Housing Fellowship Created at KSG

Fannie Mae program to address housing, community development issues

The Fannie Mae Foundation has joined with the Kennedy School of Government to establish a multiyear fellowship program for housing and community development professionals.

The Fannie Mae Fellows Program will support the attendance of up to 25 people per year for four years in the Kennedy School's three-week summer Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government. In addition, Fannie Mae Fellows will participate in several special sessions during the summer program organized by Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies. The $1 million commitment from the Fannie Mae Foundation will also underwrite the development of teaching cases, and the production of a series of regional forums concerning housing and community development.

"This partnership is designed to expand the knowledge of housing issues and trends, as well as engage the Fellows in the Fannie Mae Foundation's commitment to increase homeownership, develop vital communities, and improve housing conditions throughout the United States," said Franklin D. Raines, a director of the Fannie Mae Foundation. "We will work together to reinforce the Foundation's 'Showing America A New Way Home' initiative, a historic commitment to remove the barriers to homeownership in America."

Using a competitive selection process, the Kennedy School will choose the Fellows from select cities throughout the U.S. The Fellows will attend the summer sessions in either June or July.

"This collaboration with the Fannie Mae Foundation provides a wonderful, important opportunity to reach people who struggle with housing issues every day," said Joseph Nye, Dean of the Kennedy School. "It is our hope that by working with the Fannie Mae Foundation, we can help increase the professional abilities of the participants, and, ultimately, the effectiveness of their efforts to improve housing conditions throughout the United States."

Directed by former Oregon Governor Barbara Roberts, the Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government offers an intensive experience designed to prepare participants for increased responsibilities, to stimulate interest in new management ideas and techniques, and to develop relationships among colleagues across the country. Participants consider strategy and political management, policy analysis and design, and the methods of mobilizing organizational capacity.

"The State and Local Government Program helps leaders respond to the demand for reinvention and the need to provide public-private partnerships," Roberts said. "We are eager to incorporate the substantial experience and expertise the Fannie Mae Fellows will share with our program and their co-participants."

The primary goal of the Fannie Mae Foundation is to support national and local nonprofit organizations working to provide decent and affordable housing and vital neighborhoods in communities throughout the United States. The Foundation's principal source of funding is Fannie Mae, a private corporation, congressionally chartered to increase the availability and affordability of housing for low-, moderate-, and middle-income Americans.