Our guest speaker will be..
Ms. Andreanecia Morris, Executive Director of HousingNOLA.
Across the country, communities are grappling with rising housing costs, displacement pressures, aging housing stock, and growing inequities in access to affordable housing. As local governments, practitioners, and funders seek effective strategies to preserve affordability and build more resilient communities, innovative models are emerging that align public, private, and philanthropic resources around shared outcomes.
Please join us for a conversation featuring the groundbreaking work of HousingNOLA, whose “Housing All Investment Strategy” has become a leading example of data-driven, community-informed housing policy and investment. Guided by a mission to maximize scarce public resources, attract new and non-traditional sources of capital, and support equitable decision-making across sectors, HousingNOLA has helped shape a comprehensive approach to addressing systemic housing inequities in New Orleans.
Andreanecia Morris serves as the Executive Director for HousingNOLA, an ongoing partnership working to end New Orleans’ affordable housing crisis. HousingNOLA’s mission is to provide a road map to maximize scarce government resources, increase non-traditional resources, and assist the private sector in making strategic and equitable choices. It’s Housing All Investment Strategy is a comprehensive and radical plan guided by data and community input to address systemic inequity issues in housing which led to the voters of New Orleans establishing a housing trust fund that will dedicate 2% of the city’s general operating fund exclusively towards affordable housing.
A native of Edgard, Louisiana, Morris began working to support creation of affordable housing opportunities financed with public and private resources in Metro New Orleans after graduating from Loyola University New Orleans with a BA in Communications & Sociology. Morris also holds a MA in Community Development Policy and Practice from the University of New Hampshire Carsey School of Public Policy. After Hurricane Katrina’s floodwaters receded, Morris focused on housing policy and development, implementing programs that created 500 first time homebuyers, deploying $104.5 million soft second subsidy in Metro New Orleans, and providing supportive services for approximately 5,000 households—homeowners who were struggling to rebuild and renters who required wrap around services. Morris was lead organizer for Greater New Orleans Housing Alliance (GNOHA) when it started in 2007 as a loose coalition of community development nonprofits who resolved to rebuild the City of New Orleans. GNOHA’s advocacy supported members and partners in developing approximately 88,000 housing opportunities between 2006 and 2015.
Gambit Weekly named Morris New Orleanian of the Year for her role in HousingNOLA’s historic efforts in 2017. As a part of celebrations around New Orleans’ historic tricentennial anniversary in 2018, JP Morgan Chase partnered with the Times Picayune/NOLA.com to name Morris one of 12 “Icons of New Orleans.” In 2021, Consumer Federation of America (CFA) named her one its five Consumer Champions. Most recently, the University of New Hampshire chose to celebrate and spotlight Morris’ work through its 2023 Sustainability Awards program. In 2025, Biz New Orleans named her as a Women to Watch and for the fifth year in a row Morris was named to the Biz New Orleans New Orleans 500 for 2026. This year, the Greater New Orleans Funders Network (GNOFN) selected Morris for a Restoration and Rejuvenation. Morris also chairs the HousingLOUISIANA Alliance Network and is a board member of Energy Wise and Grounded Solutions Network and serves Prosperity Now Policy Advisory Committee and the community advisory committees for Capital One and Cadence Bank. Initiative (R2I) Community Champion Distinguished Service Award.
