Columbus Coalition for Rent Control w/ Jonathan Beard & Noel Williams

GrassRoot Ohio - Conversations with every-day People working on important issues here in Columbus and all around Ohio. Carolyn Harding with Jonathan Beard and Noel Williams, co-organizers with the Columbus Coalition for Rent Control. Jonathan Beard is a member of the Coalition's Executive Committee, and a community development professional with long-time exposure to fair housing issues: his father, Charles A. Beard, testified in the landmark 1973 housing discrimination case United States of America vs. City of Parma, where the court found Parma liable of violating the Fair Housing Act. After moving to Columbus to receive a Masters in Public Administration from what is now known as the Glenn School at OSU, from 1995 - 2017 Jon served as President and CEO of Columbus Compact Corporation, where he raised more than $40 million to invest in the redevelopment of Columbus's most distressed neighborhoods. In that role, Jon financed and engaged directly in new construction and rehabilitation of single-family and multifamily housing as he led the city's largest comprehensive community development initiative since the 1970's.. Jon has been a landlord for more than 25 years as both a private citizen and president of the Columbus Compact, a nonprofit corporation, and has signed more than 100 leases as landlord over that period. As a public policy expert, real estate developer, banker and landlord Jon has in-depth knowledge of issues related to housing. Noel has been advocating for people's rights via labor and community organizations for over 20+ years. Noel is the past president of the Columbus NAACP, past president of labor group which is part of Ohio Civil Service Employees Association (OCSEA) and is currently the VP President for the BREAD organization which stands for Building Responsibility Equity and Dignity. BREAD is made up of 44 diverse congregations which are racially, geographically, socially and economically diverse. BREAD holds officials accountable to implement proven solutions to community problems such