Educational Webinar

In July, the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) welcomed Kevin Byrd (left), Executive Director at New River Valley Regional Commission, to discuss changes in traditional services and infrastructure, emerging trends and methods to implement new approaches that help ensure services and infrastructure are not only maintained but also receive routine investments, which help communities deliver on a consistent basis and navigate unique circumstances, i.e. emergencies. Click here to check out the webinar recording, and learn more about why services and infrastructure represent the core function citizens expect of government.

Additional Resources:

During the webinar, Kevin Byrd recommended participants check out the following books / sites:

• The New Localism by Bruce Katz and Jessica A. Lee
• 13 Ways to Kill Your Community by Doug Griffiths
• saveyour.town (Idea Friendly Method)

Inspirational Podcast

As we focus on helping people and communities everywhere, DHCD was excited to welcome Becca Richardson (left), Senior Program Officer, Economic Development at LISC Virginia. Most recently, she served as the Director of Project Development for Opportunity Virginia, an initiative led by Virginia Community Capital and funded by Virginia Housing. Based on experience, the Richmond-based economic development and community finance professional views investing in neighborhoods and communities as a highly personal endeavor, and she explains to listeners how communities can better engage in the world around them throughout the podcast. Listen here!

The people in a community have the solutions. They know what they need. The community will tell you how to help them.” – Becca Richardson

Additional Resources:

Becca Richardson encourages listeners to check out the book Crawling Behind by Elliot Haspel.

Click here to learn more about his work and the book!

Ecosystems Workbook

Download the Ecosystems Workbook to reflect on the future you would like to see for your community, identify session ideas that rise to today’s needs and develop a path forward. You can also learn more about upcoming sessions!

Coming Up

Educational Webinar | Speaker: Ilana Preuss | August 11, 2021 | Register Here

Inspirational Podcast | Speaker: Lindsey Scannapieco | August 16, 2021 | Listen Here