Name: Data as Power: 50 Years of HMDA
Start: 2025-12-10T09:00:00-06:00
End: 2025-12-10T12:30:00-06:00
Location: University Club of Chicago, Michigan Room 2nd floor

Join advocates and industry leaders to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.
About this Event

"There's nothing more powerful than knowledge in action." -- DISCLOSURE newsletter

The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) was signed into law in 1975, following advocacy by grassroots coalitions across the country. Advocates saw how the effects of redlining and disinvestment were holding their communities back from prospering, and called for banks to disclose data about the loans they made. For 50 years, HMDA data has been an essential tool in community development work, fair lending enforcement, and holding the financial system accountable to communities.

Data as Power: 50 Years of HMDA will feature industry leaders and community development advocates discussing Where We Were, Where We Are, and Where We Are Going with HMDA. Attendees will leave with a deep appreciation for the uniquely powerful community organizing that created HMDA, how advocates use data, and what the future of HMDA advocacy looks like.

Agenda
Where We Were
Host: Calvin Bradford, National Peoples Action

Info: Moderator: Rufus Williams (WVON). Panelists: Calvin Bradford (National People's Action), Shelley Davis (South Shore Synergy), Bob Kuttner (American Prospect, former US Senate staffer), Ted Wysocki (founding editor of the DISCLOSURE newsletter).

Where We Are
Host: Amy Nelson, Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana

Info: Moderator: Sharon Legenza (Housing Action Illinois). Panelists: Amy Nelson (Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana), Bethany Sanchez (Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council), Anthony Simpkins (Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago).

Where We Are Going
Host: Laurie Benner, National Fair Housing Alliance

Info: Moderator: Daniel Ash (Field Foundation). Panelists: Laurie Benner (National Fair Housing Alliance), Kristin Faust (Illinois Housing Development Authority), Dave Uejio (Prosperity Now, former Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau)

Closing Comments: Natalie Moore
Host: Natalie Moore, Northwestern University

Info: Closing comments from Natalie Moore (Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism, author of "The South Side: A Portrait of Chicago and American Segregation")