Learning in Motion: Highlights from Fahe’s 2026 Spring Retreat

Each spring, Fahe brings together leaders from across Appalachia to reflect, learn, and chart the next steps in the movement for expanding affordable housing development. This year’s Spring Retreat in Berea, Kentucky, captured the spirit of collaboration and adaptive leadership that defines the Fahe Network. Housing Hub is a new member of Fahe, and we were honored as so at the member meeting.

Julie Keel, Housing Hub’s Executive Director (center), is pictured with Vonda Poynter and Jackie Weiss, both of Fahe.

Fahe CEO Jim King opened the retreat with a challenge that resonated across the network: meeting Appalachia’s housing needs will require more than working harder — it will require adaptive change, new partnerships, and a willingness to let go of old approaches. His challenge that we need to step into scale and not wait for scale to come resonated with Housing Hub’s mission.

Communities of Practice: Learning in Motion

We spent time in Communities of Practice, working in focused groups to align strategies, share approaches, and identify opportunities to scale impact. These sessions showcased the strength of Fahe’s collaborative model — one where shared learning leads to shared solutions across the three pillars of Housing Hub’s mission. Some of our challenges in housing, homeownership, and workforce development can only be solved regionally, and Fahe brings that kind of connection into the toolkit of Housing Hub.

Julie Keel, Housing Hub’s Executive Director, engages in a table discussion about Homeownership and Housing Coaching.

Leadership Development on Display

Where are we? Where do we want to be? How do we get there?‍ ‍
Questions brough forward by practitioners were a reminder that leadership growth is essential to scaling housing solutions across the region. They also highlighted the fact that Housing Hub is connected to a pool of resources that we can draw on as we confront the big questions in our context and seek to expand our capacity to serve more families in our area.

Looking Ahead: Housing Can’t Wait

Throughout the retreat, Fahe reinforced the urgency of the Housing Can’t Wait movement. From policy conversations — including an upcoming webinar on the role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in affordable homeownership — to on‑the‑ground collaboration, the network is pushing forward with clarity and shared purpose.

As a network member, Housing Hub is committed to the goals of Housing Can’t Wait in which Fahe members are working to double our impact in Appalachia over the next five years. Housing Hub is on track to do so in 2026, and we are working very hard to keep up the momentum.