HUD Neighborhood Networks Coordinator Profile: Peggy Spaner, Buffalo Multifamily Hub

09/22/2009

Buffalo, NY—Buffalo, New York, has no buffalos or bison, but it does have the honor of being the hometown of two U.S. presidents, Millard Fillmore and Grover Cleveland, as well as the site where Theodore Roosevelt took the presidential oath of office. The city is also known as chicken wing capital of the world because the famous appetizer Buffalo wings originated there. To Peggy Spaner, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) Neighborhood Networks Coordinator for the Buffalo Multifamily Hub, the state’s second largest city is where she attended college and has spent her entire professional career. A Niagara Falls, New York, native, Spaner joined HUD in 1991 as a temporary employee. Her star shined quickly and brightly, and in 1992, Spaner became a full-time Project Manager in HUD’s Multifamily Department. For the last 17 years, Spaner has been giving back to the Buffalo area and the place she calls home. Peggy Spaner has been the Neighborhood Networks Coordinator for the Buffalo Multifamily Hub since 2000. Neighborhood Networks Makes a Difference In early 2000, a vacancy for the area’s HUD Neighborhood Networks Coordinator became available, and Spaner volunteered to fill it. Today, Spaner and co-Neighborhood Networks Coordinator Joan Trinchera promote the benefits of opening a Neighborhood Networks center to property owners and managers in western New York and help with opening new centers. “I wanted to feel that I was making a difference in someone’s world,” said Spaner. “Daily, I oversee a portfolio of subsidized and unsubsidized properties, considering the financial stock and physical condition of the structure. Although that aspect of my job is important, I also wanted to work closely with the tenants to try and generate positive changes in the quality of their lives. Now I know that I am making a difference through this Initiative. It is a very good thing, full of excitement and change.” Helping Owners and Managers Help Residents Initially, Spaner felt that it would be relatively easy to solicit support from property owners for an initiative that would benefit their residents and was a great investment for their properties. However, she was surprised and disappointed that more of them were not “jumping on the Neighborhood Networks bandwagon.” So, Spaner encouraged owners and managers to take baby steps to get started and assured them that they would eventually see the potential and great advantages of having a Neighborhood Networks center. She also promised that she would help them along the path. “I told them that there are endless ways in which Neighborhood Networks can help them and their residents establish a great center,” said Spaner. “I help potential center owners and managers with their business plans, and explore potential partnership opportunities. Moreover, the information on the Neighborhood Networks Web site provides a gold mine of opportunities and suggestions for potential owners and volunteers alike. It is such a helpful and essential tool.” Spaner and the owners of the 22 centers she manages were able to overcome the initial trepidation through a variety of funding efforts and by establishing successful partnerships. Spaner is actively involved in center grand openings and working with centers on maintaining sustainability. In addition, she supplies center staff with contact information on potential partners, funding, and in-kind gifts, and embraces every opportunity to network on behalf of her centers to stimulate interest in and broker partnerships. To foster her mission, she developed a PowerPoint presentation and a CD for project managers in the Buffalo Multifamily Hub that focuses on senior projects and provides an overview of the Initiative. The project managers use the CD to familiarize owners and managers with Neighborhood Networks and how to open a center on their property. “An extensive workload has led the Buffalo office to delegate the responsibility of identifying potential Neighborhood Networks centers and working with the owners to open centers to individual project managers,” reported Spaner. “Each project manager is responsible for locating and opening centers for properties in their portfolios. By having all of the project managers involved, our office has a broader knowledge base and is able to locate and identify potential centers. It also gives Neighborhood Networks a larger base of people through which to pass the word on this wonderful Initiative. This method gives ownership of the Initiative to all project managers, not just the Coordinator.” The Future Looks Bright In between her activities as a HUD Neighborhood Networks Coordinator and Multifamily Project Manager, Spaner is interested in learning more about the future of the Initiative, enhancing relationships with other HUD Neighborhood Networks Coordinators and Initiative staff, and improving her ability to manage and oversee the area centers. One way she achieves all three of these goals is by attending the Neighborhood Networks national conferences and Regional Technical Assistance Workshops (RTAWs) and participating in conference calls. Her participation in these activities and her first-hand experience of what centers can achieve contribute to her positive outlook for the Initiative. “Due to the constant evolution in the world through the use of computers and other media, I see the future of Multifamily’s Neighborhood Networks Initiative becoming a Neighborhood Networks program with some sort of funding stream,” stated Spaner. “It makes so much sense to allocate funds minimally for a staff person to manage the center. I also see the technical assistance aspect of the Initiative being expanded to non-Section 8 projects. Eventually, I see Neighborhood Networks centers becoming a part of the design for new and rehabilitated HUD projects and commonplace in subsidized buildings, similar to what a community room is now. You must be computer savvy to get a job in today’s workforce, and having a Neighborhood Networks center on site is an appropriate and necessary tool to bring residents of HUD-insured and -assisted properties to this level.” Spaner went on to say, “Through their programs, our centers are making a positive difference in their communities. Center workforce development and training programs help people find jobs that provide a consistent and reliable income, helping to solidify families. Center afterschool programs provide tutoring and homework assistance that help students get better grades in school. And, the centers have improved the lives of the elderly residents by providing a common meeting place for them to interact, share ideas, and even teach other new skills. Thinking and growing keeps people young and vibrant. Neighborhood Networks is such a win-win for all of us.” For more information about Neighborhood Networks centers in the Buffalo, New York area, contact: Peggy J. Spaner U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Buffalo Multifamily Hub Lafayette Court, 465 Main Street, Second Floor Buffalo, NY 14203-1780 (716) 551–5755 x 5517 Joan Trinchera U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Buffalo Multifamily Hub Lafayette Court, 465 Main Street, Second Floor Buffalo, NY 14203-1780 (716) 551–5755 x 5506

Scope:

National

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