Workshop Summary

Learn about the San Mateo County housing element campaign, which brought together organizations from across the region, both incorporated cities and unincorporated areas, to advocate around shared goals. 

Unincorporated San Mateo County includes communities with the highest housing need in the region. As of 2023, approximately 1,600 farmworkers live in San Mateo County, most in unincorporated areas. Unincorporated areas also have a higher proportion of households with an intellectually or developmentally disabled resident compared to incorporated areas, as well as a higher proportion of lower-income and non-English speaking residents.

From farmworker housing, to incentives for housing accessible to those with disabilities, to plain old rezoning, the County’s housing element provides a roadmap for policy changes over the next decade that will benefit residents of all backgrounds.

Speakers

Moderator- Jeremy Levine

Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County, Policy Manager

As Policy Manager for HLC, Jeremy is the go-to person on planning processes including housing elements, zoning, entitlements, decisions around public funding allocations, historic preservation, encampment policies, and displacement prevention plans. Additionally, Jeremy is HLC’s liason to all statewide housing organizations, working with the policy committee and board to determine our statewide priorities. 

Hyun-mi Kim

Puente, Community Engagement and Rural Public Policy Director

Hyun-mi Kim is the Director of Community Engagement and Public Policy at Puente. She joined Puente with over 15 years of experience in working with low-income communities of color in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Pacific Northwest. Hyun-mi and has a Juris Doctor degree from Seattle University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in history from UCLA. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her beloved cat, Spooky.

Gia Pham

Housing Choices, Communications Coordinator

Gia Pham is the Communications Coordinator at Housing Choices, a nonprofit founded by parent advocates that supports individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in securing and retaining affordable housing. She champions the inclusion of people with IDD in city and county housing discussions, emphasizing the intersections of disability, homelessness, and racial equity. By engaging directly with the IDD community in her day-to-day work, she mobilizes advocates with lived experience, amplifies their voices, and strives to create impactful policy changes that improve housing access for those with disabilities.

Jess Hudson

United Way Bay Area, Manager, Public Policy

Jess Hudson is the public policy manager for United Way Bay Area, serving Silicon Valley. She advocates for abundant, affordable housing from her apartment in Millbrae.