NeighborWorks America President & CEO Marietta Rodriguez joined the Women in Housing & Finance organization for a Public Policy Lunch this week, the first week of Women’s History Month.
Rodriguez leads a “C-suite” – top executives at the organization – of mostly women. She spoke about her long-time involvement with the congressionally chartered national nonprofit and its network of nearly 250, efficient nonprofits. The goal, she says, is scaling solutions that work, and expanding access to resources that create lasting change.
“For everyone in communities to thrive, everyone needs a place to live,” she said.
Rodriguez focused on NeighborWorks' legacy in more than 45 years of affordable housing and community development. She highlighted:
- NeighborWorks’ dedication to housing counseling, which educates homebuyers and helps them develop the individual plans they need to achieve homeownership. Over the last 10 years, the NeighborWorks network has counseled and educated more than 1.5 million customers.
- Down payment assistance, as a means of bridging affordability gaps. Through specialized down payment assistance, coupled with technical assistance and more, NeighborWorks network organizations and NeighborWorks created more than 213,000 homeowners over the past 10 years. In 2024 alone, she said, the NeighborWorks network helped more than 16,000 families become homeowners.
- Rental housing is home for many families; it can also be a key step on the journey to homeownership. NeighborWorks is a major owner of affordable apartment homes, with more than 211,000 homes in its portfolio, some newly developed properties while others are existing properties that have been either rehabbed or purchased.
- NeighborWorks and the network as homebuilders. Last year the network built 740 homes, and anticipates building more than 3,000 homes over the next three years – adding several thousand new affordable apartments at the same time.
- Disaster response. NeighborWorks supports network organizations year round, but after a disaster, that support increases in impact, including through “lessons learned” from other network organizations that have gone through similar tragedies. “People helping people is the greatest tool following a disaster,” Rodriguez said. But NeighborWorks also provides grants and helps nonprofits in affected areas build capacity, access food and water, and aids in rent relief. Nonprofits are “hubs of information for people in distress,” she said.
- Resilience in affordable housing. Rodriguez said NeighborWorks and the network will continue to stand out in tough times. “We’re consistently putting people into homeownership, building affordable housing and equipping residents with the tools to prosper and for their communities to thrive,” she said. Those tools include bringing public, private and nonprofit partners together at local, state, regional and national levels to build replicable solutions. “We’re listening, being present and telling the story of our success to everyone and anyone who wants to make housing affordable,” she said.
Rodriguez’s message was clear: When we invest in people, communities thrive. As NeighborWorks continues to expand access to homeownership, strengthen affordable housing and support local organizations, the impact reaches far beyond individual households. It’s about creating neighborhoods where families can put down roots, businesses can grow and opportunity is within reach for all.
