Uniting Citizens for Housing Affordability in Newton
We advocate for the creation of affordable housing options in the city of Newton, Massachusetts—with a focus on low-income families and individuals.
About
U-CHAN is an organization comprised of Newton residents who believe that advocacy and progress begin with education. We support specific housing programs and take positions on housing issues in Newton. We also work with national housing organizations advocating for housing for low-income populations. U-CHAN played a pivotal role is securing the adoption of the Community Preservation Act in Newton. The CPA established the mechanism that oversees the funding of affordable housing, historic preservation, and open space in Newton.
Our Values
We value investing time and resources—and designing space and the built environment—to support and build community. We believe in being good stewards of our planet by creatively maximizing our resources. We value planning that embraces change, while being cognizant of both local and broader contexts and needs. We advocate for our city to provide appropriate housing for the full spectrum of its current residents, while looking ahead to plan for the generations of children in the future. We seek to create an inclusive and open community that values diversity.
Co-Chairs
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Josephine McNeil
Josephine McNeil is the Executive Director of Citizens for Affordable Housing in Newton Development Organization (CAN-DO). CAN-DO is a community-based nonprofit housing development organization with a mission to create and manage affordable housing in the City of Newton. She was one of the organizing members in 1994 and served as its president until 1999 when she took on the role of executive director until her retirement in 2017. She recently resumed her role as President of the organization and Executive Director. Her community activities include serving as a member of the Community Benefits Committee and the Board of Advisors of Newton Wellesley Hospital. Josephine also serves on both the Newton Fair Housing Committee and the Newton Housing Partnership. She serves as one of the co-chairs of U-CHAN and is on the Mission and Social Commission of the Eliot Church of Newton. Josephine is a lawyer and serves as Vice-President of the Lawyers Committee and as co-treasurer of the Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association as well as the co-chairperson of the Massachusetts Bar Association Civil Rights and Social Justice Council. She also is a Special Advisor to the American Bar Association Commission on Housing and Poverty.
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Emily Cagwin
Emily Cagwin has lived in Newton since 2012. Her family fell in love with the close-knit and supportive neighborhood they moved to in West Newton. She became interested in affordable housing advocacy when CAN-DO proposed a project that would convert the house next door into a two-family home that would be permanently affordable. Emily felt strongly that everyone deserves access to the same community, school system, and city services that made Newton a wonderful place for her family.
Emily’s professional background is in advertising and digital marketing. She is currently the Director of Participant Marketing for the Executive Education team at Harvard Business School. She has a 7th grader at F. A. Day Middle School and 3rd grader at Horace Mann Elementary. She loves to help organize events in her neighborhood like its annual block party.