US Housing Department Deputy Secretary to deliver conference keynote address

Adrianne Todman is the 12th Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and will be joining the #NHCMelbourne program as our closing plenary keynote speaker.

Deputy Secretary Todman will present on HUD’s recently released climate plan to ensure its facilities and operations adapt and are increasingly resilient to climate change impacts. The plan, which was released alongside similar plans from more than 20 other federal agencies is part of President Biden’s whole-of-government approach to confronting the climate crisis. The plan was also presented to  world and business leaders virtually for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, United Kingdom in late 2021.

 
The plan takes an agency-wide approach in prioritizing climate resilience and building more equitable, efficient, and sustainable housing infrastructure. Climate change drives a multitude of risks, including rising costs to maintain and repair damaged infrastructure from more frequent and extreme weather events and health and safety challenges to the communities across the country. HUD’s plan seeks to increase the resilience of communities to wildfires, extreme heat, tropical storms, heavy rains, and other disasters made worse by a changing climate.

HUD’s plan seeks to drive innovation and increase resilience to climate change. As part of these efforts, agencies will embed adaptation and resilience planning and implementation throughout their programs and operations and will continually update their adaptation plans. 

Deputy Secretary Todman has dedicated her career to improving people’s lives and strengthening communities through housing. Prior to becoming Deputy Secretary at HUD, Ma Todman served as the CEO of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) from 2017 to June 2021 – representing nearly 20,000 housing and community development providers in the US dedicated to creating and managing affordable housing for more than 8 million low-income householders. Ms Todman is also a former Executive Director of the District of Columbia Housing Authority where she implemented a national award-winning model to house veterans experiencing homelessness and increased homeownership opportunities by 50 percent for low- and moderate-income families

Deputy Secretary Todman believes that we have a responsibility to confront housing insecurity and help ensure access to good homes, to eliminate all forms of housing discrimination, and to build the nation’s housing infrastructure in a way that expands equitable access to housing for all people.

The keynote address is a major coup for the conference delegates - with Ms Todman's address to be the first international presentation of the plan since its launch at COP26.

Secretary Todman will present during the closing plenary session of the National Housing Conference 2022 on Friday 4 March at 9.30am. View the full program.