Dear Neighbor,

Approaching my first-year anniversary with Housing Trust Silicon Valley, I reflect on the challenges and opportunities of joining the organization at such an extraordinary time. My transition to this role has been supported by multiple stakeholders, our committed and growing team, a dedicated board of directors, and diverse partners – all sharing a common vision of how together we can ensure residents can access stable and affordable housing to serve as a foundation for their lives.

In the greater Bay Area, a region with a desperate need for affordable homes, a nearly unfathomable wealth gap, and a critical need to create racial equity and justice in housing, we create partnerships that grow beyond their original scope and purpose to do even more.

Our TECH Fund campaign – an investment vehicle to enable philanthropic organizations and large employers to be part of the affordable housing solution created in 2017 – has helped finance thousands of homes and inspires even more investment, like that of our Apple and Google affordable housing funds.

When the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber wanted to create a fund to help rebuild Sonoma County after the devastating Tubbs Fire, we created the Sonoma County Housing Fund – an initiative which was modeled on our earlier and ongoing collaboration with the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership that helps us lend in the Monterey Bay region.

With creating and preserving affordable housing, there is no year like the one which preceded it and there are constant reminders about the cumulative impact of the work we do. My own life was positively impacted by having access to affordable housing – enabling my single mother to afford safe and stable housing for our family as she worked to support us. The chain reaction of opportunity that followed me through adulthood is traced back to having a safe, stable and affordable home to grow up in – and that’s an impact we can duplicate tens of thousands of times over here in the greater Bay Area.

It’s a goal worth pursuing every day – and we see the milestones often. We see it when Housing Trust’s multifamily team underwrites new loans the same day residents and supporters celebrate the grand opening of new affordable housing. When a longtime renter attends an Empower Homebuyers SCC webinar the same moment a first-time buyer gets the key to their own home. And when one of our unsheltered neighbors here in the Bay Area moves into an apartment thanks to not just our work, but the work of counties, cities, voters and private organizations that are stepping up right along with us to pursue housing justice. None of us can do this alone, and I’m privileged to do this work alongside all of you.

With gratitude,

Noni Ramos, Chief Executive Officer, Housing Trust Silicon Valley

Noni Ramos, Chief Executive Officer, Housing Trust Silicon Valley

The chain reaction of opportunity that followed me through adulthood is traced back to having a safe, stable and affordable home to grow up in