Developed by the IU Center for Rural Engagement, the Hoosier Housing Ready Toolkit is step-by-step guide helps communities explore and determine the paths to meet or grow their housing stock. In this session, you will learn how to assess your community’s readiness for housing, determine the cost and benefit of new housing units, and plan for next steps.
Presenters: Kerry Thomson (Executive Director of IU Center for Rural Engagement) and Justin Ross (IU O’Neill School Associate Professor)
About Kerry Thomson
Kerry Thomson leads the Center for Rural Engagement’s efforts to improve the lives of Hoosiers. Kerry’s work as a community builder began at a young age through her service with several charitable organizations, including Habitat for Humanity where she held many roles at local affiliates in Lynchburg, Virginia and Twin Cities, Minnesota, and later at Habitat for Humanity International. Kerry moved to Bloomington, Indiana in 1997 where she led the affiliate to unprecedented growth and success. Kerry’s focus, and the hallmark of her work, is on building community across lines which too frequently become barriers, creating relationships which span boundaries of race, culture, and income. She has served on the boards at Indiana University Credit Union, Indiana Habitat for Humanity, Habitat for Humanity International’s US Council, and Tithe Advisory Board.
Kerry holds a bachelor of arts degree in sociology, anthropology, and women’s studies from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College
About Justin Ross
Justin Ross is a public finance economist specializing in state and local tax policy. Ross joined O’Neill in 2008 and teaches public revenue theory, public managerial economics, and benefit-cost analysis. He is a two-time recipient of IU’s Trustees Teaching award, in 2013 and 2009.
Ross’s primary research interests include property tax-related issues such as assessment and zoning. His published works explore local governments’ use and access to the property tax by examining how it affects the politics, fiscal capacity, land use regulation, and community decisions. Ross’s articles have appeared in the top public finance, economics, and public administration journals including: National Tax Journal, Land Economics, Journal of Environmental Economics & Management, Public Finance Review, Public Budgeting & Finance, Journal of Public Administration Research & Theory, Contemporary Economic Policy, Public Finance & Management, and the Journal of Real Estate and Finance Economics.
His projects include the study of school district income taxes–a relatively new phenomenon in local public finance, as well as property reassessments and their impact on property tax revenue. Ross also explores the relationship that tax amnesty programs have with state and local tax administration, and their resulting behavior responses.
Interested in learning more? Check out the complete Indiana Uplands Housing Webinar Series.