Emily Cadik is a key voice for affordable housing.
A Capitol Hill regular, she takes part in an estimated 50 congressional meetings each year to make the case for the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) and other critical programs.
“Affordable housing is a policy area that’s very important but not on enough people’s radars,” she says. “It’s an area where there’s a lot of impact to be made.”
Recently named director of public policy at Enterprise Community Partners, Cadik, 31, has been climbing the ranks since joining the organization in 2012.
Her work includes coordinating outreach for the Affordable Rental Housing ACTION (A Call to Invest in Our Neighborhoods) Campaign, an industrywide group working to expand the LIHTC. The ACTION Campaign has grown from about 300 members when Cadik began to more than 1,300 organizations and businesses.
Cadik also leads Enterprise’s annual Legislative Action Day.
“Emily has been a catalyst for our industry’s successful advocacy efforts in Washington, D.C., and around the country,” says David Gasson, executive director of the Housing Advisory Group and vice president at Boston Capital. “Her leadership and experience in crafting policy, working with congressional staff, and organizing outreach through the ACTION Campaign have been a major factor in our legislative successes and put affordable housing in a strong position for future initiatives.
“Emily is an MVP, and without her many contributions, it’s hard to imagine the affordable housing industry being as organized or energized as we are today.”
Before joining Enterprise, Cadik was a presidential management fellow at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Her interest in affordable housing grew while volunteering at a homeless shelter as a student at the University of Texas at Austin, where she earned a bachelor’s degree. She holds a master’s degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
Cadik serves on the board of the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition.
