Pasadena Tenant Justice Coalition (PTJC) is hosting a panel discussion for housing justice on rent control and eviction protection campaigns on Thursday from 7—8:30 p.m. at Throop Church, 300 S. Los Robles Ave.
According to the group, “Rising rents are causing Pasadena to lose its families, its diversity, and its key community members, like teachers and nurses. Rent control allows for stable homes, leading to long term residents who consider Pasadena their home and make Pasadena the community it is. The panel discussion will focus on how to win rent control and eviction protections for the City of Pasadena.”
The panel will include the following participants:
- Denny Zane, founder and executive director of Move LA—a housing and transit activist, and a former city council member and mayor of Santa Monica—who was a founding member of SMRR (Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights) and was instrumental in passing rent control and just cause in the City of Santa Monica.
- Francisco Dueñas is the housing justice campaign director for Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE). Dueñas began his organizing career as an ACORN organizer in Los Angeles. Before coming to the Housing justice movement, Francisco advocated for greater LGBT rights with the national LGBT impact litigation organization, Lambda Legal.
- Nicole Hodgson is a member of Pasadena Tenants Union (PTU) and Pasadena Tenant Justice Coalition (PTJC). Hodgson is a social worker who has worked for the homeless for over 20 years in San Francisco and Los Angeles County. Hodgson received direct training in participatory action from the women of Makotse Women’s Club in Limpopo South Africa as a Peace Corp volunteer.
- René Moya is the director of Housing Is a Human Right, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s housing advocacy division. He is also a volunteer tenant organizer with the L.A. Tenants Union. He was previously an organizer with ACCE.
