FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2026
8:00 AM – 10:00 AM Convention Registration
8:00 AM – 10:00 AM Continental Breakfast
10:00 AM – 10:30 AM Welcome & Opening Plenary
10:45 AM – 12:00 PM Workshops
Local Tenant Organization Basics, Part I
This workshop will review the first three chapters of Mass Union’s LTO Board Handbook, which covers everything LTO boards need to know to get set up, stay recognized, and get active! We’ll cover the purpose of forming an LTO, board roles and responsibilities, taking minutes, recognition requirements, bylaws, budgets, opening a bank account, and financial reports.
Presenter: Zafiro Patiño, Director of Organizing, Mass Union.
Working Together: A Discussion with Mass Union’s Key Partners
Mass Union can’t accomplish our mission alone. Join this workshop to learn more about the broader housing justice movement and hear directly from some of our key partners: CHAPA, Homes for All, MassNAHRO, the Mel King Institute, and the National Low Income Housing Coalition. These organizations work at the state and national levels to improve the lives of low-income renters in both private and subsidized housing. Together, we’ll discuss the work each organization is doing, what we can learn from one another, and opportunities to collaborate. Come learn how stronger partnerships can help us build a more powerful and connected housing justice movement.
Moderator: Sarah Byrnes, Executive Director, Mass Union. Presenters: Cylas Martell-Crawford, MassNAHRO; Viana Nascimento, Mel King Institute; Andrea Park, Homes for All; Zenayah Roache, National Low Income Housing Coalition; and Jordan Stocker, CHAPA.
Know Your Rights: Housing
This workshop is designed to educate residents about specific legal protections and responsibilities in public housing. It will focus on eviction protections, including how to protect yourself when facing non-payment of rent. The workshop will also address leases, housing conditions, reasonable accommodations, and rents.
Moderator: David Underhill, Mass Union Board Chair. Presenter: Stephen Matthews, Advocacy Director, Metro West Legal Aid.
Know Your Rights: Immigration
Join this workshop to learn crucial knowledge about immigration rights and hear an update about how Mass Union is working to protect immigrants in federal public housing. This training will cover basic Know Your Rights information, including what to do when immigration comes to your home or stops you while driving, and family preparedness. We will also share tools and strategies to safely and effectively respond when witnessing immigration enforcement, and share resources including community hotlines and accompaniment programs, and legal services.
Moderator: Marsha Chery, Community Engagement Fellow, Mass Union. Presenters: Jessica Chicco, Director of Training, Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA); and Ben Levine, Staff Attorney, Housing & Homelessness, Mass Law Reform Institute.
12:00 PM – 12:45 PM Lunch
Lunch will include the Mesa Redonda, a chance for Spanish speakers to connect with each other and Mass Union Network Leaders, board and staff.
La Mesa Redonda será un foro para compartir experiencias y ayudarnos mutuamente a superar las dificultades en nuestras comunidades y organizaciones locales de inquilinos. Se habla español en la mesa redonda.
Facilitators: Carlos Julia, Network Leader, Mass Union; Zafiro Patiño, Director of Organizing, Mass Union; Elina Rodriguez, Organizer, Mass Union.
1:00 – 2:30 PM Plenary Discussion: Why is Public Housing Necessary?
Why is public housing necessary, and how does it fit into the larger story of economic inequality in the United States? In this interactive plenary session, United for a Fair Economy will help us explore how income and wealth have shifted over the past 45 years, and what those changes mean for our everyday lives. Through discussion and hands-on activities, participants will examine how growing economic inequality affects housing, families, and communities. We’ll also look at lessons from historical movements and explore strategies people are using today to create change. Together, we’ll deepen our understanding of the economy, connect it to our own experiences, and consider how we can work toward a better future.
Moderator: Sarah Byrnes, Executive Director, Mass Union. Presenter: Jeannette Huezo, Executive Director & Senior Popular Educator, United for a Fair Economy.
2:30 PM – 2:45 PM Break
2:45 PM – 4:00 PM Regional Breakouts
Join a discussion with other tenants from your region of the Commonwealth. This will be a chance to hear updates, build relationships, and troubleshoot together about common problems. If you are unsure which breakout to attend, choose the group with your Organizer, or ask the staff.
- Northeastern Mass with Sheila Cuevas
- Southeastern Mass with Joey Wong + Marsha
- Somerville + Cambridge + Brookline + Boston with Elina Rodriguez
- Greater Boston with Laura Frost
- Central and Western Mass with Judy O’Kulsky and Katherine Mallory
Note that dinner is on your own on Friday.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2026
8:00 AM – 9:30 AM Convention Registration
8:00 AM – 9:30 AM Continental Breakfast
9:30 AM – 10:15 AM Award Ceremony
10:30 – 11:45 Workshops
A Discussion about State-Aided Public Housing with EOHLC
Moderators: Annette Duke, Housing Attorney, Mass Law Reform Institute; and Kathleen Hunt, Policy Committee Chair, Mass Union, and President, Little Brook Tenants Association. Presenter: Fatima Razzaq, Assistant Undersecretary of Public Housing and Rental Assistance, Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC).
Local Tenant Organization Basics, Part II
This workshop will review the final two chapters of Mass Union’s LTO Board Handbook, which covers everything LTO boards need to know to get set up and GET ACTIVE! We’ll cover staying accountable to the community, language inclusion, how to get along, running community meetings, and more.
Presenter: Zafiro Patiño, Director of Organizing, Mass Union.
Negotiating a Strong Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
Public housing tenant organizations in Massachusetts have a right to organize, be heard, and participate in matters affecting tenants. These rights can be made much stronger if a tenant organization negotiates an agreement with the Housing Authority called a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). Join this session to learn ways to negotiate a strong agreement with your Housing Authority. In an interactive style, we will walk through strategies, skills, and some practical tips to help you achieve the MOU that tenants in your community want.
Moderator: Sarah Byrnes, Executive Director, Mass Union. Presenters: Todd Fry, Communications Coach for Leaders; and Rey Santana, President, Mystic Tenants Association
11:45 – 1:00 Lunch
12:30 Luncheon Speaking Program
During lunch, we will hear stories from three high-impact Tenant Organizations. This session will be moderated by Mass Union’s Director of Organizing, Zafiro Patiño.
- Alliance of Cambridge Tenants
- Harborview Residents Committee, Quincy
1:00 – 1:15 Stretch Break
1:15 – 2:30 Storytelling for Advocates
After lunch, we’ll hold a full-group discussion about building tenant power through storytelling. This session will be very interactive, and our goal will be to help tenants create compelling stories about life in public housing – what works, what doesn’t, and why this resource is so crucial for our Commonwealth. Whether your audience is other tenants, the Housing Authority, elected officials or the media, effective storytelling is crucial for our success.
Moderator: Sarah Byrnes, Executive Director, Mass Union. Presenter: Todd Fry, Communications Coach for Leaders.
2:30 – 2:45 Break
2:45 – 4:00 Workshops
Digital Skills for LTO Engagement & Outreach
Moderator: Rodolfo Saldarriaga Huallpa, Deputy Director, Mass Union. Presenter: Cheryl Coss, Manager of Digital Equity, Outreach & Engagement, Mass Broadband Institute; and Mario Rubano, Older Adults Technology Service.
Fundraising Tips and Inspiration for your LTO
Many Local Tenant Organizations are excellent at raising money beyond their Tenant Participation Funds. Join this workshop to learn great tips, tricks and inspiration for doing the same! We’ll hear from LTOs who have used a variety of strategies to raise money to build social cohesion and power among tenants.
Panelists: Danielle Connolly, Mass Union Assistant Treasurer and President, Stoneham Housing Resident Union; Rey Santana, President, Mystic Tenants Association.
Radical Inclusion: Race, Class and Belonging
Public housing is beautifully diverse. Join this session to reflect and learn about the role race and class play in public housing and Local Tenant Organizations. We’ll focus on how to ensure that your tenant group is “radically inclusive” so that everyone feels like they belong, regardless of their race, language, religion, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, (dis)ability, or any other factor.
Moderator: Marsha Chery, Community Engagement Fellow, Mass Union. Presenter: Tiana Lawrence, Trainer and Facilitator.
Accomplishing Your Goals through Local Campaigns
Throughout history people have used “campaigns” to accomplish shared goals, such as improving the quality of life in your development. Join this session to learn how to run a local campaign by selecting a goal, creating a strategy, and engaging allies in your community.
Presenters: Sarah Byrnes, Executive Director, Mass Union; and Zafiro Patiño, Director of Organizing, Mass Union.
6:00 Dinner and Dancing
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2026
8:00 AM – 10:00 AM Continental Breakfast
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM Mass Union’s Annual Meeting, Listening Session and Officer Election
- Call to Order
- Appointment of Annual Meeting Secretary
- Reports
- Chair
- Treasurer
- Policy Committee
- Executive Director
- Discussion
- Officer Election
- Review Election Procedure
- Election
- Candidate Speeches
- Voting
- Closing
Raffles will be held after the closing.