NLIHC’s IDEAS (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Anti-racism, and Systems-thinking) is an organization-wide initiative to advance racial equity and inclusion in our policy analysis and strategy, internal operations and relationships, and work with external partners. IDEAS is an expression of NLIHC’s commitment to centering equity and inclusion and celebrating diversity in our work, both internally and externally. Officially launched in 2022, IDEAS has now been expanded to include new team-members and several exciting new initiatives.
The IDEAS Team
Renee Willis (she/her)
Renee is NLIHC’s senior vice president for racial equity, diversity, and inclusion. She leads inclusive and collaborative processes for the development, implementation, and evaluation of principles, goals, and priorities for building a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable organization and network in fulfillment of NLIHC’s mission and values. Renee and the IDEAS team develop strategies and mechanisms to advance this work across the organization and with NLIHC’s partners and ensure that NLIHC’s commitment to racial equity, diversity, and inclusion is woven throughout its internal policies, programs, and practices, as well as in the public policies it advances.
Sidney Betancourt (she/they)
Sid is project manager for inclusive community engagement with the IDEAS team. They are responsible for building and maintaining a network of individuals with lived experience of housing instability and homelessness and engaging them in federal housing advocacy efforts. Sid also works to increase NLIHC’s awareness of and responsiveness to pressing issues in frontline communities.
Gabby Ross (she/her)
Gabby is project manager for diversity, equity, and inclusion with the IDEAS team. She works to ensure that NLIHC centers equity in all research, policy, and advocacy by weaving into the work the tenets of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Anti-racism, and Systems-thinking. In addition to researching the latest innovations in diversity, equity, and inclusion, Gabby gathers data and makes recommendations regarding programs, initiatives, processes, and procedures and assists with the planning and implementation of the IDEAS work plan.
Sara Manandhar (she/her)
Sara Manandhar is an IDEAS intern. A senior at American University, she previously interned with the National Immigrant Women’s Advocacy Project, where she helped connect immigrant victims of interpersonal violence with accessible legal and social services. As an IDEAS intern, Sara hopes to gain the skills to become a more educated and effective advocate for marginalized communities nationwide.
Doyita Biswas (she/her)
Doyita Biswas is an IDEAS intern. A senior at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University, she has worked as an ESL instructor at English Pour Tout Le Monde, a refugee relief organization, and as a legal assistant at the Fort Bend Public Defender’s Office. She looks forward to learning how to be a more effective and intersectional advocate for housing justice through her work on the IDEAS team.
Tenant Leader Fellowship Program
This year, NLIHC expanded IDEAS by creating a new Tenant Leader Fellowship Program. Designed for an individual with lived experience of homelessness and housing instability with experience advocating for solutions to housing poverty, the Tenant Leader Fellowship focuses on broadening tenant engagement by connecting NLIHC’s work with tenant-led organizations across the country and empowering tenants to organize in their own communities and at the federal level.
NLIHC’s first Tenant Leader Fellow is Dee Ross. An Indianapolis native, Dee took initiative at age of 24 to establish The Ross Foundation, which promotes youth programs in his community. His commitment to combating racial inequities and poverty led him to found Indiana’s first tenant rights union in 2017. Not long after, he co-founded the Ross Legacy Fund, a family philanthropy dedicated to supporting Black-led social change initiatives. Expanding his impact, Dee established the first statewide tenant rights association in 2021, and in 2022, he co-founded P30, a co-working space that contributed to the launch of 300+ businesses. Currently serving on the Hoosier Housing Needs Coalition, he was elected to the Indiana Housing Task Force in 2022. In the same year, he was selected to join the Forbes’ Nonprofit Council. In 2023, Dee joined NLIHC’s leadership cohort, and, in 2024, he became the Tenant Leader Fellow, focusing on federal-level housing justice solutions rooted in lived experiences.
The Collective
NLIHC’s Collective is a group of dedicated tenant and community leaders with lived experience of housing insecurity who work to advance housing and racial justice in their communities. NLIHC collaborates with members of the Collective to inform policy priorities so that they best reflect the needs of low-income renters. The inaugural Collective (previously known as the Tenant Leader Cohort) was launched in 2022 and was made up of people across the country who had experience with NLIHC’s federal housing policy advocacy and were established community leaders. The second Collective (2023-2024) consisted of advocates from across the country with various areas of expertise and a wide variety of lived experiences, which made the cohort a rich community for crafting creative solutions and advocacy strategies. In June, members of second Collective completed their nine-month program, which was commemorated with a virtual graduation ceremony. In September of this year, NLIHC will announce the members of the third Collective cohort.
Racial Equity Cohorts
NLIHC’s Racial Equity Cohort is a group of eight NLIHC state and tribal partner organizations actively working to incorporate racial equity policies, tools, and practices into their organizations. The Cohort is convened by NLIHC’s IDEAS and Field teams to facilitate peer learning, build the capacity of partners to advance racial equity within their organizations and with external partners, and identify key themes, resources, and strategies to share broadly with state and tribal partners. NLIHC wrapped up its second Racial Equity Cohort in June after 10 months of meetings, trainings, and workshops held with housing advocates from across the country. The second Racial Equity Cohort included the following organizations:
- New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness
- North Carolina Coalition to End Homelessness
- Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness
- Colorado Coalition for the Homeless
- Coalition for the Homeless
- California Coalition for Rural Housing
- Georgia Advancing Communities Together, Inc
- Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio
Show Your Support for IDEAS by Endorsing the National Tenants Bill of Rights Today!
Tenant leaders and advocates are invited to show their support of NLIHC’s IDEAS work and our efforts to engage tenants in housing advocacy by endorsing the National Tenants Bill of Rights. Written with direct input from tenant leaders, people with lived experience of housing instability, housing law experts, and advocates nationwide, the National Tenants Bill of Rights provides a bold, legislative framework to enshrine tenants’ rights throughout their tenancy in private as well as federally assisted properties. NLIHC urges advocates – including individuals, organizations, elected officials, and candidates for elected office – to endorse the National Tenants Bill of Rights today! Endorse the National Tenants Bill of Rights!