Fair Housing and Financial Markets Diversity Symposium

Registrations for this symposium are no longer being accepted.
You are welcome to attend the symposium but we are unable to provide lunch for individuals who did not pre-register by February 28.

The Washburn University School of Law Diversity Committee and the Washburn University Office of Diversity and Inclusion are pleased to host the Fair Housing and Financial Markets Diversity Symposium on Tuesday, March 6, 2018. The symposium is free and open to the public.

The event will highlight the 50th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act and the 10th anniversary of the global financial crisis. Speakers will examine federal fair housing protections, the uneven and unfair effects of the 21st century's mortgage meltdown on minority households, and the importance of creating a financial sector that reflects the diversity of our country and how access to capital for minorities and minority entrepreneurial ventures is critical to building a more robust economy.

"Fair Housing and Financial Markets Diversity" will be held Tuesday, March 6, 2018, at the Bradbury Thompson Alumni Center at SW 17th Street and SW Jewell Avenue on the Washburn University Campus (map). Free parking is available south and west of Bradbury.

Key Sponsor

Washburn Law recognizes the Key Sponsor for this symposium and appreciates its support.

Visit FHLBank Topeka website.

Symposium Schedule

Speakers and times subject to change.

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

8:15 a.m. – Registration

8:45 a.m. – Welcome and Acknowledgements

• Thomas J. Romig, Dean and Professor of Law, Washburn University School of Law
• Janet Thompson Jackson, Diversity Committee Chair and Professor of Law, Washburn University School of Law
• Danielle Dempsey-Swopes, Director, University Diversity & Inclusion, Washburn University

9:00 a.m. – Keynote: Fair Housing

• Morgan Williams, General Counsel, National Fair Housing Alliance [About Morgan Williams]

9:45 a.m. – Break

10:00 a.m. – Panel 1 - How Did We Get Here? The Evolution of Fair Housing Protections

Fifty years ago, Congress passed the Fair Housing Act (FHA) in response to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement. Initially, the FHA protected against housing discrimination based on race, color, religion and national origin. Since then, the FHA has evolved to include additional protected classes and the recognition of disparate impact claims. This panel will discuss the timing and reasons for expanding the scope of federal fair housing protections and provide an overview of additional protections available at the state and local level.

• Introduction of Panelists: Ryan Vincent, Deputy Director, Kansas Housing Resources Corporation
• Morgan Williams, General Counsel, National Fair Housing Alliance [About Morgan Williams]
• Norrinda Brown Hayat, Assistant Professor of Law and Director of Housing & Consumer Law Clinic, University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law [About Professor Hayat]
• Jamila Jefferson-Jones, Associate Professor of Law, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law [About Professor Jefferson-Jones]
• Palma J. Strand, Professor, Creighton University School of Law [About Professor Strand]
• Moderator: Michelle Y. Ewert, Associate Professor of Law, Washburn University School of Law [About Professor Ewert]

11:30 a.m. – Remarks

• Michelle De La Isla, Mayor, City of Topeka, Kansas [About Mayor De La Isla]

11:40 a.m. – Networking Lunch.

1:00 p.m. – Keynote: Financial Markets

• Andrea Hendricks, Assistant Vice President, Deputy Director of the Office of Minority & Women Inclusion, and Secretary and Advisor to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's Management Committee, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City [About Ms. Hendricks]

1:45 p.m. – Break

2:00 p.m. – Panel 2 - Uneven and Unfair: The Financial Fallout of the Boom & Bust Mortgage Cycle

Inequitable housing finance played a critical role in the racially disparate economic outcomes of the most recent “boom and bust” mortgage cycle. This panel will discuss the uneven and unfair effects of the 21st century’s mortgage meltdown on minority households, including newly emerging evidences of minority-focused predatory lending during the housing boom and the long-lasting adverse impacts that the foreclosure crisis has had on minority households and minority neighborhoods. The panel will also explore the role and professional obligations of lawyers in housing finance and consider whether attorney ethical obligations should be expanded.

• Introduction of Panelists: Danielle Dempsey-Swopes, Director, University Diversity & Inclusion, Washburn University [About Ms. Dempsey-Swopes]
• Kristen Barnes, Associate Professor of Law, University of Akron School of Law [About Professor Barnes]
• Rigel C. Oliveri, Isabelle Wade and Paul C. Lyda Professor of Law, University of Missouri School of Law [About Professor Oliveri]
• Andrea Hendricks, Assistant Vice President, Deputy Director of the Office of Minority & Women Inclusion, and Secretary and Advisor to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's Management Committee, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City [About Ms. Hendricks]
• Andrea J. Boyack, Professor of Law, Washburn University School of Law [About Professor Boyack]
• Moderator: Donald E. Maxwell, Donald E. Maxwell LLC (Kansas City, Missouri) [About Mr. Maxwell]

3:15 p.m. – Break

3:30 p.m. – Panel 3 - Access to Capital: Challenges and Opportunities

Access to capital has long been a barrier to economic prosperity for minority populations in the U.S. This panel will discuss the importance of creating a financial sector that reflects the diversity of our country and how access to capital for minorities and minority entrepreneurial ventures is critical to building a more robust economy. The panel will also explore how mortgage capital markets must change in order to become both more stable and more equitable in the future.

• Introduction of Panelists: Lloyd Rainge, Community Development Director, Capitol Federal® Savings Bank [About Mr. Rainge]
• Christopher J. Tyson, Newman Trowbridge Distinguished Professor of Law, Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Louisiana State University [About Professor Tyson]
• Antoinette M. Jackson, Partner, Jones Walker LLP [About Ms. Jackson]
• Tom Thull, First Vice President, Director of Housing and Community Development, FHLBank Topeka [About Mr. Thull]
• Dell L. Gines, Senior Community Development Advisor, Omaha Branch, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City [About Mr. Gines]
• Moderator: Andrea J. Boyack, Professor of Law, Washburn University School of Law [About Professor Boyack]

4:45 p.m. – Appreciations

• Thomas J. Romig, Dean and Professor of Law, Washburn University School of Law
• Janet Thompson Jackson, Chair of Diversity Committee and Professor of Law, Washburn University School of Law

4:50 p.m. – Reception

Short URL for this page:
http://washburnlaw.edu/fairhousingdiversity