Fair Housing Update and Awards Program

Milwaukee Field Office Director Del Reynolds joined Marty Evanson, Bureau Director, State of Wisconsin Department of Commerce, in presentation of awards as part of the Fair Housing Update and Awards Program on Friday, April 23, 2010, in Waukesha, Wisconsin. The event is sponsored by the Wisconsin Fair Housing Network, of which HUD is a member. The Milwaukee FHEO staff was instrumental in organizing and coordinating this event. The program was held in honor of the 42nd anniversary of the passage of the federal Fair Housing Act and in support of efforts in Wisconsin to promote and enforce equal housing opportunity. The theme of this year's event was "Fair Housing: We Are All Part of the Puzzle." An opening information session included a panel of presenters discussing "Dealing with the Foreclosure Puzzle," moderated by Bethany Sanchez, Director - Fair Lending Program, Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council, a Fair Housing Initiatives Program recipient. Keynote Speakers were Karyn Rotker, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Senior Staff Attorney and Laurence Dupuis, Legal Director of the ACLU of Wisconsin Foundation. They addressed "Anatomy of Exclusion: How Suburban Zoning Locks In Segregated Housing." See Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article about Thomas E. Perez (http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/91100959.html), head of the civil rights division of the U.S. Attorney General's office, who made a stop to address the approximately 125 attendees at the Fair Housing Program.

Also on Friday morning, Milwaukee Field Office Director Del Reynolds, Milwaukee FHEO Director Thomas Nelson and members of the Milwaukee FHEO staff were invited to meet with Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Thomas E. Perez and United States Attorney James Santelle and key members of his staff for an informal discussion of fair housing enforcement in Wisconsin with a small group of representatives from advocacy groups and housing authorities.

In addition to the Fair Housing Program mentioned above, Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez participated in two other events involving Milwaukee Field Office staff during his visit to Milwaukee, Wisconsin on April 23, 2010. Milwaukee FHEO professional staff and other fair housing leaders in Wisconsin, including representatives from Fair Housing Initiatives Program agency Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing, met privately for one hour with Thomas E. Perez, the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, to discuss the status of fair housing enforcement in Wisconsin. Approximately 30 participants attended this meeting. During the second event, Milwaukee FHEO Director Thomas Nelson participated in a panel discussion at the Marquette University Law School with Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez and United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin James L. Santelle to discuss civil rights enforcement activity in Wisconsin. This event was open to the public and attracted approximately 50 attendees.

From left to right in the photo are:

Charles A. Guadagnino, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
Karen L. Stevens, Counsel, Office of the Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, DOJ
Del Reynolds, Field Office Director, HUD Milwaukee Field Office
Jamie McFarland, Equal Opportunity Specialist, HUD Milwaukee Field Office
Thomas Nelson, Director, FHEO, HUD Milwaukee Field Office
Sandy Rubin, Equal Opportunity Specialist, HUD Milwaukee Field Office
Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Right Division, DOJ
James L. Santelle, United States Attorney, Eastern District of Wisconsin
Sue Scanlan, Equal Opportunity Specialist, HUD Milwaukee Field Office
Susan M. Knepel, Civil Division Chief, U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Wisconsin
Stacy C. Gerber Ward, Deputy Civil Division Chief, U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Wisconsin