When co-interim CEOs Maegan Scott and Jessica Venegas of Funders Together for Housing Justice (FTHJ) meet to reflect on their time leading the organization, their conversation reveals deep alignment on values, shared purpose, and an unwavering commitment to housing justice. What follows is an excerpt from that exchange about leadership, lived experience, and hope for the movement.

By Rachelle A. Matthews (RAM), Director of Membership and Programs

At Funders Together for Housing Justice, we know that advancing housing justice requires both courage and clarity. We are living in a political moment where attacks on racial justice, equity, and democracy are constant—and where philanthropy must decide not only what to fund, but also what to fight. 

That’s why we’ve embraced the Block & Build framework, first shared in Convergence Magazine as an advocacy and grantmaking strategy  The framework challenges us to block harmful systems, narratives, and policies that perpetuate injustices, while simultaneously building new structures, practices, and pathways toward liberation, justice, and thriving communities. 

Not all political violence is physical—it can also come in the form of brutal and harmful rhetoric, policies, and the erasure of truthful histories and stories. However, words shape ideas and worlds. Language matters and moves violence from abstract to targeted action.