Departmental News

Housing, long-term care issues part of UW conference Sept. 28

Home loan practices, long-term care, housing issues and a panel discussion by state legislators are part of Home on the Range, the 2006 Consumer Issues Conference September 28 at the University of Wyoming.

 “Everyone needs shelter, so housing issues affect all types of consumers,” said Dee Pridgen, associate dean and professor of law at the UW College of Law, and lead organizer of the conference. “At this conference, experts and a panel of legislators will examine a variety of important topics on housing and consumers. We’ll cover four general issue areas – housing purchase, rental, vulnerable consumers, and public regulation and safety, all of which are relevant to this region’s changing housing situation.”

Attendees will also have the opportunity to collectively strategize on ways to address consumer housing issues. The keynote speaker is Allen J. Fishbein, director of housing and credit policy for the Consumer Federation of America (CFA). CFA is a national, non-profit association of 300 pro-consumer organizations with a combined membership of 50 million founded in 1968 to advance the consumer interest through education, research and advocacy.

Featured speaker Dr. William Thomas, AARP visiting scholar, will present on long-term care options. Other speakers will cover mortgage lending, mobile homes, landlord/tenant issues, zoning, homeless shelters, Habitat for Humanity, fair housing laws, and housing statistics.  Information about the conference is available at www.uwyo.edu/consumerconference.

            The conference schedule includes:

8-8:45 a.m. – Registration

 8:45-9 a.m. – Welcome and announcements: UW President Tom Buchanan and committee co-chairs

 9-10 a.m. – Keynote speech – Consumer housing issues: Allen Fishbein

 10:15-11:10 a.m. – Breakout sessions

Housing purchase: Fishbein, “Exotic or Toxic? An Examination of the Non-Traditional Mortgage Market”

Housing rental: Kirk Morgan, Wyoming Legal Services Inc. – Habitability issues

Vulnerable consumers: Pridgen, “Predatory Lending: Hidden Scourge of the Housing Boom”

Public Regulation and Safety: Doug Bryant, Albany County planning director, “Home on the Range – Where the Deer and the Antelope Used to Play”

 11:15 a.m.-12:10 p.m. – Breakout sessions

Housing purchase: Roger Coupal, associate professor and interim department head, UW Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, “Habitat for Humanity”

Housing rental: Cole Ehmke, UW Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cooperative Extension Service specialist, “Landlord/Tenant and Personal Finance Issues”

Vulnerable consumers: William Thomas “The Green House: Long-Term Care Options”

Public Regulation and Safety: Alan Romero, associate professor, UW College of Law, “What Everyone Should Know About Zoning”

 12:15-1:15 p.m. – Lunch, speech: Eldertopia: Thomas

1:30-2:25 p.m. – Breakout sessions

Housing purchase: George Axlund, executive director, Wyoming Community Development Authority, “Housing Statistics and Purchase Assistance”

Housing Rental: Gay Woodhouse, attorney, “Don’t Mobilize – Utilize Your Rights: Information for Mobile Home Dwellers on Tenants’ Rights”

Vulnerable consumers: Lorinda O'Hashi, project director, Second Street Station (Laramie Homeless Shelter), and Pam Nowak, director, Cooperative Ministries of Emergency Assistance (COMEA) House, Cheyenne, "Housing Issues for the Homeless"

Public Regulation and Safety: Chris Stearns, field office director, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, “The Fair Housing Act – Overcoming Barriers to Housing Opportunities”

 2:30-3:15 p.m. – Discussions, facilitated by AARP Wyoming State President Les Engelter

  3:35-4:45 p.m. – Panel discussion with state legislators

 4:45-5:30 p.m. – Closing event

Professional credits are available.

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