More than 150 business, nonprofit, and community leaders convened August 4 at the Washington Dulles Airport Marriott for the 2022 Loudoun Workforce Housing Summit, hosted by the Loudoun Chamber of Commerce and the Community Foundation for Loudoun and Northern Fauquier Counties.
“What is the cost of housing? When it comes to workforce housing, it’s the cost of our economic sustainability. This is important: workforce housing is not a conversation about or an initiative around charity. It is a conversation about Loudoun’s future economic prosperity,” said Amy Owen, President and CEO of the Community Foundation, during opening remarks. “Workforce housing is a driver of community outcomes. It equals infrastructure for the future and pays serious dividends. It catalyzes jobs, talent retention, health, education, and social justice.”
Keynote addresses were provided by Todd Weinstein, Deputy Director of Virginia Department of Housing & Community Development, and Erica Sims, Co-Executive of HousingForward Virginia. A panel discussion followed with panelists Roy Barnett, Group President for the Van Metre Companies, John Lynn Payne, Northern Virginia Strategic Officer of Virginia Housing Development Authority, Carmen Romero, President and CEO of Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing, and John Wood, President and CEO of Telos Corporation and a member of the Loudoun Community Cabinet, sponsor of the Workforce Housing Now community service campaign. The panel was moderated by Matt Leslie, Land Use Coordinator with Walsh Colucci Lubeley & Walsh, and the overall event was emceed by Kirsten Langhorne of Langhorne Custom Homes and chair of the Loudoun Chamber’s Public Policy Committee.
The Summit follows the Community Foundation’s recent launch of Workforce Housing Now, a public awareness campaign addressing the workforce housing availability crisis in Loudoun County. Workforce Housing Now is supported by the Loudoun Community Cabinet and Virginia Housing. To learn more about how to get involved in the Workforce Housing Now campaign, visit: https://workforcehousingnow.org
