In 2016, April Norton joined the Jackson/Teton County Housing Department as its first director, focusing on partnerships to create affordable housing in the Jackson Hole area. She spent the past decade developing programs and projects that help communities thrive. Through her work at the LOR Foundation, she engaged with rural landscapes and people throughout the Intermountain West, working on projects that included land and water conservation and affordable housing.

In many respects, the Jackson Hole area is a peer community and as such has similar struggles. April will describe these struggles and successes, what makes resort communities’ housing challenges unique, and what solutions and tools work well there. One such solution is deed-restricting housing units to people who live and/or work in the area and by income – which can be accomplished with a range of tools. Her county-wide efforts and diverse work experience also contributes to her understanding of the different roles that non-profits, governments, and for-profits play in the housing sphere and how best to allocate funds.

April Norton will be joined by Mary Wilson, Co-Founder and Director of the Wood River Community Housing Trust (WRCHT). WRCHT is a non-profit corporation formed to resolve the lack of housing in the Wood River Valley. Its mission is to acquire or develop affordable rental housing for the middle-income workforce.

This program will be livestreamed and available to watch later. Click here to watch online.

In collaboration with the City of Ketchum and the Wood River Community Housing Trust.