MODERATOR

Terri Davis-Merchant

Senior Program Director, Housing & Homelessness

Trinity Church Wall Street

Terri Davis-Merchant serves as the Senior Program Director for the Housing & Homelessness initiative with the Trinity Church Wall Street Philanthropies. In this capacity, she manages Trinity’s grantmaking in furtherance of its ten-year strategy to combat homelessness and to support the development of affordable housing in New York City. Previously, Terri was the Director of Predevelopment Planning at the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, where she managed the Request for Proposals process for upcoming affordable housing development projects on publicly owned land as well as solicited ideas for the Agency’s future pilots and initiatives. Her past roles have included legislative advocacy around various housing issues as well as financing for and the legal representation of community-based organizations building affordable housing. Terri received her BA in African American Studies from Yale University and JD from the University of Michigan Law School.

PANELIST

Jill Roberts

Director of Advocacy

Clarifi

As Vice President of Advocacy for Clarifi, Jill Roberts has collaborated with various partners to understand systemic injustices and advance financial resilience in Greater Philadelphia’s neighborhoods. She has worked with governing agencies, legislative representatives, and community leaders to ensure the unique needs of families across the region are uplifted by Clarifi’s financial empowerment model, as well as advocate for policies and programs that help families build and preserve intergenerational wealth. Identify barriers to wealth attainment and preservation in collaboration with partners and government offices and work towards creation or modifications of programs or policies to reduce or remove identified barriers.

Jill helped create and improve the City of Philadelphia’s Restore, Repair, Renew program, which preserves affordable homeownership (the most affordable home is the one you are in) using though a low barrier, low fixed-rate home repair loan that includes technical assistance and Clarifi’s secret sauce: their one-to-one, empathetic, trauma-informed financial empowerment and housing success counseling. Her experience in collaborating with funders, government, quasi-governmental agencies, community, and peer group partners to create and direct programs benefiting Clarifi clients is anchored in more than two decades in the not-for-profit housing and community development field, the last seven years at Clarifi. Jill is called on and serves or leads groups that focus on neighborhoods, tangled title (heir property) grant applications, and affordable housing policy, to name a few. Jill is driven by her passion for the work in overcoming systemic injustices that have plagued Philadelphia for centuries, as well as the amazing team of people she gets to work with at Clarifi

Jill is a lifelong Philadelphian and loves the city, especially the neighborhoods. She received her bachelor’s degree in business and economics from Wilson College in Chambersburg, PA and holds a certificate in Non-Profit Leadership from The Nonprofit Center at La Salle University. She is a National Diversity Council Certified Diversity Professional.

PANELIST

Julian St. Patrick Clayton

Director of Policy & Research

The Center for NYC Neighborhoods

In his current role, as Director for Policy & Public Affairs for the Center for NYC Neighborhoods, Julian leverages over a decade of policy analysis, design, research, and advocacy experience to promote solutions to America’s housing crisis. In his work, he spearheads engagement with elected officials and community stakeholders around policy campaigns, legislative action, and social service program implementation. Julian continues to be motivated by resolving the shared economic, political, and social issues with which urbanized areas are grappling.

He has held positions at JPMorgan Chase, the German Foreign Office, within state and local government, and has earned degrees from Florida State and Harvard universities in Urban Planning and International Relations, respectively. Along the way, Julian has received fellowship awards from the Urban Design Forum, Robert Bosch Foundation, the Progressive Policy Institute, Das Progressive Zentrum and Atlantik Initiative - which have focused on policy discussions, transatlantic relations, and cultural exchange between the US and Germany.

PANELIST

Paul Keifer

Senior Vice President

Corporate Social Responsibility Operations & Enablement

Bank of America

Paul Keifer leads the Operations, Enablement, and Community Partnerships team focused on delivering on Bank of America’s 5 year, $15B Community Homeownership Commitment through grants, community revitalization programs, and affordable mortgage loans and small business lending, and serves as the Market Integration Executive for West Michigan. He also serves as the chair of the Northeast Board of Governors for the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals.

A native Michigander, Paul started his career with Bank of America in Detroit in 2010 as a Financial Center Manager, and has held progressive leadership roles in Wealth Management, Digital Banking, and Mortgage Lending, focusing on empowering associates to better serve clients and communities.

Paul and his family relocated back to Michigan in 2018, and he has become an active member of the Grand Rapids community, serving on the Board of Directors of Habitat for Humanity of Kent County and the American Youth Soccer Organization, and is an active volunteer with Kid’s Food Basket, Family Promise, YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids, and Grand Rapids Opportunities for Women. He was selected for the Crain’s Grand Rapids “40 Under 40 Business Leaders in West Michigan” cohort in 2023.

Paul holds a Bachelor of Science from Michigan State University, and an M.B.A. from Columbus State University, and resides in Grand Rapids with his wife and three sons.