Reflections from Housing California 2026: Rooted in Community, Focused on What’s Next
Last month, the full Reneris team attended California’s largest gathering of affordable housing professionals. The Housing California Annual Conference felt especially meaningful this year. The theme, “Rooted in Community: Realizing California’s Promise Together,” was not just a tagline, but a feeling that carried through every session and into many interactions and conversations through the week.
The clear through line: solving California’s housing crisis requires more than policy. It requires deep collaboration, insight from lived experience, and a willingness to rethink systems that haven’t worked for far too many.
A Conference Grounded in Housing Justice
From the outset, the conference emphasized housing justice, not just as an idea, but as a call to action. Beginning with the Housing Justice Awards, many of the sessions to follow also centered on equity, renter protections, and addressing homelessness at a systems level.
What stood out most was the balance between urgency and intention. There was recognition that while the need for housing is immediate, the solutions must be thoughtful, community-driven, and sustainable. Conversations consistently circled back to closing equity gaps and ensuring that housing policy reflects the realities of those most impacted.
Hearing Directly from Gubernatorial Candidates
An early standout moment of the conference was the gubernatorial candidate forum. Bringing candidates into a space grounded in housing advocacy offered a unique opportunity to hear directly from these potential leaders as to how they intended to address the pervasive challenges around housing in this state. The discussion centered on the critical issues of housing affordability, production, renter protections, and long-term stability across California.
A Focus on Those Doing the Work
A standout session this year held during the last breakout session of the day on Thursday targeted emerging leaders in the affordable housing space. Darnell Williams, SVP of Property Operations at Eden Housing spoke of growing up in affordable housing in Chicago and yet not discovering the industry until pivoting from an interest in criminal justice in college. He encouraged early leaders to lean into opportunities that sparked their curiosity and take the leap to try something new within the industry. Lillian Lew-Hailer of Mercy Housing offered an insightful take on when one might consider the move from an operator role into a director role, exploring the ways managing a team is very different from managing a project, but how both offer great opportunity for impact. In a room where many attendees considered themselves “accidental housers” four industry leaders described paths that could be paved with courage and intention, demonstrating just how far this industry has come. It also reinforced how critical it is to intentionally find and support talent in this space, something we are fortunate to contribute to every day through our work as executive search partners.
Why This Conference Matters
What continues to set Housing California apart is its ability to convene a truly cross-sector group of developers, nonprofit leaders, policymakers, advocates, and private sector partners, all focused on a shared goal.
Leaving the conference, we felt both the weight of the challenges ahead and a renewed sense of optimism. There is no single solution to California’s housing crisis, but there is a growing network of people committed to solving it together. We feel privileged to support many of these individuals as they navigate their careers through this essential field. And that, ultimately, is what “Rooted in Community” feels like in practice.
