The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law 

proudly presents

Fair Housing Law Matters

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act of 1968, the landmark civil rights legislation signed into law on April 11, 1968, that prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental and financing of housing.

The Fair Housing Initiative at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law is marking this important anniversary by bringing together professionals in the Baltimore region’s fair housing community to examine recent legal and programmatic developments in achieving the Fair Housing Act’s purposes and to examine extent barriers to integration.

Conference presenters will discuss implementation and enforcement of the legal duty to affirmatively further fair housing; recent legal developments in litigation around the country, in federal regulatory reforms, and HUD enforcement trends; state and local legislative issues; and emerging policies or programs that promote fair housing, including implementation of the Thompson consent decree, and HUD’s Sustainable Communities Initiative program. 

The conference, which is funded in part by a grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, is free of charge and open to any individual or agency with an interest in fair housing.

Speakers:

The speakers include a mix of prominent advocates, policy experts, policymakers and community leaders from around the region, doing critical work to accomplish inclusive housing opportunities as intended by the Fair Housing Act.

Featured Speaker: David Rusk
Rusk is a noted urban policy consultant in the U.S. and abroad, and renowned author of Baltimore Unbound and Cities without Suburbs.
 

Panelists and moderators for the day include:

Stella Adams, National Fair Housing Training Academy

James Neil Bell, Executive Director, Maryland Civil Rights Commission

Peter Engel, Deputy Commissioner for Project Finance & Development, Baltimore Housing

Antonia Fasanelli, Homeless Persons Representation Project

Salin Geevarghese, Senior Advisor at HUD

Megan Haberle, Poverty & Race Research Action Council

Glendora Hughes, General Counsel, Maryland Civil Rights Commission

Michael B. Kelly, General Counsel, Baltimore Metropolitan Council 

Trudy McFall, Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition

Debra McGhee, Fair Housing Program Center Director, HUD-Baltimore

Michael Mitchell, National Community Reinvestment Coalition

Gary C. Norman, Commissioner, Maryland Civil Rights Commission

Carol Payne, HUD Baltimore Field Office Director 

Dan Pontious, The Opportunity Collaborative

David Prater, Maryland Disability Law Center

Joe Rich, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

Barbara Samuels, ACLU-Maryland 

Robert Strupp, Executive Director, Baltimore Neighborhoods Inc.

Melody Taylor, Blancher, U.S. HUD, Region III Fair Housing Director

Lauren Young, Maryland Disability Law Center

David Zisser, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

*Additional panel members will be added later.

Schedule:

Morning Panels

I. The Fair Housing Act Requirement to "Affirmatively Further Fair Housing"

II. Current Legal Developments in Fair Housing Law

Plenary with featured speaker, David Rusk
 

Afternoon Panels

Afternoon sessions have two panels running concurrently in each time slot. Particpants can choose which panels they wish to attend. 

III-A: Regional Cooperation in Fair Housing

III-B:   Fair Housing Enforcement

IV-A: Fostering Sustainably Inclusive Communities

IV-B:   Assistance Animals and the Fair Housing Act

**Lunch provided.