Summit 2026 Home - Center for New York City Neighborhoods

Tangled title continues to lock individuals and families out of home repair programs, disaster relief, and traditional financing, leaving heirs' property vulnerable to forced sales, tax foreclosure, predatory acquisition, deterioration and other loss.Yet resolving title alone is often not enough: heirs also need access to flexible capital that recognizes the unique ownership, underwriting, and legal challenges associated with heirs’ property. This panel brings together researchers, funders, and advocates to discuss what it will take to close the capital gap: on-the-ground strategies for stabilizing heirs’ property, emerging financing models built around the realities of fragmented and informal ownership, the role of philanthropic and public capital in absorbing risk, and the policy shifts needed to help households preserve and build wealth from the property they already own.

Featured Speakers

Moderator

Roodgally Senatus

Senior Reporter

ImpactAlpha

Roodgally “Roody” Senatus is a senior reporter at ImpactAlpha, covering the ownership economy—employee ownership, franchise ownership, homeownership, and cooperative models—alongside housing, youth mental health, racial equity, inclusive fund managers. Before ImpactAlpha, he was a property markets and senior reporter at Real Estate Fund Intelligence (REFI US and REFI Europe), covering private equity real estate managers and institutional capital allocation, and got his start as a writer/digital producer intern at ImpactAlpha. He holds a B.A. in Journalism & Communications from LIU Brooklyn and a Business Journalism certificate from Wharton.

Panelist

Dr. Jose Diaz

Chief Economist

The Constellation Fund

Jose Diaz, Ph.D. is a nationally recognized expert in benefit-cost analysis and evidence-based philanthropy, with more than 15 years of experience leading large-scale grant portfolios and evaluation systems. As Chief Economist at The Constellation Fund, he oversees a $4 million annual grantmaking portfolio and directs more than 100 program evaluations each year across education, healthcare, and economic mobility.

Jose has developed over 200 cost-benefit and social return metrics used by philanthropic organizations to strengthen accountability, prioritize high-impact investments, and maximize social returns. His work has positioned Constellation as a national leader in data-driven grantmaking. He is a trusted advisor to funders seeking analytical rigor, strategic clarity, and long-term impact.

Panelist

Michelle Mapp

Owner & Attorney

Michelle A. Mapp, Attorney at Law, LLC

Attorney Michelle A. Mapp is a South Carolina lawyer, community development finance leader, and advocate committed to preserving land, homes, businesses, and family wealth. She focuses her legal practice on heirs’ property, estate planning, probate, and contract matters. Before entering private practice, Michelle spent 13 years with the South Carolina Community Loan Fund, including seven years as CEO, helping finance affordable housing and community development projects. She later served as an Equal Justice Works Fellow and Advocacy Director for the ACLU of South Carolina, advancing housing justice and economic equity. A certified Housing Development Finance Professional, Michelle brings three decades of experience at the intersection of law, capital, housing, and community development. She earned a Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Charleston School of Law, along with graduate degrees in public administration and engineering management. Her work centers on helping families protect property and build legacies.

Panelist

Michael Neal

Practice Area Lead

Urban Institute

Michael Neal is a senior fellow in the Housing Finance Policy Center at the Urban Institute. He is also a research director with the Initiative on Land, Housing and Property Rights at Boston College.

Neal’s research on wealth building broadly focuses on housing and financial systems that support it. Neal has published extensively on heirs’ property including topics related to wills and estate plans, the Uniform Partition of Heirs’ Property Act and the role of technology.

Neal is a member of the Social Science Advisory Board at the Poverty and Race Research Action Council. He also serves on the Technical Data Advisory Committee at the Center for Opportunity and Wealth data and HBCU Wealth Building Advisory Board at the United Negro College Fund. Neal has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Morehouse College and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Pennsylvania. He has also studied economics at St. Catherine’s College, University of Oxford, and finance in the Graduate School at Princeton University.

Panelist

Laurie Schoeman

Executive Director, Housing Access & Affordability

JPMC Global Philanthropy

Laurie Schoeman is Executive Director of Housing Access and Affordability for JPMorganChase Global Philanthropy. She leads the firm's housing philanthropy strategy, overseeing investments and partnerships that expand affordable housing access, strengthen housing stability, and advance economic mobility. Laurie works across sectors to develop scalable solutions that increase housing supply, preserve affordable homes, and support resilient communities. Prior to joining JPMorganChase, she served in housing policy and community development leadership roles, including at the White House and Enterprise Community Partners, where she helped shape strategies to increase housing opportunity and strengthen communities nationwide. With more than 20 years of experience spanning finance and philanthropy, policy, and community development, Laurie brings deep expertise in aligning public, private, and philanthropic resources to advance pathways to the American Dream for more households.

ABOUT

POLICY

RESEARCH & STORIES

OUR SITES

Capital Solutions for Heirs' Property Preservation

Featured Speakers

Roodgally Senatus

Dr. Jose Diaz

Michelle Mapp

Michael Neal

Laurie Schoeman

This Panel is Sponsored by