What do we need to make affordable housing happen?  Why are our communities so segregated? And who gets to live in affordable housing, anyway? 

These are the areas we will explore at an entry level. This interactive workshop is for people who care, but have questions!

After a brief introduction and overview of “How to Make Affordable Housing Happen” participants will be invited to visit tables where they can learn more about “The History of Segregation and Scarcity”, play a game that explores “Who Needs an Affordable Home?”, what kind of “Land” is good for building affordable homes, where does the “Money” come from?, and how do we build the “Public Will” to “Make Affordable Homes Happen”?

As one of Menlo Together’s brand new volunteer housing advocates said about this workshop, “You Don’t Have to Be an Expert to Get Involved”

Moderator

Frankie Ensler- Community Advocate, Menlo Together

Born and raised in California’s Central Valley, Frankie Enzler has been living in the Bay Area for the past decade. They currently work as a substitute teacher and are pursuing a Masters in Education and Teaching Credential. Frankie is new to housing advocacy and a recent addition to the Menlo Park community. When relocating for their partner’s job, they were looking for a home that was walking distance from Caltrain, a grocery store, and a library, which landed them in Menlo Park. The search for an affordable apartment and the tensions in their new community regarding affordable housing led them to get involved with Menlo Together. Their time with Menlo Together has taught them that you do not need to be an expert to get involved and anyone can make change in their community.

Speakers

Meg McGraw-Sherer, Senior Director, Financial Consulting – Peninsula Region, California Housing Partnership

Meg McGraw-Scherer joined the California Housing Partnership in 2000 and has more than 25 years of experience in affordable housing finance and development. As Senior Director, Financial Consulting – Peninsula Region, she provides financial consulting and technical assistance to our nonprofit and public agency partners in Northern California. Meg has expertise in structuring financing packages for projects utilizing Low Income Housing Tax Credits, tax-exempt bonds, as well as multiple public funding programs administered at the local, state, and federal level. She helps her nonprofit clients finance new construction and acquisition/rehabilitation projects serving families, seniors, and special needs populations. 

Meg received a Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington in Seattle and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston College. She has served as a board member on the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County since 2017 and Housing Trust Silicon Valley since 2020. She was previously a board member of the California Reinvestment Coalition from 2002-2007 and a member of the City of Menlo Park’s Housing Commission from 2016-2020.

Ken Chan, Senior Organizer, Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County

Ken is HLC’s Senior Organizer. In this role, Ken oversees HLC’s Endorsement Committee and has successfully advocated for the creation of 6,314 homes (2,111 affordable) throughout San Mateo County. Managing HLC’s Policy Committee, Ken works to build a strong coalition of San Mateo County-based housing leaders by bringing together a broad coalition of housing experts and community members with lived experience to discuss, learn, and recommend endorsement of local and state policies that make it easier to build affordable homes. At the regional level, Ken has advocated for a more equitable distribution of the Bay Area’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) numbers, works to increase awareness and to hold our cities accountable to the Surplus Lands Act, and was the San Mateo County lead advocate for the proposed $20 billion regional housing bond. Finally, in his efforts to bring in and help develop more People of Color (POC) with lived experience to the non-profit affordable housing profession, Ken has helped HLC’s local partners in their hiring process as well as successfully recruiting seven (6 POC) current and former HLC Staff. 

Marlene Santoyo, Organizer, Menlo Together

Marlene Santoyo was raised in East Palo Alto and is a graduate of UC Riverside, where she majored in Sustainability Studies. She is deeply committed to advancing environmental justice, racial equity, and affordable housing working at the intersection of these issues to ensure safe and healthy environments, both in the natural world and in the conditions where people live.

Since 2021, Marlene has been involved with Menlo Together and Belle Haven Empowered (BHE), a project of Menlo Together created by Belle Haven residents to strengthen civic education and increase active participation in City of Menlo Park decisions impacting the neighborhood. Belle Haven, the city’s most diverse neighborhood, has a unique history: annexed to Menlo Park in 1949,isolated by the construction of highway 101 in the 1950s, and segregated through blockbusting tactics and now experiencing gentrification and displacement.

Marlene’s work includes supporting the update of the Housing Element with an environmental justice lens to advance affordable housing and anti-displacement goals. She has also helped host tenant “Know Your Rights” workshops, organized volunteers, and assisted residents with affordable housing applications grounded in a commitment to equity and inclusion, centering the voices of historically underserved communities.

Karen Grove, Co-Founder, Menlo Together

Karen was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, and has lived in Menlo Park since 1997. She chairs her family’s foundation, The Grove Foundation, which works on intersectional social justice issues. In 2017 Karen attended a City Council meeting about becoming a Sanctuary City and happened to hear a presentation by the Housing Commission. At that meeting, she realized that all of the national social justice issues she cared about nationally were playing out in her small city. She joined the Housing Commission, read “Evicted” and “The Color of Law” and got hooked on housing advocacy.  

Karen co-founded Menlo Together, a diverse group of advocates who envision a city that is integrated and diverse, multi-generational and environmentally sustainable and leads the housing efforts. The north star for Karen’s work with Menlo Together is to see new affordable homes built in the center of Menlo Park near public transit, shops and parks, great schools and walkable bikeable spaces.