All times Eastern. Agenda subject to change.

Unless otherwise noted, sessions are open to all attendees registered for the Housing Credit module.

Tuesday, January 13

Preconference programming only for HFA and Housing Credit allocating agency members registered for the Housing Credit module.

12:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Badge Pick-Up and Registration

Registered HFA and Housing Credit allocating agency members only. All other registrants may pick up their badges on Wednesday, January 14, beginning at 7:45 am.

12:30 pm – 4:15 pm

Zeffert's Java Joint Open

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

PLENARY SESSION

NCSHA Policy Update

NCSHA’s Policy and Government Affairs team briefs allocating agency representatives on key Housing Credit program developments. Hear the latest on congressional initiatives impacting the Credit, forthcoming regulatory guidance from the Departments of Treasury and Housing and Urban Development, and challenges related to the federal government shutdown and agency downsizing.

DISCUSSION LEADER
Garth Rieman, Director of Housing Advocacy and Strategic Initiatives | National Council of State Housing Agencies 

SPEAKERS
Jennifer Schwartz, Director of Tax and Housing Advocacy | National Council of State Housing Agencies
James Tassos, Deputy Director of Tax Policy and Strategic Initiatives | National Council of State Housing Agencies 

2:00 pm – 2:15 pm 

Break

2:15 pm – 3:45 pm

COMMUNITY MEET-UPS

Housing Credit Development

Allocating agency development officials share program administration experiences and explore emerging issues in Housing Credit allocation, underwriting, and development. 

DISCUSSION LEADERS
Marisa Button, Managing Director of Strategic Initiatives | Florida Housing Finance Corporation
Megan Roush, Director of Housing Development | Vermont Housing Finance Agency

Housing Credit Compliance

Allocating agency compliance officials share program monitoring experiences and explore emerging issues in Housing Credit compliance and management.

DISCUSSION LEADERS
Danielle Anderson, Director of Rental Housing Compliance | Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority
Susan Westbrook, Manager of Rental Assets | North Carolina Housing Finance Agency

3:45 pm – 4:00 pm 

Break

4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

COMMUNITY MEET-UPS

Housing Credit Development (cont.)

DISCUSSION LEADERS
Marisa Button, Managing Director of Strategic Initiatives | Florida Housing Finance Corporation
Megan Roush, Director of Housing Development | Vermont Housing Finance Agency

Housing Credit Compliance (cont.)

DISCUSSION LEADERS
Danielle Anderson, Director of Rental Housing Compliance | Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority
Susan Westbrook, Manager of Rental Assets | North Carolina Housing Finance Agency

Wednesday, January 14

7:45 am – 5:00 pm 

Badge Pick-Up and Registration

8:00 am – 8:55 am

Continental Breakfast

9:00 am – 10:15 am

PLENARY SESSION

2026 Program Outlook

Program advocates explore the legislative and regulatory landscape for the Housing Credit in 2026, including the status of the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act and other bills that could impact the Housing Credit, the outlook for annual appropriations, implications of the federal government shutdown, and forthcoming regulatory guidance impacting the program.

DISCUSSION LEADER
Jennifer Schwartz, Director of Tax and Housing Advocacy | National Council of State Housing Agencies

SPEAKERS
David Gasson, Principal | MG Housing Strategies
Mark Kudlowitz, Senior Policy Director | Local Initiatives Support Corporation
Peter Lawrence, Chief Public Policy Officer | Novogradac & Company LLP
Ayrianne Parks, Senior Director, Public Policy | Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.

10:15 am – 10:45 am

Break

10:45 am – 12:00 pm

CONCURRENT SESSIONS

Acquisition/Rehab and Resyndication Compliance

Review compliance requirements in acquisition/rehabilitation deals and Housing Credit resyndications, including specific rules on qualifying existing tenants, applying income and rent limits, documenting student eligibility, managing tenant relocation, amending extended use agreements, and applying the next available unit and unit vacancy rules.  

DISCUSSION LEADER
Cara Pollei, Team Leader of Compliance Monitoring | Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs

SPEAKERS
Dr. Lisa Furbush, Industry Principal | Yardi Systems Inc.
Ronnette Jameson-Smith, Senior Trainer | Zeffert & Associates, Inc.
Jennifer Robinson, Vice President, Tax Credit Programs | National Center for Housing Management

Strategies for Lowering Development Costs

Explore successful strategies for achieving quality affordable housing at a reasonable cost of development. Consider opportunities to create cost efficiencies in project design, incorporate cost-saving advancements in construction technology, identify savings in construction budgets, streamline underwriting and development timelines, and minimize financing and capital market costs.  

DISCUSSION LEADER
Darrell Beavers, Housing Development Director | Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency

SPEAKERS
Aaron Adams, Managing Director, Construction Risk Management | National Equity Fund, Inc.
Ivy Dench-Carter, Senior Vice President, Community Revitalization and Public Partnerships | Pennrose
James Tassos, Deputy Director of Tax Policy and Strategic Initiatives | National Council of State Housing Agencies

12:00 pm – 1:15 pm

Networking Lunch

Plated meal service ends at 12:45 pm.

12:30 pm – 4:15 pm

Zeffert's Java Joint Open

1:15 pm – 2:15 pm

CONCURRENT SESSIONS

Implementing the 25 Percent Bond Threshold

Discuss emerging state agency and industry practices implementing the 25 percent financing threshold for tax-exempt bond financed developments. Gain a better understanding of transition rules for properties with 2025 and 2026 bond issuances, the optimal amount of bond authority to provide deals, financial structuring and gap financing tactics, and carryforward and bond recycling strategies to maximize multifamily production.

DISCUSSION LEADER
Kim Golden, Director, Office of Housing Finance | Georgia Department of Community Affairs/Georgia Housing and Finance Authority

SPEAKERS
Thom Amdur, Senior Vice President, Policy and Impact | Lincoln Avenue Communities
Dirk Wallace, Partner | Novogradac & Company LLP
Alex Zeltser, Partner | Tiber Hudson LLC

Maintaining Compliance with the Average Income Test

Discuss best practices to ensure compliance with the Average Income Test (AIT) minimum set-aside. Explore policies related to tenant qualification, unit designation, project lease-up, the next available unit rule, recertifications, and noncompliance correction. Gain a better understanding of the implications of the recently released final IRS regulations implementing recordkeeping and reporting requirements for AIT properties.

DISCUSSION LEADER
Matt Rayburn, Deputy Executive Director and Chief Real Estate Development Officer | Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority

SPEAKERS
Gary Kirkman, Director of Compliance Training | US Housing Consultants
Stephanie Naquin, Director of Multifamily Property Compliance | Novogradac & Company LLP
Jennifer Robinson, Vice President, Tax Credit Programs | National Center for Housing Management

2:15 pm – 2:45 pm 

Break

2:45 pm – 3:45 pm

CONCURRENT SESSIONS

Proactive Tactics to Minimize Noncompliance

Explore common instances of Housing Credit noncompliance reported on IRS Form 8823 and best practices for identifying and correcting violations of tenant qualification rules, rent restrictions, utility allowances, physical inspection deficiencies, fair housing and accessibility findings, documentation requirements, and other instances of noncompliance.

DISCUSSION LEADER
Erica Etterling, Rental Compliance Support Manager | Virginia Housing

SPEAKERS
Jen Brewerton, Multifamily Practice Leader | Plummer and Associates
Scott Michael Dunn, Chief Executive Officer/Owner | Costello Compliance
Natalie Meador, Affordable Housing Trainer Zeffert & Associates, Inc.

Qualified Allocation Plan Innovations

Learn how state Housing Credit allocating agencies are revising qualified allocation plan priorities and competitive scoring criteria to address affordable housing supply challenges, additional 9 percent Credit authority, increased activity with tax-exempt bond financing and 4 percent Credits, development cost increases, and continued threats to the preservation of affordability in existing developments.  

DISCUSSION LEADER
James Tassos, Deputy Director of Tax Policy and Strategic Initiatives | National Council of State Housing Agencies

SPEAKERS
Stephanie Flanders, Director of Tax Credit Programs | Virginia Housing
Jessica Perry, Director of Development | Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency
Mark Shelburne, Housing Policy Consultant | Novogradac & Company LLP

3:45 pm – 4:15 pm 

Break

4:15 pm – 5:15 pm

JOINT CONCURRENT SESSIONS | Housing Credit and Section 8 Modules

Multifamily Finance Forum

Federal agency officials and affordable housing industry experts discuss financial structuring and underwriting strategies for various multifamily finance tools, including HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration program (RAD), the FHA/FFB risk-sharing initiative, USDA’s new authority to decouple rental assistance from direct loans, and other multifamily debt products.

DISCUSSION LEADER
Brian Sullivan, Chief Programs Officer | Iowa Finance Authority

SPEAKERS
Jacqueline Arnold, Senior Production Specialist, Office of Multifamily Production | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Tom Davis, Director, Office of Recapitalization | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Zachary Skochko, Senior Production Specialist and MAP Guide Lead, Office of Multifamily Production | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Karissa Stiers, Multifamily Housing Deputy Administrator | U.S. Department of Agriculture 

Proactive Physical Inspections

Explore the latest physical inspection strategies to streamline compliance site visits and noncompliance reporting. Understand implementation of HUD’s National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) and how they are impacting compliance in multiple subsidy developments. Discuss best practices to identify fair housing and accessibility violations and to provide reasonable accommodation.

DISCUSSION LEADER
Joe Prichard, Managing Director of Multifamily Asset Compliance | Kentucky Housing Corporation

SPEAKERS
Michael Bauer, Field Director of Construction Quality Assurance | Zeffert & Associates, Inc.
Andrew Bowden, Chief Operating Officer | Spectrum Compliance
Wendy Fitzhugh, Vice President, HUD Programs | National Center for Housing Management

5:15 pm – 6:15 pm 

Housing Credit Happy Hour

Expand your network as you connect with old friends and make new ones among your peers in the affordable housing community.

Thursday, January 15

7:45 am – 12:00 pm 

Badge Pick-Up and Registration

8:00 am – 8:55 am 

Continental Breakfast

9:00 am – 10:15 am

JOINT CONCURRENT SESSIONS | Housing Credit and Section 8 Modules

Implementing HOTMA Compliance Requirements

Survey the status of Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA) implementation and its impact on affordable properties with multiple subsidies. Review changes in tenant income calculation rules, income exclusions, treatment of student financial assistance, new asset calculation requirements, and self-certification rules.   

TRAINER
Steven Rosenblatt, Owner | Spectrum Seminars

Multifamily Preservation Strategies

Explore solutions to preservation challenges as affordability restrictions expire and multifamily developments in the Housing Credit, HUD, and USDA portfolios face other threats. Discuss strategies to assess the likelihood of expiring affordability, identify capital needs, optimize recapitalization financing, and manage the legal and financial structuring challenges involved in preserving at-risk properties.

DISCUSSION LEADER
Marisa Button, Managing Director of Strategic Initiatives | Florida Housing Finance Corporation

SPEAKERS
Priya Jayachandran, Chief Executive Officer | National Housing Trust
Jennifer Larson, Director of the Multifamily Office of Asset Management and Portfolio Oversight | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
James Lehnhoff, Assistant Commissioner, Multifamily | Minnesota Housing
Mark Migliacci, Vice President, Structured Finance | National Equity Fund, Inc.

10:15 am – 10:45 am 

Break

10:45 am – 12:00 pm

CONCURRENT SESSIONS

Navigating the 2026 Equity Market

National Housing Credit investors and syndicators forecast 2026 equity market activity. Learn how additional 9 percent Credit authority, an increase in tax-exempt bond deals, the phaseout of certain alternative investment options, increased caps on GSE investment, and other economic factors are impacting investor demand, Credit pricing, and development underwriting.  

DISCUSSION LEADER
Claudia O'Grady, Vice President, Multifamily Finance and Development | Utah Housing Corporation

SPEAKERS
Dana Brown, Vice President, LIHTC Investments | Fannie Mae
Joey Castleberry, Managing Director, Investor Relations | Enterprise Housing Credit Investments
Emily Chen, Managing Director, East Region | National Equity Fund, Inc.
Stacie Nekus, Senior Vice President, Head of Equity and Syndications | KeyBank
Jennifer Seamons, Senior Director, Community Finance | Capital One

Multifamily Performance Trends

Gain a better understanding of new industry data on multifamily property performance and how it may impact the asset management and operations of existing deals, as well as the financial structuring and underwriting of future developments. Explore trends in rent growth, lease-up and occupancy rates, insurance costs, operating expenses, and other performance benchmarks.
This session will be held jointly with the Section 8 Module.

DISCUSSION LEADER
Brian Miller, Director, Asset Management | Colorado Housing and Finance Authority

SPEAKERS
Jeff Adler, Vice President, Yardi Matrix | Yardi Systems Inc.
Andrea Ponsor, Chief Operating Officer | National Housing Trust
Regan St. Pierre, Director, Tax Credit Investment Services | CohnReznick LLP
Michael Rossi, Managing Director | Enterprise Housing Credit Investments