Training isn't just a way to keep certifications current; it's a way to keep knowledge current. And as current events continue to create moving targets for affordable housing and community development professionals – with eviction moratoriums, unemployment, rental relief, and a kaleidoscope of grants and programs – housing counselors, educators and trainers need to keep up.

Chief executive officers from three major community development intermediaries, including NeighborWorks America, talked about renewed commitments to racial equity, new partnerships and allocating resources in the time of a pandemic as part of a virtual panel hosted by NeighborWorks. The CEOs, all people of color and together for the first time in a forum like this, shared their thoughts on the state of community development in front of 70 executives from NeighborWorks network organizations based in the Northeast.

Brenda M. Torpy, founder and chief executive officer of Vermont's Champlain Housing Trust (CHT), a NeighborWorks organization in Burlington, contributed an essay to the newly released book, "On Common Ground: International Perspectives on the Community Land Trust." Torpy shared thoughts about her work on the book and about the way community land trusts offer a creative affordable housing solution.

In January, Darryl Smith became CEO of HomeSight in Southeast Seattle, the most diverse part of the city. When COVID-19 hit the United States, Washington was the first to be listed as a hotspot. There have been more than 25,000 cases of coronavirus confirmed in the state, and more than a thousand deaths. About half of those have been in King County, named for Martin Luther King, Jr., the county where Seattle is located.

As we begin a new year — and a new decade — NeighborWorks America's network organizations are hard at work, doing what they do best. Some are exploring on new partnerships. Some are focusing on matching residents with new homes, with workforce training and with resources for staying sober or aging in place. Network leaders say they're finding inspiration in last year. And the lessons they've learned are serving as a roadmap for the year ahead.

As we enter a new year, NeighborWorks America's network organizations examine the lessons they're carrying with them from 2019. Last time, we heard about a community project and the art of the ask. Today, regional representatives talk about forming partnerships, tiny houses, competing for new hires and the challenges of NOAH projects.