Week 2 – Wait… how do I build an advisory committee?

Elle M R -

Hi there everyone!

If you’re wondering about the title of this week’s blog, it’s exactly what I thought when I walked into FHR this week. As I briefly mentioned in my previous post, I’ve been tasked with helping to develop an advisory committee aimed at increasing Black homeownership. This has been a daunting task, as I joined the initiative at its very beginning. Alongside my ongoing research on housing demographics and financial literacy resources, I’ve also been learning how to build an advisory committee, identify key community members with valuable insight, and understand what an advisory committee even entails.

This week also brought an unexpected hurdle, temporarily switching on-site mentors since my original mentor welcomed his baby earlier than expected (Congratulations, Nic!). Despite these challenges and being slightly less productive earlier in the week (due to mostly just doing hardcore research online), I’ve made significant progress, particularly in my Thursday meetings.

I started the day by attending a housing staff meeting, which gave me valuable insights into areas where I could further develop my research. One exciting opportunity is shadowing housing counseling sessions to better understand the homebuying process—something I hadn’t anticipated being able to participate in. Additionally, I learned more about how FHR educates the community, particularly in bringing back in-person homeownership education classes. Many down payment assistance programs require potential buyers to complete these classes, which cover the basics of homeownership and the purchasing process. While online versions exist, they can be costly, making free, in-person classes an essential resource for the community.

My second meeting on Thursday was focused entirely on my research for the Black homebuying advisory committee. My on-site mentor and I outlined everything needed to launch the committee and begin reaching out to community members. While my research typically avoids focusing on specific racial demographics, this initiative is crucial to my research because Black residents in Pima County are statistically less likely to be homeowners compared to other racial groups. By creating a committee of individuals who understand these barriers, combined with my research within and beyond FHR, I can better identify the obstacles preventing homeownership in general and develop strategies to bridge these gaps with my final project.

This week has been a learning experience, but I’m excited to continue this work and see how the advisory committee takes shape, thank you for reading!

More Posts

Comments:

All viewpoints are welcome but profane, threatening, disrespectful, or harassing comments will not be tolerated and are subject to moderation up to, and including, full deletion.

    adhip_j
    Elle, it must be so valuable to be learning how to build a committee, as it provides great first-hand experience! Have you found any particular characteristics that you believe would be best to include within the individuals of the committee? In other words, when selecting the individuals in the committee, what do you look for in terms of demographic information?
    February 24, 2025 at 10:14 am - Reply
    thomas_c
    Hi Elle, it's amazing that you are doing such a daunting task of building an advisory committee on only your second week! Is there any required level of real estate education to be selected for this committee? If so, how would you go about finding individuals with such qualifications?
    February 24, 2025 at 10:29 am - Reply
    jude_s
    Elle, it's incredible that you can be part of something so important this early in your project! I am curious how you reach out to community members. Do you reach out to them online or by phone? Also, is there a goal to get people from different parts of Pima County or is it inconsequential where in Pima they're from?
    February 24, 2025 at 10:53 am - Reply
    elle_m_r
    Hi Adhip thanks for your question! In regards to characteristics about committee members I believe it is best to focus on age diversity as well as having both black financial professionals/experts as well as everyday home buyers in order to have diverse perspectives within the set demographic.
    February 24, 2025 at 4:35 pm - Reply
    elle_m_r
    Thanks for your question Thomas! Sort of like how I responded to Adhip the committee would ideally be made up of housing/financial professionals such as mortgage brokers or real estate agents as well as "everyday" people in order to have a diverse range of perspectives!
    February 24, 2025 at 4:38 pm - Reply
    elle_m_r
    Hi Jude! I haven't thought about considering what part of Pima county committee members are from but I feel like that would definitely be important to consider, I believe everyone will be from Tucson though. In regards to reaching out to potential members the plan is to attempt to call them but an email will have to do as a final resort. Thanks for your questions!
    February 24, 2025 at 4:40 pm - Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *