Committees

While the Leadership Council meets quarterly to discuss high-level updates and provide overall guidance to the initiative, the bulk of Housing Now's work is done within Committees which meet more regularly. Each member of the Leadership Council is required to serve on at least one committee, but committee membership is also open to anyone interested in actively participating in this work.

 

More information on each committee is provided below. If you are interested in serving on a committee, please reach out to housingnow@marquette.org to let us know of your interest. 

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Developer Support

Members: Jen Tucker, Anne Giroux, Travis Cross, Andrew McNeally, Craig Patterson, Christian Palomaki, and Crystal Burglund.

 

The Developer Support Committee helps projects move through feasibility, funding, and approval toward construction. Support emerging developers. Key tasks from the strategy that fall under this committee include:

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• Planning Developer Meetups (at least four)

• Planning at least one Developer Day (tours/presentations)

• Reviewing and helping update the sites prospectus (at least twice in the year)

• Helping implement the development feedback survey tool

• Helping coordinate quarterly developer/lender roundtables

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Education & Narrative

Members: Michelle LaJoie (Chair), Aaron Leppanen, Thyra Karlstrom, Tom Anthos, Deanna Johnson, and Nate Heffron

 

The Education and Narrative Committee helps build shared understanding, reduce misinformation, and normalize support for housing. Key items from the strategy include:

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• Regional Housing Summit (Spring 2026) – High early priority

• Coordinate four “Community Dialogue” sessions (in-person or virtual)

• Oversee development of a “Yes In My Back Yard” Engagement Toolkit

• Identify content for story-telling series (“How Housing Works” and “Faces of Housing Need”)

• Regularly review and recommend updates to the Housing Now website

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Policy & Advocacy

Members: Christopher Germain (Chair), Jenna Smith, Erich Ziegler, Anne Giroux, Antonio Adan, and Ryan Stern.

 

The Policy & Advocacy Committee helps encourage local, state, and federal policies that support additional housing development. Key items from the strategy include:

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• Track local, state, and federal policy proposals

• Educate the council on these issues

• Compose Housing Now/LSCP Foundation positions when appropriate

• Develop proposed housing policy or tools for consideration

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Local Government

Members: Ryan Soucy (Chair), Sean Hobbins, Ryan Stern, Jen Tucker, Dana LaLonde, Lyn Durant, Antonio Adan, and Nate Heffron.

 

The Local Government Committee helps support local governments in creating housing-ready environments and coordinating efforts. Key items from the strategy include:

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• Helping facilitate discussions around countywide permitting process alignment (especially around building)

• Overseeing the completion of at least 4 “Housing Ready” assessments for willing communities

• Overseeing the development of local development permitting packages that help outline processes and resources to navigate local processes

• Partnering with the Developer Support Committee to implement the voluntary developer feedback survey tool

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