Families at the Center: Building a Chicago Without Homelessness

Keynote Speaker

Marcia is a partner in Taft’s Public Affairs Strategies Group and serves as firmwide Chair of Public Policy. She brings more than five decades of experience working with lawmakers, elected officials, key staff, and coalitions at the local, state, and federal levels. From 2021 to 2024, she served as the 18th Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

During her tenure, Marcia led initiatives to increase housing supply, eradicate the growing homelessness issue, end discriminatory practices in the housing market, and ensure compliance with fair housing rules. From 2008 to 2021, Marcia served as the U.S. representative for Ohio's 11th Congressional District. She was a member of several Congressional Caucuses and the past Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. As a member of Congress, Marcia earned a reputation for tackling the unique
challenges of her district by working with her congressional delegation and across political ideologies.

In 1999, she was elected the first female and first African American mayor of Warrensville Heights, Ohio, a position she held for two terms. As mayor of Warrensville Heights, Ohio, she adopted one of the first vacant and abandoned property ordinances in the state. She collaborated with local officials to establish a task force aimed at protecting against predatory lending, and she successfully secured the inclusion of property maintenance grants in the Warrensville Revitalization Action Plan. Additionally, she brought new residential development to the city and addressed the city’s growing foreclosure crisis through the formation of a local partnership that helped residents maintain the financial security needed to buy or keep a home. Marcia’s career in public service began in the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, where she rose to the rank of Director of Budget and Finance.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in business from The Ohio State University and her law degree from the Cleveland State University School of Law. She served as the 21st national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and is a member of its Greater Cleveland Alumnae Chapter.

Program Panelist: Structural Drivers of Homelessness

The Chief provides executive leadership to the State's work to prevent and end homelessness and serves as the chair of the Task Force and co-chair of the Advisory Council. The Chief serves as a policymaker and spokesperson on homelessness prevention, including leading the multiagency Home Illinois effort through programmatic, policy, legislative, and budgetary efforts and communicating with the Illinois General Assembly, federal, and local leaders on these critical issues. The Chief is the State of Illinois' lead policymaking official working to prevent and end homelessness.

Christine Haley was appointed Illinois' first Chief Homeless Officer on November 03, 2021. Before joining the state, Christine was the Director of Housing for Cook County Health (CCH), one of the nation's largest public safety-net health systems. Together with Housing Forward, she was the clinical administrator of a 19-bed medical respite center in Oak Park.

Before joining CCH, Christine worked as an administrator in the housing sector with the CSH, Housing Opportunities for Women and Heartland Alliance. She previously served in health equity positions within the Massachusetts and Cleveland Departments of Public Health. She was the founding Executive Director of the Chicago Torture Justice Center. Christine holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Science in Social Administration from Case Western Reserve University. Christine lives in Chicago with her husband Peter and three children.

Program Panelist: Structural Drivers of Homelessness

Sendy Soto serves as the City of Chicago’s first Chief Homelessness Officer, appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson to lead the City’s efforts to develop a comprehensive five-year plan addressing homelessness across Chicago. In this role, she coordinates among City departments and sister agencies to advance the Mayor’s vision that housing is a fundamental human right for all Chicagoans. Her leadership is guided by a deep commitment to centering the dignity and humanity of individuals experiencing homelessness.

Prior to this appointment, Soto served as Senior Director of Addressing Critical Needs at The Chicago Community Trust, where she oversaw a $2 million housing and homelessness grant program and expanded the organization’s public safety initiatives. She also served as Managing Deputy Commissioner for the Chicago Department of Housing, where she secured a $42 million budget to establish the first-ever Bureau of Community Engagement, Racial Equity, and Strategic Initiatives. Soto led the nation’s first Racial Equity Impact Assessment on the Qualified Allocation Plan for the City’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, helping generate more than $1 billion in equitable housing investments.

Her dedication to equity and community-driven leadership has been recognized with the Women Who Dared Award from the Chicago National Organization for Women. She was also appointed by Governor J.B. Pritzker to serve as a Commissioner on the Logan Square, Avondale Hermosa Expanded Mental Health Services Program Commission, where she advocates for affordable and accessible mental health services for local residents.