Ali Solis
Ali Solis is putting a face on the nation’s rental housing crisis.
Ali Solis, president and CEO of Make Room
President and CEO of the nonprofit Make Room, she tells the stories of struggling renters, from a single mother trying to make it until her next paycheck in Erie, Pa., to a working family trying to cope with rising rents in Los Angeles.
“We humanize the impact that the rental housing crisis is having on over 11 million households, exposing that suffering and the societal cost of inaction” says Solis.
At the same time, Make Room is about more than sharing stories. Through its digital tools and live events, it connects renters, policymakers, and the public with key information about local housing markets and advocates for better housing policies.
It was recently involved in helping Denver pass its first dedicated fund for affordable housing that will raise $150 million over the next 10 years to create or preserve 6,000 affordable homes.
Make Room launched in 2015, with Enterprise Community Partners as the founding sponsor and support from partners such as The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur and the Ford Foundation.
Make Room’s eye-opening efforts have included a series of “Concerts for the First”—the day the rent is due—which featured Carly Rae Jepsen, Miguel, and other musicians visiting with renters and performing in their living rooms.
Solis has big plans for this year, which ushers in a new administration and Congress as well state and local leaders around the country. “We have a lot of work to do to educate the new policymakers about the rental housing crisis,” says the industry veteran.
Make Room is planning to tour the country this summer to collect more real-life stories about the rental housing crisis and explore solutions.
“The work is more important than ever,” says Solis, the daughter of two immigrants—her father hails from the Basque region of Spain and her mother is from Puerto Rico.
Until recently, Solis served as senior vice president, advocacy and corporate affairs, at Enterprise, an organization that she joined in 2000 as director of congressional outreach.
Solis serves on the advisory boards of the Urban Land Institute Terwilliger Center for Housing and the Moelis Institute for Affordable Housing Policy at New York University’s Furman Center. She was awarded a 2015 Stevie Award for Women in Business, Executive of the Year for Nonprofit/Government. She has also been named to Hispanic Business’s 50 Influentials list.
