Central U.P. Housing Solutions Summit
Join community leaders, developers, local officials, employers, and housing partners from across the Central Upper Peninsula for a full-day summit focused on real, workable housing solutions. This regional event will bring people together to share data, highlight progress, and advance practical strategies that expand attainable housing and strengthen our communities.
See you in 2027!
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the inaugural year of this event. You can find slides from the plenary sessions below. If you were able to join us, we hope you had a great time and left ready to roll up your sleeves. If you couldn't join us this year, we hope to see you next year!
Agenda Highlights
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National Home Builders Association
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County-level strategy sessions
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Breakouts on infrastructure, Building YIMBY Coalitions, Developer Networks, and more
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Lunch & Networking included
Meet the Speakers
Marquette County Land Bank
Antonio Adan
Antonio Adan is the Executive Director of the Marquette County Land Bank, appointed in 2024. Serving as the Upper Peninsula’s first Housing Specialist, he brings over 10 years experience in the private sector having worked for one of Chicago’s unicorn companies (SMS Assist, now Lessen) in Facility and Property Management.
In his two years at Marquette County he has been instrumental in finding solutions to tackle the housing challenges faced locally and regionally. He has won the Emerging Leader of the Year award from the National Land Bank Network/Center for Community Progress, the Home Builders Association of Michigan Emerging Advocate award, and the 2026 Regional Impact Award from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority.
AV Housing Solutions
Kyle Aho
Kyle Aho is the founder of AV Housing Solutions, a real estate operator building a vertically integrated platform focused on scaling multifamily housing through in-house construction, property management, and acquisitions.
Since starting with a single duplex in 2011, he has grown the business to 350+ units owned and operated, with a strong emphasis on controlling execution across the entire lifecycle of a deal. His team manages everything internally, from renovations and turnovers to leasing and ongoing operations, allowing for tighter timelines, better quality control, and more predictable performance. All of this effort in vertical integration to change the affordable housing landscape across Marquette County. The far majority of the portfolio has been privately built and serves a population of less than 80% AMI.
With over a decade of hands-on construction leadership, Kyle operates at the intersection of field execution and business strategy,. He is actively connecting with other operators building at scale, particularly those navigating the transition from operator-led businesses to fully systemized platforms.
109th District
Representative Karl Bohnak
Rep. Karl Bohnak was first elected to the state House of Representatives in November 2024. He serves the 109th House District, which includes the counties of Alger, Baraga, Marquette, and portions of Dickinson including the townships of Breen, Felch, Norway, Waucedah, and West Branch as well as the cities of Ishpeming, Marquette, Munising, Negaunee, and Norway.
Bohnak serves as vice chair of the House Committee on Economic Competitiveness. He also serves as a member of the Natural Resources and Tourism, Health Policy, and Transportation and Infrastructure committees.
Home Builders Association of Michigan
Dawn Crandall
Dawn has been with HBA of Michigan since 1996 and was recently promoted to the EVP of Government Relations. She is directly responsible for lobbying on behalf of the members on issues that impact education, taxation, workforce development and economic development. She is also responsible for the political operations and ensuring that legislators on both sides of the aisle are elected who support the mission of HBAM.
Dawn is also the executive director of the HBAM’s non-profit, Skilled to Build Michigan Foundation, where she is focused on Cultivating, Educating and Recruiting the workforce of tomorrow, today.
City of Ishpeming
Andrew Duerfeldt
Andrew Duerfeldt is the City Planner and Zoning Administrator for the City of Ishpeming. He is a double alumni of Northern Michigan University holding both a Bachelor of Science in History and a Master of Public Administration degree. Andrew has contributed to municipal functions including master plan implementation, permit processes, public hearings, redistricting, and rezoning. Some of Andrew’s upcoming projects include ordinance amendment revisions and future land use evaluations.
City of Marquette
Jessica Hanley
Jessica Hanley serves as a City Commissioner in Marquette, where she has been on the commission for nearly six years, including one term as Mayor. She is a dedicated community leader focused on thoughtful growth and strong, connected neighborhoods. Jessica also plays a leadership role at the Upper Peninsula Children’s Museum, where she works to expand access, create inclusive spaces, and develop innovative programming for families across the region. She is passionate about addressing local challenges through collaboration, with a particular interest in housing, accessibility, and building a vibrant community for all.
Office of U.S. Senator Gary Peters
Aubrey Moore
Aubrey has served as the Upper Peninsula Regional Director for U.S. Senator Gary C. Peters since 2021. Prior to working for the federal government, she worked in economic development at InvestUP and in the banking industry. Originally from Iron River, MI, Aubrey now lives in Marquette with her husband, daughter, and two dogs.
Highline
Bruce Moore
A founding member of Highline, Bruce has been leading the Highline effort to build a fiber optic network to over 50,000 rural homes in the Upper Peninsula. He has 39 years of telecommunications leadership experience. Highline's unprecedented project helps to resolve the significant broadband issues to rural homes who deserve the same connectivity as urban households. While building and operating over 5,000 miles of fiber optic network, Highline is also the Internet Service Provider. While not creating broadband value for the Upper Peninsula, Bruce is a 28-year registered MHSAA basketball official and proud grandpa of grandson Jett.
Fishbeck
Logan Mulholland
Logan Mulholland, Brownfield Project Analyst III with Fishbeck, has hands-on experience evaluating, implementing, and administering brownfield and housing Tax Increment Financing (TIF) projects. She specializes in translating complex financial and statutory requirements into clear, actionable analyses that support informed public investment decisions.
Logan regularly prepares Brownfield Plans and Act 381 Work Plans, develops tax increment revenue projections, and manages post-approval implementation. She has served as the primary financial analyst and contact for communities reviewing housing TIF proposals, leading internal audits of active brownfield plans, redesigning TIF tracking systems, and developing training and policies to prepare local authorities for evolving housing incentives. Her experience also includes securing and administering federal, state, and local grants, including EPA Brownfield Assessment Grants, EGLE programs, and Michigan State Land Bank Authority Blight Elimination Grants.
Michigan State University Extension
Brad Neumann
Brad Neumann is a MSU Senior Extension Educator who serves as an educational resource for local and tribal governments across the U.P in the areas of land use planning and zoning, community and economic development and general governance topics including effective meetings and civic engagement. He specializes in Placemaking, planning and zoning for renewable energy systems, climate adaptation and mitigation, green infrastructure, and zoning issues related to the Michigan Right to Farm Act and the Land Division Act.
Neumann has worked as a private-sector planner and in the capacity of a public-sector planner and has taught and conducted original research as a National Science Foundation Fellow. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and holds certificates from the National Charrette Institute and Form-Based Codes Institute. Brad holds B.S. degrees in Land Use Planning and Economics from Northern Michigan University and a M.S. degree in Natural Resource Economics and Policy from the University of Maine.
Wildflower Development
Mitch Nordahl
Mitch Nordahl is the Principal of Wildflower Development, a firm at the forefront of production-volume housing across the Upper Peninsula and Wisconsin. Mitch is currently spearheading two landmark "missing middle" initiatives in Marquette County: the 50-unit Heritage Trails development and the 50-unit+ Maple Ridge project in Negaunee. By integrating systemized construction with strategic public-private partnerships, Mitch is delivering high-quality, attainable homeownership at a scale previously unseen in the region.
With a background rooted in complex site logistics and construction management, Mitch specializes in bridging the gap between raw land and finished communities. He is a vocal advocate for the "Housing Now" movement, focusing on scalable operator models that solve the housing shortage for the 80–120% AMI demographic.
Office of U.S. Representative Jack Bergman
Jodi Ouellette
Jodi has worked as the District Representative for the office of US Representative Jack Bergman since 2024. She has a background in marketing and small business consulting.
Entrepreneur
Liisa Peterson
Liisa’s career spans extensive experience in human resources, municipal finance, and the utility industry across both public and private sectors. She held State of Michigan certifications in Public Treasury and Public Funds Investment, along with national certification in Public Finance Administration.
Liisa has been an active community leader, serving for many years on the Negaunee Township Planning Commission, Zoning Board of Appeals, and Personnel Committee, as well as a seat on the Ishpeming Downtown Development Authority.
She currently serves as the Contact Center Manager for Upper Peninsula Power Company. In addition to her professional career, Lisa is an entrepreneur who owns and operates Union Station Depot in Negaunee and The Mather in Ishpeming with her business partner, Bill Anderson. The Mather is the result of a three-year redevelopment project, transforming the historic property into a mixed-use space featuring 16 apartments, an event venue, a craft cocktail lounge, and a taproom restaurant.
Siren
Kate Pouliot
Kate is an Account Executive at Siren—a Marquette-based strategic communication firm that connects companies and communities through clear, powerful communication. Her focus is to activate communication strategy to help Siren’s clients reach their goals and connect with those who need to hear from them most. With an approach rooted in strategy, she assists with strategy and message development, media relations, executive visibility, and social media management for entities spanning professional service firms, nonprofits, municipalities, economic development organizations, and more.
Kate has played a key role in supporting both public and private sector-led initiatives with multi-channel communication strategies in order to deploy critical information to appropriate audiences, foster engagement with relevant stakeholders, and leverage a proactive communications approach to build and strengthen reputations and relationships.
108th District
Representative Dave Prestin
Rep. Dave Prestin was first elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in November 2022. He represents the 108th District, which includes the U.P. counties of Delta, Menominee, Schoolcraft, Luce as well as parts of Chippewa, and Mackinac.
Prestin serves as vice chair of the House Energy Committee. He also serves as a member of the Natural Resources and Tourism, Health Policy, and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees.
Central U.P. Planning & Development
Ryan Soucy
Ryan’s diverse experience in planning, zoning, and specialized training in community and economic development can assist communities with a variety of services and planning needs from capital improvement planning, zoning and permitting, design charrettes, and much more. Ryan is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and enjoys hiking, biking, and spending time outdoors with his family.
Michigan State Housing Development Authority
Megan Spitz
Megan Spitz is the Office of Housing Strategies Manager at the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. With over ten years of experience in affordable housing and development, she works to strengthen and create programs, policies, and projects in housing at MSHDA and across the state. Her office manages hundreds of grants, works closely with the Regional Housing Partnerships, and leads implementation of the Statewide Housing Plan.
Swadley Development
L.R. Swadley
L.R.’s contributions of custom homes and community development have been extremely significant for the Marquette area (his Harlow Farms project alone has had over a $90 million+ impact). His most significant contributions have been his service within the Home Builders Association. He served as the president of the Upper Peninsula HBAM three different times as well as its secretary-treasurer and on its board.
L. R. also became involved at the state and national level Home Builders Associations, with a five-year tenure as president of the HBAM - the first ever from the Upper Peninsula.
L. R. has served on many local community boards, and currently is on the Marquette County Brownfield Authority, and the Marquette County Building Codes Board of Appeals. He enjoys being a guest lecturer for several construction classes at Northern Michigan University, and helping young Builders and Developers.
Michigan Economic Development Corporation
Jen Tucker
Jen serves the Upper Peninsula, as well as Michigan Prosperity Regions 9 and 10, as a Redevelopment Services Director for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. With over 15 years of experience working in community development, and over 20 years of experience as a snow shoveling resident of the UP, she works to achieve Yooper status. She is armed with experience working at the local, county and state level, and has enjoyed a wide variety of other professional opportunities including wildland firefighting, instructing earth science courses, fundraising, and event planning. Jen attended Northern Michigan University for Environmental Conservation and Eastern Michigan University for Urban and Regional Planning.
Jen spends most of her free time outside in the Great Lakes State, playing with her dog Peete, watching football, and working on her house. Her passion for music and cooking keep her thinking creatively and trying new things in all aspects of her life. Jen started with MEDC in 2011 on the CATeam in the UP, and took on her role as Redevelopment Services Director in 2023.
National Association of Homebuilders
Jesse Wade
Jesse Wade, CBE, is an economist and director of tax and trade policy analysis for NAHB. His work focuses on analysis of state and federal tax data, international trade, and building materials. Previously, Jesse served as an economist in the NAHB Forecasting and Analysis Department. He holds a master’s degree in applied economics from the University of Maryland and a CBE - Certified Business Economist – from the National Association for Business Economics.
Thank you to our Key Summit Partners:
