HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Gustova Velasquez will be the keynote speaker at the Twelfth Annual Fair Housing Conference on April 10, 2015, in Raleigh. The event, sponsored by the Fair Housing Project of Legal Aid of North Carolina and the City of Raleigh Fair Housing Hearing Board, is being held at NC State University’s McKimmon Conference & Training Center, 1101 Gorman Street, in Raleigh, from 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Prior to being confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Assistant Secretary, Mr. Velasquez was Executive Director of the Latino Economic Development Center (LEDC), a non-for-profit organization based in Washington, DC, dedicated to serve thousands of Latinos and other immigrants and underserved populations gain the necessary skills and capital to start and maintain their own businesses. Prior to his tenure at LEDC, he served for seven (7) years as Director of the District of Columbia Office of Human Rights, where he led the enforcement provisions of the DC Human Right Act, considered one of the most comprehensive non-discrimination laws in the country. He also served between 2003 and 2007 as DC’s Director of the Office of Latino Affairs. Mr. Velasquez has served in numerous boards and advisory groups at local and national levels, with an emphasis on civil rights and educational organizations, as well as issues for the advancement of Latinos in the United States. He attended the University of Pennsylvania where he graduated with a master’s degree in government administration.
Workshops at the event include: “Fair Housing and Educational Equity” and “Breaking Down Barriers to Housing for People with Disabilities.” Other speakers include:
Mark Dorosin, Managing Attorney, UNC Center for Civil Rights;
Rebecca Copeland, Chairperson, Coalition for Education & Economic Security, Halifax County;
Sonja Williams, Migrant Education Program Administrator, Program Monitoring Section, NC Department of Public Instruction;
Yasmin Farahi, Staff Attorney, Disability Rights NC:
Terry Allebaugh, Community Impact Coordinator, NC Coalition to End Homelessness;
Arnetta Adams-Brown, Housing Director, CASA
Conference includes continental breakfast and lunch.
Registration Information
Early registration (on or before March 27) is $10 for Wake County residents and $15 for non-Wake County residents.
Late registration (starting on March 28) is $15 for Wake County residents and $20 for non-Wake County residents.
Register online by clicking here or visiting http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/fairhousingconference
The program is sponsored by the Fair Housing Project of Legal Aid of North Carolina and the City of Raleigh Fair Housing Hearing Board. This Conference is funded in part through a grant under the Fair Housing Initiatives Program with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
For more information, please contact Jewette Williams by email at jewettew@legalaidnc.org or by phone at (919) 861-1883.
