WAHNcast

We’re closing out the 50/50 Women of Influence in Affordable Housing Summer Takeover with Joy Horak-Brown, President and CEO of New Hope Housing, in conversation with her longtime friend and fellow 50/50 honoree Diana McIver.

As New Hope Housing’s first employee, Joy helped grow an organization that began with just 40 apartment homes into one of Houston’s leading providers of permanent supportive housing, with more than 2,000 homes today. Along the way, she championed a belief that housing should offer more than shelter. It should provide dignity, beauty, quality and hope.

As Joy prepares for retirement, she reflects on the people who shaped her, the mission that became her life’s work and the lessons she hopes others will carry forward: ask for help because people truly want to give it, don’t wait until you have all the answers, start walking, and always care deeply about the quality of what you build.

It’s a fitting finale to an unforgettable summer celebrating women whose influence will be felt for generations to come.

Rebecca Louie, President and CEO of Wakeland Housing, joins Beth Baar and Ann Cone for a 50 Over 50 Women of Influence in Affordable Housing conversation about more than two decades of learning, leading and figuring things out in affordable housing.

Rebecca shares why careers don’t have to follow a straight line, why the best experience often comes from saying yes before you feel completely ready, and why genuine relationships matter in an industry this small. She also talks about giving people room to make mistakes, finding the work that truly energizes you, and choosing solution mode over blame.

Her approach to leadership might be summed up in four words: “There is no bus.” No throwing people under it. Just learn, fix it and move forward together.

Terri Lee spent years trying to run from housing. Today, the President and CEO of Atlanta Housing calls it her ministry, her calling and her life's work.

In this special 50 Over 50 Women of Influence episode, Ashley Northcutt and Ann Cone talk with Terri about the journey from Grambling, Louisiana, to leading one of the country's largest housing authorities, the mentors and family members who shaped her, and the faith that helped her step into opportunities even when she was afraid.

Terri also shares how Atlanta Housing is approaching housing as a pathway to economic mobility, why families can never become transactions or numbers, and the responsibility established leaders have to reach back and develop the next generation.

Her message is powerful and simple: the work is bigger than any one of us. Link arms, lift others and keep moving forward.

Careers rarely follow a straight line, and Desiree Francis wouldn't have it any other way.

In this special 50 Over 50 Women of Influence episode, guest host Diana McIver sits down with Desiree, who leads Capital One's Community Finance team, to talk about finding affordable housing at the intersection of finance and social impact, building a career through unexpected opportunities, and learning to network as an introvert.

Desiree shares why she encourages emerging leaders to look up, build relationships, raise their hands and take measured risks, plus why affordable housing continues to offer something few careers can: the opportunity to see the tangible impact of your work in people's lives and communities.

Eleanor White stumbled into affordable housing more than five decades ago and went on to help pave the way for countless others.

In this special 50 Over 50 Women of Influence episode, guest host Ann Cone talks with the Housing Partners, Inc. co-founder about her years at FHA/HUD and MassHousing, building her own firm, running that Boston-based company remotely from Oslo long before remote work became commonplace, and a lifetime commitment to giving back.

From serving on as many as 10 nonprofit boards at once to becoming a passionate champion of WAHN New England and WAHN nationally, Eleanor believes deeply in sharing what you’ve learned and bringing others along. As she puts it, “This is not an industry for queen bees.”

It’s a conversation filled with history, humor and wisdom about speaking up, trying new things, giving back and making room for a full life along the way.

What happens when the work you choose eventually connects back to an experience you spent years keeping private?

In this special WAHNcast 50 Over 50 episode, host Babbie Jaco sits down with Katie Goar, President of Quadel, for a candid conversation about housing, leadership, resilience and the experiences that shape how we serve others.

Katie shares how experiencing housing insecurity as a child influenced her passion for making housing systems more efficient and more human. She explains why she believes compliance and compassion can coexist, why leaders need the courage to move forward without having every answer, and how mentorship and community helped shape her career.

Babbie and Katie also dig into what the next generation of women in affordable housing needs to succeed. 

Plus, Katie gives WAHNcast listeners a look at her book, Audacity, and the idea behind it: that many of us have already demonstrated extraordinary courage without ever thinking to call it that.

It’s the kind of conversation WAHNcast’s 50 Over 50 series was created to capture: two accomplished women sharing the stories, lessons and hard-earned wisdom that can help the women coming behind them go farther, faster.

What does it mean to be a “hope carrier”?

For Beth Southorn, Executive Director of LifeSTEPS, it means helping people recognize the strength, experience, and possibility they already carry within themselves.

In this episode of the WAHNcast’s 50 Over 50 series, Beth sits down with Beth Baar to share the experiences that shaped her 25-year career at LifeSTEPS and her approach to serving residents in affordable housing communities. From her early work in homeless shelters and vocational services to developing eviction prevention, financial education, summer literacy, and community health programs, Beth has spent her career asking an essential question: Are we creating measurable change in people’s lives?

Beth talks candidly about failure, the mentors and residents who changed her thinking, the importance of listening before assuming we know what people need, and why affordable housing can be a platform for far more than stability. She also shares what she hopes the next generation of women in the industry will carry forward and the lesson she learned later in her career about patience, restoration, and making room to breathe.

It’s a wide-ranging conversation about humility, human connection, innovation, and what becomes possible when we stay at the table and choose to be the hope carrier.

When Nan McKay entered affordable housing in 1963, women had few opportunities to lead. She was once told a position was a “man’s job” and years later, when she started her own business, she couldn’t even get a credit card in her own name without her husband’s signature.

That business, Nan McKay & Associates, began in 1980 as a training company focused on the emerging housing certificate program and grew into a nationally recognized name in affordable housing training and services.

In this 50/50 Women of Influence conversation, co-honoree Beth Baar sits down with Nan to reflect on more than six decades in affordable housing, the mentors and family who helped make her success possible, and the importance of staying curious, taking chances and continuing to learn.

Most of all, Nan shares why women who find success should reach back, mentor others and help the next generation move forward.

Her message to women wondering if they’re ready for the next opportunity?

“Nan says I can, so I will.”