2023 NABB Housing Forum: Model Strategies to Prevent Homelessness and Attract the Homeless from the Street

Audience members will gain a better understanding of the programs to increase deeply affordable housing to prevent homelessness. They will also gain a better understanding about how permanent supportive housing with on-site medical care and psychological support helps to engage, stabilize, and heal some of Boston’s neediest populations. Audience members will also learn how housed citizens can help reduce homelessness.

Our panelists include leaders from the Mayor's Office of Housing, real estate development companies committed to providing new housing for those in need, and the Pine Street Inn, the expert organization that provides the support for our homeless and formerly homeless neighbors.

To attend, please register on this Eventbrite page.

This program is presented in partnership by the Boston Public Library and the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay (NABB).

Panelist Information

SHEILA A. DILLON

CHIEF OF HOUSING, CITY OF BOSTON

Sheila A. Dillon is the Chief of Housing for the City of Boston, and the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Housing (MOH). As the Chief of Housing, she is a member of Mayor Michelle Wu’s Cabinet, and a key advisor to the Mayor on housing issues in Boston. In her role at MOH she oversees its divisions including: The Boston Home Center, Neighborhood Housing and Development, Real Estate Management and Sales, and spearheads the City’s efforts to house Boston’s homeless. In addition, she leads the Office of Housing Stability, which is charged with protecting residents’ tenancies in Boston’s competitive real estate market, and administers Boston’s Rental Relief Fund. She also oversees the newly created GrowBoston, the City of Boston’s Urban Agriculture and Open Space which builds on the long-term work of the Grassroots Program, and has been supporting the development of community gardens, urban farms, food forests, and other open spaces through land disposition and capital funding for more than 25 years. The Mayor’s Office of Housing has a staff of 150 and an annual budget of approximately $170 million, which includes federal grants from the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development. Ms. Dillon received her undergraduate degree from the State University of New York, and graduate degrees from Pepperdine University and Suffolk University. She currently lives in Boston with her family.

BEN PHILLIPS

SENIOR VP OF DEVELOPMENT, BEACON COMMUNITIES

Ben originates new development for Beacon Communities and provides support to project management staff. Ben has been developing private assets for public benefit for over 30 years, with a focus on emerging markets, service enriched housing for homeless and other vulnerable populations, and housing and retail cooperatives. Ben has held executive positions with Develop Detroit, Mercy Housing, Project New Hope, Habitat for Humanity, and the North American Students of Cooperation. Ben is a hands-on executive, specializing in managing change and expansion in real estate development markets across the US and Canada, including business strategy and planning, talent management, fund development, acquisitions, entitlement, construction, asset management, property management, customer service delivery, and policy advocacy. 

ANDY WAXMAN

VP, THE COMMUNITY BUILDERS, INC.

Andy Waxman serves as the regional vice president of real estate development for The Community Builders, Inc. (TBC), and has been in the community development field for over 25 years. TCB develops high-quality homes for families, seniors, and people with disabilities. Since 1964, their mission-driven organization has advanced housing equity through award-winning, affordable, and mixed-income communities. Today, TCB owns and manages over 14,000 apartment homes, connecting residents with resources to unlock their full potential. Prior to working at TCB, Andy was the director of real estate at the Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation (DBEDC) where he oversaw a team which developed hundreds of units of affordable and mixed income housing, as well as community oriented commercial space. Andy also worked for eight years at the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation (JPNDC), and at the City of Boston's Department of Neighborhood Development, and at Washington Innercity Self Help (WISH), a small CDC in Washington, D.C. He has served on the boards of JPNDC and Hyde Jackson Square Main Streets. Andy holds a master's degree in city planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also earned a certificate in Non-Profit Management and Leadership from Boston College, and a bachelor's degree from Oberlin.

LYNDIA DOWNIE

PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PINE STREET INN

Lyndia Downie has served as Pine Street Inn’s President & Executive Director since 2000, and on Pine Street’s staff for over 35 years, serving in roles throughout the organization. As a result of her leadership and vision, Pine Street is now the largest provider of permanent supportive housing for individuals moving out of homelessness in New England, with 850 units of housing and a major housing expansion of 251 new units currently underway. Her collaboration with other key agencies, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the City of Boston has brought the population of unsheltered homeless individuals in Boston to under three percent. To place that in context, in San Francisco, a city of similar size and high housing costs, the unsheltered homeless rate is over 50 percent. Lyndia holds an Honorary Doctor of Social Science Degree from Boston College, an Honorary Doctor of Humanities Degree from Framingham State University, an Honorary Doctor of Humanities Degree from New England Law Boston, and an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree from William James College. Lyndia is a graduate of the University of Vermont.

MATTHEW PYNE

DIRECTOR OF HOUSING PINE STREET INN

Matthew Pyne leads Pine Street Inn’s Supportive Housing services programs, providing leadership and clinically informed oversight. His experience in supporting tenants in Pine Street programs first began when he was a clinician in Pine Street’s substance use treatment program, prior to providing stabilizing interventions in Supportive Housing. Matt’s focus on tenant-centered services and community building, in conjunction with his experience as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in private practice, inform his commitment to serving the individual needs of Pine Street Inn tenants and communities.

Moderator Information

LYNN JOLICOEUR

FIELD PRODUCER FOR WBUR'S ALL THINGS CONSIDERED

Lynn Jolicoeur is a field producer, reporter, editor and fill-in host at WBUR. As field producer, she researches, writes and edits host interview segments and feature stories on a vast array of topics for the signature early-evening news program, All Things Considered. She has developed beats covering mental illness and homelessness. Lynn has reported in depth on efforts to end chronic homelessness, the weaknesses in the system for sheltering and housing people experiencing homelessness, and the effects of the COVID pandemic on the homeless population. Prior to working at WBUR, Lynn was a television reporter for 18 years – most recently at Boston’s WCVB-TV Channel 5.

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