Crystal Bergemann (she/her), Senior Advisor for Climate in the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Crystal Bergemann is an expert in Green and Energy Efficient affordable housing and has spent much of her career at HUD working to advance green and equitable building priorities across the agency, first in the Denver field office, and later in Headquarters. Prior to her return to HUD, she led Fannie Mae’s multifamily affordable housing preservation work with underserved markets and served as an advisor for the company’s ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) division. Crystal holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from New York University focused on energy and water policy.
Griffin Hagle-Forster, CEO/Executive Director, Taġiuġmiullu Nunamiullu Housing Authority (TNHA)
Griffin Hagle-Forster is the CEO/Executive Director of the Taġiuġmiullu Nunamiullu Housing Authority, a tribally designated entity serving six villages on Alaska’s remote North Slope. Having been introduced to building science as a weatherization installer in his hometown of Medford, Oregon in 2006, and later working as an energy auditor and program administrator, he is professionally committed to buildings and energy systems that deliver the security and prosperity people everywhere deserve. He and his wife lived in Alaska’s northernmost city, Utqiaġvik, from 2015 to 2021, and are currently renovating their 1950s Cape Cod in Anchorage for comfort, climate resilience, and the decarbonized world to come.
Veronica Helms Garrison, Social Science Analyst, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Veronica Eva Helms Garrison is a researcher with HUD’s Office of Policy Development & Research. Mrs. Garrison leads in-house research initiatives focused on substandard housing, housing as a social determinant of health, and data linkage. Prior to joining HUD in 2014 as a STEM Presidential Management Fellow, Veronica was a Program Manager at the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP). She received a Master’s of Public Health from the George Washington University in 2013. In addition to her role at HUD, Veronica is also a part-time Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) candidate in the health equity and social justice (HESJ) concentration at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Kevin Kane, Chief Housing Market Analyst, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Kevin is a Senior Economist in the Office of Economic Affairs (OEA) in HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research. He serves in the role of Chief Housing Market Analyst, a position he has held since 2006. In this position, he has technical oversight of the HUD field economists in the Economic and Market Analysis Division (EMAD), whose primary mission is to monitor housing market conditions across the country and provide market intelligence to senior level HUD staff to assist with policy decisions and the successful implementation of HUD programs, most notably the FHA mortgage insurance programs for rental housing. Kevin serves as an editor for EMAD’s many publications including Comprehensive Housing Market Analyses, Housing Market Profiles, and Regional Narratives, which can be found on the PD&R website (www.huduser.gov). Kevin is also responsible for maintaining and updating the techniques and methodologies used by the field economists in their analyses, assisting in training the staff on housing market analysis techniques, monitoring changes in housing market conditions, and researching data sources that could be beneficial in market analysis. He also provides regular updates to senior HUD staff on economic and housing market conditions around the country and since 2009 has provided a quarterly update on U.S. housing market conditions that is available on a webcast for the public as part of PD&R’s Quarterly Briefings.
Kevin has been with HUD since 2002, beginning his career as a field economist in Philadelphia, where he analyzed housing markets primarily located in HUD’s Mid-Atlantic Region. He has authored numerous Comprehensive Housing Market Analysis Reports and Housing Market Profiles. Kevin earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Mathematics from Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA, and a Master’s Degree in Economics from Washington University in Saint Louis, MO.
Laurie Schoeman, Director, Climate & Sustainability, Capital, Enterprise Community Partners
Laurie Schoeman is the Director of Climate and Sustainable for Enterprise Community Partners Capital Division and sits in the Office of the President. Laurie directs the efforts in the Capital division around ESG strategy development, finance, development, and management of climate risks for affordable housing across the nation. Laurie is a deeply committed multi-sector climate risk reduction leader with 20 years of experience working in affordable housing, climate finance, community and economic development, equity and environmental justice, and federal and local policy to build the resilience of communities across the nation. Schoeman is a nationally-known practitioner and intermediary recognized for her keen ability to drive complex problems into tangible outputs to accelerate climate-safe and adaptive communities. Laurie has led leading-edge local, state, and federal efforts to promote climate risk reduction, including the passage of the nation’s first utility-sponsored environmental justice policy in San Francisco; the construction of the nation’s first off-grid environmental justice learning center in California; and the publication of a series on Climate Resilient Housing which has led to close to $250M of investment into housing resilience. Laurie is the co-chair of the New York State Climate assessment buildings chapter and co-facilitates Resilience21, a network of practitioners across the U.S. who advance climate risk reduction and adaptation. Schoeman has an MUP from Hunter College and a BA from Smith College.
Steven Stransky (he/him/his), AICP, Disaster Recovery Team Lead, Iowa Economic Development Authority
Steven is the Disaster Recovery Team Lead at the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA). In his position, he oversees the State’s one NDR and three CDBG-DR allocations from HUD. His work includes overseeing buyouts of flood-impacted homes; the new construction of affordable, resilient housing units and entire neighborhoods outside of the floodplain; and his work will shortly also the include the rehabilitation of homes impacted by disaster; the replanting of native trees to restore the urban tree canopy from near obliteration; and the installation of renewably powered and traditional generators to provide shelter and critical services amid and post disasters.
Prior to serving as Team Lead, Steven worked as a Disaster Recovery Project Manager at IEDA and as a planner for councils of government. He received his Bachelor’s of Arts in Global Studies & Political Science from the University of Illinois Springfield and his Master’s of Urban & Regional Planning from Ball State University. Steven holds certification from the American Institute of Certified Planners. Personally, he is passionate about outdoor recreation and cycling, including having completed RAGBRAI for the first time in 2022.
