico and National Public Radio.
The Vermont Statewide Housing Conference, an institution of Vermont’s affordable housing network for more than 20 years, brings together a diverse array of housing professionals and community activists, including legislators, town and regional planners, advocates, developers, and bankers. The conference offers a unique opportunity to network with others interested in affordable housing formally and informally, providing space for attendees to learn about what others are doing to address the challenges of our current moment. Visit the conference website to register or to see the schedule-at-a-glance.