Minnesota NAHRO 2026 Annual Conference

Rental Assistance Vouchers (HCV & BIH) Track Speakers & Sessions

Wednesday, October 7, 2026

1:30pm – Connecting Programs and Properties: Strategies for Engagement and Outreach with speakers Emajean Handson-Ford and Katie Kline: Learn innovative strategies and practical approaches to connecting with rental property owners and managers in your community. This session will explore how different agencies effectively engage landlords to strengthen existing partnerships, provide eduction, and encourage participation in housing programs.

3:15pm – Shortfall Roundtable: Housing authorities across the country continue to navigate funding uncertainties and HAP shortfalls. Join colleagues from around Minnesota for a roundtable discussion focused on current funding challenges, shortfall management strategies, administrative considerations, and lessons learned. This participant-driven session provides an opportunity to share experiences, ask questions, exchange ideas, and discuss practical approaches to maintaining program stability in a changing funding environment.

Thursday, October 8, 2026

8:30am – Update from National NAHRO – Hot Topics from Washington, DC: Tushar Gurjal, Senior Policy Manager with the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) will share updates on the current issues impacting many HUD programs including Public Housing, Housing Choice Vouchers, and what to expect for fiscal year 2027 appropriations.

10:15am – HOTMA Is Here – Be Sure Your Implementation Is On Target with Tushar Gurjal, National NAHRO: We know you have started to put your HOTMA implementation plans into action. But ofter then means you realize that you have questions, HUD guidance is unclear or you have multiple options to consider. Join us for this implementation focused session with a national expert that will be highly interactive. So bring your questions!

1:30pm – Bring It Home Program: Monitoring and Disbursement with speakers Shannon Fortune and Terese Fritchman: Compliance Quest: Joine staff from Minnesota Housing for an interactive session on financial reconciliation and monitoring basics for the Bring It Home Rental Assistance Program. Attendees can expect to learn more about compliance requirements, important timelines, and documentation essentials, while sharing best practices and lessons learned from the field.

3:15pm – Bring It Home Program: Lessons Learned During the First Year of Implementation with speakers Peter Elwell, Cassi Reissman-Doring, and Dani Salus: This session will be an open discussion with Bring It Home Program Administrators about the first year of program implmentation, sharing challenges and opptunities about waitlist management, income and eligibility determinations, voucher issuance and placement, and more!

Friday, October 9, 2026

9am – Ask The Attorney with Marry Dobbins: This session is always informative and ensures you know the recent judicial decisions and administrative action that will impact your housing authority. Join us for this seesion with insight from our legal expert on shifts in administration as it relates to landlord tenant issues, program management and agency requirements.,

10:30am – HOTMA Implementation Round Table: Gather with your peers to discuss your implementation of HOTMA. This session will provide an opportunity to discuss concerns or answer questions you have regarding your HOTMA policies and allows for the exchange of knowledge and ideas.

Administration & Managment Track Speakers & Sessions

Wednesday, October 7, 2026

1:30pm – Voucher Updates and VMS with speaker Angie Campbell, Hawkins Ash CPAs: This session will cover how to read your Voucher financials including the difference between Restricted (HAP) and Unrestricted (Admin) accounts. We will discuss the VMS and how to tie that into the general ledger in the financials.

3:15pm – Financial Management 101 with speaker Angie Campbell, Hawkins Ash CPAs: This session will cover how to read a basic finanical statement including a balance sheet and income statement. We will also go over fixed assets and capitalization policies.

Thursday, October 8, 2026

8:30am – Cash Management for Housing Authorities with speaker Angie Campbell, Hawkins Ash CPAs: This session will cover the new guidelines for Cash Management for Operating Subsidy within Public Housing programs. This session will go over what we know from the little guidance HUD has given us. We will also go through the logistics of keeping track of the income and expenses per 2026 implementation.

10:15am – Financial Hot Topics with speaker Angie Campbell, Hawkins Ash CPAs: This session will touch on the implementation of GASB 103 – Financial Reporting Model Improvements. We will also go through the implementation of interest due back to HUD from Federal programs.

1:30pm – Connect & Comply: The New Digital Front Door for HRAs with speakers Allison Streich and Taggert Medgaarden: Join Allison & Taggert for an interactive session exploring how HRAs can strengthen community engagement through effective social media and website marketing while preparing for upcoming government website accessibility and compliance requirements.

3:15pm – AI is Here! What It Can & Can’t Do for Your HRA with panelists Sue Speakman-Gomez, Shanika Bumphurs, and Alyssa Soderlund:AI touches many parts of our lives but it is hard to know how it can be an asset to our work environment rather than a detriment. Our panelists will discuss how they utilize AI, how it can be useful in the HRA context and how they ensure appropriate use of the technology. More importantly, this session will address the risks, policies and precautions an HRA should put in place to protect staff, clients and the agency in this rapidly evolving AI environment.

Friday, October 9, 2026

9am – Ask The Attorney with Marry Dobbins: This session is always informative and ensures you know the recent judicial decisions and administrative action that will impact your housing authority. Join us for this seesion with insight from our legal expert on shifts in administration as it relates to landlord tenant issues, program management and agency requirements.,

10:30am – HOTMA Implementation Round Table: Gather with your peers to discuss your implementation of HOTMA. This session will provide an opportunity to discuss concerns or answer questions you have regarding your HOTMA policies and allows for the exchange of knowledge and ideas.

Housing Authority Essentials Speakers & Sessions

Wednesday, October 7, 2026

1:30pm – LAHA and SAHA Demonstration Panel: The MN Legislature appropriates funds directly to local governments to help them develop and preserve affordable and workforce housing within their jurisdictions. This panel will highlight affordable housing projects across the state funded with Local Affordable Housing Aid (LAHA) and Statewide Affordable Housing Aid (SAHA). Panelists will discuss their community’s success in utilizing these funds, in addition to challenges or barriers, and future ideas.

3:15pm – Make Building More Homes a Priority – It Takes All of Us with speaker Cathy Capone Bennett, Executive Director, Twin Cities Housing Alliance: No single organization, agency, or sector can solve the housing crisis alone. Yet, the pressure put on multifamily housing developments to not only provide quality, affordable housing, but to solve broader community, state, and social program impedes the ability to build much needed homes. Housing providers are also being asked to be responsible for the hardest to house without the necessary financial or regulatory support. Policymakers have big goals for their communities, and it takes big ideas to achieve them. Funders have requirements to access their funding, too. Learn about the Twin Cities Housing Compact, an important initiative that outlines the importance of why we all need to come together to make multifamily housing a part of the solution in all communities across the state through private and public partnerships, innovative and flexible investments, cost cutting measures, collaborative tenant solutions, and education on removing policy barriers.

Thursday, October 8, 2026

10:15am – Employment Law Update: What Minnesota Cities Need to Know with speaker Joyce Hottinger, Assistant HR Director, League of Minnesota Cities:While the 2026 legislative session did not bring the volume of employment law changes seen in recent years, there are still important updates and reminders that Minnesota HRA staff should understand. This session will highlight key 2026 employment law developments affecting public employers and provide a practical refresher on significant changes from prior years, including Minnesota Paid Leave, Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST), pay transparency requirements, and other recent workplace law updates.

1:30pm – Strengthen Your Supervisory Skills Building Healthy, High-Performing Teams with speaker Joyce Hottinger: Supervisors play a critical role in creating a workplace where employees feel supported, engaged, and motivated to do their best work. This session provides practical tools and strategies to help supervisors foster a positive work environment, strengthen communication, navigate performance challenges, and build trust within their teams.

3:15pm – Advocacy 101 with panelists Dave Dunn, Melissa Taphorn, and Allison Streich: Join our statewide legislative experts to learn the basics of advocacy. This session will explain how a bill becomes a law, how the legislative process works here in MN, and the gains MN has experienced via the legislative process. Finally, a discussion about how to build relationships with policy makers and the collaboration needed to move projects forward. There will be examples of affordable housing projects that have been the result of advocacy on the statewide and local levels shared throughout the session.

Friday, October 9, 2026

9am – Ask The Attorney with Marry Dobbins: This session is always informative and ensures you know the recent judicial decisions and administrative action that will impact your housing authority. Join us for this seesion with insight from our legal expert on shifts in administration as it relates to landlord tenant issues, program management and agency requirements.,

10:30am – HOTMA Implementation Round Table: Gather with your peers to discuss your implementation of HOTMA. This session will provide an opportunity to discuss concerns or answer questions you have regarding your HOTMA policies and allows for the exchange of knowledge and ideas.

Rehab Track Speakers & Sessions

Wednesday, October 7, 2026

1:30pm – Communication & Collaboration Best Practices for Managing DEED’s Small Cities Development Program (SCDP) Grants with speaker Natasha Kukowski: Session will discuss stratgies to strengthen grant management through effective communication and collaboration.

3:15pm – Reducing Findings on RLP Audits with speakers Benjamin Landwehr & Tal Anderson, MHFA: Findings happen but they also provide an opportunity to learn from others so it does not happen to you. This session will help you learn from recent experience so you can have clean audits in your future.

Thursday, October 8, 2026

8:30am – Manufactured Homes Overview with speaker Steve Witzel: Session will cover the differences between manufactured homes and conventional homes.

10:15am – Supporting Low Income Homeowners through the Bidding and Rehab Process with speaker Karly Meixel: The rehab process can be complicated for some and this session will ensure you know how to help these households get their projects done.

Friday, October 9, 2026

9am – Rehab Focus Roundtable: Join Rehab collegues for a pre-determined topic of interest and a chance to share, collaborate, and learn from one another.

10:30am – Rehab Round Table: Join others in the Rehab industry and bring your questions for an exchange of knowledge and ideas.