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Webinar – Disability and Housing

Webinar graphic with a blue and green color scheme. At the top right is the Disability & Philanthropy Forum logo next to text that reads "Learning Series." Below the logo are color photos of webinar moderator Miguel Santana and panelists Amanda Misiko Andere, Allie Cannington, and Dessa Cosma. Below the photos is text that reads “Disability and Housing.” The date of the event is October 5, 2023 at 1:00pm ET.

Date: October 5, 2023
Time: 1:00 – 2:00 PM ET

Register for the Webinar

Access to affordable housing is a particularly fraught issue for the disability community. Home ownership is widely understood as a key to building wealth and stability, but disabled people are significantly more likely to be unhoused and/or at risk of losing their home. As such, it is essential that we address the growing housing crisis through a disability-explicit lens. Further, we must recognize how racism overlaps with ableism in limiting housing access. Join Weingart Foundation President and CEO Miguel A. Santana in an open, honest dialogue with disability advocates about the economic disparities that disabled people encounter when trying to find a place to call home.

CART will be provided. If you require another accommodation to fully participate in the webinar, please note it in your registration, or contact us at communications@disabilityphilanthropy.org or 407-917-6864. This free webinar is presented by the Disability & Philanthropy Forum.

About the Panelists

Miguel Santana

Moderator: Miguel Santana, President and C.E.O., Weingart Foundation

Miguel A. Santana, President and C.E.O. of the Weingart Foundation, has more than 30 years of experience leading numerous fiscal, legislative, political, and community issues. He served as President and C.E.O. of Fairplex, a nonprofit community benefit regional organization based in Pomona, CA. Previously, Miguel was the City Administrative Officer for the City of Los Angeles, where he oversaw the City’s $9 billion budget and designed the City’s first comprehensive homeless strategy, resulting in a $1.2 billion voter-approved housing bond and a doubling of the City’s general fund investment on programs to end homelessness. Prior to joining the City, Miguel served as one of five Deputy Chief Executive Officers for Los Angeles County, overseeing all social service programs supporting children, families, veterans and persons experiencing homelessness.

A photo of Amanda wearing a multi-colored tank top and yellow necklace, standing in front of a framed image of birds.

Panelist: Amanda Misiko Andere, MPA, Chief Executive Officer, Funders Together to End Homelessness

Amanda Misiko Andere has spent over twenty years working in the nonprofit and public sector as a leader committed to racial and housing justice through advocacy for systemic change. Currently, she serves as board chair of the United Philanthropy Forum and board member of Equity in the Center, The Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers, and Leadership Fairfax. Amanda is a founding member and on the leadership team for the National Racial Equity Working Group on Homelessness and Housing and the National Coalition for Housing Justice. She also serves on the Leadership Council for the DC Partnership to End Homelessness and is a volunteer advisor for Fairfax County on their racial equity task force.

white queer person smiling in their manual wheelchair with short brown hair, round glasses, earrings, and a blazer.

Panelist: Allie Cannington, Senior Manager of Advocacy and Organizing, The Kelsey

Allie Cannington is a white, jewish, queer, disabled activist and organizer from the Bay Area. For over a decade, Allie has organized people with disabilities on local, state, and national levels, centering disabled people most impacted by racism, classism, ageism, transphobia, and homophobia. At The Kelsey, Allie leads state and federal policy and advocacy, which aims to create affordable, accessible, integrated, and inclusive housing across the country. Within and outside of The Kelsey, Allie’s work is ultimately dedicated to unveiling everyone’s proximity to disability and to fueling justice movements that are intersectional, sustainable, and intergenerational.

Dessa, a white woman in her early forties, sits in her wheelchair smiling. She is wearing a black t-shirt and has long blonde hair. Behind her is part of a colorful mural painted on brick.

Panelist: Dessa Cosma, Executive Director, Detroit Disability Power

Dessa Cosma is the founding director of Detroit Disability Power. She is a long-time social justice organizer, fortunate to spend her career working for reproductive, racial, economic and disability justice. She is committed to bridging the gap between disability inclusion work and other social justice efforts in order to build big, powerful movements that dismantle interlocking systems of oppression. In addition to organizing, Dessa also enjoys facilitating workshops, gardening, traveling and reading. She lives in Detroit with her partner, their cat, and copious plants.