Education and Events
Demystifying Housing. Empowering Advocates.
At Abundant Housing LA, we believe that understanding the housing crisis is the first step toward solving it. Our Education Department breaks down complex zoning laws, housing economics, and policy decisions into clear, plain-language tools that anyone can use.
Whether you are brand new to housing advocacy or looking to sharpen your skills to take on City Hall, we have a place for you to learn, connect, and take action.
How We Educate & Empower
We offer programs across four core learning pathways designed to meet you wherever you are on your advocate journey:
Foundational Housing Knowledge
Welcoming entry points for anyone who wants to understand LA’s housing landscape.
Housing 101s: Interactive primers explaining why housing is so expensive, how local policy shapes our neighborhoods, and what abundant housing actually looks like.
Plain-Language Resources: Easy-to-read guides and cheat sheets that translate jargon into everyday language.
Neighborhood-Centered Learning
Connecting policy directly to the places and people you care about.
Community Storytelling & Discussions: Spaces to share personal housing experiences and explore how regional housing policy impacts local rents, displacement, and community stability.
Neighborhood Walking Tours & Socials: Family-inclusive, accessible gatherings that look at local architecture, transit, and development through a pro-housing lens.
Technical Policy & Legislative Deep-Dives
For members and community leaders ready to get into the weeds.
Policy Briefings & Webinars: Fast-paced breakdowns of major state bills, local zoning reforms, and city budgeting decisions.
The Economics of Housing: Workshops explaining how development finance works, what it costs to build 100% affordable housing, and how bureaucratic delays drive up rents.
Applied Advocacy & Skill Building
Turning knowledge into political impact.
Public Comment & Testimony Trainings: Tactical workshops that teach you how to draft and deliver a powerful 60-second public comment for city council or planning commission hearings.
Organizer Toolkits: Ready-to-use assets and guides for local chapter leaders to host educational events and mobilize their own neighborhoods.
Our Approach to Education
Accessible to All: We host events virtually and in local neighborhoods, ensuring childcare, travel, and schedule constraints don't stand in the way of civic education.
Rooted in Equity: We center anti-displacement, tenant protections, and lower-resource communities to ensure housing solutions serve everyone, not just a privileged few.
Built for Action: We don't educate just for the sake of theory. Every workshop, briefing, and guide ends with a concrete way to make your voice heard.
Housing 101 and Discussion Panels
Monthly Housing Panel Discussion
Bringing housing experts with diverse specializations into the same room for thought-provoking discussions about how to achieve fair, affordable, and abundant housing.
Bimonthly Housing 101
Learn from Luke Klipp, our director of education, about LA’s housing history and how bad policies resulted in a housing crisis.
2025 Pro-Housing Leadership Certification Course
Course Description
Abundant Housing LA is proud to offer the 2025 Pro-Housing Leadership Certification Course, an 8-session training for anyone ready to learn how housing policy works—and how to change it.
You’ll gain real-world knowledge and practical skills on key topics like zoning, affordable housing, climate and sustainability, and how to influence local land use decisions. We’ll explore the past and present of LA’s housing system through a pro-housing, racial justice lens.
This course is a great fit for advocates, community leaders, students, or anyone looking to grow their impact in public policy, housing, or planning. You’ll learn from experienced voices in advocacy, government, and nonprofit housing development as you build the confidence and connections to lead.
Revenue generated from this program will help advance AHLA’s mission to build the movement to House LA. Specifically, your dollars go to free services such as project advocacy, online advocacy tools, educational training, and community power-building through housing.
Scholarships
AHLA offers full scholarships and generous need-based discounts to promote diversity and inclusion in housing-related fields.
AHLA Housing Advocates Council: 50% off
Students: 75% off
Rent-Burdened: 75% off
Scholarship: 100% off
If you would like to discuss discounts or receive one of the discount codes for the categories listed above, please send an email to joshua@abundanthousingla.org
Course Outline
Full Course Cost: $500
This grants access to all 8 sessions of the 2025 Pro-Housing Leadership Course. Access includes attendance to scheduled live sessions and the recordings available after the live sessions.
Part One: Housing Policy & History
Session 1: Introduction to Housing Advocacy
Live Session Date: Monday, April 28, 2025
Session 2: History of Housing in Los Angeles
Live Session Date: Monday, May 5, 2025
Session 3: Modern Housing Policy & Barriers to Housing Development
Live Session Date: Monday, May 12, 2025
Session 4: Housing & the Environment: Climate, Sustainability, and Transportation
Live Session Date: Monday, May 19, 2025
Break Week:
Week of May 26, 2025
Part Two: Development & Advocacy in Practice
Session 5: Equitable Housing Access: Tenant Protections & Affordable Housing Strategies
Live Session Date: Monday, June 2, 2025
Session 6: The Economics of Housing Development (Led by Tara Barauskas)
Live Session Date: Wednesday, June 11, 2025
Session 7: Navigating Local Housing Development & Policy Processes (Co-presented with Josh Guyer)
Live Session Date: Monday, June 16, 2025
Session 8: Advocacy Strategies & Tools for Housing Justice
Live Session Date: Monday, June 23, 2025
Discounts:
Don’t Let Cost Be a Barrier – We’ve Got You Covered
We believe that everyone should have access to the knowledge and tools to advocate for better housing. If the cost of this course is a challenge for you, we offer several discount and scholarship options to ensure you can participate.
Explore Your Options:
🔹 AHLA Community Discount (50% Off – $250): Available to anyone who has donated to Abundant Housing LA in 2024. Request Discount →
🔹 Student Discount ($100): Open to current students with verification. Apply Here →
🔹 Future Leader Scholarship (Full Waiver): If you need financial assistance, apply for a full tuition waiver. Apply Here →
Topics Covered
LA’s housing history and how past policies shape the crisis today
Zoning, land use, and how planning decisions get made
The Housing Accountability Act and other state housing laws
Local entitlement processes and how to navigate them
Affordable housing development and finance
Tenant protections and renters’ rights
Strategies to affirmatively further fair housing
The link between housing, climate, and transit
Racial equity and justice in housing
How to influence local housing decisions and advocate for change
Have questions? Reach out to us at joshua@abundanthousingla.org and we’ll be happy to help!
NOTE: Payment plans are available with all cost options.
This course has added so much to my knowledge and skills by providing a clear I breakdown and explanation of the various topics discussed…. I believe that if young people are offered these [AHLA] courses to study it would also encourage students to have even more pride and concern for their cities and neighborhoods”
– Brandy G. 2022 Cohort