What Type Of Person Thrives In The Affordable Housing Industry, According To An IT Operations Vice President At EAH Housing
According to Leslie, thriving in affordable housing development requires passion, resourcefulness, and "thick skin" to navigate complex regulations, funding challenges, and negative public perceptions; EAH Housing, where Leslie is the VP, IT Operations, focuses on high quality and design to combat the misperception that "we're not here just to put up four walls."
Passion, Resourcefulness, Resilience, Communication, Industry Realities
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Leslie Dabi
VP, IT Operations
EAH Housing (EAH Inc.)
UC Davis
Purdue Global University: MS Information Technology
Spanish & Other Languages, International Relations & Affairs
Nonprofit, Foundations & Grantmaking, Real Estate
Cyber Security and IT
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. Passion is crucial: A genuine passion for affordable housing is essential to navigate the challenges of the industry.
2. Resourcefulness is key: The industry requires resourcefulness in securing funding from multiple organizations due to the high costs associated with building and acquiring land for affordable housing.
3. Thick skin is necessary: Individuals need to be thick-skinned to overcome negative perceptions and resistance from communities when proposing new affordable housing projects, effectively communicating the mission and quality of the developments.
Transcript
Who thrives in industry?
How would you describe people who typically thrive in this industry? I think you just need to be passionate, resourceful, and overall, just thick-skinned.
It's not easy building affordable housing. There are a lot of regulations. Some cities are only meeting the minimum requirements. Our city only has to put in so much affordable housing. So when we try to solicit more, they just kind of step back. That's really difficult.
Being resourceful is also critical because it takes a lot of money to build apartments and buy the land. We're working with multiple organizations and getting multiple funding sources to build these apartments.
And then, being thick-skinned is important too. People have this perception of affordable housing. When you come into their neighborhoods saying you want to build, you'll get people saying things like it's going to bring crime or that it's too much. They have this strange perception.
When I say thick-skinned, it's about understanding that people will try to push you down in your mission. You have to be able to speak intelligently and thoughtfully about what our mission is, what we do, and the quality of our designs. We want them to look just like the surrounding areas. We're not here just to put up four walls and collect a ton of rent.
So, being resourceful, passionate, and thick-skinned are critical skills to have when you're doing this type of work.