Inspire will mark its ninth year in 2026!

Join us on Thursday, March 19th at The Woman’s Club of Evanston (1702 Chicago Ave) for an afternoon in support of Connections for the Homeless. While serving as a fundraiser for the organization, the event also promotes learning and advocacy around the topics of homelessness, affordable housing, and poverty.

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11:30 AM - Registration Opens
12:00-1:30 PM - Program Begins & Lunch Served
1:45-2:30 PM - Panel Discussion (optional)

Event Schedule:

Keynote Speaker:

Daryl Fairweather

Daryl Fairweather will discuss the intersection of the real estate market, zoning for affordable housing, and social and environmental justice. As the chief economist of Redfin, Daryl analyzes the US housing market and consumer behavior. She has been featured in 60 Minutes, CBS Evening News, the New York Times, and the Washington Post.

Suzanne B. Calder Community Stakeholders Panel Discussion

Building a Bridge of Justice Between Environmental Sustainability and Affordable Housing

Co-sponsored by

Join us for a conversation about how policy makers can ensure that those experiencing the most impact from climate change are not harmed by housing policy solutions seeking to promote environmental sustainability.

RSVP for the Panel

Panelists:

Daryl Fairweather is the chief economist of Redfin. Her insights have been featured on 60 Minutes, CBS Evening News, as well as in the New York Times and Washington Post. Prior to joining Redfin she was a senior economist at Amazon working on problems related to employee engagement and managing a team of analysts. During the housing crisis, Daryl worked as a researcher at the Boston Fed studying why homeowners entered foreclosure. Daryl received her Bachelor's of Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received her Ph.D. and Master's degrees in economics at the University of Chicago where she specialized in behavioral economics.

Daryl Fairweather

Jonathan Nieuwsma

Jonathan Nieuwsma was elected to the City Council in 2021 and has worked to make Evanston more equitable, environmentally sustainable, and economically vibrant.. Prior to serving on the Council, Jonathan was on the founding board and later served as president of Climate Action Evanston (formerly Citizens’ Greener Evanston). Jonathan served for eight years on the Evanston Utilities Commission. Working closely with both the City’s Public Works Agency and the Office of Sustainability, Jonathan helped develop Evanston’s first Community Choice Electricity program in 2012 and the Energy and Water Benchmarking ordinance in 2016. In 2013 he received the Evanston Community Foundation's Outstanding Volunteer Award for his leadership in a campaign to provide low-cost renewable energy to Evanston residents, an accomplishment that reduced Evanston’s carbon footprint by 15%

Nina Idemudia is currently the CEO of the Center for Neighborhood Technology. Previously, she served as Chicago Recovery Plan Director for the Chicago Department of Planning and Development, the Director of Planning for MUSE Community + Design, and a planner for the City of Los Angeles. Nina was elected the first Black President for the Illinois Chapter of the American Planning Association and now sits on the National Board of Directors. She was also recently reappointed by Major Brandon Johnson as a board member of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, the MPO for southeast Illinois.

Nina Idemudia

Bob Dean has over twenty years of experience in the climate and equity fields in the nonprofit and government sectors, with a decade of executive leadership. He serves as the Principal Director of Strategy for Elevate, exploring the organization’s engagement in new fields beyond its historical focus on clean energy and energy efficiency. Immediately before joining Elevate, he served as the Chief Executive Officer at the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) and built the organization’s reputation as a trusted partner to community groups, initiated new climate programs, and diversified its board and staff to reflect its equity-centered mission. Prior to CNT, Bob served as the Deputy Executive Director for Planning for the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP). He also has consulted on local governance and economic development projects and worked in municipal government.