Join NLIHC in celebrating our 2026 Housing Leadership Awards honorees: The Congressional Public Housing Caucus, Shirley Sherrod, and The Protecting Immigrant Families (PIF) Coalition. These exceptional leaders will be recognized at NLIHC’s Annual Housing Leadership Awards Reception on Thursday, March 12, 2026, from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm ET at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C.
The NLIHC Housing Leadership Awards celebrate and honor individual leaders and organizations for their outstanding contributions to affordable housing for those most in need.
Celebrate NLIHC’s 2026 Leadership Awards Honorees!
NLIHC 2026 Leadership Awards Honorees
The Congressional Public Housing Caucus will receive the Edward W. Brooke Housing Leadership Award for their work to ensure that public housing remains a stable, safe, and quality option for low-income individuals and families and serves as a platform for lawmakers to collaborate on solutions that address the challenges facing public housing. The Congressional Public Housing Caucus is dedicated to making public housing a national priority and ensuring that federal policies support the American families who depend on it.
Shirley Sherrod will receive the Cushing Niles Dolbeare Lifetime Service Award for her invaluable contributions as a national civil rights trailblazer, advocate, and global thought leader in agriculture policy and its impact on rural marginalized communities. In 1969, she co-founded the nation's first community land trust, that served as a safe haven for Black farmers who were removed from their land.
The Protecting Families Together (PIF) Coalition will receive the Sheila Crowley Housing Justice Award for their tireless fight for immigrant families’ access to quality health care, nutrition, housing, economic supports, and other public services. PIF is a non-profit organization that bridges the gap between leading advocates for immigrant rights and health and social services.
Instituted in 2025, the Loraine Brown Resident Leader Award is named after NLIHC Board Member Loraine Brown and honors a person living in subsidized housing who has shown dedication to helping tenants, people experiencing homelessness, and their community.
The 2026 Loraine Brown Resident Leader Award honoree will be announced in the coming weeks. Visit here for more information on the award criteria, process for selection, and nominee application.
Recognize these outstanding leaders by making a donation to NLIHC in their honor!
Donate to NLIHC in these leaders’ honor as an individual or as an organization.
Your donation will be recognized in the Leadership Awards Reception program, and your contribution will support NLIHC’s mission to achieve racially and socially equitable public policy that ensures people with the lowest incomes have quality homes that are accessible and affordable in communities of their choice.