07/06/2026
A year ago it was a capstone project. Today it’s a construction address.
April 25, 2025. Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI. ACRE Program Day 2 Pitch Night. Leon Bettis, Sharon Johnson, and I were grouped together in our cohort. That night marked the culmination of our training — a presentation of a fourplex permanently affordable housing concept we called The Valor Way Project. We won best pitch in our group.
May 30, 2026. Standing on the ground at Valor Way, on Madison’s south side. What we pitched in class has since evolved into two duplexes — four permanently affordable homes. We’re in pre-development, doing due diligence — and it’s real.
None of this happens alone.
Grateful to the LISC Milwaukee (Local Initiatives Support Corporation) ACRE program and the entire ACRE network — you don’t just train developers, you build community. To my classmates and collaborators Leon Bettis and Sharon Johnson — I’m proud of what we built together in that classroom and what it’s becoming.
To Kaba Bah — one of the most generous people in this network. We reached out, and you showed up. Thank you for being that person for us.
To the City of Madison, and Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway — thank you for your leadership and commitment to more owner-occupied affordable housing. The grant funding support for ACRE and this project made this possible.
To the Madison Area Community Land Trust — thank you for the partnership and for being the model that makes permanent affordability possible. This project exists because of the foundation you’ve built.
We stand on good shoulders.
We are most excited for the four families who will benefit long-term from these multigenerational, energy-efficient homes.
Proud alumni.
