Local News Impact Summit

For information about the 2024 Summit, click here.

The 2023 Local News Impact Summit, presented by the Charlotte Journalism Collaborative, focused on current trends in affordable housing, bringing together housing advocates, community leaders, nonprofit organizations and local journalists to navigate and discuss this complex issue and the potential solutions that exist.

Date: Thursday, May 18, 2023

See videos below from sessions. 

Location: WFAE Center for Civic and Community Engagement, 301 East 7th Street Charlotte, NC 28202

Schedule

10:00 AM – Welcome, WFAE
10:00 AM – Innovation in Affordable Housing

A panel of housing advocates and leaders will be asked what big idea they’ve seen elsewhere that really excites them. What creative solution would they love to see happen in Charlotte? What’s a big idea that could make a difference?

Charis Blackmon
West Side Community Land Trust
Julie Porter
DreamKey Partners
Tameka Gunn
Community Link
Kenny Robinson
Freedom Fighting Missionaries
James Lee
James Lee and Associates LLC, social impact entrepreneur, advocate/ adviser/ activist
Nadia Anderson
Associate Professor of Architecture and Urban Design in the School of Architecture and the Director of the City.Building.Lab. at UNC Charlotte
11:30 AM – Housing Case Study

Using one Charlotte neighborhood as a case study, how do we address key issues facing our communities like displacement and gentrification? How do we stay engaged around these issues that many neighborhoods in Charlotte face as the city continues to experience explosive growth? What can local news do to help tell the story and explain the nuances?

DJ Simmons
Reporter
Marjorie Parker
Hidden Valley Neighborhood Association
Ismaail Qaiyim
Housing Justice Coalition
Alesha Brown
For the Struggle
12:30 PM – Lunch and Networking

Get to know each other and enjoy lunch just outside in First Ward Park. Lunch will be provided by the Charlotte Journalism Collaborative.

2:00 PM – Breakout 1: Housing and Access to Services

Late last year, Leading on Opportunity launched The Opportunity Compass, a data visualization tool for measuring Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s collective progress toward improving economic mobility, measuring 33 key indicators across five areas of improvement. It emphasizes the importance that access to childcare, health resources, transportation, and education has on how we talk about affordable housing. In this session, we’ll talk about different models of partnerships and how to address these issues cohesively.

Tonya Jameson
Leading on Opportunity
Titiksha Fernandes, Ph.D.
A Way Home Charlotte, FFTC
Mark Ethridge
Ascent Housing
Stephanie Williams
Alliance Health
2:00 PM – Breakout 2: Renters Rights and Current Legislation

Many issues face renters in our market – skyrocketing rent, lack of protections, corporate owned properties, evictions. Understand current and upcoming legislations that may have an impact and what ways groups are working to protect those who rent in our city.

Lexi Wilson
WCNC-Charlotte
Jessica Moreno
Action NC
Isaac Sturgill
Legal Aid of NC

Since its launch, the Charlotte Journalism Collaborative has proven to be a successful model of investigating and reporting news with a primary focus on solutions to community problems. It has had a profound impact on the way that news happens in Charlotte and the way that our community responds to issues.

Thank you to our 2023 Summit Sponsors

The Charlotte Journalism Collaborative (CJC) was launched by the Solutions Journalism Network in 2019 with funding from the Knight Foundation, and is supported by a combination of local and national grants and sponsorships. Learn more about our supporters, partners and impact.

Since its launch, the Charlotte Journalism Collaborative has proven to be a successful model of investigating and reporting news with a primary focus on solutions to community problems. It has had a profound impact on the way that news happens in Charlotte and the way that our community responds to issues.

Sponsor the 2023 Local News Impact

Become a partner today and support the year-round work of the CJC, creating opportunities for rigorous and collaborative solutions journalism and programming.

Contact Chris Rudisill today at 980-284-2052 or email director@charlottejournalism.org.

Donations to the Charlotte Journalism Collaborative are administered through a fund at Queens University of Charlotte, and are tax deductible to the extent of the law. Tax ID #56-0530003

Watch the 2022 Local News Impact Summit

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