Monarch Housing Associates, Inc.

10/29/2026

This month, Monarch Housing Associates CEO Taiisa Kelly had the pleasure of attending the 2026 Crossroads NJ Democracy Forum: Fighting for the Future, hosted by The Fund for New Jersey.

The forum brought together voices from across NJ to discuss pressing issues shaping our state’s future, including democratic participation, immigration and affordability. These conversations highlighted the importance of civic engagement, collaboration and advancing solutions that support a more equitable and inclusive NJ.

Photo Credit: New Jersey Performing Arts Center

10/02/2026

Monarch Housing Associates was proud to participate in this year’s Governor’s Conference, bringing together policymakers, housing practitioners, developers and partners from across the state to discuss New Jersey’s housing future.

Monarch CEO Taiisa Kelly joined an esteemed panel of housing leaders to explore the policies, programs and priorities shaping NJ’s housing agenda. They shared insights on emerging opportunities, implementation strategies and the challenges that will help define housing policy in 2027 and beyond.

From the panel discussions to conversations at our exhibit table, it was an opportunity to connect, exchange ideas and continue building momentum around solutions that expand access to safe, affordable housing across NJ.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by our table, joined the conversation and helped make this year’s conference such a meaningful opportunity for connection and collaboration.

09/29/2026

Monarch’s fifth annual Housing as a Human Right Conference is a wrap! 
 
Thank you to all the attendees, sponsors, panelists, keynote speakers, staff, and additional partners who joined us and helped to make this year’s conference such a resounding success.
 
We invite you to take the insights you gained from this year’s conference and envision how affirming the Human Right to Housing would impact your work, your community, and your own life. Together, we can ensure that every resident of New Jersey has access to safe, stable, and affordable housing options, and we look forward to continuing to work alongside you as we pursue this goal.
 
All of the photos from this year’s conference can be viewed in our Facebook album: https://tinyurl.com/4dyy3w6a. All photos courtesy of Averie Ann Photography: https://www.averieannstudios.com/.

09/29/2026

09/22/2026

Tomorrow is the day! Monarch’s Housing As A Human Right Conference is just one day away, and we’re spotlighting a session that brings the heart of our conference—and the human right to housing—into focus.  
 
Today’s Session Spotlight:
 
“Perspectives on the Human Right to Housing”
 
As Monarch’s Housing is a Human Right campaign continues to grow and evolve, this panel brings together advocates and legislative experts to explore how affirming the right to housing would support New Jersey communities.
 
Panelists will explore how policies and models grounded in the human rights perspective fit into the current housing framework in our state. 
 
Panelists Include: Assemblywoman Katie Brennan (NJ State Legislature), Kate Kelly (Executive Director, Supportive Housing Association of New Jersey), Taiisa Kelly (Chief Executive Officer, Monarch Housing Associates), Jermaine Meadows, Ed.D. (NYC Director of
Government Affairs, Hudson Gateway Association of REALTORS, Inc.) and Brandon L. McGee, Jr. (CEO, Social Equity Council and Former Deputy Commissioner, State of Connecticut, Department of Housing).

This panel will be moderated by James C. Williams IV.

09/21/2026

We’re just two days away from Monarch’s Housing As A Human Right Conference!
 
We’re spotlighting the sessions that will bring together leaders and experts to tackle the critical housing issues facing New Jersey.
 
Today’s Session Spotlight:
 
“Health Equity in Housing Development”
 
This panel brings together two important issues: historical housing inequalities and modern health inequalities caused by housing.
 
The discussion aims to guide modern developers in avoiding the pitfalls of the past, with a throughline focused on the applicability of these lessons to housing projects being built today.
 
Panelists Include: Michael Cassidy (Senior Development Project Manager NY/NJ, The Community Builders, Inc.), Dr. Carl Gershenson (Director, Eviction Lab at Princeton University) and Dr. Robert Nelson (Director, Digital Scholarship Lab, University of Richmond).
 
This panel will be moderated by Daniel Coghlan.

09/18/2026

At Monarch’s Housing As A Human Right Conference, we are addressing the critical issues impacting housing across New Jersey—from access and stability to housing production.
 
Today’s Session Spotlight:
 
“Storm Warning: How Extreme Weather is Shaping the Affordable Housing Crisis”  
 
The affordable housing and climate crises have merged. Wildfires incinerate neighborhoods, hurricanes demolish entire coastal regions, floods ravage homes leaving them uninhabitable for months, tornadoes obliterate communities—stress testing planners, developers and policymakers in ways we are only beginning to reckon with. 
 
As Insurers are abandoning climate-exposed markets and extreme weather events are wiping out affordable housing stock faster than it can be rebuilt, displacement permanently prices out residents least able to absorb them.
 
This panel explores how extreme weather is reshaping housing affordability, insurance markets and development economics. What is realistic intervention?
 
Panelists Include: Christopher Colley (Principal, Topology), Andrew Davis (Partner, Shipman & Goodwin LLP) and Joe Quarantello (National Environment Practice Leader, Brown & Brown).
    
This panel will be moderated by Lynn Bartlett.

09/17/2026

The countdown is on for Monarch Housing Associates’ Housing As A Human Right Conference!
 
We are bringing together voices from across New Jersey. Together, we’ll examine the barriers within our state’s housing system and discuss how we can create a future where safe, affordable housing is accessible to everyone.
 
Today’s Session Spotlight:
 
“Cross Borders: Innovation Lessons from the World in Affordable Housing Models”
 
Panelists Include: Scott Mullarkey (Vice President/CRA
Investment Officer, TD, U.S., Community Capital Group) and Asish Patel (Chief Operating Officer, Monarch Housing Associates)
 
From Vienna’s century-old social housing tradition (where more than half the city’s population lives in publicly subsidized housing) to Singapore’s Housing Development Board (which has made homeownership a near-universal reality through land stewardship), mixed-income community land trust in the U.K., emerging cooperative housing in Uruguay and Finland’s elimination of chronic homelessness, the international landscape offers a rich array of approaches. 
 
This discussion probes the structural conditions that allow these models to succeed: the role of land policy, financing mechanisms, political will, community will and design innovation. 
 
Attendees will leave with a comparative framework for evaluating housing interventions in their own context and inspiration for adaptation closer to home.