Check out our Q&A with Affordable Housing Policy Manager Vee Sanchez below. Congratulations on 4 years with Empower Missouri, Vee! What does “People-Powered Policy Change” mean to you? It means ordinary people growing our capacity to cogovern. It means our communities set and advance the people’s agenda and are not merely spokespersons, but leaders and...Lee mas

Check out our Q&A with Criminal Justice Policy Manager Gwen Smith-Moore below. Congratulations on 4 years with Empower Missouri, Gwen! What does “People-Powered Policy Change” mean to you? It means that those who are often left out of the policy-making process are centered and uplifted. In our Community Justice Coalition, many members are formerly incarcerated...Lee mas

Check out our Q&A with Operations Director Tina Mahtani below. Congratulations on 1 year with Empower Missouri, Tina! What part of Empower Missouri’s work do you feel most passionate about, and why? What I care about most is that Empower never loses sight of the people behind the issues we work on. The policy work...Lee mas

Key housing programs are facing cuts as part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) budget process. The House Appropriations subcommittee released its HUD spending bill for fiscal year 2027 on May 20th and like last year, the committee adopted many of the Trump administration’s proposed cuts to housing programs while rejecting...Lee mas