2023 SPRING CONFERENCE RECAP
"Engaging with Renters: Reflections from the Field"
The presentation “Engaging with Renters: Reflections from the Field,” makes a strong case for how the current public participation system’s inordinate attention on wealthier homeowners contributes to inequitable policy outcomes. This “unconscious orientation” toward homeownership has hindered concerted efforts to seek out renters’ input.
While renters are often dismissed as transient, and therefore unworthy of extensive outreach efforts, the panelists remind us that over one-third of all households in the project area, Bloomington, MN, are renters. That’s one-third of residents who pay property (through their rent), sales, and use taxes and yet are more disconnected from the city’s network of services and resources. The Bloomington Public Health Department used the Statewide Health Improvement Partnership grant to survey residents in Section 8 housing and confirmed that following the hierarchy of needs leaves many renters without the energy or agency to engage with long-range planning processes. When preoccupied with food and housing insecurity, institutionalized racism, unreliable transportation, and language barriers, attending a project meeting falls lower on the priority list.
From that experience, staff felt a call to change a system that leaves the least enfranchised to navigate and participate in lengthy and complicated civic processes. To address these concerns, city staff, property owners, and community organizations formed the Southgate Collective Impact with the purpose to “generate and sustain effective collaboration among community partners so that our work reflects the reality of people who rent in Bloomington.” As a result of this vision, newly launched programs center and empower renters to define their needs first. Then programming is developed that connects them to resources like Community Health workers, leadership development, and legal services. Importantly, to maintain this connection, regular visits to residents and property managers build a trust relationship and allow programs to evolve as needed.
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Presenters
Carmen Bibiano, Health on the Go, City of Brooklyn Park
Fanny Jimbo Llapa, Community Health Worker, Bloomington Public Health Division
Margaret Perez, Outreach and Special Initiatives Manager, Metro HRA (Metropolitan Council)
Katie Stelzner, Solid Waste Specialist, City of St. Louis Park
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*2024* SPRING CONFERENCE
Call for Conference Committee Volunteers
Our 2024 Spring Conference will be held in Omaha, Nebraska, where several folks are already working to secure a venue and determine the dates. As that work continues, the Chapter invites you to be part of the Conference Committee and its various working groups, which include:
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Logistics. Responsible for details related to venue, catering, registration, and the like.
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Programming. Responsible for determining the content of the conference, including keynote speakers, breakout session, and posters, as well as ensuring the conference stays true to the selected theme.
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Membership and Networking. Responsible for coordinating with the Logistics and Programming work groups to plan and facilitate networking activities at the conference.
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Marketing and Communications. Responsible for producing conference materials (save the date, social graphic, conference schedule/program) and creating awareness about the conference.
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Money and Sponsors. Responsible for managing the conference budget and coordinating with our generous sponsors.
We anticipated having a conference planning “kick-off” in late July/early August (date and time dependent on the schedules of volunteers). Between this kick-off and the spring conference, the time commitment of volunteering will vary based on the stage of conference planning. The good news is that we have excellent notes from the last two conferences so no committee is starting from nothing.
Also know that, thanks to technology, most of the work is done through virtual meetings. As such, you do not need to be in or even familiar with Omaha to help with planning. Conference planning is also a great way to build your P2 professional network.
Please reach out to Nebraska-based Midwest Board Member Andrea if there’s even a little part of you that’s interested in helping!
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STANDING COMMITTEES
Opportunities to Get Involved!
The Midwest Chapter is led by a nine-seat board of directors. Our board is considered a “working board,” as board members actively serve on one (or more!) of several standing committees. Chapter members and friends of the chapter are invited and encouraged to join a committee if they are interested in being more involved with the Midwest Chapter.
The chapter currently has four standing committees:
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Communications, which helps keep members informed of chapter happenings. Following the 2023 Spring Conference, the Communications Committee is looking for volunteers to help author session summaries so we can share some of the key takeaways with chapter members.
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Membership, which helps provide a meaningful IAP2 membership. A focus of this year is helping establish and support Local Networks and may extend to developing virtual engagement opportunities.
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Conference, which helps plan the chapter's annual spring conference. This committee helps guide the work of conference subcommittees.
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Training, which helps support individuals and organizations interested in bringing an IAP2 training to an area within the Chapter.
Serving on a committee is a wonderful way to meet other P2 practitioners in our chapter's geographic footprint, as well as a powerful way to build your own skills and expertise. Time commitments vary by committee and can be right-sized to fit your availability.
For more information about committee involvement, email us at midwest@iap2usa.org.
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IN MEMORIAM
David Hovde
We lost a dear friend of IAP2 and the Midwest Chapter when David Hovde unexpectedly died in his sleep on May 1 while traveling in Spain with his wife, Betsy. From his obituary in the Appleton, Wisconsin Post Crescent, he spent the last month of his life walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain, sharing delicious food, savoring beautiful views, conversing with interesting people from all over the world, and enjoying every moment with his loving wife. Reverberating from his 6’6” frame, many of us remember his booming laugh and his eagerness to try almost any new adventure, food, or drink.
Closer to home, in the early 2000s, David served for several years on the chapter “Steering Committee” to maintain our legal standing with IAP2, and then helped pull us out of dormancy into a vibrant and active chapter. He served on the U.S. board from 2011-15 as it grew into its role as an Affiliate, including terms as board president and U.S. representative to the IAP2 International Board.
We invited reflections from people who knew him over the years and pulled some quotes from those below.
After he retired a couple of years ago from American Transmission Service in Appleton, Wisconsin, many IAP2 friends stayed in touch with David via Facebook. Amelia Shaw was one of them, writing, “Oh my goodness, this is heartbreaking. I’ve been watching his travels on FB with Betsy and it looked as though he was having a blast…He was always so kind and supportive of me…” 
Wendy Green Lowe also followed his adventures on Facebook, remembering that in recent years “he posted countless pictures of his daughter’s wedding and his attendance at the State of the Union as the guest of one of Wisconsin’s senators. Then…pictures from the Camino! He was hiking it again, this time with Betsy. Every day, he posted stories and photos of the day, usually including a selfie with Betsy. They beamed at the camera, obviously having a wonderful pilgrimage together. Inspiring me again…David’s last post was a picture of goats in a field with a caption, ‘waiting for yoga class to start.’ Ha-ha, David! As if Spanish goats are subjected to the same craziness that goats in the U.S. must endure.” (See goat photo from David’s Facebook page.)
Francesca Jones shared, “I saw his career and retirement as something for my own aspirations, watching him live his best life traveling with Betsy…I watched him light up huge rooms, making people laugh, and making me think with asking bold questions.” That was a common theme in the remembrances. John Godec wrote, “David was one of those rare people who provided energy, lightness, humor and wisdom in one, big, crew-clipped Wisconsin package. Moods and conversations invariably improved whenever he walked into the room.”
Kelly Ferrara’s mem ories echoed similar sentiments: “His smile. his giant, enthusiastic, started-at-his-toes smile is the first thing I remember about David. It will always be what I remember most about David. He was gregarious, intelligent, knowledgeable, and eager to share. He welcomed me like an old friend when I met him for the first time…And he said ‘yes’ to everything I asked…He lived fully, and loved his family…Rest easy, David. You were appreciated.” Heather Lasher Todd also felt that bear-hug of a welcome and David’s generous spirit, writing, “David was one of the first people I met when joining IAP2… I will always remember him treating me immediately as a valued colleague and friend, and being just as interested in hearing my perspective as he was willing to share his own experiences. What a lesson that is for us all. David was supportive and engaged as we restarted the Midwest Chapter, and was an enthusiastic and knowledgeable leader in IAP2 and our profession. His enthusiasm was contagious. David's impact on our field will resonate for a very long time, and his big smile and laugh will never be forgotten.”
Joel Mills also highlighted David’s “spectacular sense of humor and the joy he spread amongst his IAP2 colleagues.” He went on to connect David’s last journey with our IAP2 work: “...the Camino…is a powerful experience even to witness those hiking the entire span and learn about their journeys, both spiritual and physical. Public participation is centrally about our shared journeys. In many ways, David’s work served a collective pilgrimage by helping to bring people together to serve a larger purpose for the greater good.”
Rest in peace, friend.
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Reflections
We are also sharing everything we received here; feel free to add your own thoughts in that document and we’ll send the full set to Betsy and his family mid-July.
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Do you know someone who might be interested in these updates? Be sure to forward this email along!
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