MBA Announces the Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio as Local Host of CONVERGENCE Columbus

The Mortgage Bankers Association announced the Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio will serve as the local host organization for CONVERGENCE Columbus, MBA’s initiative to help close the Black homeownership gap and promote affordable housing through community partnerships in Columbus, Ohio.

AHACO and MBA announced Keryna Johnson, previously the Project Coordinator for CONVERGENCE Columbus on behalf of MBA, will now serve as Director of CONVERGENCE Columbus.

“CONVERGENCE Columbus’ new partnership with AHACO will strengthen local ties with key stakeholders in the community and is another strategic step toward the goal of developing equitable and accessible housing finance solutions to help close the racial homeownership gap in Columbus,” said MBA Senior Vice President for Affordable Housing Initiatives Steve O’Connor. “Keryna is a passionate and strategic leader with more than nine years of experience in the affordable housing industry, and we look forward to her growing the organization’s impact.”

“For far too long, structural inequities barricaded the doors to homeownership for Black families. CONVERGENCE Columbus confronts this racial history head on through equity, collaboration and innovation,” said AHACO Board Chair Michelle Heritage. “AHACO is extremely proud to extend our partnership with the MBA and CONVERGENCE to serve as the local host of this important initiative.”

CONVERGENCE Columbus was launched by MBA, the Ohio Housing Finance Agency and The John Glenn College of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University in July 2021. It is a cross-sector partnership and multi-year initiative focused on increasing minority homeownership in Columbus.

In addition to the new partnership, CONVERGENCE Columbus has also secured funding from cornerstone partners Huntington National Bank and Fifth Third Bank.

For more information on CONVERGENCE, click here.