2026 NLIHC Housing Policy Forum

2:00 pm – 6:00 pm

State & Tribal Partners Convening *

Columbia 3 & 4

Tenant Leader Session *

Columbia 1 & 2

3:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Coffee Break *

Columbia North

6:30 pm – 8:00 pm

State & Tribal Partners/Tenant Leaders Opening Dinner *

Columbia 5, 6, 7, & 8

Special Presentation
Batalá (bah-tah-LAH) Washington

An all-women drum band playing Afro-Brazilian music from the vibrant city of Salvador, Bahia

7:30 am – 8:30 am

Continental Breakfast for State & Tribal Partners and Tenant Leaders *

Columbia North

8:30 am – 12:00 pm

State & Tribal Partners Convening *

Columbia 3 & 4

Tenant Leader Session *

Columbia 1 & 2

12:00 pm – 12:45 pm

Lunch for State & Tribal Partners and Tenant Leaders *

Columbia North

1:00 pm – 2:50 pm

Opening Plenary Session

Columbia 5, 6, 7, & 8

Keynote Speaker
Renowned author and civil rights activist, Bakari Sellers, joins NLIHC President and CEO Renee M. Willis for a discussion on actions needed to address the nation's housing crisis, now and beyond. 

2:50 pm – 4:45 pm

Coffee Break

International Terrace & Columbia North

3:45 pm – 5:00 pm

Breakout 1 – An Ecosystems Approach to Housing Justice

Columbia 1 & 2

NLIHC’s State & Local Research team identifies, uplifts, and examines the mechanisms by which stakeholders at the state and local level can ensure safe, accessible, equitable, and affordable housing for the lowest income renters. In this session, we will explore the importance of using an “ecosystems approach” to advancing housing justice at the state and local level – that is, taking into account the full landscape of tenant protections and affordable housing policies in order to maximize sustained, positive impacts for tenants. We will also share the ways in which our team is enhancing our publicly available resources and research to better support ecosystems thinking.

Breakout 2 – (Closed to Press) Immigrant Advocates are Housing Advocates: The State of Immigration Rights and Housing Justice

Columbia 3 & 4

Across the nation, communities, advocates, and service providers are struggling to meet the housing needs of immigrants amid an ongoing and worsening affordable housing crisis. Immigrants face unique challenges in obtaining affordable housing, as some newcomers struggle to secure and maintain the permits needed to legally work, and many are ineligible for most federal benefits and too often met with discrimination in their new community. More recently, targeted attacks have created an increasingly hostile environment where many immigrants fear for their safety. Targeted attacks on the immigrant community also make it increasingly difficult for people to stably work, pay their rent, and fully exercise their rights as tenants. This panel will explore the ways that immigration impacts the state of affordable housing, best practices for prioritizing safety in political advocacy, messaging to counter anti-immigrant sentiments, and strategies for advocates to advance safe, accessible, and affordable housing for all. 

Breakout 3 – Higher Ground: Disaster Related Organizing at the State and Local Levels

Columbia 9 & 10

Disasters, often driven by climate change, are increasing in frequency and severity. Simultaneously, the country’s disaster response and recovery system is decentralizing, placing more responsibility on state and local governments who often do not have the resources or the experience to effectively respond. As a result, state and local organizing that integrates and advocates for equitable disaster response and recovery programs become increasingly important. This panel will feature advocates and organizers working within their states and communities to increase equitable programs, create best practices, and – sometimes – fill in the gaps of our response and recovery system themselves. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear how they can begin organizing around disaster response and recovery in their areas to ensure every disaster survivor receives the assistance they need to fully recover.

Breakout 4 – (Closed Session) 

Columbia 11 & 12

5:30 pm – 7:30 pm  

Opening Reception 

Columbia West

7:30 am – 8:30 am 

Continental Breakfast

Columbia North & West

8:30 am – 9:15 am 

Plenary Session

Guest speakers will be announced in the coming weeks. 

Columbia 5, 6, 7, & 8

9:30 am – 10:30 am  

Coffee Break

International Terrace & Columbia North

9:15 am – 10:45 am   

Breakout 5 – From the Ground Up: Building Political Will Amid Federal Disarray

Columbia 1 & 2

As the nation’s political climate grows more turbulent, state and local leaders are stepping up to build power and drive meaningful change. This session will highlight strategies communities are employing to strengthen local movements and create political will to advance solutions. 

Breakout 6 – Data, Evidence-Based Policymaking, and Democracy (This session is closed to the press)

Columbia 3 & 4

The Trump Administration seeks to reduce and reorganize the federal government with the ultimate goal of consolidating power. Our panel seeks to understand the threats this poses to federal housing data and what that implies for evidence-based policymaking and democratic participation in housing policy more broadly. Through a combination of presentations and dialogue, session participants will gain a clear picture of housing data provided by the federal government and current threats to these data, as well as a deeper understanding of the implications for housing policy.

Breakout 7 – Wide Open Spaces: Housing Advocacy in Rural and Tribal Communities

Columbia 9 & 10

Rural residents face an extreme shortage of decent, safe, and affordable housing, compounded by limited resources and geographic barriers. In the face of great obstacles, however, Tribal and rural communities have risen against extractive industries and worked to meet their own housing needs. Join this workshop to learn how Native leaders and tenant advocates are addressing the gaps left by decades of disinvestment and are strengthening their communities in the process. Speakers will discuss federal policies such as NAHASDA, heirs’ property in disasters, and strategies for building trust among rural renters.

Breakout 8 – What's at Stake for Housing on the Ballot and in the Supreme Court

Columbia 11 & 12

As the nation prepares for the 2026 midterm elections, housing advocates face both tremendous opportunities and urgent challenges. From state and local ballot measures advancing affordable housing and renters’ rights to high-profile Supreme Court cases shaping the legal landscape of voting and fair representation, this session will explore the intersection of democracy and housing justice. The session will also highlight strategies to mobilize voters ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, featuring insights from NLIHC’s Our Homes, Our Votes campaign and partners working on the ground to close voter turnout gaps, ensure voter ID access, and strengthen nonpartisan housing-centered advocacy. Attendees will gain practical tools to engage residents, build partnerships with voting rights organizations, and elevate housing as a defining election issue.

11:00 am – 12:00 pm   

2026 Organizing Awards

Columbia 5, 6, 7, & 8

NLIHC's Organizing Awards recognize outstanding achievements in statewide, regional, citywide, neighborhood, or resident organizing that further NLIHC’s mission of ensuring that people with the lowest incomes have quality homes that are accessible and affordable in communities of their choice.

Visit here for more information.

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm   

Lunch

Columbia North & West

1:30 pm – 3:30 pm 

Breakout 9 – Meeting the Moment: Strategizing to Protect and Expand Proven Housing Solutions

Columbia 1 & 2

This session will provide space for attendees to collaborate and brainstorm how we will creatively advance the housing justice movement, from strengthening tenant protections and civil rights to ensuring that both existing and new housing is safe, accessible, and deeply affordable to those at the lowest incomes. All advocates and ideas (big and small) are welcome.

Breakout 10 – Collective Voices: Leading with Lived Expertise 

Columbia 3 & 4

NLIHC’s The Collective is a cohort-based program composed of a dedicated group of tenant and community leaders with lived experience of housing insecurity who work to advance housing and racial justice in their communities. Over the program's four-year history, there have been many lessons learned and wins have been recorded along the way. Join current and past Collective members to discuss their experiences working with NLIHC and each other, how they engage in federal policy advocacy, how to help grow a housing movement that centers tenants and lived experience, and how they continue to grow housing justice movements in their communities.

Breakout 11 – Power: Use It or Lose It

Columbia 9 & 10

An Organizing Approach to Interacting with Elected Officials - There is a principle of organizing that says, “Power: use it or lose it.” Through the lens of a community organizer, this session will examine how we assert our power in meetings with elected officials to achieve our goals. In addition to discussing important considerations when planning and executing a meeting with an elected official, this session will also focus on leveraging such meetings as tools for deepening and increasing engagement among coalition members.

Breakout 12 – Getting the Narrative Right: Combating Misinformation with Research and Effective Storytelling

Columbia 11 & 12

How can we make housing justice happen through a bold, realistic vision grounded in truth? Shifting the narrative requires dispelling myths and translating complex issues into clear, compelling messages that resonate with the audience. While the housing and homelessness crisis draws media and policymaker attention, its causes and solutions are often misunderstood and distorted by misinformation. Discuss how to convey accurate messaging, reduce stigma, and debunk myths by leveraging current research and effective storytelling. Explore examples of strategies and campaigns that resonate with and engage new audiences, inspire advocacy, and encourage dialogue among reporters, policymakers, and leaders from other sectors.

3:00 pm – 4:00 pm  

Coffee Break

International Terrace & Columbia North

3:45 pm – 5:00 pm   

Closing Plenary Session 

Columbia 5, 6, 7, & 8

Speaker
Brian Goldstone, journalist and author of "There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America,” is a finalist for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction and named one of the 10 Best Books of 2025 by The New York Times and The Atlantic.

5:30 pm – 8:00 pm   

Leadership Awards Reception

Columbia

NLIHC's 43rd Annual Leadership Award Reception celebrates and honors individual leaders and organizations for their outstanding contributions to affordable housing for those most in need. 

Taking place on March 12, 2026, at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., NLIHC will honor our 2026 Housing Leadership Awards recipients: The Congressional Public Housing Caucus, Shirley Sherrod, and Protecting Immigrant Families (PIF) Coalition. 

The recipients of the Loraine Brown Resident Leader Award are: Kennetha Patterson and Linda Lee Soderstrom!  

8:30 am – 4:00 pm

Capitol Hill Day

Capitol Hill Day provides advocates with the opportunity to meet with their members of Congress to oppose funding cuts to affordable housing and homelessness programs, expand resources for vital initiatives, advance anti-racist policies, and support legislation that improves the lives of millions of low-income people.

The day will begin with an optional kickoff event at Lutheran Church of the Reformation (212 East Capitol St NE, Washington, DC 20003).

For any questions, please contact [email protected].

Stay tuned for the latest event news and updates! 

Terrace Level

NLIHC offers a limited number of lodging scholarships and travel reimbursement to ensure low-income individuals can participate in the annual Housing Policy Forum. 

For questions, email [email protected]