HUD Capacity Building Conference for
Southeast Asian American Leaders

Children performing traditional dances

The Milwaukee Field Office hosted an all day conference on capacity building and accessing HUD Programs for Southeast Asian American Communities in Milwaukee on April 24, 2003. The event was the third in a series of conferences brought about by HUD Assistant Secretary Michael Liu as part of HUD's efforts to carry out Executive Order 13216, entitled "Increasing Opportunity and Improving Quality of Life of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders," which was signed by President Bush on June 6, 2001.

Children from the Hmong American Friendship Association in Milwaukee performed traditional dances.

The dual purpose of meeting was to introduce HUD to members of Southeast Asian American communities in Wisconsin and surrounding states, and, in turn, to introduce representatives from those communities to HUD staff from HUD Headquarters in Washington and from the Milwaukee Field Office.

More than 80 Southeast Asian American leaders from eight Wisconsin cities and three other states participated in the Conference.	Left to right: Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, Field Office Director Del Reynolds, and SEARAC Executive Director KaYing Yang

After introductory remarks by the Milwaukee County Executive and the Executive Director of the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC), Field Office Director Del Reynolds presented an overview of all of HUD's program areas in a presentation entitled "HUD 101: Programs/Structure Overview." This was followed by an interactive presentation about the HUD web site and workshops on homeownership, Public Housing agency plan participation, and public and multifamily housing assistance.

Michael Gerber, Director of Legislative and External Relations from HUD Headquarters Office of Public and Indian Housing, delivered the keynote address and moderated a one-hour question and answer session with Mr. Reynolds and the Milwaukee Field Office program division directors. The Conference concluded with a general session on small business and contracting opportunities, additional workshops on Community Planning and Development and Fair Housing programs, and one on one conversation with those in attendance.