Melissa J. Pond, presenter at National Conference in DC

Melissa kicked off 2023 in the Nation's Capitol alongside her colleagues in government who administer US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds in their communities. Melissa shared an interactive presentation about community engagement strategies that participants can bring back to their local communities. She presented her session alongside National Community Development Association (NCDA) President, Debra Rhinehart from Seattle who laid the context for requirements of community engagement in the HUD regulations. Melissa provided two effective practiced interactive methods. One activity was a mock teen focus group where the attendees took on a new persona as a character as they deliberated with a team over how to make recommendations to the Mayor about Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding and how it should be spent in the community. The second activity utilized pollanywhere.com to make a simplified version of "Federal Funding Feud," a game where participants guess the poll results from community members about perceived priority community needs. Melissa received great feedback about the activities and how they will be used in communities across the country as they prepare to submit their next five-year action plans to HUD.