Michael Rohrbeck is the Executive Director of Voice of the People in Uptown, Inc., a legacy affordable housing organization in Chicago. Voice was formed in 1968 with a mission to empower residents through engagement in community development, property management and collaborative services for low-income tenants.
Voice does this through oversight of its 14-building portfolio of subsidized housing, through delivery of resident leadership development activities and support services, and more recently with administration of a Voice Owners Network (VON).
This VON Program is dedicated to preservation, networking assistance with affordable housing peers, including with tax reform initiatives, the start-up of a “Diversity Land Trust” dedicated to service enriched, permanently affordable housing, and in the acquisition of a distressed Heartland Alliance property with its national partner, National Housing Partnership Foundation – the 71 unit San Miguel Apartments. This land trust is now named for Dovie Thurman, a “founding mother” of Voice who emerged as a tenant organizer, civil rights and spiritual leader.
Mike brings more than 40-years of experience to his role at Voice. This includes his position as President of the Chicago Rehab Network, and in related work experience with limited equity coop training; housing policy, advocacy and tax property tax transfer programs (like the significantly impactful “Tax Reactivation Program”); university/non-profit collaborative projects with Loyola University; and, in starting up a cooperative pre-school as an at-home dad.