Building Financial Resilience for Covid-19 and its Aftermath | A Workshop for Municipal Officials, Non-Profits and Service Providers

January 11-12, 2021 (10:00 - 12:30 pm)

The ongoing economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic continue to differentially impact our most vulnerable communities. Federal, state and local relief efforts have helped many families avoid homelessness and hunger, and provided some stability despite intensified income volatility. Yet many relief programs that provide needed funds to individuals and families are about to expire, and the federal government has not released more funding to help communities weather this storm.

This convening will bring together municipal officials, nonprofits, donor agencies, and others centering their activity on Orange County to discuss the lessons learned as we prepare for additional Covid financial relief for individuals at the local level.

We will learn and plan together for what we hope will be another wave of relief funding paid directly to individuals. Goals: learning from research and innovative relief models.

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Summary Notes

Day 1, January 11

10:00-10:10 a.m.
Welcome and opening comments: Bill Maurer, UCI

10:10-10:40 a.m.
Presentations of recent research on Covid relief funding

• • "PPP Lending in Orange County"" by Rocio Sanchez-Moyano, San Francisco Federal Reserve (15 min.)
  • "COVID-19 Relief Payments in the US and CA: Overview, Barriers to Access, and Ways Forward to Aid Families in Need" Report by Oviya Govinda and Nandita Badami, UC Irvine (15 min.)

10:40-10:50 a.m.
Q&A

10:50-11:00 a.m.
Break

11:00-11:20 a.m.
"Implementing Equity: A Blueprint for Emergency Financial Relief" by Alexandra Altman, Mission Asset Fund (20 min.)

11:20-11:30 a.m.                  
Q&A

11:30-11:50 a.m.                  
"Give the People the Money: How Get My Payment Illinois helped low-income Illinoisans access stimulus checks" by Melissa Young, Heartland Alliance (20 min.)

11:50 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Q&A, poll and closing

12:00-12:30 p.m.
Optional informal networking

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Day 2, January 12: Breakout groups for invited participants

10:00-10:05 a.m.               
Welcome and Recap of Day 1, Bill Maurer, UCI; Jessica Monge Coria, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco; Brenyale Toomer-Byas, Orange County United Way; Linda Nguyen, Wells Fargo

10:05-10:20 a.m.                
Overview of the Mayor's Fund for LA's Direct-Cash Responses to COVID-19 Crisis by Deidre Lind, Mayor's Fund for Los Angeles

10:20-10:30 a.m.                
Q&A

10:30-10:40 a.m.                           
Move into Breakout Rooms (10-minute break)

10:40-11:15 a.m.                
Breakout Rooms

11:15-11:30 a.m.                
Reconvene and Report Out

11:30-11:50 a.m.                
Open forum: share-out, questions, comments

11:50 a.m.-12:00 p.m.                
Conclusion and Next Steps by Bill Maurer, UC Irvine

12:00-12:30 p.m.                
Optional informal networking

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Partners and Co-Sponsors: Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Wells Fargo, Orange County United Way

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Who We Are

The Institute for Money, Technology & Financial Inclusion(IMTFI) at the University of California, Irvine, is a research center devoted to actionable research to foster financial justice globally. It has supported research around the world that has led to technological innovation and policy change. In Orange County, it has used its collaborative framework to facilitate dialogue on innovative programs for economic empowerment and train-the-trainer sessions to build technical capacity among service providers.

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Presenter Bios (in order of appearance)

Rocio Sanchez-Moyano joined the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco in 2020 as a Senior Researcher in the Center for Community Development Investments. Rocio's areas of expertise include housing and asset building, with a special interest in racial equity and the experiences of Hispanic and immigrant households. At the Center, her focus will be on emerging trends in community development finance and financial inclusion, including the role of fintech in low-income communities.

Oviya Govindan is a doctoral candidate in Anthropology at the University of California Irvine. Her research traces the emergence of the Coromandel coast of India as a frontier for the extraction of industrial value, even as sea-level rise threatens to flood coastal places across the world. Her broad interests lie in the study of environmental risk and value, the distribution of public goods, and infrastructure. She has previously worked as a graduate student researcher with the Institute for Money, Technology and Financial Inclusion.

Nandita Badami is a doctoral candidate in Anthropology at the University of California, Irvine. Her dissertation considers the politics of solar energy as a modern industrial energy system, following the deployment of solar technologies across a range of rural, urban and bureaucratic sites in India. She currently works as a graduate student researcher with the Institute for Money, Technology and Financial Inclusion.

Melissa Young is the Director of Heartland Alliance's National Initiatives on Poverty & Economic Opportunity. She steers the teams policy and systems change efforts by advancing solutions to the systemic issues that drive chronic unemployment. Melissa's work has shaped the national discussion and awareness of employment interventions as a key solution to fighting poverty. Her work has grown from leading a single national coalition to developing and leading multiple initiatives. Her expertise has landed her a seat on several national leadership tables and she's worked alongside a myriad of stakeholders to advance policy and systems change. Melissa influenced the passage of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to better serve job-seekers facing barriers to employment. Most recently, Melissa helped to develop the Creating Pathways for Youth Employment Act which supports pathways to employment and opportunity for youth most likely to experience trauma and violence. Melissa has written extensively about a range of policy and system drivers of chronic unemployment and poverty. She received her Bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and her Master's degree from the University of Chicago.

Alexandra Altman is Mission Asset Fund's Strategic Initiatives Manager. She works closely with MAF's CEO to operationalize strategic vision, strengthen the organization's financial foundation, and lead research exploring the financial lives of the nation's poor. Previously, Alexandra worked as an international economist and financial analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, U.S. Treasury Department, and Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

MAF CEO and founder José A. Quiñonez has developed MAF into an award-winning organization offering dynamic models for bringing communities out of the financial shadows and into the financial mainstream. In 2016, José received a MacArthur "Genius" award for his vision and creativity as a financial services innovator. MAF's pioneering Lending Circles program has provided 13,000+ zero-interest loans totaling over $12M, helping people build credit, start businesses, and apply for citizenship. In California, José has championed legislation that brought greater recognition and resources to the nonprofit sector providing credit-building loans and financial coaching to under-resourced communities across the state. José serves on a number of Consumer Advisory Councils, including Capital One, Experian, and U.S. Bank. He was the inaugural chair of the Consumer Advisory Board of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

Deidre Lind is the founding President of the Mayor's Fund for Los Angeles created to build impact-driven public/private partnerships focused on innovation and impact and returned to the role in March 2020 to lead the organization in its unprecedented COVID-19 response efforts. Ms. Lind also currently serves as the Founding President and Executive Director of the California Volunteers Fund in partnership with the California Volunteers Department of the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom. A native of Los Angeles, Ms. Lind received her BA from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Masters degrees in both Social Work and Public Administration from the University of Southern California.