Duke McLarty, executive director at Groundwork, was recently named to the National Housing Crisis Task Force, a coalition working to identify and scale the most promising innovations in housing production and preservation across the United States.
The task force will focus on innovations in five key segments of the housing development process: land, construction, capital, regulation and delivery. McLarty will serve as one of 24 task force members working to identify the latest and most effective innovations in accelerating housing development and spark national transformation in housing policy.
"It is an honor to join fellow innovators and leaders from across the nation in identifying unique solutions to housing challenges," said McLarty. "Groundwork’s participation in the task force gives us an incredible opportunity to learn and share best practices from nationally recognized housing leaders and position Northwest Arkansas at the forefront of national housing solutions."
The task force is co-chaired by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and Fifth Third Bank’s Susan Thomas.
Other task force members include Henry Cisneros, who served as US Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary under President Bill Clinton, and Pam Patenaude, who served as Deputy Secretary at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Donald Trump. The task force also includes a Mayor’s Implementation Committee, chaired by Mayors Quinton Lucas of Kansas City and Kate Gallego of Phoenix.
The task force held its first meeting in New York City on July 23rd where it focused on the breadth and depth of the nation’s housing crisis and the urgent need for all layers of government and the private and civic sectors to rise to the occasion.
Initial funders of the task force include Fifth Third Bank, the City of Atlanta, the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, the Rocket Community Fund, Walton Family Foundation, the Gund Foundation and the Cleveland Foundation.