Sessions
Affordable Home Ownership: Something New
3:45 PM - 4:45 PM Thu
Christie was named Executive Director of the Center in February 2012. Under her leadership, the Center has become a leading local and national voice for affordable homeownership, while greatly expanding its portfolio of services for homeowners. Christie has been instrumental in organizing foreclosure prevention services statewide with the New York Attorney General’s Office, raising millions of dollars for homeowners recovering from Hurricane Sandy, and launching a $7.5 million resiliency program for coastal communities. Christie also oversaw the expansion of the New York State Mortgage Assistance Program with an $80 million loan fund and the establishment of one of the nation’s largest annual affordable homeownership conferences.
Most recently, Christie has led the organization with administering the New York State Homeowner Assistance Fund (NYS HAF). NYS HAF program is being administered by the New York State affordable housing agency, NYS Homes & Community Renewal (HCR), in partnership with Sustainable Neighborhoods LLC, a non-profit dedicated to foreclosure prevention and homeownership preservation. NYS HAF is a federally-funded program designed to help homeowners at risk of default, foreclosure, and displacement as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and is expected to provide assistance to over 30,000 homeowners throughout the state.
Before joining the Center, she worked in affordable housing preservation for the New York State Housing Finance Agency, and for affordable housing developers in Washington Heights and Bushwick. She also spent several years in healthcare advocacy for Gay Men’s Health Crisis, the Medicare Rights Center and the Women’s Prison Association. Christie has a B.A. from Harvard College and a Master’s of Social Work in Community Organizing and Planning from Hunter College.