Welcome to COA National Summit

Uniting Minds, Transforming Outcomes

About
The Summit is designed by and for community development association staff and board members.  

This is your time — to learn from peers across the country, connect with national partners, and invest in your leadership and organizational capacity.

We are delighted to partner with the Housing Network of Rhode Island to bring our national summit to Providence, RI. 

Sessions

Take a look at the first six sessions. More sessions and speakers will be added in the coming weeks. The summit agenda will begin on August 24 at approximately 1:00 pm and end on August 26 by 3:00 pm.  Click on the titles below for session descriptions and speakers confirmed so far. 

Learn about state and local policy wins from association professionals who helped make them happen. A dynamic panel of leaders will discuss how they accomplished recent victories. Then, we will break into small group discussions to explore how to translate winning strategies to your own policy work. Leave with new connections, concrete takeaways, and strategies you can put to work right away. 

Speakers:
                                                                                                                                     
  • Kevin Cronin — Director of Policy & Advocacy, Housing Oregon 
  • Kari Johnson — Director of State Policy & Field Building, Minnesota Consortium of Community Developers
  • Melina Lodge — Executive Director, Housing Network of Rhode Island 
  • Jonathan Nazeer — Capacity Building Program Director, South Carolina Association for Community Economic
     Development


When emerging professionals and established leaders are in real conversation, the most effective ideas for career development rise to the surface. That's exactly what this session is designed for. Through a series of structured small group discussions, you'll explore practical strategies for embedding career development into everyday organizational practice — even when resources are limited, staff time is stretched, and career paths are not always clear. First, you'll connect with peers at a similar career stage, then mix across experience levels to broaden the conversation. Leave with fresh perspectives and at least one concrete action you can bring back to your organization. 

Speakers:
  • Julia Robinson, (Facilitator), Member Capacity Manager, Ohio CDC Association
  • Chanse Sonsalla, Applied Research Manager, Community Opportunity Alliance
Community development associations strengthen small business ecosystems in all kinds of ways — by providing direct services and programs, coordinating resources, convening partners, advancing policy, and more. In this peer-learning session, a panel of COA members will discuss successful initiatives, explaining how they carved out particularly impactful roles for their associations. Then, during a structured discussion with peers, you’ll reflect on your organizations’ role in your ecosystem and envision new ways to support small businesses.

Speakers:
  • Evette Banfield — Chief Economic Development Officer, The Coalition
  • Yari DeJesus — Director of Economic Development, Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations
  • Heidi Schoonover (moderator) — Managing Director of CRA Strategic Programs & Initiatives, Truist
  • Joanna Winchester — Director of Training & Technical Assistance, Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations
Hear directly from national policy experts on the federal developments that matter most for community development associations. This session breaks down the latest federal priorities, funding developments, and emerging issues — with a focus on what they mean to your networks and the communities you serve. Leave better equipped to plan, advocate, and respond in the months ahead. 

Speakers:
  • Chloe Grainger — Director of Policy & Advocacy, National NeighborWorks Association
  • Dawne Troupe (moderator) — People & Places Collaborative Advocacy Director, Community Opportunity Alliance
Fundraising is not just the responsibility of development staff. Colleagues across your organization hold stories, relationships, and insights that can help donors and funders better understand your organization’s work and impact.

This interactive workshop will help participants identify practical, authentic ways that non-development staff can support fundraising without becoming frontline fundraisers. Through concrete examples, facilitated discussion, and a hands-on activity, we will explore roles for staff across the organization. You will leave with concrete ideas for building a stronger culture of fundraising — one that supports development staff while honoring the expertise and capacity of the full team.

Workshop Facilitator:
Laura Tomassi-Miller — Principal, Upwell Fundraising Advisory 
Participate in this highly-interactive workshop! Learn how to use process mapping to visually represent the steps in your organization's workflow, uncovering bottlenecks and opportunities for more effective workflow. Through hands-on activities, you’ll create your own sample process map — no software required — and walk away with practical tools you can use immediately. This workshop is ideal for managers, problem solvers, and curious minds who want to make work clearer, easier, and a little more adventurous.

Facilitator:
  • Mel Luckenbaug — Director of Strategic Initiatives, Community Action Association of Pennsylvania

Speakers

See who's speaking so far. Watch for additional speakers in the coming weeks.

Evette Banfield

The Coalition (formerly CNHED)

Michael Browning

SECURE CA

Kevin Cronin

Housing Oregon

Yari DeJesus

Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations

Matt Hull

Texas Association of Community Development Corporations

Chloe Grainger

National NeighborWorks Association

Kari Johnson

Minnesota Consortium of Community Developers

Sharon Legenza

Housing Action Illinois

Melina Lodge

Housing Network of Rhode Island

Melanie Luckenbaugh

Community Action Association of Pennsylvania

Jonathan Nazeer

South Carolina Association for Community Economic Development

Julia Robinson

Ohio CDC Association

Paul Singh

NeighborWorks America

Chanse Sonsalla

Community Opportunity Alliance

Laura Tomassi-Miller

Upwell Fundraising Advisory

Dawne Troupe

Community Opportunity Alliance

Joanna Winchester

Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations

Frank Woodruff

Community Opportunity Alliance

Tours & Dinners
Choose from three tours led by local community development leaders on August 25:

  • Healthy homes, urban farming, and culturally-appropriate food access — West Elmwood Housing Development Corporation

  • Mixed-use conversion of a historic mill, including Millrace Kitchen for food entrepreneurs — NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley 

  • Community-driven redevelopment of blighted properties — Omni Development Corporation

COA members will gather for Regional Caucus Dinners at local restaurants with peers from their section of the country on August 24. 
Hotel
Stay at the hotel where the conference will be held.

Hotel: Omni Providence Hotel

Location: 1 W Exchange Street, Providence, Rhode Island

Discounted Rate: $189 per room, excluding tax and fees

Reservation Deadline: Thursday, July 16 

Reserve Your Room: Our room block may be full before the registration deadline.


Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsors for strengthening the community development field.