The Affordable Housing Crisis: Meeting Today’s Most Critical Housing Challenges

Kerry W. Kirby is a global entrepreneur, technology innovator, and philanthropist. He is the founder and CEO of 365 Connect, the leader in delivering the world’s most sophisticated automated marketing, leasing, and resident engagement platform for multifamily communities across the globe. Over the last two decades, Kerry has propelled 365 Connect from a scrappy, bootstrapped startup to a powerhouse proptech firm, which has won an array of highly acclaimed awards, including the esteemed Louisiana Governor's Technology Award. He has been named to the Silicon Bayou 100 List of most influential entrepreneurs for nine consecutive years and has received a prestigious Titan Entrepreneur Award for his technological achievements.

Kerry serves on the Board of Advisors of Rainbow, a national nonprofit organization that provides service-enriched housing programs for affordable housing communities across the country. He is Chair of Technology Initiatives for the Multifamily Innovation Advisory Council, a private, members only group, focused on assisting owners and operators of multifamily communities in identifying pain points and advancing innovation that will drive change across the industry.

Kerry and his wife Melinda are actively involved in supporting communities and causes, with an unwavering dedication to humanitarian, educational, healthcare, and equality programs. Through their Kerry & Melinda Kirby Charitable Fund, they provide resources that accelerate progress by championing causes that give a voice to those that are often not heard. They have been highly recognized for their philanthropic commitment, being honored with a Communitas International Award for their significant impact in making a difference in people’s lives.

Ernest F. Oriente is a business coach since 1995 [60,350+ hours], an industry professional since 1988 - the author of SmartMatch Alliance, founder of PowerHour®, PowerHour Sales Academy, and PowerHour Leadership Academy has a passion for coaching his clients on executive leadership, hiring and motivating inudustry SuperStars, traditional and Internet SEO/SEM marketing, competitive sales strategies, plus smart/strategic alliances for teams and their leaders. PowerHour® provides private and group coaching for property management companies and industry sales vendors/suppliers around North America and the world, executive recruiting, investment banking, SEO/SEM web strategies, social media branding/thought-leadership and powerful tools for hiring SuperStars and building dynamic teams.  Ernest is also the founder of PowerHour Google Review Pop.

To watch PowerMinute with PowerHour® that includes 400+ leadership/sales/marketing topics and short 60 second video coaching messages…inspired by the coaching programs/training PowerHour has done with teams, leaders and executives around the world over the last 29+ years, please surf here: https://tinyurl.com/y34k25za with 400,000+ views on LinkedIn, https://tinyurl.com/28dttc7b and filmed in some very fun/interesting places.

Ernest worked for Motorola, Primedia and is certified in the Xerox sales methodologies. Recent interviews and articles have appeared more than 9000+ times in business and trade publications and in a wide variety of leading magazines and newspapers, including Smart Money, Inc., Business 2.0, The New York Times, Fast Company, The LA Times, Fortune, Business Week, Self Employed America and The Financial Times. Since 1995, Ernest has written over 250+ articles for the industry and created 400+ forms, business and marketing checklists, sales letters and presentation tools. PowerHour® is based in the 2002 Olympic-town…Park City, Utah.

Ernest also runs the #1 LinkedIn group in the world for property management vendor/supplier sales success, and the #1 LinkedIn group in the world for property management success

To subscribe to his free industry newsletter go to: www.powerhour.com, Call: 435.615.8486, or E-mail

Flynann Janisse (“Flyn”) has been serving since 2007 as the Executive Director of Rainbow Housing Assistance Corporation (Rainbow), President and Executive Director of Equality Community Housing Corporation, and President and Chairman of the Board of Rainbow Housing Texas, Inc. Ms. Janisse supports the national operations of an award-winning Resident Services Division of Rainbow and the asset management for an extensive affordable housing portfolio. Before joining Rainbow, Ms. Janisse served as Director of Property Management at Community Services of Arizona, a fully integrated management company specializing in the management of multifamily, service-enriched affordable housing. Ms. Janisse has extensive experience in managing market rate (REIT), Section 42 Tax Credit, Project Section 8, and HUD and RD-financed housing communities. As an Advisory Board member for Novogradac’s Journal of Tax Credits, Ms. Janisse is honored to provide industry knowledge through publications reaching over 45,000 readers and to serve as a judge for their industry Development of Distinction Awards at the Tax Credit Developers Conference recognizing excellence and ingenuity in the development of tax credit projects across the country utilizing the LIHTC program. With 35+ years of experience in asset management with an emphasis on the development and implementation of social service programs for service-enriched affordable housing, she has assembled a team of professionals to serve the mission of Rainbow with integrity and passion.