ATLANTA, Nov. 18, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta (FHLBank Atlanta) will host a forum tomorrow designed to create awareness, strategies, and tactics to enhance diversity in the many industries that support affordable housing.

The one-day event titled “Diversity in the Affordable Housing Industry Forum” will take place Tuesday, November 19, 2019, and is co-sponsored by BB&T, CenterState Bank, South State Bank, Synovus, United Bank, and the Women’s Affordable Housing Network. The forum will include presentations and panel discussions focused on topics such as achieving diversity in the real estate development industry, achieving diversity in the banking and public finance industries, and the role of colleges and universities in ensuring a diverse and prepared workforce.

The forum will also include a panel discussion on how mayors influence diversity in the affordable housing industry. Participants on the mayor’s panel include the Honorable Mayor Stephen Benjamin of Columbia, SC, the Honorable Mayor Cornell Harvey of Brunswick, Ga., and the Honorable Mayor Wayne Messam of Miramar, Fla. 

Arthur L. Fleming, Senior Vice President and Director of Community Investment Services at FHLBank Atlanta, is the lead organizer of the event and says that the main goal is to bring people from various segments of the affordable housing industry together in one place to share their experiences and best practices, and explore ways to increase the involvement of diverse individuals and businesses in public finance, real estate development, and other industries that are engaged in affordable housing.

“Creating affordable housing opportunities requires the engagement of a wide variety of public and private sector organizations and businesses,” said Fleming. “Hearing from and meeting other people who share similar goals and challenges can go a long way to enhancing the participation of diverse businesses in this space. I hope attendees come away from the forum with some new professional connections and ideas that can help drive greater diversity in the affordable housing industry.”

The forum will be held at the Cecil B. Day Chapel at The Carter Center in Atlanta from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Carter Center is located at 435 John Lewis Freedom Parkway, Atlanta, Ga., 30307. The full agenda for the forum can be viewed here.

About FHLBank Atlanta
FHLBank Atlanta offers competitively-priced financing, community development grants, and other banking services to help member financial institutions make affordable home mortgages and provide economic development credit to neighborhoods and communities. The Bank’s members—its shareholders and customers—are commercial banks, credit unions, savings institutions, community development financial institutions, and insurance companies located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. FHLBank Atlanta is one of 11 district banks in the Federal Home Loan Bank System. Since 1990, the FHLBanks have awarded approximately $6.2 billion in Affordable Housing Program funds, assisting more than 911,000 households.

For more information, visit our website at www.fhlbatl.com.

CONTACT: Peter E. Garuccio
Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta
pgaruccio@fhlbatl.com
404.888.8143