Agenda & Speakers
Florida Housing Summit • James Museum, St. Petersburg • Wednesday, May 14, 7:30 AM - 4:00 PM
The Florida Housing Summit: Blueprint for Better Outcomes, hosted by the Florida Policy Project (FPP), is a premier event that brings together industry leaders, policymakers, experts, and stakeholders to discuss the pressing issues and solutions in housing today. The summit aims to address challenges, share innovative solutions, and pave the way for a brighter future for Floridians.
Expert speakers will discuss innovative solutions, including zoning, incentivizing Cities and Counties, RDU/ADU, vouchers, up-zoning, and more. Attendees can expect a day of knowledge sharing, innovative policy discussions, and networking opportunities.
2025 Agenda
2025 Speakers
Emcee for this year’s event is Matt Walsh. Matt Walsh is founder, CEO and owner The Observer Media Group Inc. After starting the company in 1995 with the purchase of the Longboat Observer, Walsh and his late wife, Lisa. The company publishes seven newspapers, four websites, four lifestyle magazines, multiple social media channels and one podcast.
The company’s newspapers include the Longboat Observer, Sarasota-Siesta Key Observer and East County Observer; the Business Observer; the 120-year-old West Orange Times and Observer and Southwest Orange Observer near Orlando; and the 115-year-old Jacksonville Daily Record.
The company’s publications reach more than 432,920 readers a week.
Michelle Dennard is vice president and regional executive of the Jacksonville Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. She is responsible for the Branch’s Board of Directors and the District’s Advisory Council on Transportation and Logistics. In her role, she provides regional input into the Atlanta Fed’s monetary policy process.
Ms. Dennard joined the Jacksonville Branch in 2023. An attorney and member of the Florida Bar, Ms. Dennard has nearly 20 years of experience in workforce and economic development serving in state-level positions to provide strategic leadership and shape policy.
Kevin Erdmann is the author of “Shut Out: How a Housing Shortage Caused the Great Recession and Crippled Our Economy” and “Building from the Ground Up: Reclaiming the American Housing Boom”. He is a senior affiliated scholar with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University where he has published numerous studies and briefs detailing how obstructions to housing supply and homeowner financing have created a housing crisis. He covers these ideas and the current marketplace at his Substack newsletter, The Erdmann Housing Tracker. His work has appeared on C-Span, Bloomberg’s “Odd Lots” podcast, in the Wall Street Journal, the National Review, Politico, Barron’s, USA Today, US News, and others.
Patrick Slevin has earned a national reputation as a NIMBY crisis expert. Over the span of his career, he has educated, instructed, and counseled thousands of real estate executives concerned with the consequences of NIMBY opposition.
Slevin was elected the youngest mayor in the history of Safety Harbor, Florida in 1996 at the age of 27. He is a two-time Amazon bestselling NIMBY author and a nationally recognized YIMBY speaker and consultant. Patrick’s integrated public affairs firm, SL7 Consulting, is headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida. His website is www.PatrickSlevin.com.
Jim Ayotte is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Florida Manufactured Housing Association (FMHA) in Tallahassee, FL. Jim has worked in the manufactured housing industry for over 30 years and has held executive management positions at the Manufactured Housing Institute in Washington, D.C., and the Ohio and New England manufactured housing associations.
Jim holds a B.A. degree from the University of Massachusetts and an MBA degree from Babson College. Jim is a Certified Association Executive (CAE) through the American Society of Association Executives.
Domonic Purviance is a Subject Matter Expert within the Supervision Regulation and Credit Division at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. In this role, he is primarily responsible for conducting an ongoing assessment of risks associated with residential real estate markets and the potential impacts they may pose to the financial system. This includes analyzing conditions within individual markets as well as the impacts of external forces on real estate. In addition, Mr. Purviance is responsible for developing real estate related analytical reports and tools utilized internally throughout the Federal Reserve System to aid in risk surveillance and banking supervision as well as external tools such as the Home Ownership Affordability Monitor (HOAM).
Zayne Smith is the Senior Director of Advocacy at AARP Florida, where she leads strategic efforts to advance policies that positively impact the lives of older adults. Zayne brings a wealth of experience to her role, with a background in policy development and advocacy at both the state and national levels.
Zayne has a deep understanding of the issues facing communities and has been instrumental in driving change on critical issues such as long-term care, prescription drugs, health care, utilities, elections, housing, and transportation. She is known for her collaborative approach, working closely with stakeholders and coalitions to achieve common goals.
Zayne has represented AARP Florida on several key coalitions and advisory groups, including the Working Interdisciplinary Network of Guardianship Stakeholders, Guardianship Improvement Task Force, Sadowski Coalition, Professional Fiduciary Council of Florida, Department of Elder Affairs Florida State Plan on Aging Advisory Group, National Energy and Utility Affordability Coalition, and the Florida Don’t Text & Drive Coalition.
Zayne holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and a Juris Doctor from the Thomas Goode Jones School of Law. Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, she is a proud member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
Charles Gardner is a research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. His research focuses on planning law and housing affordability. He has testified before several state legislatures and frequently advises local government officials on zoning matters. He has also served as a local elected official and as an active participant in state policy making on the Connecticut Advisory Committee to the US Commission on Civil Rights and on the Commission on Connecticut’s Development and Future. He received his JD from Vanderbilt University Law School.
Jake Cremer counsels developers, investors, and landowners in their interactions with the government on land development issues. He focuses on complex strategies requiring a combination of land use entitlements, environmental permitting, and property rights protection. His unique approach is to create opportunities in working with the government—whether through negotiations with staff, developing new policy and legislation, or when necessary, litigation to protect property rights.
Recently, much of Jake’s work has focused on the Live Local Act, which has been hailed as one of the country’s most significant pro-housing policies. Jake has been intimately involved in improving the Act, processing applications statewide, and litigating with local governments intent on blocking new housing.
A sixth-generation Floridian, Jake grew up in Palatka working in his family’s timber operations. This informs his perspective in long-term strategic land planning with clients in agriculture, silviculture, and heavy industries to unlock alternative income streams.
Adrian Moore, Ph.D., lives in Sarasota and is vice president of policy at Reason Foundation, a non-profit think tank advancing free minds and free markets. Moore, who has testified before Congress and state legislatures countless times, and regularly advises federal, state and local officials on ways to improve policy outcomes and reduce costs.
Dr. Moore is author of several books, most recently Megacity Mobility: Integrated Urban Transportation Development and Management (2022) as well as many academic journal articles and policy reports on a wide range of policy topics. He has served on several government commissions at local, state and federal levels. He currently writes a monthly column for the Sarasota Observer.
Prior to joining Reason, Dr. Moore served 10 years in the Army on active duty and reserves as a noncommissioned officer and officer and left the military as a Captain. He earned a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Irvine. He holds a Master’s in Economics from the University of California, Irvine and a Master’s in History from California State University, Chico.
Doug Wheeler is Director of the George Gibbs Center for Economic Prosperity at The James Madison Institute. Here, he works with a wide variety of business leaders, policymakers, researchers, and free market partners & stakeholders to promote market-based policies supported by the principles of limited government, free market capitalism, and individual freedoms.
Wheeler has previously served as President of D. Wheeler Strategies. Wheeler was also President & CEO of the Florida Ports Council (FPC). Here he facilitated increases in infrastructure funding for seaports, led multiple international trade missions to expand Florida’s presence globally, and grew the global brand and advocacy efforts of Florida’s seaports. Previously to this, he served as Vice President with the Florida Chamber of Commerce and the Southeast Political Manager for the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC).
Wheeler serves as an Executive Committee and Board Member of the Economic Club of Florida; Board member of the Network of Entrepreneurs & Business Advocates; Is a graduate of the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship – Small Business Executive Program; and a Leon County Honorary Sheriff’s Deputy. Doug is a graduate of The Florida State University with a degree in Political Science, and lives in Tallahassee with his wife, Ami, and their two children.
Bryan Eastman is Mayor Pro Tempore and District IV Representative for the City of Gainesville, Florida. As Commissioner, Bryan spearheaded single-family zoning reform in the City of Gainesville that increased the allowable density of homes in single-family zoned areas, reducing lot sizes, setbacks, and giving more flexibility to lot dimensions. A long-time housing advocate, Comm. Eastman served as vice-chair of Gainesville’s homeless shelter, GRACE Marketplace, advocated for the passage of the city’s heralded ADU law, and the elimination of parking minimums in the city.
Kody Glazer is the Chief Legal and Policy Officer of the Florida Housing Coalition. Kody spearheads the Coalition’s legal and policy initiatives and provides technical support to local government staff, elected officials, builders, community groups, and other affordable housing stakeholders on regulatory reform, funding, land use, innovative policy, and the law generally as it relates to affordable housing. Kody leads the Coalition’s policy design and housing affordability advocacy efforts, as the lead of the Sadowski Affiliates, and has expertise drafting state legislation and local housing ordinances and policies. Kody is an Adjunct Professor at the Florida State University Department of Urban and Regional Planning.
Christina Mojica is a Land Use and Housing Policy Analyst. She writes about zoning, land use, housing supply, and tenant-focused programs, such as housing vouchers. Her work emphasizes practical, market-based solutions to expand access to housing.
Félix De Portu is a Visual Communications Strategist and Urbanist Policy Advocate based in Austin, Texas, where he serves on the city’s Zoning and Platting Commission. He is an active member of AURA, a grassroots organization advocating for abundant housing and reliable transit. Originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico, he brings a decade of lived experience in Austin’s evolving urban landscape and champions thoughtful policy approaches that enable the creation of walkable, resilient, mixed-use neighborhoods. His work bridges design and policy, using storytelling and strategy to advance more inclusive, sustainable urban futures.
Bemetra Simmons is the president and chief executive officer of the Tampa Bay Partnership, a coalition of regional business leaders working together to improve the personal and economic well-being of Tampa Bay residents.
Bemetra previously served as the chief strategy and operations officer for United Way Suncoast, and she has held leadership and executive leadership roles at Mutual of Omaha Bank, Wells Fargo, and BB&T.
She is active in our community and holds leadership roles throughout the state, including the board of directors for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Jacksonville Branch, the board of trustees for St. Leo University, the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, and the St. Pete Free Clinic. Bemetra is a Leadership Tampa graduate and a member of Leadership Florida Cornerstone Class XXXVIII. She was named a finalist for the Business Woman of the Year by Tampa Bay Business and Wealth Magazine in 2023. She is also a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Simmons is the daughter of an Air Force Chaplain and has lived in ten states and two countries. She attended Christian Brothers University in Memphis, TN, on a basketball scholarship and received a B.S. in business administration, and her MBA from Wake Forest University.
Along with her twin sister, Demetra, Simmons co-founded Corporate Homie, a career, lifestyle, and advice company and podcast dedicated to assisting professionals in navigating the waters of corporate America.
Scott Macdonald is a Partner at Blue Sky, where he leads project underwriting, manages the firm’s debt and equity relationships, and oversees all aspects of project management from closing through completion. He also directs Blue Sky’s corporate finance strategy, operations, and asset management.
Since joining Blue Sky in 2014, Mr. Macdonald has successfully closed 34 transactions totaling over $700 million in project costs. His leadership has contributed to the development and preservation of more than 3,300 affordable housing units.
Mr. Macdonald serves in several leadership positions in this industry. He is on the Board of Directors at Florida Coalition of Attainable Housing Providers (CAHP) where he is chairman of the Insurance Subcommittee. He is also chairman of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Affordable & Workforce Housing Council. He serves as Vice Chairman of the City of St. Petersburg Affordable Housing Advisory Committee. Also, he is a holder of the Housing Credit Certified Professional (HCCP) designation from NAHB.
Jeff Brandes is Founder and President of Florida Policy Project since his accomplished service in the Florida Legislature from 2010 to 2022. He represented Senate District 24, which covered a majority of Pinellas County, and was known for his innovative and independent policy-making. Throughout his tenure, he consistently advocated for solutions to address Florida’s most challenging issues.
Brandes is a strong advocate for free market principles and has worked to reduce regulations and taxes to promote business development in Florida. He is a vocal supporter of cutting-edge technologies and has played a vital role in the state’s advancing self-driving vehicles, rideshare, and other emerging technologies. For over a decade, he has hosted the Florida Automated Vehicle Summit, assembling industry leaders to address transportation technologies, operations, and policy issues.
Brandes is a business owner and serves on the boards of several community organizations. Senator Brandes lives in St. Petersburg and is dedicated to making Florida a better place to live, work, and raise a family.
Elizabeth Strom is an Associate Professor in the School of Public Affairs at the University of South Florida. She previously served as the Director of USF’s Office of Community Engagement and Partnerships. She has published on urban development, the role of arts and tourism in cities, and affordable housing issues in several leading academic journals.
Ilana Blumsack is an Economic Policy Analyst at Americans for Prosperity, where she focuses on a broad range of Economic Progress issues, including housing, state tax policy and welfare policy. Prior to joining AFP, Ilana was a Research Associate at the Cato Institute, where she supported Chris Edwards and Scott Lincicome in work on fiscal and labor policy. She also previously interned at the Heritage Foundation and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Ilana holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel and M.S. in Applied Economics at Johns Hopkins University.