Commitment
to Diversity, Equity
& Inclusion
2021/22 Report
To Our Friends, Supporters and Partners
On behalf of Eden’s leadership team and Board of Directors, we are proud to share with you our first Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Report.
Eden Housing was founded in 1968 by six community activists who were concerned about the lack of non-discriminatory affordable housing in Alameda County. One of their early social justice projects was to work on a ballot initiative to create fair housing. Although the initiative failed, Eden’s volunteers established an ethos of resilience that we continue to uphold—promoting the fundamental right to a home and the economic opportunities it unlocks.
This past year we launched a new five-year strategic plan that includes a company-wide commitment to embed racial, social and economic justice in all our work.
We created a new mission statement, core values and an equity statement that grounds and inspires our work each day. We also contracted with Innovisions to conduct a staff survey and focus groups to identify opportunities for growth within Eden.
An important next step was to hire Lorenzo Jones as part of our team, our first Senior Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Together, we will continue to work with our staff, residents and partners to advance initiatives that promote equity and justice for all. This includes our advocacy work to eliminate exclusionary zoning and harmful land use policies that keep people of different races and at lower income levels from living in the same communities.
Our board made a commitment four years ago to a formal program to diversify its membership and create leadership succession, passing term limits for the first time in our history. The Board also recently participated in its first DE&I training. We are embedding equity and justice in our board committee work plans and have identified specific equity issues for Eden to engage in from tenant rent policies to our investment policies.
We see this work as critical to creating a stronger, more equitable future for all.
Linda Mandolini
President, Eden Housing
President, Eden Housing
Jim Kennedy
Chair, Eden Board of Directors
Chair, Eden Board of Directors
CORE VALUE: Deliver With Integrity
Every day we do what’s right for our residents, our community, our state and our planet.
Our Mission and Core Values
Eden Housing creates and sustains high-quality affordable housing communities that advance equity and opportunity for all
Deliver with integrity
Every day we do what’s right for our residents, our community, our state and our planet.
Champion our people
Our employees are our biggest asset—our investments in professional growth advance our mission.
Commit to equity and racial justice
We take an anti-racist approach— applying an equity lens across all our work.
Promote economic justice
We provide stable homes and supportive services—promoting economic mobility for the people we serve.
Commit for the long haul
Our work is never done—we focus on long-term partnerships and solutions to address the housing crisis.
Equity Statement
Since our founding in 1968, Eden Housing has been committed to building and preserving a home for everyone in need. We have a responsibility to address structural racism in our communities through our work in housing. The following equity statement outlines our commitment.
We advocate to eliminate the effects of racist, exclusionary land use policy and housing discrimination. We value racially and economically diverse communities because they are essential to our collective success.
We build inclusive, high-quality and well-designed affordable housing throughout California. We do this because everyone has a right to live in safe, thriving neighborhoods with access to quality education and employment opportunities.
We believe that access to resident services and amenities allows people to live with dignity, experience lifelong growth and build financial security. We will apply an equity lens to our partnerships, programs and supply chain to acknowledge that the opportunities we provide can be a pathway to economic success for people who have encountered the most significant barriers.
We celebrate our differences and strive to create change for good. We hire people who embody and champion the Eden Housing brand and mission. We value the unique perspective that derives from richly diverse residents and employees. We pledge to engage and elevate the voices of all cultures and backgrounds to increase our efficacy and understanding.
We promise to do our part. We promise to be mindful and consistent. We commit to scrutinize and improve our practices, policies and programs. We will continue to increase our social awareness and ability to understand, appreciate and interact with people from different cultures and belief systems. We will deliver with integrity, champion our people, build enduring partnerships and commit for the long haul.
We challenge our partners to join with us in the fight to end racist policies and practices in the housing industry. Together, our advocacy and concrete actions will help us change the world one corner at a time.
Eden Housing’s Equity Statement
We build inclusive, high-quality and well-designed affordable housing throughout California. We do this because everyone has a right to live in safe, thriving neighborhoods with access to quality education and employment opportunities.
Sheila Burks
Eden Housing Board Member
We promise to do our part. We promise to be mindful and consistent. We commit to scrutinize and improve our practices, policies and programs.
Kevin Leichner
Vice President of Development,
Housing Finance & Acquisitions
I’d Like to Introduce Myself: Lorenzo Jones, Eden Housing’s New Senior Director of DE&I
DE&I – Lorenzo Jones on DE&I at Eden Housing
Like most people in our country and beyond, I was devastated by the brutal murder of George Floyd and the many other tragic events that have impacted people of color in our country. The current question for me is, “How can we continue to have dialogue inside our organization that can bring about healing, compassion, understanding and education?”
In the brief time that I have worked with Eden Housing as the Senior Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, it has already been an enriching experience. The affordable housing industry has personal meaning for me on many levels—we provide homes for those who most need a roof over their heads, and the work is grounded in racial, social and economic justice.
My vision is that Eden will create positive change and promote greater diversity and inclusion through education, collaboration and vigilance.
We have begun the process by having dialogues with our Board and Leadership Teams and by reaching out to staff through surveys, focus groups and employee engagement experiences. We had 353 employees (74%) complete a company-wide survey; and 55 employees who participated in 11 focus groups to lay the groundwork for our company-wide DE&I effort.
Subsequently, we launched our first DE&I Council this past year with a team of employees who all joined with a desire to make a difference within our organization and with our residents and community.
We also launched a company-wide commitment to our DE&I plan. This plan will guide our work over the next few years, help us measure progress and hold us accountable. We know that to be successful, our DE&I efforts must be an organizational priority.
A primary focus is to support our workforce and residents to reach their full potential. We also plan to promote inclusive prosperity by including minority-owned and women-owned businesses, developers, suppliers and investors in our business activities this coming year.
Thank you for joining us on our DE&I Journey.
Lorenzo Jones
Senior Director of DE&I,
Eden Housing
CORE VALUE: Commit to Equity and Racial Justice
We take an anti-racist approach—applying an equity lens across all our work. We commit to ongoing education to help us acknowledge and confront conscious and unconscious biases.
Eden Housing DE&I Council
Introducing our first ever council comprised of a diverse representation of Eden staff
Role of the Council
- Communicate with the leadership team on issues of culture, climate, diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace
- Create internal organizational learning opportunities for employees to voluntarily participate and engage to deepen and develop personal understanding of DE&I
- Identify opportunities for Eden staff to engage with the broader community to promote racial, social and economic justice (such as community volunteer activities, corporate social responsibility initiatives, employee resource groups)
Council Member Quotes
As council members, we can help to identify blind spots that others at Eden might miss, and help to create solutions to facilitate positive change.
DE&I is the ability to understand your own biases and perspective and be able to listen to another’s experience from a non-biased or defensive seat.
We will be using our collective experiences to enrich employee experiences at Eden.
Serving on this council means a great deal to me; acknowledging who I am is something more than what is visible on the outside. That is a key component in my desire to be involved in the endeavor to enlighten others to that same realization.
I would like to support the implementation of new policies that will help the organization grow and become more inclusive. I would also like to support others in voicing their concerns and potential solutions.
CORE VALUE: Promote Economic Justice
We provide stable homes and supportive services—promoting economic mobility for the people we serve.
Eden Staff and Board of Directors
Diversity at a Glance
(475 employees, 17 board members)
56%
of our staff are female
69%
of our executive
team and extended
leadership team
are female
team and extended
leadership team
are female
74%
of our staff are BIPOC
(Black, Indigenous,
People of Color)
(Black, Indigenous,
People of Color)
55%
of our executive
team and extended
leadership team are
minorities or BIPOC
team and extended
leadership team are
minorities or BIPOC
35%
of board members
are female
41%
of board members
are BIPOC
are BIPOC
DE&I – Women’s Equality
Community and Partners
Equitable Opportunity
Eden’s leadership is prioritizing new policy work and partnership initiatives to end racist practices in the housing industry and support more equitable opportunities for low-income households and people of color.
- In 2021, Eden advocated for the Build Back Better Act, which included $10 billion for a first-generation down payment assistance program to enable people of color to purchase a home.
- Eden supported the creation of a new state fund, the $1.75 billion California Housing Accelerator, reserved for shovel-ready affordable projects awaiting financing in the state’s backlogged tax credit system. The fund is expected to jumpstart production of between 6,300 and 7,200 units of affordable housing—including 1,200 units for people who are homeless.
- Eden also endorsed nine state bills that were signed by the Governor, including AB 1304 (Santiago) that requires sites included in a local government’s housing element to affirmatively further fair housing.
Diversity, equity and inclusion is part of Eden’s DNA. We always must keep a focus on that and see what we can do better. I was proud of my development team because they came together the summer after the murder of George Floyd and created their own racial justice group to explore what they could do. So it’s both a top-down and a grassroots movement at Eden, which has been great to see.
Andrea Osgood
Senior Vice-President of Real Estate Development
We cherish our partnership with Eden Housing tremendously because they value and celebrate diversity, equity and inclusion as much as we do. Eden not only celebrates us as women owners, but they challenge us to seek out and align ourselves with other women and minority owned businesses, which has led to the formation of very diverse teams that are more creative, thoughtful and successful in serving our communities.
~ Leah Alissa Bayer, Architect / President, Architects FORA
We challenge our partners to join with us in the fight to end racist policies and practices in the housing industry. Together, our advocacy and concrete actions will help us change the world one corner at a time.
Resident Equity and Economic Opportunity
Eden is working to ensure that the fundamental right to a home and the economic opportunities it unlocks are expanded more equitably
Eden Housing facilitated
$4.0 million in rent relief
to individuals and
families in 2021/22
A few action areas to address equity and racial justice include:
- A New Tiered Rent Policy that increases rent for households who can afford it, while creating more equity for households with lower incomes
- A Revised Tenant Selection Plan to remove barriers for applicants with non-violent criminal backgrounds
- A Revised Crime-Free Addendum to support housing stability for households committing non-violent criminal acts outside of the property
Additionally Eden provides resident services that allow people to live with dignity, experience lifelong growth, and build financial security. A few highlights:
- Economic Empowerment Programs include Eden Savers financial coaching, Family Self-Sufficiency Program, Renter Advantage and Employment Assistance
- Youth After School Programs offer a safe and engaging learning environment that supports students and their families
- Digital Inclusion Programs help narrow the digital divide for residents of all ages with computer training, broadband access and increased ability to engage online
Eden Housing’s Howard T. Collins Memorial Scholarship Program recognizes the potential of individuals of all ages who are striving to improve their lives with job training and higher education in our ever-changing technological society.
Calvin Whitaker
Chair of the Scholarship Committee, Eden Board Directors
I would highly recommend the after-school program to other parents. It helps kids engage with other youth in the community and have fun learning.
~ Danielle, Parent, Gilroy
I am smarter in school now. We have been learning about other countries and now I can name all the oceans. What I like best is you can get to know other kids at Sobrato better and make them your friends.
~ Lillian, 8 years old
Home Is Where Your Start Is
What’s Ahead: Our DE&I Activities for 2022/23
This is our commitment to continuing our DE&I journey at Eden
Staff
- Employee Resource Groups
- Mentorship/Peer Connect Program
- Talent Development among BIPOC staff
- Ongoing DE&I Trainings for all staff
- Share Your Stories video series to showcase employees
- Brown Bag Lunch and Learn Series
- Celebrate Cultural Diversity Holidays
Residents
- Tenant Eviction Prevention
- Recruit 50+ Volunteers as financial coaches and digital navigators
- Complete Computer Lab Upgrades at property sites
- Resident Surveys and Listening Tours
Partners and Vendors
- Drive Policy Changes and Practices to combat racism and increase diversity and equitable opportunities
- Volunteer Appreciation Event
- Support Vendors/Contractors in the DE&I space
Board
- Evaluate Investment Strategies
- Ongoing Commitment to identify areas of DE&I focus for each Board Committee
Listening to our employees’ feedback, whether it be through the voices on our DE&I Council, through employee surveys or one-on-one, sheds light on things we might not otherwise think about. This is key to our culture and creates a space where everyone feels included.
Lisa Rydholm, Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Organizational Development & Internal Communications
CORE VALUE: Commit for the Long Haul
We’ve been around since 1968 and know that our work is never done. We have the grit, motivation and passion for staying in the game and working to effect change, including being a permanent steward of housing and natural resources.
DE&I in Action: The 5 C’s
The framework for maturing our DE&I model and cultivating good practices is built on the following areas
CAREER
Eden aims to recruit and develop a high performing workforce with a commitment to diversity and to fostering an environment of belonging and understanding throughout an employee’s career.
COMMUNICATION
Eden ensures staff has opportunities for dialogue to build personal and organizational understanding, commitment and action towards equity and justice in the workplace.
COMMUNITY
Together with our partners, Eden works to eliminate the effects of racist, exclusionary land use policy and housing discrimination. We also encourage diversity, equity and inclusion in all of our business activities.
CONSISTENCY
Eden will mature the DE&I model and improve the consistency of desired outcomes by scrutinizing and strengthening policies, approaches and solutions.
CULTURE
Eden’s purposeful, intentional commitment to culture is key to our growth and positively impacts how we engage with our employees, residents and the communities we serve. It also ensures we celebrate our differences as we strive to create change for good.
