Meet Our Community of Changemakers

Authors, service providers, and partners in faith, philanthropy, and government.

Liz Clasen-Kelly

Liz Clasen-Kelly is CEO of Roof Above, the most comprehensive homeless service provider in the state of North Carolina. Under her leadership, Roof Above expanded permanent supportive housing beyond Moore Place, renovated an emergency shelter, and now provides new rental subsidies. Liz also writes and edits for Project Roof CLT.

Dena DIORIO

Dena Diorio is the County Manager for Mecklenburg County, a two billion dollar organization. She spearheaded the County’s focus on affordable housing for people earning under 30% AMI, including MeckHOME rental subsidies and multiple Roof Above initiatives. She serves on the A Way Home Governance Board.

Mark Ethridge

Mark Ethridge is a Partner at Ascent Real Estate Capital in Charlotte, leading the company’s affordable housing platform, Ascent Housing. Mark led the creation of Housing Impact Fund, a social impact investment fund that preserves naturally-occurring affordable housing (NOAH) in Charlotte.

Caroline Chambre Hammock

Caroline Chambre Hammock served as the first Director of Moore Place, managing the project from construction to implementation and ongoing operations. She later became Associate Executive Director of Urban Ministry Center. She currently serves as Executive Director of Haiti Outreach Ministries.

Kathy Izard

Kathy Izard wrote the award-winning memoir The Hundred Story Home, the story of her leadership in the inception of Moore Place, plus a related children’s book, A Good Night for Mr. Coleman. Kathy is also a contributing writer to Project Roof CLT. Find her at kathyizard.com.

BenJAMIN King

Benjamin King serves as Director of Homeless to Homes, a scattered-site PSH program at Roof Above. Previously, he served as an outreach worker at ACCESS, connecting people in homelessness––primarily people sleeping outside––with mental health supports.

Dale Mullennix

Dale Mullennix served as Executive Director of Urban Ministry Center for twenty-five years, from its inception until he retired in 2019. He led the creation of Moore Place, transforming UMC from exclusively a day services center to also serve as a permanent supportive housing provider.

Julie Porter

Julie Porter is President of DreamKey Partners, a private, nonprofit real estate development and finance corporation. DreamKey Partners has become the local developer of choice for churches using their land or buildings to create affordable housing and economic opportunity.

Gena Robinson

Gena Robinson is the Director of Moore Place at Roof Above. Her passion comes from working alongside individuals living with the challenges of severe mental health and substance use. She advocates for their support and resources to improve quality of life.

Judy Seldin-Cohen

Judy Seldin-Cohen chairs the A Way Home Housing Endowment and created the Faith In Housing blog series. She co-authored an award-winning book on civic engagement, and now she writes and edits for Project Roof CLT. Find her at judyseldincohen.com

Joe Taylor

Joe Taylor is managing partner at Centerlane Capital, a real estate private equity firm. He also serves as a lay leader and former Elder at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Charlotte. Joe co-authored the blog “Breaking New Ground for Capital Campaigns.”

Rev. Dr. Peter Wherry

Reverend Dr. Peter M. Wherry serves as pastor of The Field, formerly Mayfield Memorial Missionary Baptist Church. He hosted the first Faith in Housing workshop and authored the blog “The Right Seat on the Bus” about using the church’s land for affordable housing.

Pamela Wideman

Pamela Wideman served as the Director of the City of Charlotte’s Housing & Neighborhood Services Department until her recent retirement. She represented the City in most ProjectRoofCLT innovations, including holding the City’s seat on the A Way Home Governance Board. Find her at pamelawideman.com.

About

Over the past decade, a series of innovative collaborations began moving people out of homelessness and into housing in Charlotte, North Carolina. These initiatives recognized the disparate barriers to housing faced by working adults versus those unable to work, people frequently experiencing homelessness versus those newly evicted, and the varying needs for social services.

The success of these pilot programs transcended zero-sum debates, instead proving that resources expand with demonstrable outcomes. The widespread publicity about Moore Place created a steady stream of site visits and phone calls from other communities planning their own permanent supportive housing. Documenting the vision and the details would expand housing solutions more readily. 

That’s the genesis of ProjectRoofCLT. Sharing inspiration and information to welcome everyone home.

Thank you to our Generous Sponsor!

We are grateful for a private donation which has kickstarted this work of replication and highlighting collaborations.

Initiatives Highlighted in Project Roof CLT

A steady stream of Moore Place site visits and phone calls to the staff at Roof Above (formerly Urban Ministry Center) established the need to document the success of Moore Place. Equipped with a grant to foster Moore Place replication in other communities, Project Roof CLT expanded its scope to include other homelessness innovations in Charlotte. The implicit criteria for the homelessness initiatives shown here include:

The nature of the innovation varies among these initiatives.

Over the next few years, ProjectRoofCLT aspires to offer detailed narratives with budgets and blueprints for each of these collaborations, and then consider featuring additional initiatives.